“Your biggest enemy is yourself.” This idea is being explored by teachers as they and their students deal with the issue of bullying.
“The hardest thing is to control our own emotions because some teachers, like myself, are used to the stern approach in disciplining students,” vice principal of SMAN 103 state high school in East Jakarta, Budi Muntoro, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Most people do not realize that at some stage, adults – parent and teachers – unconsciously teach bullying to children, especially in the way they use violence in education.
“About 50 percent of teachers might be guilty of bullying at some point,” said Budi.
SMAN 103 is one of three public high schools in Jakarta taking part in a pilot project on bullying prevention.
Teachers and principals from the school participated in a workshop on bullying hosted by the Semai Jiwa Amini Foundation in September. The workshop was attended by 57 SMAN 103 teachers.
“Previously, I thought bullying was only physical violence. But now I realize that it also involves psychological aspects,” said Budi who teaches geography.
“So, the violence is not just physical but it can also be in the form of verbal and non-verbal expressions,” said the 43-year-old teacher.
Budi, who has been teaching for 23 years, now tries to watch his words. “I never thought before that calling students by their nicknames was bullying,” he said.
Budi, describing himself as a former “killer” teacher, said he used to regard slapping and pinching as common in disciplining students.
“Now, we give priority to counseling rather than just punishing problematic students,” Budi said, referring to consultation hours provided once a week for students.
SMAN 103 currently has four teachers who have counseling hours, with five intern teachers assisting them.
“Those teachers rarely helped students with counseling before, but lately they provide more time on a weekly basis for the activity, which is a good thing,” said 15-year-old Sari, one of 840 students at SMAN 103.
Asked about the benefit of the counseling, second year student Sari acknowledged she was not used to sharing her private thoughts with others, including teachers, but the service was helpful for some of her troubled friends.
Budi said he has been trying for years to change his rather militaristic approach in the classroom. “Now, I don’t want to have obedient students just because they are afraid of me.”
However, he said some students tended to do as they pleased if they were not punished harshly. “I’m still looking for a solution, but of course I don’t want to go back to my old ways of teaching.”
13. According to the passage, which of the following best describes the word “bullying”?
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