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Schooling in our game of democracy
âDaddy, who will you vote for?â asked my son, who is in the second grade
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'Daddy, who will you vote for?' asked my son, who is in the second grade. 'How about voting for Party A, since its banners and flags are everywhere.'
Without giving me a chance to respond, he explained how he liked the color of the party in question, then discussed his friends' favorites and the leaflets he collected from the streets. He also told me that the parties of some banners were on his school's fences.
Another day, an aunt asked for my advice about the party she should vote for. She said she was confused as she was looking for the cleanest party. In the end, she told me that the chairman of Party B looked to be the most
honest.
Being a teacher, I told her that many candidates promised to elevate quality education. Some even deliberately guaranteed free education, or said they would provide respite for the disadvantaged.
'As similar pledges were declared five years ago from the same or different mouths, can we still trust them with the same conviction?' I asked her.
'That's why we should vote for a new party!' she replied.
From the small garden of my cousin's house, I took a leaflet bearing the picture of a legislative candidate. Educated at one of the best universities in Indonesia and at another top university in the US, he revealed his programs in the six-paged leaflet. He once worked for a government office on education affairs.
As he is a doctor in economics, he sees education as mostly related to the availability of manpower with suitable skills for current market flows. In summary, education was the way to prepare excellent human capital and the state should provide as many working fields as possible. This paradigm was widely adopted by Indonesian education, the leaflet went on.
'Why don't you choose him?' I asked my aunt.
'Wouldn't it be the same?' she said.
'But he's from a new political party!'
I thought she might be right. Yet, on the way home, I kept thinking about some basic things. What has our democratic process been for these past months, other than to preserve the dynamics of a nation? Will a better hope emerge if candidates only promise the same things? Will our children have a better future?
I might have expected too much.
We have to admit that democracy always comes with better hopes, in itself and in the words of its proponents and players. And if we talk about education, it is no different from other areas in terms of how running nation is handled.
Let's say that we are in a game called 'democracy'. There are rules to follow, yet there are also many things left unorganized and violations unnoticed or tolerated. Seeing it run smoothly is something to be grateful for. Playing a quality game is too much to ask for at present.
We cannot do much other than tell a principal that the banners on the school's fences are beautiful. And, if possible, we might ask them to move to other spots or just remind him that they are misplaced.
If some teachers go absent these months, let's take it as a special case because of a special occasion. We should also not be surprised that they might wear different colored T-shirts for different moments.
This is because we are still in the transition phase of the game we call 'democracy'.
Similarly, if someday our children come home telling us that there are more books with a better library or their schools are painted more beautifully with certain colors because of an unknown reason, let it be. Once every five years is better than nothing.
In the 'democracy' game, gratitude is more appeasing than criticism.
For their goodness, our sons and daughters should be left to enjoy what they see and experience.
These months, as parents and teachers, let's focus on our daily responsibilities to ensure our children have their years as children.
We adults think or expect too much because of the bitterness in our own unanswered prayers.
Let's just ensure our children can still wake up with the dreams of what they can be. Let's make sure they have their basic needs and play under the burning sun and in the cool rain.
They are just playing their own parts in the game we call 'democracy'.
The writer is a school consultant and a researcher at the Paramadina Foundation, Jakarta.
