How to Teach 1st Grade

Teaching 1^st grade will be different by teaching high school students. Required certain techniques so that the child can absorb lessons more fun considering the psychological child is still in the early learning stages.

The voice sounded clear enough by children, intonation, etc. are things that are very important to be possessed by the teacher. For early elementary grades, they are still considered early childhood, before providing early childhood learning, as teachers need to recognize the characteristics of elementary school age children first. Do not forget to always give something new and varied for them. No need expensive, objects in the environment can be the object of exploration for children.

The period is also very short of their concentration. Thus, teachers must have a second plan, and even third, fourth plan needs to be prepared for them so they do not saturate. Keep in mind that early childhood is a period play. Thus, the instruction given to them should be based on the principles of play (fun, children can explore, gain a lot of experience).

Children are not miniature adults but they have the characteristics and uniqueness of each. So, do not equate them with the high school kids that are easier on the set and was able to concentrate for a long time.

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Benefits of Education from an Online High School

Whether you are an adult who never completed your primary education or the parent of a child in need of special attention and flexibility, getting a diploma from an online high school may be the right choice for you. With this option, you will have a number of benefits. You will be able to take control of your education. You can learn everything you would be taught in a classroom in the comfort of your own home. You can take charge of the decisions that you make and the path that you will take during your education.
An online high school can offer an array of advantages. Mostly, you will have complete control over your education. You will have the ability to study your own assignments at your own pace. You can focus on the assignments that may take you a bit longer to complete, while easily and quickly going through assignments that are easier for you. The flexibility on education on the Internet is unmatched. Most programs allow you attend your virtual class at any time of the day, so you can work around your busy schedule. Many people that take classes on the Internet have busy schedules and often full time jobs. This form of education will allow you to work on your own terms and on your own time.
Traditional education for many people means more than just learning. When getting your diploma on the Internet, you can avoid the distractions that come along with the traditional classroom. You won’t have to deal with the cliques and other distracting students while you work on your own time. You can study when you want and where you want. Plus, many times a teacher in a traditional classroom just cannot spend extra time during class time helping each individual student with his or her own specific problems. When working within the online high school, if you do not understand a particular topic, you can take your time and pace yourself to gain a better understanding of the subject.
Whether you are an adult with a full-time job, and you want to move up in the world, or you think that your child would benefit from the pacing and attention involved in an online high school, this educational choice may be the one for you. There are a variety of options out there, so do some research and find out which one will work best for your circumstances.

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Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:
A Theory for Everyone

Being intelligent does not always mean that someone tests well -- a problem with which teachers and school administrators have struggled since the earliest days of organized education. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences helps educators think differently about "IQ,"  and about what being "smart" means. The theory is changing the way some teachers teach.

When Howard Gardner's book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Basic Books, 1983) burst on the scene, it seemed to answer many questions for experienced teachers. We all had students who didn't fit the mold; we knew the students were bright, but they didn't excel on tests. Gardner's claim that there are several different kinds of intelligence gave us and others involved with teaching and learning a way of beginning to understand those students. We would look at what they could do well, instead of what they could not do.

Later Gardner books, such as The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach (Basic Books, 1991) and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (Basic Books, 1993) helped us understand how multiple intelligences could help us teach and evaluate our students in new and better ways.

WHO IS HOWARD GARDNER?

Howard Gardner, Ph.D. is a professor at Harvard University and the author of many books and articles. His theory of multiple intelligences has challenged long-held assumptions about intelligence -- especially about a single measure of intelligence. Dr. Gardner also co-directs Harvard's Project Zero.

THE ORIGINAL SEVEN INTELLIGENCES

Howard Gardner first identified and introduced to us seven different kinds of intelligence in Frames of Mind.

• Linguistic intelligence: a sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.
• Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems.
• Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create music. Musicians, composers and dancers show a heightened musical intelligence.
• Spatial intelligence: the ability to "think in pictures," to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors.
• Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one's body in a skilled way, for self-expression or toward a goal. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are among those who display bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
• Interpersonal intelligence: an ability to perceive and understand other individuals -- their moods, desires, and motivations. Political and religious leaders, skilled parents and teachers, and therapists use this intelligence.
• Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one's own emotions. Some novelists and or counselors use their own experience to guide others.

Then, Gardner identified an eighth intelligence, the naturalist intelligence.

