Promoting a Pancasila Democracy through Teaching English to Students with Visual Impairments  

Oleh:

Hargrove, Ben

Jenis: Article from Proceeding
Dalam koleksi: 57th TEFLIN International Conference: Revitaziling professionalis in ELT as a response to the globlazed world, Bandung, 1-3 November 2010
Topik: Teacher Professionalism; Pancasila; education; English; visual impairment; blind
Fulltext: Ben Hargrove.pdf (17.21KB)

Isi artikel

Indonesia declared independence on August 17, 1945. Prior to that monumental occasion Bung Karno, otherwise known as Indonesia’s first president Soekarno, delivered a speech on June 1, 1945, during the first convention of the BPUPKI. In this speech Bung Karno reached into the history of the great Indonesian culture to gather themes that he would include in an ideology that we now know as the Pancasila (Soeprapto, 2007). This paper uses the Pancasila as its guiding premise as it delves into the topic of teaching English to students with visual impairments. Within the Pancasila we see the principles of Nationalism towards the nation of Indonesia, Humanitarianism towards all other humans, Democracy within society, Social Welfare throughout society, and the Belief in God. Within discussions concerning educational philosophy many would concur that there is an intricate link between a nation’s educational system and that nation’s societal philosophy (Bjork, 2005 & Woods, 2005). Therefore, as a nation proclaiming to be democratic and furthermore a democracy guided by the Pancasila philosophy, the role of Indonesian education becomes immensely important in promoting the principles described within the Pancasila, not only on paper but in action. As we have seen since the 1980’s and even more so in twenty-first century, Indonesian education officials are attempting to transfer more control to the local teachers and communities through decentralization (Bjork, 2005). “At its core, decentralization represents a push for democratization” and furthermore the success of the local content curriculum concept “hinged on the efforts of classroom teachers” (Bjork, 2005, p. 9 & p. 27). However, some teachers have hesitantly received or rejected the added autonomy and empowerment rather than using such new authority to reinvent their schools (Bjork, 2004). Additionally, there is a global reoccurring fear in one’s ability to teach English to students with visual impairments (Kashdan, Barnes, & Walsh; Martinez, 2006). Indonesia, like many countries around the world, has special schools for students with disabilities including schools for the blind (Semiawan, 1994). As Indonesia, and other countries, moves into the twenty-first century, discussions about inclusive education are becoming more prevalent (Fuller, Georgeson, Healey, Hurst, Kelly, Riddell, Roberts, & Weedon, 2009). Consequently, teachers throughout the entire education system should begin to and continually have discussions related to services for students with disabilities and this paper concentrates on students with visual impairments. The purpose of this paper, in conclusion, seeks to empower teachers of English in their journey with other educators and society members as they work towards realizing the assets and benefits of all members of the nation, including students and citizens with visual impairments. This paper will describe a case study of an Indonesian doctoral student who is visually impaired as he elaborates on his experience learning English. This case study as well as the philosophical argument within this paper will show that teaching English to students with visual impairments helps to promote the principles of a Pancasila democracy.

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