Students today are spending time in school excessively, even almost similar to employees who spending time in office. They leave their home early in the morning and back to home in late afternoon. If they came earlier to their home, they take lunch, eat their meal in hurry then prepare stuffs for some other extra activities and go out again. In the evening they then come home back, exhausted and go to bed to welcome the same routine in the following day.
I met with some teenagers who have to come to the school even though during holidays, and when I asked why did they love school so much and not enjoy holidays with friends or families, they explained that before holidays their teachers assigned them for doing some tasks which must be accomplished when they back from holidays. They had to come to school since the laboratory is there, and the computers are also there. They could not stay away from school because their future is inside there.
The school put their own standard to maintain the reputation and to compensate a very high tuition fees. Yeah, the school today is part of business entities where quality means money and vice versa. If you don’t have enough money, please don’t try to step on their floor because you will be shocked by numbers which will be handed to you if you intend to enroll your children.
The school that we pay a lot of money then will drill our children as much as they can do to create the best quality outputs. The school provides completed facilities which our children can use it freely anytime they want to. The school offers a long list of lessons which our children should swallow it no matter what. Some students feel under pressure where a bunch of tasks, home works, try out preparation, etc. should be accomplished within a tight schedule. But, some others are forced by their respective parents to pursue the best rank in class. The parents give a noble reason by saying: “Dear, you should reach the first rank and don’t be the second because that’s not your class.”
Then day and night the parents monitor the kid tightly. They also send their kid to take extra classes, not only mathematics, computer, and English for example, but also piano, painting and any other else to keep them busy in the daily activities from Monday to Saturday. Do you believe that even in holiday, when they all members of family go for picnic, the kid should still open the books and memorize some lessons upon arrival in the destination?
Great! The time for student report finally comes and the parents confidently come to the school to receive the report. And when the name of their kid announced as the best rank student of the school, the parents proudly stand among the crowd who applaud them noisily. The father and mother smile with the most beautiful smiling they ever had and whisper each other to express satisfaction. But, look, does the kid also smile?
I remember when I was a kid, holiday was something great that I (and friends) always welcome excitedly. Holiday means playing and playing, nothing else. Friends are everywhere and we like to go together to some place by bicycle. Our school never disturbed our holiday with some tasks or any other burdens that would make us lose our holiday. My parents also never forced me to be the first rank in my school even though I could achieve it sometime. But being the first rank was never targeted by my parents. Was the education standard and the students at that time less qualified than today?
Today, we live in the situation where our society always measures everyone with the rank. Only the best rank, the number one, will deserve respect. Sadly, the parents often not realize their demand so high while capacity of their kid is limited. They drill their kid badly to be the number one, and if the kid failed, they show their disappointment. Is that really for the sake of the kid or their own ego and pride?
I believe there is nothing wrong with being the number one. However, can we do it without seizing our children happiness, without seizing their time to play with their friends? I am worry the next generation would be so individualistic and intolerant because their school and parents have put them in prison and prevent them knowing everything “outside there”.
***
Serpong, 4 May 2009
Titus J.
I met with some teenagers who have to come to the school even though during holidays, and when I asked why did they love school so much and not enjoy holidays with friends or families, they explained that before holidays their teachers assigned them for doing some tasks which must be accomplished when they back from holidays. They had to come to school since the laboratory is there, and the computers are also there. They could not stay away from school because their future is inside there.
The school put their own standard to maintain the reputation and to compensate a very high tuition fees. Yeah, the school today is part of business entities where quality means money and vice versa. If you don’t have enough money, please don’t try to step on their floor because you will be shocked by numbers which will be handed to you if you intend to enroll your children.
The school that we pay a lot of money then will drill our children as much as they can do to create the best quality outputs. The school provides completed facilities which our children can use it freely anytime they want to. The school offers a long list of lessons which our children should swallow it no matter what. Some students feel under pressure where a bunch of tasks, home works, try out preparation, etc. should be accomplished within a tight schedule. But, some others are forced by their respective parents to pursue the best rank in class. The parents give a noble reason by saying: “Dear, you should reach the first rank and don’t be the second because that’s not your class.”
Then day and night the parents monitor the kid tightly. They also send their kid to take extra classes, not only mathematics, computer, and English for example, but also piano, painting and any other else to keep them busy in the daily activities from Monday to Saturday. Do you believe that even in holiday, when they all members of family go for picnic, the kid should still open the books and memorize some lessons upon arrival in the destination?
Great! The time for student report finally comes and the parents confidently come to the school to receive the report. And when the name of their kid announced as the best rank student of the school, the parents proudly stand among the crowd who applaud them noisily. The father and mother smile with the most beautiful smiling they ever had and whisper each other to express satisfaction. But, look, does the kid also smile?
I remember when I was a kid, holiday was something great that I (and friends) always welcome excitedly. Holiday means playing and playing, nothing else. Friends are everywhere and we like to go together to some place by bicycle. Our school never disturbed our holiday with some tasks or any other burdens that would make us lose our holiday. My parents also never forced me to be the first rank in my school even though I could achieve it sometime. But being the first rank was never targeted by my parents. Was the education standard and the students at that time less qualified than today?
Today, we live in the situation where our society always measures everyone with the rank. Only the best rank, the number one, will deserve respect. Sadly, the parents often not realize their demand so high while capacity of their kid is limited. They drill their kid badly to be the number one, and if the kid failed, they show their disappointment. Is that really for the sake of the kid or their own ego and pride?
I believe there is nothing wrong with being the number one. However, can we do it without seizing our children happiness, without seizing their time to play with their friends? I am worry the next generation would be so individualistic and intolerant because their school and parents have put them in prison and prevent them knowing everything “outside there”.
***
Serpong, 4 May 2009
Titus J.
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