HOWARD GARDNER TALKS ABOUT AN EIGHTH INTELLIGENCE

Gardner discussed the "eighth intelligence" with Kathy Checkley, in an interview for Educational Leadership, "The First Seven... and the Eighth." Gardner said, "The naturalist intelligence refers to the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all variety of flora and fauna. The ability to recognize cultural artifacts like cars or sneakers may also depend on the naturalist intelligence. (S)ome people from an early age are extremely good at recognizing and classifying artifacts. For example, we all know kids who, at 3 or 4, are better at recognizing dinosaurs than most adults."

Gardner identified Charles Darwin as a prime example of this type of intelligence.

The naturalist intelligence meshed with Gardner's definition of intelligence as "the human ability to solve problems or to make something that is valued in one or more cultures." And the naturalist intelligence met Gardner's specific criteria:

• "Is there a particular representation in the brain for the ability?
• "Are there populations that are especially good or especially impaired in an intelligence?
• "And, can an evolutionary history of the intelligence be seen in animals other than human beings?"

IMPLEMENTING GARDNER'S THEORY IN THE CLASSROOM

When asked how educators should implement the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner says, "(I)t's very important that a teacher take individual differences among kids very seriously The bottom line is a deep interest in children and how their minds are different from one another, and in helping them use their minds well."

An awareness of multiple-intelligence theory has stimulated teachers to find more ways of helping all students in their classes. Some schools do this by adapting curriculum. In "Variations on a Theme: How Teachers Interpret MI Theory," (Educational Leadership, September 1997), Linda Campbell describes five approaches to curriculum change:

• Lesson design. Some schools focus on lesson design. This might involve team teaching ("teachers focusing on their own intelligence strengths"), using all or several of the intelligences in their lessons, or asking student opinions about the best way to teach and learn certain topics.
• Interdisciplinary units. Secondary schools often include interdisciplinary units.
• Student projects. Students can learn to "initiate and manage complex projects" when they are creating student projects.
• Assessments. Assessments are devised which allow students to show what they have learned. Sometimes this takes the form of allowing each student to devise the way he or she will be assessed, while meeting the teacher's criteria for quality.
• Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships can allow students to "gain mastery of a valued skill gradually, with effort and discipline over time." Gardner feels that apprenticeships "should take up about one-third of a student's schooling experience."

With an understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, teachers, school administrators, and parents can better understand the learners in their midst. They can allow students to safely explore and learn in many ways, and they can help students direct their own learning. Adults can help students understand and appreciate their strengths, and identify real-world activities that will stimulate more learning.

- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml#sthash.uPYBciPk.dpuf

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:
A Theory for Everyone

Being intelligent does not always mean that someone tests well -- a problem with which teachers and school administrators have struggled since the earliest days of organized education. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences helps educators think differently about "IQ,"  and about what being "smart" means. The theory is changing the way some teachers teach.
When Howard Gardner's book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Basic Books, 1983) burst on the scene, it seemed to answer many questions for experienced teachers. We all had students who didn't fit the mold; we knew the students were bright, but they didn't excel on tests. Gardner's claim that there are several different kinds of intelligence gave us and others involved with teaching and learning a way of beginning to understand those students. We would look at what they could do well, instead of what they could not do.
Later Gardner books, such as The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach (Basic Books, 1991) and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (Basic Books, 1993) helped us understand how multiple intelligences could help us teach and evaluate our students in new and better ways.

WHO IS HOWARD GARDNER?

Howard Gardner, Ph.D. is a professor at Harvard University and the author of many books and articles. His theory of multiple intelligences has challenged long-held assumptions about intelligence -- especially about a single measure of intelligence. Dr. Gardner also co-directs Harvard's Project Zero.

THE ORIGINAL SEVEN INTELLIGENCES

Howard Gardner first identified and introduced to us seven different kinds of intelligence in Frames of Mind.

• Linguistic intelligence: a sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.
• Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems.
• Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create music. Musicians, composers and dancers show a heightened musical intelligence.
• Spatial intelligence: the ability to "think in pictures," to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors.
• Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one's body in a skilled way, for self-expression or toward a goal. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are among those who display bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
• Interpersonal intelligence: an ability to perceive and understand other individuals -- their moods, desires, and motivations. Political and religious leaders, skilled parents and teachers, and therapists use this intelligence.
• Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one's own emotions. Some novelists and or counselors use their own experience to guide others.

Then, Gardner identified an eighth intelligence, the naturalist intelligence.

