Bangga

Hari ini ada waktu terluang lima belas menit. Jarang-jarang ada kesempatan seperti ini! Hehe... Beberapa anak mengambil jurnal mereka dan mulai menulis. Saya melewati meja Saras dan melihat sebuah puisi berbahasa Inggris tentang Whitey. Whitey itu kucing yang sempat kami pelihara dua hari, sebelum akhirnya ia mencakar Saras dan Saras ternyata alergi bulu binatang.

Whitey likes to drink milk
Whitey likes to play
Whitey likes to hide in a cardbox
Mostly Whitey likes to make friends!

Kira-kira seperti itu syairnya. Di bawahnya ada gambar kami seisi kelas bersama Whitey.

"Kamu yang menulis, Sas? Bagus sekali!"
She smiled to me.

Sepuluh menit kemudian Saras datang lagi kepada saya dengan satu halaman penuh puisi baru. Ia membacakannya dengan bangga pada saya. Bunyinya kira-kira seperti ini

In a dark, dark night
there was a dark, dark, house
In a dark, dark house,
there was a dark, dark room
In the dark, dark room
there was a dark, dark cupboard
In the dark, dark cupboard
there was a dark, dark box
In the dark, dark box
there was Sam, the mouse

Saya tersenyum dan bertanya, "Lucu sekali. Di mana kamu membacanya, Sar?"

Saras diam beberapa saat, " Di buku, Bu. Tapi bagian yang ini (Ia menunjuk kata SAM) itu karanganku sendiri."

Believe me, she is not less proud than before.

Perempuan

Sejak minggu pertama saya ada di Sekolah Ini, saya terkesan dengan pandangan jender yang diperlihatkan anak-anak itu. Bukan satu pandangan yang advance dan njelimet; sebaliknya justru sangat sederhana. Saya justru berharap pandangan sederhana itu akan terus tinggal sampai mereka tua. Saya lebih berharap lagi, dunia di tempat mereka tinggal nanti, sudah lebih akomodatif pada pandangan itu.

Siang itu, saya sedang mengintip mereka duduk di aula terbuka dalam rangka memperingati hari Kartini. Tidak ada lomba pakai kebaya or stuff like that. Mereka duduk setengah melingkar, mendengarkan salah seorang gurunya bercerita tentang siapa itu Kartini. Guru yang pandai bercerita ini berusaha keras menceritakan konteks sekolah seperti sekolah yang dialami anak-anak ini. They listen carefully. Mereka sepertinya tidak habis pikir bahwa pada suatu saat seseorang tidak boleh sekolah HANYA KARENA dia perempuan. Memang apa salahnya menjadi perempuan?

Dan ketika guru itu menutup ceritanya dengan kalimat yang kurang lebih seperti ini, " Jadi, perempuan itu bisa sama hebatnya dengan laki-laki, sama pintarnya, dan sama pemberaninya!"

Seorang anak kelas 1 SD, perempuan, angkat tangan dan menambahkan, "Tapi Bu, jangan lupa, perempuan lebih hebat dari laki-laki. Perempuan bisa melahirkan, Laki-laki tidak."

Saya nyengir di belakang barisan, berusaha menahan tawa tapi saya ingin menangis.

Pengalaman ke-dua adalah ketika saya ikut mereka menonton cuplikan film NOWHERE IN AFRICA. Diceritakan dalam cuplikan itu, Owuor sang koki menolak ajakan memshaabnya mengambil air. Katanya mengambil air itu tugas perempuan. Tugas saya memasak. Scene berikutnya memperlihatkan sekelompok perempuan yang antri mengambil air dan menertawakan Owuor yang akhirnya membantu.

