November 20, 2017, is the moment of celebration for World Children’s Day. Recently, UNICEF held a campaign on the fulfillment of the Rights of the Child. In relation to the current condition of Indonesian youth, it is important to hold a campaign for something that children need and how a child should be treated by parents, teachers, peers or those around him.
The Moment of World’s Children’s Day may be too broad to talk about. However, I would like to invite readers to tread errors that occurred in this country. Of course, we do not want to repeat the same mistakes that happened a few months ago. Bullying cases are not rarely discussed in Indonesia.
From 2011 to 2014, cases of bullying at schools were recorded as the most cases reported to the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI). There were 369 reports. It is certainly worrying various parties. One of the cases occurred last August. A second-grade elementary school student in Kebumen died from being beaten by his classmates. Judging from the emergence of this case, of course if there is no fire, turmoil will not happen.
Knowing the facts surrounding this bullying case, the child should be the concern in the family and school. To prevent bullying , these two stakeholders certainly can not work separately. Synchronization of moral education should be instilled in two conditions; when children are at home and when children are at school.
However, this discourse certainly refers to how parents and teachers actually understand the needs of the children, so they can avoid bullying behavior and targets . The case of bullying, like the example above, can cause death. It indicates that there is something wrong with the school environment where the child is studying.
Let us reflect on what we already know about the needs of our children / students. Are parents and teachers aware of the true rights of the child to be fulfilled? Do parents and teachers ever understand the points of Rights of the Child that are stated in Indonesian law and United Nations conventions? If not, let us study it together.
The Rights of Children ratified in Presidential Decree No. 36 of 1997 consists of 10 absolute rights. It means that these rights must be respected by parents and teachers. These rights include Right to Happiness, Right to Education, Right to Protection, Right to Acquire Name, Nationality, Food, Health, Right to Recreation, Right of Equality, and Right to Development Role.
Out of these ten rights of children, I emphasize the right to Protection relating to bullying cases in Indonesia. States shall ensure, protect and care of children as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This can happen if the small elements in it work together to synchronize their understandings. Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states “States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures. “
It means the role of family and school becomes very important in the prevention of bullying cases. For example, bullying at schools may not happen if teachers want to be engaged more to students , observative, or slightly interrogative. Values for mutual respect for differences and mutual affection can be built through activities in the classroom that can increase the affective values of children.
It is the same attitude that parents should take at home. Parents should become a qualified “place to vent” to build closeness with children. By giving children space to tell stories, parents at least know the child’s problems in the surrounding environment.
This opinion got after hearing directly the cases of violence in children from a social activist named Yuliati Umrah. He is the founder of the Arek Lintang Surabaya Foundation, a place of talent development and story-telling for children in Surabaya.
The foundation was started from her experience in dealing with social issues in the city of Surabaya associated with children. Hearing her story in taking care of street children who were beaten up by his parents and even bullied in their school, became the inspiration to criticize the extent of our respects to value the rights of the child.
Every parent and teacher need to know that some Indonesian children are familiar with silent culture, a culture that makes children afraid to talk because they become victims or make mistakes. This culture must be slowly stopped together to make room for the children to discuss with their nearest person.
If Thomas Alpha Edison alone could find a lamp because he had the support of his mother who succeeded in educating and developing Thomas’s interests, parents and teachers also be able to support their children to be more open and appreciated. Happy World Children’s Day for great Indonesian children! (*)
Editor: Bambang Bes
