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July 30, 2010

Multicultural Education in Indonesia

We know Indonesia, a nation with its rich cultures. It is because we are an archipelago and in most of the islands, the people came from the different cultural background. The Javanese with their values and other tribes in Indonesia sometimes got conflicts in their daily life because they face some different aspects. Well, it is pretty confusing since what I’m trying to say here is “How do we develop love and peace into our heterogenic society without given the culture up?

I can’t mention any country which has been successful in educating their people to respect the different between the people and to protect their culture also. Not even in United States. Let say, that in US, every races in the World are there too; African, European, Asian, Latin, Indian, etc. And the most familiar thing in my ears is about black and white community there (separate).

People in the US could appreciate between the black people and white people, but sure nobody will deny that there are no conflicts in it. The community of black, even there are a language that maybe only the black people know it. How did these communities born? I guess this is the same thing with what in Indonesia happened. They re-group and bound by the race limitation, the pride of being a white, black, latin, asian, or else is what they defend later on.

The confrontation, conflicts, and crash between importances on each side bring what people then call racist. Or sometimes these racist things were caused by the dislike of people for other races looks (or appearance). Undeniable, in Indonesia racists is a common thing but is masked with the ethic codes that applied in the culture. And some races wars were happened, even in this last decade.

I just learned Civic Education and State Philosophy in this Special Semester. I found lots of things that Indonesian should develop. I mean the intention of Indonesia to be a big nation, to be a nation that the world should consider. So, this actually what brought me into this topic. To unify the differences here in Indonesia.
I asked my lecturer once, “What was happened in United States with lots of races live in a city is that they could live in peace. No such conflicts between black, white, asian or others. But what we should concern is the fact that they had their culture unify, don’t have their own identity. And in other cities, what happened were the opposite. Chinese people live in their own community, black people live in their hood, and white people live in their community too. And in these cities, people between races mock each other. So, which for us to choose to be a nation with united people without leaving their cultural identity?”

Easily, some people say respect is the most easy answer for this case. But it can’t happen when we are in a major level (or aggregate level I should say). Indonesian taught about respect between each others but this respect gone so fast when they face their fellow got problem with another race, they will use the power of the race itself and build a races war.

Look at the high schools students. Even between high schools, they can’t get along well. Throwing rocks into each other school’s students and forgetting their study purposes. These students, were taught about respecting another and their unique characteristic. To belong with them and complete each other for the plus and minus. To create a solid team. But no, rather than respect, pride from the peers is much important.

Who to blame then? The government, the education system, the parents, the society, or me? No, who we should blame are persons who realized this already and do nothing about it. Don’t care about it and with their so-habitual-careless-and-depend-on-other-will-take-care-about-it mind, they leave it. This thing, happened for generations and like a natural-heritage and genetic problem. Then problem that unsolved, grew up bigger and bigger until they then blame the government or others. Whereas the case, the main problem is right in front of their nose and they’re just blind and stupid enough to realized and being aware about it.

I do realized that I’m pretty emotional in this writing. My high-school experience really influenced me. Well, what then you will say when you know the fact that being involved in the gang fight between schools is a prestige in their eyes. The fact that involved and up to date about what was happened to the last fight is one thing to do to avoid from getting the nerd brand. That these students think they are the coolest and the frontline troops to defend their school. From what? I’m confident and emotional enough to say that they defend it from their own stupidity.

It just an example of how identity could bring such stupid thing. I mean the identity that forced to them, to be pride on the identity that they don’t know what is it. So, this is a choice I offer to you since teaching respect now, doesn’t work at all.
  1. To given up our cultural identity and live in love and peace of the all societies.
  2. To defend our cultural identity, live in love and peace, and faced the conflicts between societies.
My not-so-smart-taking-attention-lecturer told me, “A better Multicultural Education should be applied today in this globalization era, where the people will face more strangers, more strange values the strangers will bring, more conflicts if they still haven’t applied the better Multicultural Education”, okay so I add 70% of what she said. Because I forgot the exact answer(which unsatisfying me for real).

Are we ready yet? To apply this and figure it out? What kind of education system for our nation that could bring us to be a big nation. A real Independent nation.
Freedom my friends, let scream the freedom word and let the spirit of freedom flew in our blood to bring the better nation.

MERDEKA, INDONESIA! MERDEKA!!!!


Originally posted here, August 2008

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