JCP FEATURES: FROM HOME

“School is not only about the knowledge”

It’s weird that I didn’t get to see the “Back to School” advertising a lot this year. The pandemic has totally made the world goes crazy. Summer holidays and school days are pretty much similar these days since students still stay at home for school. The excitement of getting back to school couldn’t be seen. No new school bag or pencil case, new books that should be covered (I think this is an Indonesian thing to cover your school books), the excitement to write your name in your new book, meeting with new friends (Indonesian school shuffle the class attendance list every new school year). Ah, how I miss going to school!

Well, I’m not a student anymore, but looking at my little cousins, the school was so boring and it broke my heart that they have to do online schooling. I’m truly sorry that they can’t experience the fun of seeing friends at school and doing school projects with them, waiting for a break-time when the class was so boring, the excitement when it is PE, music, and art class that we can express our inner feeling and be creative and many more.

Once again, the pandemic made me realize that I’m so grateful for the things I had before. The opportunity to go to school and met the friends I have now, the nervousness during exam week, and to grew my social skills. As I got older, I realized that school should not be taken for granted. It was a privilege that I’m able to go to school. Well, we got to learn about it after we experienced it. (That’s why on the job training was such an important thing, guys).

Please note that what I’m discussing here is based on the situation in Indonesia. After seeing my little cousins go for online-schooling, one thing pop out of my head, “is it effective?”.

Even before the pandemic strikes, not everyone can go to school. Our education system was not fully established for everyone. And now, the pandemic makes it worse. Not everyone got access to the internet and their parents are not all are tech-savvy. I just wish the suburb residents or even villagers are free from COVID-19 so they don’t need to have these online classes.

Our Education Minister wanted to change the school work model to online-schooling. But, Sir, have you prepared the infrastructure? How are you going to evaluate the study? Kids in school sometimes lack concentration at school, and I don’t think it’s going to be better at home either. There are no restrictions and not all parents can be strict with their kids, so I don’t think they will learn how society works. It also applied to adults that go to work from home. I hear a lot of my friends that don't enjoy WFH and get lazy and fatter during the time. Well, even an adult like me, I don’t think I’m confident in doing WFH. I’m totally going to mess-up the schedules and deadlines (even at work, I still suck with this). As you might notice, I couldn’t even post my blog or video regularly even though I’m unemployed before. There are just too many distractions. And now, they want the little kids to organize their own study at home? It’s a crazy idea, actually. My boss always said,” people nowadays keep losing their focus. (pointing to the smartphone) This is what makes you out of focus. You need to more focus on work”. What he said got hit me hard. It is true that those notifications on your phone, the urge to open your social media, and many other distractions that come from that small thing. Students in most of the school in Indonesia (up until grade 10) are not allowed to bring their phone to school. That’s why they could be trained to focus at school, but at home obviously, there’s no restriction like this, unless the parents keep the school rules applied at home. But, I believe that’s not the case since every parent are also busy finding the way to survive during this pandemic.

Infrastructure is one thing; the other thing is online-schooling is so monotone. I’m terribly sorry for them seeing their friends through the screen only, maybe. And as far as I know, most of them like to turn off the camera. I don’t know how they develop relationships and bonds through this online-school thing. It’s like you had an LDR but you didn’t have a deep connection and strong trust as your base. Eventually, you’ll feel you don’t belong to each other. There is no emotional development for the new generation of kids. Thinking of it makes my heart break into pieces. Since the program is new and sudden, there is not enough preparation for both the educators and students. That’s might be the root of the boring online school program. To fully enjoy online school programs, there’s should be more thorough planning & curriculum as well as preparing the media for the students, parents, and school.

Internet infrastructure is not for everyone yet in Indonesia. The house condition (read: economic status) to execute this online-school is very important. The online-school makes the privileged-house to learn and grow, but not applied for the unfortunate. This will cause an extreme economic gap and it might result in social jealousy.

What I learned from going to school is not only about the knowledge from books, but how I adapt to different types of personality and way of thinking. I’ve forgotten how to solve physics problems or what are types of molecules out there. It is some basic knowledge for an educated person, but it’s not the most important thing. How to be a well-mannered person is. And I think school is the first place where you will learn this skill.

Online-school is not bad, but we need a more thorough plan and how we are going to spread this for everyone no matter where they are and how is their economic status. The reason I write this feature is I just want to share my thoughts for the new generation of kids about what are they are going to go through and how cool and exciting school was. I don’t want to be a “kkonde” type of person, who likes to compare my old days to today, but just to let you know that every generation has its’ own good and bad side.

I’m terribly sorry for the late post, but I think this topic is still relevant for the “new normal”. It’s true and right that we need a new standard of normal since what’s we thought it’s normal, it’s not. Once again, the pandemic taught us to not take things for granted. Things don’t last forever, so let’s make it worth it. And also, on November 25, it is Teacher’s Day in Indonesia. I wanted to use this post that teacher is an important figure. A teacher is not only what we call our teacher at school, but a mentor or a friend is also a teacher. We can learn from everyone, not only an official teacher. Happy Teacher’s Day, you are a true hero and the best supporters out there!

If any parents happened to read this post, held your head high, because you are not alone. Take this as the chance how you are going to educate your kids in the way you’ve been dreaming of when you were in school. Don’t take it too hard, because eventually your kids will grow up and they can make their own decision and principles.

Whoever you are, thank you for reading this post. I’m not sure if this post helps, but I just want to do some sharing. This is what I think about the online-school system. How about you? Are you more on the modern or traditional type of school?

