Warga Negara dalam Globalisasi

Tulisan di bawah ini saya kutip dari buku Education for Responsible Citizenship (B. Frank Brown, Director, 1977: 15)

The Total Educational Environment

Ralph W. Tyler

The Current Public Mood

It seems a paradox that the american public focuses its anxieties about the effectiveness of education on two chief areas: the basics (reading and arithmetic) and citizenship, including moral education. Many educators view these as opposite poles of the educational function. They consider the acquisition of reading and computational skills to be relatively narrow goal, while the development of constructive citizenship and character is thought to be broad one encompassing the “whole child”. If education is to contribute to the maintenance of a productive, peaceful, and just society, these goals are not in conflict.

In a modern industrial society, anyone who cannot read compute finds few opportunities for employment, and his participation in the civic life of the nation is restricted. Much more is now required from citizens than was needed in earlier times. As always, they must develop respect and concern for others and understand how their community, state and nation function, but they must also become aware of the problems that require attention in a rapidly changing world, and they must develop commitments to the larger society and make constructive contributions to it. The educational objectives include the development of social interests, attitudes, skills, and habits, as well as knowledge. To meet these expectations requires of each citizen a large and lifelong educational effort.

Unfortunately, complex human learning does not come easily. Learning to read and compute is not simply a matter of drill, and the learning of citizenship is not merely a matter of inculcating moral and social precepts. When simplistic views are pressed on schools, the response often takes the form of intensive drill and reciting of platitudes, stripping the educational program of much of its meaning and attraction to students and reducing its effectiveness in stimulating and guiding significant learning.

The contemporary effort to improve education and to give more explicit attention to citizenship and character development can be a positive influence if it is based on a more realistic understanding of the total educational system. Education must not be confused with schooling, and the school cannot be the sole target of those criticizing or seeking to improve education.

Berdasarkan pendapat di atas dapat saya simpulkan bahwa memasuki era modern (konteks saat ini), warga negara diharapkan agar dapat menguasai berbagai aspek kehidupan yang serba canggih sebagai akibat dari pesat/majunya peradaban. Tetapi walaupun dengan berkembangnya peradaban dunia saat ini, justru warga negara dituntut untuk dapat lebih hormat-menghormati satu sama lain dan memahami berbagai komunitas yang ada di sekelilingnya, dan lebih berkontribusi dalam kehidupan masyarakat yang lebih luas dengan dibarengi bekal pengetahuan yang dimiliki.