Minister of Primary and Secondary Education and Culture, Anies Baswedan, Ph.D. stated that, although students’ morals are disquieting, we have to be proud of other students possessing a lot of achievements. The outstanding students can give examples for the undisciplined students. Indeed, media have an essential role in improving the Indonesian students’ morals so that media should highlight the superior students.
“Indonesia has a lot of great students, we may focus not only the negative but also positive aspects. Media always portray bad morals of students without reporting good aspects,” Anies argued.
In an interview after the closing of Muhammadiyah’s National Convention on Thursday (24/5) at Sportorium of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), Anies contended that media should expose the achievement of students instead of their bad behaviors so that the other students are motivated to gain achievements.
“If media explore the bad behaviors, I am afraid that the students will follow the bad behaviors. Good students are Indonesian students. Media occasionally overlook the good things, so do not directly judge,” he emphasized.
Responding the current issue that a teacher was imprisoned due to giving physical punishment and on behalf of human rights, he asserted, “The issue should be penalized. If teachers’ punishment exceeds the limit, it can be solve through teachers’ code of ethics.”
Anies shared an experience of how a teacher in a rural area educated the students. When handing a class over from a previous teacher, a new teacher got a cane. The previous teacher told that there was a pearl in the top of the cane so that the new teacher pledged not to use the cane. There are techniques to learn to discipline students. “Teachers often give students punishment by using a cane. The way can be replaced by a new technique such as talking to students firstly. Teachers should foster their teaching methods and find new ways to discipline the students. Teachers are learners finding out new techniques of teaching,” Anies ended.