Anak-anak keheranan. Guru mereka kemudian bertanya, menurutmu setelah menonton film tadi, apa perbedaan keadaan di Indonesia dan di Afrika? Setelah sekian jawaban standar tentang alam sekitar, ada yang menjawab begini :
Di Indonesia, laki-laki dan perempuan bisa mengerjakan apa saja. Tidak perlu dibagi-bagi ini tugas laki-laki atau perempuan. Laki-laki boleh mengambil air, dan perempuan boleh memasak.

Terakhir, di kelas saya menemukan bahwa anak-anak kesulitan membedakan peran ayah atau ibu. Buat mereka sama saja. Jawaban basi seperti ketika kita masih kecil (ayah ke kantor atau ke sawah, dan ibu memasak di rumah) jelas tidak pernah terlintas dalam kepala kecil mereka. Mereka sudah tahu bahwa ibu bisa menjadi kepala rumah tangga. Ibu-ibu mereka bervariasi antara tinggal di rumah atau bekerja full time. Yang mengantar atau menjemput sekolah bisa siapa saja, tidak melulu ibu-ibu. Kadang ada bapak-bapak juga ikut bergerombol dan mengobrol menunggu anak-anaknya keluar.

Anak-anak ini bermain apa saja. Girls could lead as well as boys. They play hard games seperti tonjok-tonjokan, dan bisa akur bermain peran. Those who take ballet lessons admit that they are boyish.

By the way, setelah saya pikir-pikir lagi. Kasihan juga mereka, mungkin kaget melihat dunia sebenarnya di sini. It is not easy being a woman, girls. I mean it.

Resignation As An Adult

My friend post it on friendster's bulettin board. I feel so lucky that a bunch of 6 years old allow me to be a part of their wonderful life right now. I hope i would always remember that i have no right to ruin out their 6 years old year with some adult matters.


To Whom It May Concern,

I am hereby tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of a 6-year-old instead.I want to go to McDonald's and think it's a four-star restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks. I want to think M&M's are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to play kickball during recess and paint with watercolors in art. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, addition tables, and simple nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care. When all you knew was to be happy because you didn't know all the things that should make you worried and upset.

I want to think that the world is fair. That everyone in it is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. Somewhere in my youth, I matured and learned too much. I learned of nuclear weapons, war, prejudice, starvation, illness, pain and death. I learned of a world where men left their families to go and fight for our country and returned only to end up living on the streets -- begging for their next meal. I learned of a world where children knew how to kill -- and did.

What happened to that time when we thought everyone would live forever because we didn't grasp the concept of dying? When we thought the worst thing in the world was when someone took the jump rope from you or picked you last for kickball? I want to be oblivious to the complexity of life and be overly excited by little things once again.I want to return to the days when reading was fun, and music was clean; When television was used to report the news or for family entertainment and not to promote sex, violence and deceit.

I remember being naive and thinking everyone was happy because I was. I would walk on the beach and only think of the sand between my toes and the prettiest seashell I could find. I would spend my afternoons climbing trees and riding my bike. I didn't worry about time, bills, or where I was going to find the money to fix my car. I used to wonder what I was going to do or be when I grew up, not worry about what I'll do if "this" doesn't work out.

I want to live simply again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, humankind, and making angels in the snow.

I want to be six again.

Where do I send my resignation?

Tempe Terbang

Hal yang paling saya cemaskan kalau nanti jadi ibu beneran adalah menghadapi anak-anak yang susah makan. Sialnya, sejak sekarang tiap siang saya sudah harus menghadapi anak-anak yang susah makan dan pintar cari asalan.


Tadi siang saya putus asa,
"Ayo dimakan... di Aceh sana anak-anak cuma makan pakai nasi saja."
Satu anak berkomentar, "Nasi pakai mie, bu"
Temannya memandangi tempe di kotak makanannya lalu mengangkat tempe itu dan bilang,
"Ini, Bu. Ini boleh dibawa ke Aceh."

Speechless.