HOWARD GARDNER TALKS ABOUT AN EIGHTH INTELLIGENCE

Gardner discussed the "eighth intelligence" with Kathy Checkley, in an interview for Educational Leadership, "The First Seven... and the Eighth." Gardner said, "The naturalist intelligence refers to the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all variety of flora and fauna. The ability to recognize cultural artifacts like cars or sneakers may also depend on the naturalist intelligence. (S)ome people from an early age are extremely good at recognizing and classifying artifacts. For example, we all know kids who, at 3 or 4, are better at recognizing dinosaurs than most adults."
Gardner identified Charles Darwin as a prime example of this type of intelligence.
The naturalist intelligence meshed with Gardner's definition of intelligence as "the human ability to solve problems or to make something that is valued in one or more cultures." And the naturalist intelligence met Gardner's specific criteria:

• "Is there a particular representation in the brain for the ability?
• "Are there populations that are especially good or especially impaired in an intelligence?
• "And, can an evolutionary history of the intelligence be seen in animals other than human beings?"

IMPLEMENTING GARDNER'S THEORY IN THE CLASSROOM

When asked how educators should implement the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner says, "(I)t's very important that a teacher take individual differences among kids very seriously The bottom line is a deep interest in children and how their minds are different from one another, and in helping them use their minds well."
An awareness of multiple-intelligence theory has stimulated teachers to find more ways of helping all students in their classes. Some schools do this by adapting curriculum. In "Variations on a Theme: How Teachers Interpret MI Theory," (Educational Leadership, September 1997), Linda Campbell describes five approaches to curriculum change:

• Lesson design. Some schools focus on lesson design. This might involve team teaching ("teachers focusing on their own intelligence strengths"), using all or several of the intelligences in their lessons, or asking student opinions about the best way to teach and learn certain topics.
• Interdisciplinary units. Secondary schools often include interdisciplinary units.
• Student projects. Students can learn to "initiate and manage complex projects" when they are creating student projects.
• Assessments. Assessments are devised which allow students to show what they have learned. Sometimes this takes the form of allowing each student to devise the way he or she will be assessed, while meeting the teacher's criteria for quality.
• Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships can allow students to "gain mastery of a valued skill gradually, with effort and discipline over time." Gardner feels that apprenticeships "should take up about one-third of a student's schooling experience."

With an understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, teachers, school administrators, and parents can better understand the learners in their midst. They can allow students to safely explore and learn in many ways, and they can help students direct their own learning. Adults can help students understand and appreciate their strengths, and identify real-world activities that will stimulate more learning.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml#sthash.uPYBciPk.dpuf

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:
A Theory for Everyone

Being intelligent does not always mean that someone tests well -- a problem with which teachers and school administrators have struggled since the earliest days of organized education. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences helps educators think differently about "IQ,"  and about what being "smart" means. The theory is changing the way some teachers teach.
When Howard Gardner's book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Basic Books, 1983) burst on the scene, it seemed to answer many questions for experienced teachers. We all had students who didn't fit the mold; we knew the students were bright, but they didn't excel on tests. Gardner's claim that there are several different kinds of intelligence gave us and others involved with teaching and learning a way of beginning to understand those students. We would look at what they could do well, instead of what they could not do.
Later Gardner books, such as The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach (Basic Books, 1991) and Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice (Basic Books, 1993) helped us understand how multiple intelligences could help us teach and evaluate our students in new and better ways.

WHO IS HOWARD GARDNER?

Howard Gardner, Ph.D. is a professor at Harvard University and the author of many books and articles. His theory of multiple intelligences has challenged long-held assumptions about intelligence -- especially about a single measure of intelligence. Dr. Gardner also co-directs Harvard's Project Zero.

THE ORIGINAL SEVEN INTELLIGENCES

Howard Gardner first identified and introduced to us seven different kinds of intelligence in Frames of Mind.

• Linguistic intelligence: a sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.
• Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems.
• Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create music. Musicians, composers and dancers show a heightened musical intelligence.
• Spatial intelligence: the ability to "think in pictures," to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors.
• Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one's body in a skilled way, for self-expression or toward a goal. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are among those who display bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
• Interpersonal intelligence: an ability to perceive and understand other individuals -- their moods, desires, and motivations. Political and religious leaders, skilled parents and teachers, and therapists use this intelligence.
• Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one's own emotions. Some novelists and or counselors use their own experience to guide others.

