Why Physical Education Should not Be Required in College

ini dia paper UAS my beloved wife....gathered at may 25th, 2009. any comment??

We might still remember about violence action happened in IPDN Campus in Jatinangor, Sumedang, West Java that result the death of one student in 2007. The student passed away because of a violence action by his senior. Then, some similar cases appeared in some colleges such as ITB and STIP in recent times. In fact, any kinds of physical education is still applied in some colleges although there are many controversy about it. People that agree with physical education argue that physical education is needed to produce a strong mentally and high discipline person. In opposite,most people agree that physical education is not the only way to make a strong mentally and high discipline person. In addition, they argue that physical education should not be required in colege for some reasons.

First of all, physical education is not an effective learning methode to adult. As we know, the students of a college are adult, or adolescens that is growing up to be adult. According to the scientist, adults need a spesific learning method named andragogi. Andragogi is a self learning activity that depend on people who is studying, and it is not only a teaching activity by a teacher. It means that the student is a subject, not an object, in a learning activity. The students are motivated to study because of their own necessity, so they can study happily and highly motivated. In applying andragogi, one of any important things should be prepared is an arrangement of phsycological and social condition where adult feel that they are accepted, appreciated, and supported. In order to fulfill that condition, the teacher called facilitator should develop a friendly, democratic, informal, and relax situation. However, such situation will not be achieved by a physical education because it will relatively make a contradictory situation such as formal, stiff, and frightening situation. Therefore, physical education will not support an effective learning process in college.

Moreover, physical education can cause a thinking laziness. A physhical education is ussually being applied in an education institution, where education is regarded only as a knowledge transfer process. Actually, education is a liberation process. By education, students are expected to be an autonomous person. It will be achieved if education is not regarded only as a knowledge transfer process, but also as a creative discovery process of knowledge and the truth. If education is regarded only as a knowledge transfer process, so there will be an indoctrination approach that very depend on the power of the transferer. Therefore, the relationship between a teacher and a student become very hierarchical that restrict the growth of student’s critical atitude. Next, the lost of the critical attitude will close ability and willingness to find a new knowledge. As the result, people who learn by this way will grow as a robotic man, that will only do what is said by other people.

In addition, the physical education can create a bad morally person because the person grow in a violence culture. The person who is usual as an object of any violence, though it is the part of educational process, will relatively do the same violence to the other person. He will regard it as an usual thing, and believe that it is an usual thing to be done to the other people. He will have only a little compassionation to the other person. As a result, this kind of people may can do anything to get his wants although it will disturb other people’s right. If this kind of people is produced from the educational process in our country, so what will happen to this country?

The last, physical education is not the only way to make a high discipline and strong morally person. There are some other alternative ways that can ommit many negative effects of physical education. One of the alternative ways is religion approach. In religion, people is teached to be discipline and having a strong character by follow rules in his religion. Religion will motivate people to be disciplin and having a good character from the bottom of his soul. The motivation that come from the soul is the biggest power to do something. For example, people will strongly changed to be a good person from bad person if he realize the truly himself and his truly position as a creation of his almighty God. If people know who he is and what the aim of his creation is, he will try to be the best person as his religion asked to by following the rules already stated by his religion. Religion, especially Islam, build a good character base on principal: mansuetude attitude, supporting and helping each other, giving a good advice each other. As the result, people will be disciplin, honest, brave, care, and having any other good characters.

In conclution, we can see from the explanation above that physical education is not an effective learning method, can cause a thinking laziness and created a bad morrally person. Moreover, there are some alternatives to replace the physical education in college. Therefore, educational institution should leave the physical education and find any other ways to produce high quality persons.

References

Noname. 2007. Pendidikan Tak Sekedar Fisik.http://www.wahdah.or.id/wahdah/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=756 (accessed May 22, 2009)

Ujan, Andre Ata. 2007. Kekerasan dan Kemalasan Berpikir. http://www.mirifica.net/printPage.php?aid=3989 (accessed May 22, 2009)

Lukman, and Bambang S. 2007. Kelemahan dan Keunggulan Teori Belajar Andragogi. http://www.geocities.com/teknologipembelajaran/andragogi.html (accessed May 22, 2009)