Jangan Putus Asa

Menurut saya, lagu anak-anak Indonesia sangat indah. Saya pernah menonton konser anak-anak yang menyanyikan lagu-lagu Ibu Soed. Lagu-lagu itu kebanyakan ditulis Ibu Soed sekitar tahun 1930. Ini adalah salah satu lagu ciptaan Ibu Soed tahun 1930 itu. Judulnya JANGAN PUTUS ASA

Jangan putus asa
itulah semboyan kita
maju terus maju
jangan goncang atau bimbang
kukuhkan hatimu
capailah niatmu
pusatkan sgala tnagamu
jangan lekas putus asa!


Menyenangkan sedikit menjadi optimis setelah berminggu-minggu berkutat dengan berita duka cita. JANGAN PUTUS ASA!

Sekotak krayon dan kertas

There are days when I regret being a teacher and having such a lovely classroom like this. There are days when I really want to run away and fly to Aceh. Girls, boys, your friends are in sorrow and pain. May I, just for a little while, be with them and not you? May I, just for two weeks play with them, and not you?

Saya tidak bisa berdamai dengan diri sendiri ketika mendengar permintaan2 berkelebat dari para pemberani di sana, "kami butuh perempuan. kami butuh seseorang untuk menangani anak-anak. mendampingi mereka." Betapa saat itu saya ingin sekali pergi. Seseorang mengingatkan saya untuk tidak gegabah. Dia benar. Seseorang menginginkan saya untuk tinggal di Jakarta. Ya, dia benar. Dengan segala kondisi dan tanggung jawab yang saya punya di sini, saya tidak punya pilihan kecuali tinggal.

There are things for them that can be done here. I will do.

All work and no play will make Jack a dull boy

Saya selalu mencoba membuat sebagian besar kegiatan di kelas adalah kegiatan bermain. Oh yes, I am a strict and firm person who will not ALLOW anything uncomplete or messy. Tapi, tetap saja setiap Selasa siang pikiran saya akan melantur memikirkan permainan atau kegiatan aneh-aneh yang 'matching' dengan tema yang sedang kami bicarakan bersama.

Play is the nature of children. Bukan cuma buat anak orang,bahkan anak cheetah juga belajar berburu dengan bermain bersama kakak adiknya. Sejak hari pertama saya ada di dalam kelas, kalimat tadi saya pegang betul. I really knew how frustrated it is pushing them fit into our world. Tahu kan, duduk, diam, dengarkan saya bicara. Siapa yang suka mendengarkan orang lain bicara tentang hal yang dia kira penting? Anak-anak saya juga tidak suka. Sepertinya mereka 'bingung' kalau disuruh diam saja. Bayangkan, saya beringsut sebentar mengambil buku, Dara sudah berteriak, "KITA NGAPAIN SEKARANG, BU?".

By the way, sejak saya tahu seperti apa frustrasinya, saya putuskan untuk menyerah pada 'nature' mereka. Sambil deg-degan tentu saja, karena tetap saja ada barisan objectives dan evaluasi di akhir sekiyan periode. Tetapi ternyata saya punya lebih banyak kesempatan untuk melakukan evaluasi secara gradual. Dan saya dapat lebih banyak kejutan ketika memperhatikan bagaimana 'nature' seseorang memasukkan konsep baru di kepalanya ketika kami bermain-main.

Ada suatu ketika kami sedang membahas tentang public place. Salah satu tempat yang kami kutak-kutik adalah bank. Saat itu anak-anak belum bisa menulis angka hingga ribuan.Kami sedang belajar cara menulis pecahan uang seperti Rp 1.000,00. Beberapa hari sebelumnya kami juga sempat menggambar tentang sopan santun di tempat umum. Jadi, kami bermain ATM-ATM-an. I don't want to take credits for this, because mostly they do it themselves. Dengan bantuan piring kertas, kardus bekas, spidol, dan kertas bekas, jadilah anak-anak membuat ATM berlayar dan bertombol angka. Mereka memotong-motong kertas bekas sambil bolak-balik ke meja saya. Bu Tia, bagaimana menulis uang dua puluh ribu? Bagaimana menulis uang lima ribu? Dan seterusnya. Semua waktu istirahat hari itu mereka habiskan untuk bergantian menjaga ATM (yang tentu saja tidak otomatis) dan antri mengambil uang.