Then, Gardner identified an eighth intelligence, the naturalist intelligence.

HOWARD GARDNER TALKS ABOUT AN EIGHTH INTELLIGENCE

Gardner discussed the "eighth intelligence" with Kathy Checkley, in an interview for Educational Leadership, "The First Seven... and the Eighth." Gardner said, "The naturalist intelligence refers to the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all variety of flora and fauna. The ability to recognize cultural artifacts like cars or sneakers may also depend on the naturalist intelligence. (S)ome people from an early age are extremely good at recognizing and classifying artifacts. For example, we all know kids who, at 3 or 4, are better at recognizing dinosaurs than most adults."
Gardner identified Charles Darwin as a prime example of this type of intelligence.
The naturalist intelligence meshed with Gardner's definition of intelligence as "the human ability to solve problems or to make something that is valued in one or more cultures." And the naturalist intelligence met Gardner's specific criteria:

• "Is there a particular representation in the brain for the ability?
• "Are there populations that are especially good or especially impaired in an intelligence?
• "And, can an evolutionary history of the intelligence be seen in animals other than human beings?"

IMPLEMENTING GARDNER'S THEORY IN THE CLASSROOM

When asked how educators should implement the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner says, "(I)t's very important that a teacher take individual differences among kids very seriously The bottom line is a deep interest in children and how their minds are different from one another, and in helping them use their minds well."
An awareness of multiple-intelligence theory has stimulated teachers to find more ways of helping all students in their classes. Some schools do this by adapting curriculum. In "Variations on a Theme: How Teachers Interpret MI Theory," (Educational Leadership, September 1997), Linda Campbell describes five approaches to curriculum change:

• Lesson design. Some schools focus on lesson design. This might involve team teaching ("teachers focusing on their own intelligence strengths"), using all or several of the intelligences in their lessons, or asking student opinions about the best way to teach and learn certain topics.
• Interdisciplinary units. Secondary schools often include interdisciplinary units.
• Student projects. Students can learn to "initiate and manage complex projects" when they are creating student projects.
• Assessments. Assessments are devised which allow students to show what they have learned. Sometimes this takes the form of allowing each student to devise the way he or she will be assessed, while meeting the teacher's criteria for quality.
• Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships can allow students to "gain mastery of a valued skill gradually, with effort and discipline over time." Gardner feels that apprenticeships "should take up about one-third of a student's schooling experience."

With an understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, teachers, school administrators, and parents can better understand the learners in their midst. They can allow students to safely explore and learn in many ways, and they can help students direct their own learning. Adults can help students understand and appreciate their strengths, and identify real-world activities that will stimulate more learning.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml#sthash.uPYBciPk.dpuf

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Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Modern

Dalam beberapa dekade terakhir, Bahasa Inggris telah berkembangan sebagai bahasa yang sangat penting dalam komunikasi internasional. Bahasa Inggris digunakan oleh hampir semua orang di dunia dibandingkan dengan bahasa lain dan diklaim sebagai ‘bahasa global’.

Bahasa Inggris memiliki peran yang sangat penting di dunia dan juga kajian mengenai faktor sosial, politik, dan budaya pun turut mempengaruhi perkembangannya. Maka pendidikan Bahasa Inggris modern tentu tidak dapat disamakan dengan pendidikan Bahasa Inggris klasik. Terutama di negara yang menjadikan Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa resmi (contoh: Ghana dan Nigeria), Bahasa Inggris menjadi syarat.

Pemerintah Ghana dan Nigeria meletakkan Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa utama agar dapat mengantisipasi isu-isu dalam pemerintahan, pendidikan, perdagangan, media, dan sistem hukum. Maka dalam kasus ini, masyarakat perlu mempelajari Bahasa Inggris jika mereka ingin terlibat dalam kehidupan bernegara. Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris modern di kedua negara ini menjadi salah satu elemen penting dalam komunikasi mereka secara garis besar.

Salah satu negara yang berjuang dengan pendidikan Bahasa Inggris modern adalah negara Jepang. Dengan bahasa ibu yang sama sekali berbeda dengan Bahasa Inggris baik itu dari segi struktur bahasa, penulisan, dan kosa kata, masyarakat Jepang berjuang keras untuk dapat menggunakan Bahasa Inggris dalam pemenuhan kebutuhan mereka.

