Our WHY is to inspire others to continuously learn to fulfill their fullest potential so that each of us could change the world around us for the better.
For years, either we realize it or not, education has been a field that becomes the focus of eyes around the world. Through studies as well as field practices, education is believed to be a media, a platform to develop and advance a nation. This idea works both globally and locally, in which education is able to advance and enhance the lives of the societies and/or the lives of individuals who really grasp the meaning of education.
To this date, Indonesia is still considered as a less-developed nation in the context of its education system. One evidence to support this is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test results. In 2018, the mean scores for Reading, Mathematics, and Science of the Indonesian sample of students are is 371 (ranked 74 out of 79), 379 (ranked 73 out of 79) and 396 (ranked 71 out of 79) respectively. To add up the bad news, the results in 2018 are decreasing compared to the ones in 2015.
Definitely, we could use other measures, but in general, the education system in Indonesia still needs to improve a lot, especially if compared to other countries.. even in Southeast Asia. However, I believe that this nation will grow. This nation will improve its education system. Slowly, we are trying to improve a lot of things. Though we have not seen a significant change, the hope is there.
Education could change the world! For example, Singapore and Japan as two big and influential countries. Japan in the past was suffering after they lost in World War II, which was ended after the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. However, if we study the history of this nation, what was the foundation? Education!
The same is true also for Singapore. If we know what Singapore looks like, we know that their education system is so high in quality, though the country has nothing. Even they need to buy water from Malaysia. One day, I attended a seminar in which Professor Saravanan Gopinathan was the keynote speaker. He is a Singaporean, and he was an education expert who was largely involved in building the education system in Singapore. He said that all the processes were not easy, but through education, Singapore has now become a big country, though not having any natural resources.
This is in line with what was mentioned by our former Minister of Education and Culture, Anies Baswedan, “Kekayaan terbesar sebuah bangsa adalah manusianya bukan sumber daya alamnya”. This means, “The most valuable wealth of a nation is its people, not the natural resources.” And now the question is, how do we obtain and use that wealth? Through education! However, we need to take it very seriously to realize this vision. All developed countries, such as the UK, Australia, the US, Finland, South Korea, China, Singapore, and Japan, attain their “developed country” status because of the well-developed education.
In the end, either we like it or not, the true education changes a person, a family, a society, a nation, and eventually the world.
We have to admit that the quality of education in Indonesia is very poor. Poor quality of teachers, equal distribution of educators, principals, the changes of curriculum prematurely, and the issue of oneness among various parties are only a few of them. However, as a youth, we can’t stay silent. I don’t want to stay silent.
Through this blog and movement, I personally want to do what I can do to help develop the people of Indonesia. I want to take part in transforming the practices and leadership in education to find their souls. I dream that everyone to learn and enjoy learning so that each one of us could discover ourselves further and fulfill our fullest potential. Will this journey end? No. Definitely no. But I will die trying to advance this idea.
I, myself, am a mathematics teacher who is excited to share everything I know, have learned, and what I envision about teaching and learning concepts and leadership ideas. It just so happened that I took a degree each in both subjects: mathematics and educational leadership. So, to channel my love of learning and love of sharing, this blog is created. As its name, Transducation, a short of Transformational Education, I hope that this blog could help transform the education system in Indonesia, and the world. Therefore, whatever it is that I have shared and I will share here in this blog represent my WHY and my vision.
Let us do our part to change Indonesia, for a better world.
References:
http://aceh.tribunnews.com/2015/08/27/guru-belajar-dari-kebangkitan-jepang?page=2
http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/majalah/2015/05/150513_majalah_asia_sekolah_terbaik
OECD/Asian Development Bank. (2015). Education in Indonesia: Rising to Challenge. Paris: OECD Publishing
Click to access Combined_Executive_Summaries_PISA_2018.pdf
Transducation - Transformational Education 