Recently, a video went viral in Indonesia showing a teacher slapping one of his students in the face for being late. The incident took place in a vocational school in Central Java and was the latest in a series of similar events.
Violence in schools has become increasingly widespread in Indonesia over the past years. For example, in East Java, a teacher was convicted for pinching a student two years ago. But it’s not only the teachers who engage in acts of violence.
In 2016, a teacher at a state vocational school was beaten by one of his 15-year-old students and his father after the student told his parents how the teacher had slapped him. The student and his father went to court after the beating.
Moreover, the well-known case of violence involving Ahmad Budi Cahyono, an art teacher in Sampang, Madura, is still fresh in the public’s memory. The unacceptable act by a student led to the teacher’s death.
Anyone can be a perpetrator or a victim of violence. Meanwhile, it is clear that both teachers and students should not commit any such acts, especially since educational institutions are the arena where violence should be marginalized. I hope people, especially those involved in the academic world, can learn this lesson.
Role of Educational Institutions
Creating an academic environment free from physical and psychological violence is crucial because the educational process is one of the most important sites for the intellectual and psychological development of children.
One of the goals of education is humanization, to turn learners into individuals who have a refinement of kindness and good behavior. Therefore, instead of being a place where acts of violence are perpetrated, educational institutions should be a place where self-awareness is being raised about the use of force.
Disciplining students by spreading fear is something that should not be done. Whatever the reasons are, disciplinary actions should be methods that do not undermine one’s humanity. Schools should carefully consider the tendency of violence among both teachers and students.
No to Violence
It is no longer the time to educate with coercion, let alone with violence. Rules must be exercised with consciousness, not because of compulsion or fear. Kindness and soft behavior are crucial values that must be embodied in the world of education.
The use of violence during the educational process will impact mentality of students in a negative way. These students will become individuals who like to impose their wills and consider it natural to use force to achieve certain goals.
The educational process contributes greatly to the mental development of children. When entering school, children should improve not only intellectually, but also mentally. Educational space is the strategic arena for the internalization of life values.
It is commonly known that there are four educational goals, namely strengthening competence, humanistic orientation, answering socio-economic challenges and justice, as well as scientific progress.
Unfortunately, schools often focus only on strengthening competencies which negate humanistic orientation, failing to respond to socioeconomic and justice needs, and away from the progress of science. The rampant use of violence in schools demonstrates this phenomenon.
The educational process often neglects its very basic purpose – internalization of life values to students. “Character education” is frequently used only as a slogan or an expression without being implemented in everyday life.
Therefore, rearing children with violence should be eliminated and replaced with instilling actual character education. A child raised with anger will live with hatred.