Kementerian Pendidikan memiliki panduan khusus yang digunakan dalam pendidikan Bahasa Inggris modern di Jepang. Panduan ini membatasi kosa kata Bahasa Inggris yang harus dipelajari selama 3 tahun di bangku sekolah menengah pertama sejumlah 1.000 kata. Textbook yang akan digunakan juga melewati proses screening dari Kementerian Pendidikan dan hasilnya adalah pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris di Jepang menjadi terstandarisasi.

Melihat beberapa negara yang mencoba menyesuaikan dirinya pada situasi komunikasi global, pendidikan Bahasa Inggris modern sebagai bahasa kedua membutuhkan perhatian khusus. Baik itu dari metode maupun kurikulum, Bahasa Inggris perlu ditempatkan secara tepat dan akurat agar tidak harus bersaing dengan bahasa ibu, namun keduanya dapat digunakan untuk kebutuhan-kebutuhan khusus.

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KILAS BALIK DUNIA PENDIDIKAN DI INDONESIA

Sebagai salah satu wahana pembentuk karakter bangsa, sekolah adalah lokasi penting dimana para "Nation Builders" Indonesia diharapkan dapat berjuang membawa negara bersaing di kancah global. Seiring dengan derasnya tantangan global, tantangan dunia pendidikan pun menjadi semakin besar, hal ini yang mendorong para siswa mendapatkan prestasi terbaik.

Namun, dunia pendidikan di Indonesia masih memiliki beberapa kendala yang berkaitan dengan mutu pendidikan diantaranya adalah keterbatasan akses pada pendidikan, jumlah guru yang belum merata, serta kualitas guru itu sendiri dinilai masih kurang. Terbatasnya akses pendidikan di Indonesia, terlebih lagi di daerah berujung kepada meningkatnya arus urbanisasi untuk mendapatkan akses ilmu yang lebih baik di perkotaan.

Menurut pegiat pendidikan Indonesia, Anies Baswedan keterbatasan akses pendidikan di daerah menjadi pangkal derasnya arus urbanisasi. "Yang menjadi persoalan, di Jabodetabek jumlahnya sudah proporsional, tapi jangan kita hanya bicara urban. Justru di luar urban itu kita punya masalah dan itu yang menyebabkan migrasi ke Jakarta," ujar Anies. Secara tidak langsung, masyarakat Indonesia didorong untuk melakukan urbanisasi karena keterbatasan fasilitas di daerah. Ia menilai akses pendidikan harus dibuka seluas-luasnya untuk seluruh masyarakat dengan penyediaan fasilitas yang mendukung program tersebut. "Kalau sekolah hanya di ibukota kecamatan, maka yang jauh kan jadi nggak bisa sekolah," tandasnya.

Selain itu, jumlah guru yang sesuai dengan kualifikasi saat ini dinilai masih belum merata di daerah. Menurut Direktur Jenderal Pendidikan Dasar (Dikdas) Kemendikbud Hamid Muhammad saat ini banyak sekolah dasar (SD) di Indonesia kekurangan tenaga guru. Jumlahnya diperkirakan mencapai 112 ribu guru.

Untuk mengatasinya, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (Kemendikbud) akan bekerja sama dengan pemerintah daerah, baik tingkat provinsi maupun kabupaten/kota, dalam hal distribusi guru di daerah-daerah supaya lebih merata. "Jika manajemen guru bisa ditangani lebih optimal, tidak parsial, maka bisa dipindahkan ke kabupaten atau daerah yang berdekatan," ungkap Hamid.

Kemudian, untuk meningkatkan kualitas para guru, Kemendikbud akan meningkatkan kualifikasi guru melalui beasiswa S-1 bagi guru SD dan SMP. Hamid menjelaskan, jumlah guru SD di sekolah negeri dan swasta sekitar 1.850 ribu guru. Dari jumlah tersebut, hanya 60 persen guru yang sudah memenuhi kualifikasi dengan gelar S-1, sedangkan 40 persen lainnya belum memenuhi kualifikasi. Tiap tahunnya, Kemendikbud juga menyiapkan beasiswa untuk 100 ribu calon guru guna menempuh pendidikan S-1 melalui bantuan beasiswa S-1 untuk guru SD dan SMP. Di dunia internasional, kualitas pendidikan Indonesia berada di peringkat ke-64 dari 120 negara di seluruh dunia berdasarkan laporan tahunan UNESCO Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2012. Sedangkan berdasarkan Indeks Perkembangan Pendidikan (Education Development Index, EDI), Indonesia berada pada peringkat ke-69 dari 127 negara pada 2011.