Keesokan harinya, 'Bank' sudah bertambah dengan telepon bohongan plus customer service di belakangnya dengan ucapan, "Bank,Selamat Pagi. Ada yang bisa saya bantu?".

Lalu saya menemukan potongan kertas-kertas yang juga bertuliskan TAGIHAN TELEPON LUNAS. TAGIHAN LISTRIK LUNAS. Mereka menjelaskan balik pada saya bahwa bank tidak hanya untuk menabung atau ambil uang, tapi juga untuk membayar tagihan bulanan.

Tanpa saya programkan, pelajaran tentang tempat umum sudah 'extend' selama beberapa hari. Anak-anak yang cerdas dan kelebihan ide punya 'tempat' untuk berkreasi dan bangga sendiri karena punya ide. Anak-anak yang tidak seberuntung mereka punya kesempatan untuk meniru, dan akhirnya menyerap pengetahuan yang sama. Semua punya kesempatan sama untuk bertukar peran.

Saya? Nonton saja. Mengamati sambil terheran-heran.

Jadi kalau kebetulan ada yang berkunjung ke kelas kami (atau mengintip seperti yang dilakukan banyak tamu akhir-akhir ini) akan lebih sering terlihat kami sedang hiruk pikuk. Entah sedang bermain bingo,kuartet, memory, atau scrabble. Atau bergeletakan di kelas yang super berantakan dengan spidol, crayon, pensil, penggaris, penghapus, koran bekas, majalah bekas, lem, dan karton manila besar. Mungkin juga seperti kemarin, kami sedang cekikikan pura-pura jadi orang buta dan anjingnya.

I've seen some horrified parents-to-be-client yang mengintip. Sepertinya kok tidak cocok ya dengan gambar-gambar buatan anak-anak yang terpampang di luar. Lebih muskil lagi melihat map-map menulis mereka yang penuh dengan cerita, dongeng, laporan buatan sendiri. Kapan buatnya sih?

Oh, kami banyak waktu sebab kami senang kalau sibuk. Anak-anak melolong kalau lima menit saja tidak ada yang harus dikerjakan. Lagipula bahan-bahan permainan itu sudah diganti. Itu BINGO tentang perkalian. Kwartetnya tentang jam analog dan digital. Kartu-kartu memory itu tentang pahlawan nasional. Ketika bermain si buta dan si anjing anak-anak sedang mengenali 'rasanya' tergantung pada orang lain. 'rasanya' ditinggal orang yang tidak bertanggung jawab. Juga rasanya-rasanya yang lain.

Jadi, saya tidak terlalu setuju dengan istilah bermain sambil belajar atau sebaliknya. Sebenarnya, waktu bermain itulah mereka 'make sense' this whole new world. What we adults call; learning.
They just play. And let them play... as much as they want.

Tanggung Jawab

This term, we are moving to the next chapter of living values education : RESPONSIBILITY.

Dengan penuh semangat, pagi ini anak-anak - yang sudah fasih mengemukakan apa keistimewaan mereka dan menjelaskan dengan lugas mengapa semua orang pantas disayangi- , mendaftar tanggung jawab mereka di rumah dan di sekolah.
- menghabiskan makanan
- minum susu sampai habis
- latihan piano
- menemani adik bermain
- tidak menghilangkan spidol atau pensil
- membawa agenda
- mengambalikan buku perpustakaan.

Mereka juga mencoba mengenali tanggung jawab orang lain di sekitar mereka; ayah, ibu, si mbak, dan tentu saja Bu Tia. Muncul beberapa jawaban yang membuat saya tersenyum.

