Joer-V, Smala Pers!: Education? Should've Been Fun!

Sepasang remaja tampak akrab satu sama lain, seolah meniadakan fakta bahwa tempat ini bukanlah daerah asal mereka. Kombinasi warna kulit yang kontras—yang satu pucat dengan bintik-bintik khas ras Kaukasia dan satunya lagi gelap cenderung sawo matang—tak membuat mereka risih ataupun canggung. Brooke dan Kelly, salah dua dari belasan peserta pertukaran pelajar dari Tranby College yang sejak seminggu kemarin mengikuti pembelajaran di SMAN 5 Surabaya kini berbagi kisah dan isi kepala mereka mengenai apa yang selama ini belum terlintas di pikiran kita mengenai pendidikan di Indonesia.

What motivates or encourages you to have an experience here?

Kelly: “I just love to learn the language.”

Brooke: “I love learning cultures, and I just want to have new experiences. It’s nice to visit Indonesia, anyway.”

What’s the biggest difference between education here and in Australia?

Kelly: “The subject, I think. In Australia we only have 6 subjects and we’re really focused on it while you have too many subjects that you have to learn. And the time you spend at school is too long that it'll bore the students. Learning should've been fun for us, right?”

What’s the difference between Indonesia’s students and Australia’s?

Brooke: “The responsibility of the students. Every student works very hard in doing their tasks but it seems like they don’t really enjoy it. The teachers also expect too much from their students.”

What do you enjoy the most while you’re in Smala?

Kelly & Brooke: “The people; they all are really nice and friendly. The canteen and the library are also very good.”

The last question; if you had a chance to meet our Minister of Education, what would you say to him?

Brooke: “I’d suggest him to start school not this early. It’d be nice to start at 7.30 or 8 o’clock, maybe. So the students will have more time to finish the homework and have more social life.”

Dari perbincangan dengan dua pelajar Australia ini bisa kita ambil kesimpulan bahwa sistem pendidikan di Indonesia yang mengedepankan kuantitas subjek pembelajaran masih lebih diutamakan daripada kualitas pembelajaran itu sendiri. Sangat disayangkan memang, padahal sumber daya manusia di Indonesia sebenarnya tidak kalah dengan negara-negara Eropa atau Amerika. Hanya saja, kita kurang fokus dalam mempelajari hal-hal yang sesuai dengan minat kita sehingga kemampuan kita tidak bisa berkembang secara maksimal. Semoga dengan melihat sisi lain pendidikan dari sudut pandang yang berbeda ini, kita mampu memperbaiki kualitas pendidikan Indonesia di masa depan.

Dan sebelum mereka bertolak kembali ke Australia, inilah kegiatan terakhir mereka di Smala yang khusus diadakan oleh Pararela. Such a good time with you all, Tranbiers! (cay)