Teacher’s Day: Talking About Integrity

Indonesian people celebrate the national teacher’s day at 25th November every year. On this date, “Hymn Guru’s” song is very popular to sing and thousands students is visiting their teachers to thanked, hand over their gifts even put on the flowers necklace to sign of love. We don’t care if that things are just such a good manners, behavior, or sincerely from the deepest heart. However, it is real. At least, it happens once a year.

Indonesia even another country in the world is so special by determining one date to celebrate and reflection. Mother’s day, worker’s day, children’s day, health’s day, immunization’s day, free corruption’s day, etc. Liked celebrating of another’s day, as an obedient citizen, I just follow what the people do on teacher’s day. Status updating writes happy teacher’s day like people common do. Praying and grateful God had been sending my teachers who could bring me to the bright future like people common do. As if a leaf falls to the river. Moving appropriate its flow. Of course, that is easy.

But, the celebration of teacher’s day on this year was so special for me. Although made me shock therapy and embarrassed. Like a flash of lightning, everything occurred unexpectedly. The invitation from Direktorat Jenderal Guru and Tenaga Kependidikan to founding program of Guru Garis Depan (GGD) in the entire of Indonesia regions just arrived one day before conducted. All at once, to attended teacher’s symposium that was presented by president RI, Joko Widodo in the Istora Senayan Jakarta. We went to Jakarta in a rush without a good preparation. We are from south Aceh. How were my friends from east Indonesia? However, we decided come with suspicion that government need to waste the consideration in the end of year.

Just at the moment about myself. I think I just talk about myself with my entire shallow mind, my gripe, and my ethos of working that should not have been and expected yet. However, at the least, I was together with the great people here. “Great teacher”, “great teacher”, “great teacher,” Indonesia government always calls them like that. Maybe, they have hallucination like me. Because of among us include me, can’t take responsibility, mainstay, and believable yet. We experienced the regretful incident. We were still in the bus to Grand Serpong Hotel; some people had a commit to foul the transportation money. Honestly, I got a character identity crisis at that time. Fortunately, my other friends and I were still on the clear mind. We didn’t follow that dishonest act.

What a bad beginning, my heart said. But a journey must be continued. The program ran as long as seven days. Two days among them, we attended teacher’s symposium together with thousands teachers from entire Indonesia regions. Symposium was opened by minister of education and culture, Anies Baswedan. He emphasized the real teacher is a person who has character and inspire. So do Prof. Arif Rahman. He is a teacher who had been subjugating his self in the education world from many years. He said, that a good teacher teaches, a smart teacher demonstrates, and a great teacher inspires. Ultimately, the top of symposium was giving sign of love by President RI, Joko Widodo to the teachers who have good achievements.

Unpredictable, a date officially as a celebration day or reflection will be meaningful. It can be a cleaning soul day and straightening mind for us. Usually, teachers feel arrogant in the manner of their profession. But in fact, they do nothing. Bring up teacher’s mind set change, attitude, and behavior aim nation progress are the purposes of this program. Teachers must increase their integrity, ethos of working, and cooperative from their pure heart. Honest, believable, fine character, responsibility, hardworking, optimists, innovative, productive, solidarity, communal, and social oriented. Not money oriented. They must depend on truth principal, morality, attitude and mainstay.

During seven days, I got an incredible study experience. Although I felt everything becomes so heavy. Because of I saw everything becomes so ashamed. Look, the great people manipulated transportation’s money; weren’t queue when take foods or take an elevator, wasting food, absent from the class, not moving if there is no money.

Do you know, what was the ending of manipulation transport’s money story? Some people who had written more than fact, they got more. I thought, they will be shame and hide theirs. But unfortunately, they didn’t. Instead, they came close to mocking and deriding us about the little amount that we got. What a tragic moment.

Although, some people held on to principal firmly, we were not free and right yet. We were one of nation destroying that keeps silent when a wrong action was happening. One day, I hope I can form a new generation who are not same with nowadays. Maybe that is difficult and impossible because everything begins from me. By this note, I want to always remember myself, if I can’t be a great teacher, at least I hold on to my principle firmly. I do my good value that was taught by my parents and my religion. I wish I will not follow the bad behavior and whatever that persuade me to destroying my principle. And the important one is there is no tolerance for a bad matter.

I had been reading, do what you love and love what you do. Do it sincerely and make a soul. If not, that is better to leave it because you get nothing. Invulnerable, I see myself so tiny, tiny, and tiny like amoeba.