A tanggung jawab ibuku adalah olahraga setiap malam dan mengerjakan pe-er.
G ibumu punya pe-er?
A punya, bu
K kalau ibuku buat pe-er di laptopnya. tapi kalau aku sudah tidur. sebab kalau siang ibuku main terus sama aku.
G Memang apalagi tanggung jawab ibu atau ayahmu?
YL : mengurusi aku, bermain sama aku.
G Kalau ibumu tidak melakukan tanggung jawabnya, bagaimana?
Ke : Aku bisa mati
S : Tidak ada uang, aku tidak bisa makan!!!
(dan seketika semua bicara)

Salah seorang anak paling cerdas dan mediator terbaik di kelas kami menulis di kertasnya:

.... tanggung jawab ibuku adalah olahraga, mengerjakan PR dari kantor, bermain denganku, dan membantuku kalau aku ada kesulitan. Tapi ibuku jarang bermain denganku. Kalau yang lain sering dilakukan.

Saya terdiam. I think, as a child, she got everything a child would dream that she has.

Kadang-kadang saya terkejut melihat bagaimana mereka mempersepsi lingkungan di sekitar mereka. Anak-anak ini bukan hanya berumur tujuh tahun. Mereka sudah berumur tujuh tahun untuk mengerti apa artinya single parent.
Apa artinya diabaikan.
Apa artinya cantik.
Apa artinya pintar.
Apa artinya jadi nomor 3 dari lima bersaudara. Apa itu tertinggal.
Apa itu takut kehilangan.
Apa itu hiperaktif.
Apa itu menjaga perasaan.
Dan, apa itu tanggung jawab.

"The Way of Excellence"

One of the greatest obstacles in the modern psyche to achieving ourdreams, becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves, and embracing ourdestiny is minimalism. Consciously or subconsciously, the minimalistis always asking, "What is the least I can do?" Minimalism is amind-set, a habit of the mind that can affect any area of our lives.

The litany of the minimalist is never ending.

What is the least I can do and still keep my job? What is the least Ican do and still get reasonable grades in school? What is the least Ican do and stay physically fit? What is the least I can do and raisemy children? What is the least I can do and keep my spouse fromnagging me? What is the least I can do and still get to heaven?

The minimalist wants the fruit of a certain toil but does not want totoil.

Minimalism breeds mediocrity. It is the destroyer of passion.Minimalism is one of the greatest character diseases of our life. Itis the enemy of excellence and a cancer on society. The problem is,culturally we encourage minimalism.

Our education systems foster, encourage, and reward this attitude. Thefinal exam is the main test of what a student has or has not learnedThis allows, if not encourages, students to cram knowledge into theirminds for an exam, knowledge they will almost immediately forget oncethe exam has ended. If you pass, you move on; if you fail, you mustrepeat the process. At the end of the course, you receive a piece ofpaper – the reward.

The word education comes from the Latin word educare, which means "todraw out." We do not teach our children the love of learning. We donot hold knowledge before them as a powerful tool for personaldevelopment.

We don't produce broadly educated, well-rounded leaders for tomorrow.We teach more and more about less and less. We don't draw out theindividual. We impose upon the individual – systems and structures. We don't reverence individuality, we don't treasure it, we stifle it andtry to stamp it out. We don't educate, we formulate. We abandon theindividual in his or her own need and uniqueness and "impose" the sameupon all.

We provide an education in specialization. We produce clones for themodern world. We throw people into a mold, which we call an education system, to form cogs for the global economic wheel, all the time dangling the golden carrot before them as incentive and reason.

Truth to be told, our modern education systems crush the very spiritthey claim to instill.

We need to return to the ancient Greek ideal of educating the wholeperson and crown that ideal with our modern understanding ofspirituality, as we strive to nurture every aspect of the human person– physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Minimalism is born from a lack of passion for the things we do.Wherever you find people doing things that they are not passionateabout, you will find minimalism.