I’ll see you soon on my next post very soon.

I’ll work hard to finish all the pending posts before 2020 ended.

*crossed fingers*

JCP FEATURES: 486*

“Loving yourself is not a selfish act”

I found some similarities in the dramas that I watched in July, it’s about mental health or psychological illness. I wonder why they choose this topic as their main background. I came to the conclusion that modern people (people nowadays) tend to not knowing their self-worth. They become easier to feel lonely, too much stressed, always comparing themselves to a figure they saw on social media. According to Carl Jung, “ The man whom we can with justice call ‘modern’ is solitary”. So, it's been studied before that in the future time, people will feel get easier to feel lonely since they live in solitude when human nature is social beings.

Let’s take a look at the rhinos, they live in solitude and now they become an endangered species. Sometimes being alone is important, but keeping a balance between alone and socializing is the right answer.

The pandemic taught us that we cannot live alone. Yeah, at first you feel great just staying at home, less contact with others that you are tired of. But then after a few months of doing it, you feel bored and started to feel depressed. Well, even before the pandemic the number of depressed or mentally-ill persons was high. According to Our World in Data, in 2017, more than 10% of the world’s population has a mental disorder. Stress sometimes can do good for us, it can trigger us to be out of our comfort zone and to be more creative in problem-solving. But, a long-term one is not a good one. It might lead to depression and other disorders.

I think the root of the problem is we don’t know ourselves and how to love ourselves. Loving yourself is not a selfish act, it’s a good foundation of social action. When you know yourself, you can love others. That’s when the connection between individuals developed. The Bible said, “Love the others like you love yourself”. Love might sound simple, but it is one of the most complicated emotions. God gave a perfect example, but humans always fail to do it. He gave an example of unconditional love, but this hard-hearted human is unable to do the same. Because God knows about His creation is hard-hearted, He told us to love ourselves first, in order to love others. We are a special creation that God created Himself, that’s why He wants us to love each other like He loves us.

The million-seller music group, BTS have few songs that raise this issue. Their first album title is called “Love Yourself”. They have series of it for the next albums. There are 5 series of it. Once they are called to be a guest speaker at the UN General Assembly. Their leader, RM talked about his past and how he learned how to love himself and he wanted to share it through music. More detail about the BTS album can be read here. The writer made a great explanation about it.

From the lyrics of "Epiphany" by BTS
Credits: Pinterest

I’m not a part of BTS fandom, but I really like the side tracks of their album. They have many hidden good songs with great messages behind them. I totally can get it why they are so loved by many. They worth love. Some of their songs are totally relatable, especially by youngsters. The world is changing and sometimes we might get lost and got no one to ask, but through music and watching movies, I realize that there are some people that feel the same as you. You are not alone. Please know that you are not alone.

In my last post, I mentioned the drama ‘It’s Okay to be Not Okay’. The drama is also great to be an eye-opener about mental issues.

Credits: TvN, 2020 (via Google Images)

“ If you want to make people around you happy, you have to find your own happiness first. Being selfish isn’t always a bad thing. Try to only think about your happiness when things are too stressful. It’s okay to do that.”

- from It’s Okay Not to Be Okay

The past can be hurtful and made you traumatized, but once you accept the fact that you are hurt, “that’s when the cure started.” The last sentence was a line from Shin Ha-Kyun in the drama “Soul Mechanic”. He is a psychiatrist and he himself also “sick”. He got traumatized by the death of his patient before. Then he met this similar patient as before and try to push away that patient because he doesn’t want to remember that accident anymore. But, at the same time, he realized that he has to accept that he is hurt, so the cure will take place. Once you know your diagnosis, you will get to know what to do to cure that illness, right? Same like physical illness, mental illness also the same. 

Captures of "Soul Mechanic", KBS, 2020
Source: https://dramasoverflowers.tumblr.com/post/617619071109840896/great-last-line-from-this-episode

I recommended “Soul Mechanic” if you want to get insights into human emotions. It will enlighten your heart and be grateful for what you have done this far. While watching this drama, I feel relieved that I didn’t have those kinds of hurtful past and grew up well. I came to learn to appreciate people more.

Another drama that took mental wellness is “Dinner Mate”. In this drama, they cure the illness through food. No wonder there is such a word as “comfort food”. Believe it or not, food is not just a thing that you must eat to survive physically, but also mentally. 

Captures from "Dinner Mate", MBC, 2020
Source: https://dramalifechoseme.tumblr.com/post/623695391074942976/gotta-flex-while-he-canalso-where-can-i-sign

I hope after reading this feature and watching those dramas, you know that you are wonderfully made. 

So, please love yourself. Don’t be harsh on yourself and learn to love yourself before loving others.

 If you have a hard time, share with others. Don’t keep it with yourself. Get it out. Remember, loving yourself is not selfish and you won’t be considered a narcissist. It is an appreciation of yourself.

Peace out!

If you or your family or friend that are feeling depressed and got no one to talk to, don’t be hesitant to get help. You can visit https://www.befrienders.org (WORLDWIDE) or local hotline (suicide prevention hotline).

*486 is a secret number to say "I Love You" in Korea. It was widely used during the beeper pager generation. It's a small electronic device that could only receive number only. This code is the same as 381 for the rest of the world.

Read More:

Found this good article from the BBC about managing your mental health during the pandemic. You can read it here.

20 inspirational quotes from the drama ‘It’s Okay Not to Be Okay”.

Why you should watch “Soul Mechanic”.

Resources:

https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/03/5-qualities-of-the-truly-modern-person-via-carl-jung

https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health