The Dignity of Indonesian Teachers Has Faded!

Recently, respect for Indonesian teaching has degraded. It could well be reflected in the bullying and violence that happened lately in school against teachers, either by students or even parents. That is deeply alarming because the teachers, who ought to be treated as role models and mentors for the young generation, in most cases are mistreated and even reported to higher authorities by the parents for not acting to their approval regarding decisions or measures taken by the teachers towards their children.

One of the most publicized cases involved a teacher in a vocational school in Gresik, East Java, in the year 2023. A student involved in this incident hit a teacher simply because he felt that the teacher reprimanded him and punished him while in class. This incident also shows that students do not respect their teachers as they used to do some time back. Such incidents have occurred in many other areas of Indonesia. A report by FSGI said that more than 50 cases of violence against teachers were reported in 2022 alone. Most of these were never dealt with appropriately by the relevant authorities.

The disrespect to the teachers doesn't come from the students alone; sometimes, it also comes from some of the parents. Many parents nowadays like taking legal actions on the teachers rather than seeking to understand the reasons behind disciplinary actions given to their children. One such astonishing case happened in 2019 in Sampang, Madura, when the parents of a student criminalized an elementary school teacher for punishing their child for not following the rules at school. The teacher was even put in jail until his side was assisted by various parties. This case illustrates the trend whereby the role of parents in teaching children to respect teachers is fast eroding, and whenever any conflict occurs in schools, the teaching fraternity is blamed.

One of the underlying causes of this problem pertains to a lack of legal protection given to teachers. While on paper there exist laws regulating the protection of the teaching profession, its implementation is still quite weak. Many teachers fear being harsh in disciplining the students due to the fear of being ill-treated or even reported to the higher powers. Actually, many teachers have opted to ignore all the disciplinary infractions within the class due to fear of being reported or threatened by the pupils and their parents. This is very worrying because it will affect negatively the quality of education in schools.

It is for strengthening the protection of the teaching profession that the most active role has to be played by the government. With a view to protecting them against physical and verbal threats on the part of their students and parents, the government has to extend more support to teachers by introducing various policies. Schools also have to be equally concerned about the needs of teachers for adequate support in instances of challenging situations in the classroom, where action against one or more students might become disciplinary in nature. Schools should also improve such programs as parental involvement in the education process to ensure better collaboration between schools and families in building character and discipline among their students.

Students must also be trained right from a tender age to respect teachers, whereupon. In this respect, moral values and ethics are the part of school curriculum, and the children should realize that a teacher is an authoritative figure who must be respected and listened to. The respect for students towards teachers does not simply means adhering to classroom rules and regulations but it also entails attitude preservation concerning them. Schools should present programs for respect promotion towards the teachers through after-school activities or seminars and even moral campaigns.

In fact, it is the concern of the society at large to restore dignity and honor to the teaching profession. Most of us still do not appreciate the fact that if it were not for those teachers, we would not be what we are today. In as much as education is concerned, the teachers form the backbone, and without respect for them, then the quality of the nation's education will adversely be affected. Society should actively support teachers through policies and through actual manifestation of how much they are valued and protected.

The society can learn, for instance, from how Japan understands this highly respectable profession and its high social status; in Japan, there is the concept called "Sensei," meaning "the one who knows more," used in addressing the teacher with deep respect. While Japanese teachers are responsible for the academic upbringing of their students, they also play a very important role in shaping children's characters and teaching them ethics. Japanese culture teaches children from very young ages, both at home and at school, to respect teachers. Another interesting fact: Japan maintains the strong authority of teachers in the class in its educational system. The students are highly disciplined, and there is less interference by the parents in teaching methods or disciplinary action taken against them by the teachers. This legal protection by the government through constant training enables teachers to teach with their minds at ease and full authority, free from threats of any kind from their students or their parents. That respect accorded to teachers in the Japanese society makes the environment for teaching and learning very supportive.

Indonesia particularly needs to learn from countries like Japan and Finland, which accord far greater respect to the teaching profession. For instance, the government should offer greater legal protection to them, while society should give due recognition to their profession since teachers play a great role in the growth of education and moral values of their kids. Besides, moral and ethical education in schools should be improved so that respect for teachers as authority figures to whom one should listen and pay respect is imbued from an early age. It is hoped that the Indonesian teaching profession will regain its rightful place in the eyes of society, and the quality of education will improve, drawing upon experiences in Japan and Finland.

It is expected that there will be better respect and protection for the teaching profession in Indonesia, so that bullying or violence cases against teachers will no longer occur. Teachers must be in an environment suitable to work in safely without the possibility of threats received from students or their parents. If all parties-government, schools, students, and parents-can help give a comfortable teaching environment for teachers, then great changes in the quality of Indonesia's education will be observed. Respected and well-protected teachers will motivate them to educate future generations properly, since it is those who will be affecting a bright future in Indonesia.