Our legal systems and our modern interpretation of law are anotherprime example. Today, people tend to interpret the law such that theyconsider whatever they can get away with as right and whatever theycannot get away with as wrong (in many cases perhaps not even wrong –just "against the law," or inconvenient).

Speeding is a prime example. The speed limit is fifty-five miles perhour, but you know that the police will not stop you unless you aredoing more than sixty-four miles per hour.

The law obliges us only to the minimum. The problem is that obligingpeople only to the minimum breeds minimalism. And once in our system,this diseased mind-set creeps into other areas of our lives, takes agrip on our character, and significantly affects our work and ourrelationships.

The effects of minimalism are many. Minimalism eats away at thecharacter of a person, and therefore society, just as a disease eatsaway at the body one cell at a time. The minimalist suffers fromdreadfully low self-esteem. His low self-esteem is not the result offailure, but the consequence of not even trying. The minimalistdoesn't strive to excel; he strives to survive. The minimalist forgetsthat it takes just as much energy to avoid excellence as it does toachieve excellence. A person gripped by the mind-set of minimalismbecomes very self-seeking and contributes little to the common good ofhis community or society. The minimalist quickly becomes unfulfilledand miserable, but with no plan to change, he goes on, minimally,doing what he has always done and spreading the dissatisfaction andmisery that he has created for himself to everyone he meets. Theminimalist just goes through the motions. He is a prisoner and victimof the day-to-day drudgery that stifles the greatness of the human spirit.

The truth is that we probably all suffer from minimalism in one formor another. To larger and lesser extents, we are all minimalists indifferent areas of our lives. It is good that we are able to recognizethis, because minimalism is like a cancer: it spreads. The good newsis, there is a cure for minimalism.

In every age there has been a group of people who have escaped thisdiseased mind-set and risen above minimalism. These people aresuccessful in many different walks of life. They are achievers. Theygot the job done. They are leaders, heroes, legends, champions, andsaints. They didn't ask themselves, "What is the least I can do?" andthen proceed to lead dispassionate, boring lives of misery anddissatisfaction. Rather, they asked themselves, "What is the most Ican do?" With the vision inspired by this question, they then set outto do the most they could. Not merely activity, but activity driven bya deep sense of purpose. They did the most they could to the best oftheir abilities in a single lifetime.

When we look at their lives, we find men and women who had acommitment to excellence. They knew how to dream, and they were notafraid to dream the big dreams. They were filled with courage, andthat courage was born from knowing who they were and why they werehere. There was boldness and brilliance in the way they lived theirlives. As we look on as spectators, we are continually amazed by thepassion, enthusiasm, energy, and excitement they filled their liveswith. Their achievements are so many that they can only be summarized.And the greatness of these achievements will never be fully known tous – or them – for the effects of their vision and goodness continueto impact the lives of people every day.

Do not ask, "What is the least I can do?"; rather, in every situation,ask yourself, "What is the most I can do?" If you are willing, thisone question will introduce you to your better self and change yourlife forever.

Somewhere right now, someone is training for the next Olympic games.Can you imagine an Olympic athlete asking herself, "What is the leastI can do and still win the gold medal?" Champions don't takeshortcuts. Champions give everything they have to training,preparation, and competition. That is what makes them champions. Onthe day of competition, the day that really counts, every shortcuttaken in training comes to haunt the athlete.

Your character is your destiny. Building character is a task only forthe brave and dedicated. There are no shortcuts when it comes tobuilding character. If you wish to cure minimalism in your own life,to develop a complete commitment to excellence and an absoluterejection of mediocrity, the question you need to start askingyourself is, "What is the most I can do?"

Dicuplik dari "The Rhythm of Life" oleh Matthew Kelly. Halaman104-108.
Saya membacanya di milis beasiswa dan sangat tertarik untuk berbagi.