Indonesian vs US education systems
As a student who has attended three different high schools
with European, US and Indonesian curriculums, I have concluded that I
have benefited most from the US curriculum.
While US President Barack Obama and many Americans are unsatisfied with the quality of the US education system, I shall give a further explanation about the distinctions between American and Indonesian high school curriculums and defend why I believe the US one is best.
First of all, the US curriculum awards high school students autonomy to decide their courses of study. While Indonesians do have the option to focus during their last two years of high school on natural sciences or social sciences, depending on their desired future major in the undergraduate level, Americans have the option to design their own course schedules every year, based on their interests and needs.
This is permissible, as long as they fulfill certain graduation requirements that usually comprise four years of English, three years of social and natural sciences, two years of a foreign language and three years of mathematics (high schools in the US go for four years not three). In addition, US high school students have the option to select the level of difficulty of the courses they take, depending whether their school offers Honors or Advanced Level courses.
Despite these advantages, however, the academic offerings of the US curriculum do not necessarily mean that it is the ideal education system for Indonesian high school students today. The current Indonesian curriculum is designed to suit the needs of Indonesian high school students. Similar to most countries around the world, Indonesian students have to apply specifically for the major and undergraduate institutions that they are interested in pursuing, by taking examinations.
A highly focused high school curriculum, therefore, is ideal in helping students to score well in their examinations. In the US, however, students do not have to declare their majors until their second year of college. For example, as a first-year undergraduate student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, I still have one year to decide whether I would be double majoring in Economics and Political Science or just one of them (with the intention of going to Law School).
To be admitted, high school students need to meet the academic standards of the American institution they wish to attend by showing their academic transcript, standard test scores, teacher recommendations, and essays without having to commit to a specific major.
The best curriculum certainly depends upon the preferences of students themselves. The Indonesian curriculum is highly focused on specific areas, while the US curriculum is more broad and general. Students who know for sure what their passions and interests are may prefer the Indonesian system. It would be of beneficial to the Indonesian education system as a whole to change the current curriculum so it gives students more options to pursue their passions and interests.
Many young students are still indecisive about what types of careers or subjects they want to spend their lives focusing on, and giving them the power to experiment in different subject areas assists them in finding the right path.
Before I moved to the US for high school four years ago, for example, I was certain I wanted to study architecture. After taking a required class in the social sciences at the US high school I attended, however, I decided that law, politics and economics was a more ideal path for me. Most importantly, however, the curriculum of the US education system encourages students to take courses in a variety of subjects. This gives them a wide range of knowledge in subjects they would not otherwise concentrate on.
I am aware of the difficulty of changing the current educational system, especially with the lack of funding provided by Indonesian the government to even support our entire population with public education. The priority of the Indonesian government currently shall remain to increase the nation’s overall literacy rate and to enable youths to at least graduate high school.
Perhaps in the future, however, it would be to our nation’s advantage to improve the quality of our education system by providing a broader and interest-based curriculum to assist our future leaders. While specialization is crucial, the more knowledgeable we are in various subjects, the more competitive we will be in the global market.
I find that the broad-based curriculum has helped me understand different subject areas and expanded my academic interests. I hope my peers in Indonesia can experience these advantages to improve the overall quality of our nation’s human capital.
While US President Barack Obama and many Americans are unsatisfied with the quality of the US education system, I shall give a further explanation about the distinctions between American and Indonesian high school curriculums and defend why I believe the US one is best.
First of all, the US curriculum awards high school students autonomy to decide their courses of study. While Indonesians do have the option to focus during their last two years of high school on natural sciences or social sciences, depending on their desired future major in the undergraduate level, Americans have the option to design their own course schedules every year, based on their interests and needs.
This is permissible, as long as they fulfill certain graduation requirements that usually comprise four years of English, three years of social and natural sciences, two years of a foreign language and three years of mathematics (high schools in the US go for four years not three). In addition, US high school students have the option to select the level of difficulty of the courses they take, depending whether their school offers Honors or Advanced Level courses.
Despite these advantages, however, the academic offerings of the US curriculum do not necessarily mean that it is the ideal education system for Indonesian high school students today. The current Indonesian curriculum is designed to suit the needs of Indonesian high school students. Similar to most countries around the world, Indonesian students have to apply specifically for the major and undergraduate institutions that they are interested in pursuing, by taking examinations.
A highly focused high school curriculum, therefore, is ideal in helping students to score well in their examinations. In the US, however, students do not have to declare their majors until their second year of college. For example, as a first-year undergraduate student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, I still have one year to decide whether I would be double majoring in Economics and Political Science or just one of them (with the intention of going to Law School).
To be admitted, high school students need to meet the academic standards of the American institution they wish to attend by showing their academic transcript, standard test scores, teacher recommendations, and essays without having to commit to a specific major.
The best curriculum certainly depends upon the preferences of students themselves. The Indonesian curriculum is highly focused on specific areas, while the US curriculum is more broad and general. Students who know for sure what their passions and interests are may prefer the Indonesian system. It would be of beneficial to the Indonesian education system as a whole to change the current curriculum so it gives students more options to pursue their passions and interests.
Many young students are still indecisive about what types of careers or subjects they want to spend their lives focusing on, and giving them the power to experiment in different subject areas assists them in finding the right path.
Before I moved to the US for high school four years ago, for example, I was certain I wanted to study architecture. After taking a required class in the social sciences at the US high school I attended, however, I decided that law, politics and economics was a more ideal path for me. Most importantly, however, the curriculum of the US education system encourages students to take courses in a variety of subjects. This gives them a wide range of knowledge in subjects they would not otherwise concentrate on.
I am aware of the difficulty of changing the current educational system, especially with the lack of funding provided by Indonesian the government to even support our entire population with public education. The priority of the Indonesian government currently shall remain to increase the nation’s overall literacy rate and to enable youths to at least graduate high school.
Perhaps in the future, however, it would be to our nation’s advantage to improve the quality of our education system by providing a broader and interest-based curriculum to assist our future leaders. While specialization is crucial, the more knowledgeable we are in various subjects, the more competitive we will be in the global market.
I find that the broad-based curriculum has helped me understand different subject areas and expanded my academic interests. I hope my peers in Indonesia can experience these advantages to improve the overall quality of our nation’s human capital.
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