Students eat together during their break in the yard of State Junior High School SMP 226 in South Jakarta on Friday (21/7). Eating together during the break has become a tradition to maintain harmony and tighten friendships at the school.
There was a boisterous and cheerful atmosphere at SMP Negeri 21 state junior high school in South Tangerang on Wednesday (19/7). All the students were in the schoolyard where an extracurricular activity was being held for new students. They were sitting in the front yard and watching a basketball club member dribble the ball back and forth. Members of the school’s Student Council and Red Cross Youth (PMR) were on standby in case any of the students needed medical treatment.
Suddenly, a female student wearing a red-and-white uniform became pale and weak. Five Red Cross Youth members moved swiftly to carry the student to the teacher’s room to be given first aid. “Here, you cannot pick friends. Everyone has to be ready to help,” said deputy headmaster for student affairs Yanti Kartini.
There is an evident closeness in the relationship between the PMR members. There is Shelly Desmalita, 13, who is of Chinese-Minahasa descent, Chuchu Rahma, 12, who is Javanese, Ananda Sindy, 13, who is a transfer student from Yogyakarta. There is also Adifa Khoirunisa, 14, and Dewi Haura, 12, from Banten. They get on well with each other in various activities even though they sometimes tease one another.
“Sometimes I am teased by my friends because when I laugh, my eyes disappear,” said Shelly, followed by laughter from her friends. However, Shelly is not offended because she also likes to tease her friends.
Nevertheless, they are often told off by their teachers for making such jokes. “Maybe for children, they mean no menace. But if we don’t reprimand them, mocking someone for their ethnicity or culture will become habit,” said Siti Lestari, a mathematics teacher.
In SMP Negeri 21 South Tangerang, good character is developed through practical ways, not through sermons.
Inclusive
At SMP Negeri 226 state junior high school in Jakarta, students do not make fun of each other\'s differences. The school has implemented an inclusive education system since 1993. In every class, there is at least one student with special needs, such as visual impairment, hearing impairment and autism.
Students in grade VII at the start of the year are only told that their special needs friends have a special way of learning. The students with visual impairments, for example, sit exams in Braille. There is also supporting equipment for special needs students. Usually, their friends happily help them by lending them their notes and studying with them.
The spirit of inclusiveness has also spread to the people living near the school. Jali, who sells tahu gejrot (fried tofu in sweet spicy sauce) outside the SMP Negeri 226 Jakarta school gate, has become used to serving students and customers with special needs.
This phenomenon is reflective of a number of state schools that have made a commitment to promoting diversity. As a public space, schools must be open to various kinds of children.
However, the efforts to develop good character among students is not found in every school in the country. In fact, there are cases in which an attitude of intolerance is initiated by the school itself. In the enrollment of new students this year, there was a case of discrimination reported at SMP Negeri 3 Genteng, Banyuwangi, East Java. The school required all of its female students to wear headscarves and because of this, a non-Muslim female student was not accepted at the school.
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, students of a junior high school in Tanah Abang harassed a student of a nearby elementary school. These cases suggest that it is difficult for students to respect other people that are different to them when they are unkind to the people close to them.
In SMP Negeri 6 state junior high school in Semarang, Central Java, the principal instills the values of integrity among the students by opening up an “honesty shop”. The school cooperative is closed all day. As a replacement, the students can buy stationery, books and other needs at the shop. They get the item they want and pay according to the price stated into a money box in the shop. On certain days the students are asked to pick up garbage together to instill the values of gotong royong (mutual cooperation).
To protect students from radical ideologies in school, SMA Negeri 9 state senior high school in Bandar Lampung holds internal discussions with students. Discussions on nationalism and diversity are held every month. “The students are asked to discuss incidents that are of concern to the public. Therefore, their critical skills can be develop,” said Imam Santoso, a counselor at the school.
Character education expert Doni Koesoema points out that schools are agents of unity for the young generation. In education, there must not be any discrimination. Mutual understanding in culture is the gateway to pluralism, which strengthens national unity. For this, teachers, school managements and families need to work in synergy.