Di sisi lain, kasus putus sekolah anak – anak usia sekolah di Indonesia juga masih tinggi "Berdasarkan data Kemendikbud 2010, di Indonesia terdapat lebih dari 1,8 juta anak setiap tahun tidak dapat melanjutkan pendidikan,  Hal ini disebabkan oleh tiga faktor, yaitu faktor ekonomi; anak – anak terpaksa bekerja untuk mendukung ekonomi keluarga; dan pernikahan di usia dini,” menurut Sekretaris Direktorat Jendral Perguruan Tinggi Dr. Ir. Patdono Suwignjo, M. Eng, Sc di Jakarta. Dalam laporan terbaru Program Pembangunan PBB tahun 2013, Indonesia menempati posisi 121 dari 185 negara dalam Indeks Pembangunan Manusia (IPM) dengan angka 0,629. Dengan angka itu Indonesia tertinggal dari dua negara tetangga ASEAN yaitu Malaysia (peringkat 64) dan Singapura (18), sedangkan IPM di kawasan Asia Pasifik adalah 0,683.

"Kita harus menyelesaikan permasalahan pendidikan ini, karena kepemilikan atas pengetahuan adalah kunci seseorang mencapai kesejahteraan," menurut  figur pendidikan Indonesia, Anies Baswedan. Dalam perkembangan pendidikan Indonesia, pemerintah telah melaksanakan berbagai kebijakan untuk meningkatkan kualitas pendidikan guna menghadapi persaingan bebas dunia yang akan segera berlaku dengan terwujudnya komunitas ASEAN pada tahun 2015 mendatang.

Untuk meringankan beban serta memperkokoh dasar pendidikan pada siswa Indonesia, Kemdikbud memastikan akan sepenuhnya memberlakukan Kurikulum 2013 mulai tahun 2014, bahkan sudah menyiapkan anggaran untuk mendukung operasional kurikulum tersebut. "Sudah siap dan tahun depan hampir semua (sekolah) bisa melaksanakan Kurikulum 2013," ujar Wakil Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan RI Musliar Kasim.

Kurikulum 2013 merupakan Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) yang berfokus pada penguasaan pengetahuan yang kontekstual sesuai daerah dan lingkungan masing-masing.  Kurikulum tersebut menitikberatkan penilaian siswa pada tiga hal: sikap (jujur, santun, disiplin), keterampilan (melalui tugas praktek/ proyek sekolah), dan pengetahuan keilmuan. Pada tingkat dasar seperti SD, kurikulum ini lebih fokus pada pembentukan sikap dan keterampilan  hidup,  sedangkan keilmuannya lebih 'ringan' daripada Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan.

Pada tingkat lanjutan seperti SMP dan SMA, porsi penguasaan keilmuan lebih ditingkatkan karena pribadi murid dianggap sudah terbentuk pada tingkat dasar. Menurut Musliar, kurikulum baru akan diterapkan pada siswa SD kelas 1, 2, 4 dan 5; siswa SMP kelas 8 dan 9; serta siswa SMA kelas 10 dan 11. Pemerintah tidak akan mencetak buku bahan ajar. Seperti pelaksanaan pada tahun sebelumnya, Kemendikbud akan mengunggah buku bahan ajar ke dalam situs internet.

Kemendikbud akan menetapkan harga eceran tertinggi atas buku yang ditargetkan akan beredar bebas tersebut. Kurikulum 2013 sendiri sebenarnya sudah dilaksanakan sejak pertengahan tahun 2013 di sejumlah sekolah yang telah diseleksi, meski sempat dikritik karena pelaksanaannya terkesan dipaksakan.

Sebagai lembaga bantuan internasional yang bekerja di sektor pembangunan sosial-ekonomi, USAID Indonesia memberikan penekanan besar pada pengembangan kualitas pendidikan melalui sejumlah program yang berjalan sekarang salah satunya adalah melalui program beasiswa S2 USAID-PRESTASI. Pada tahun ini, USAID -PRESTASI memberikan beasiswa S2 kepada 31 profesional Indonesia. Program ini dibuka untuk umum dan diharapkan dapat mendukung pengembangan sumber daya manusia yang kompeten di bidangnya masing – masing yang pada akhirnya akan memberikan kontribusi positif di lingkungan kerja mereka masing – masing setelah merekakembali ke Tanah Air.

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