Sekolah Cinta Ilmu Baleendah: Creating a Safe, Comfortable, and Joyful School Environment

Baleendah – Pak Oo Abdul Rohman, a teacher representing Sekolah Cinta Ilmu Baleendah, Bandung Regency, participated in the Technical Guidance for the Violence Prevention and Handling Team (BimTek TPPK). Pak Oo was dispatched along with two other colleagues from various educational units within the school, including Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (MI), Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs), and Madrasah Aliyah (MA). Their participation in the BimTek TPPK, organized by PeaceGeneration Indonesia (PeaceGen) in collaboration with the West Java Education Department (Disdik Jabar), marks a new chapter in enhancing the school's capacity to prevent and address cases of violence among students.

Pak Oo, who serves daily as a subject teacher and dormitory head in the MA unit, explained that while Sekolah Cinta Ilmu boasts a diverse educational structure, it lacks a dedicated TPPK team.

"Honestly, our school doesn't have [a TPPK team] yet," he stated. Therefore, Pak Oo and his colleagues have been designated by the school management to serve as the "founders for the establishment of the TPPK team that will be created."

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Even without an existing TPPK team, awareness regarding the importance of school violence prevention has grown. Pak Oo and his team identified the significant challenge of unraveling complex issues and pinpointing "seeds of bullying" that may have been hidden within the school. They recognize that addressing these issues requires the active involvement of all school stakeholders, including educators, students, parents, and other school personnel such as security guards and custodians.

"Perhaps the most important initial step is to educate all parties about the introduction of bullying, its causes, and so on," Pak Oo emphasized, underscoring the need for a comprehensive understanding across the entire Sekolah Cinta Ilmu community.

The vulnerabilities faced by Sekolah Cinta Ilmu in preventing and handling violence among students include "sexual violence, specifically relationships between opposite genders, which fundamentally contradict our pesantren traditions," as well as issues of bullying between seniors and juniors, and discrimination.

Following the BimTek TPPK, Pak Oo shared that his perspective had broadened considerably. "It turns out that we still need a lot more input on how to untangle this mess so that the TPPK team can be effective and efficient, allowing us to design a coherent activity plan and develop appropriate SOPs that align with future steps," he explained enthusiastically.

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Sekolah Cinta Ilmu's interest in this technical guidance was driven by a recognized need for resources and the rare opportunity to be selected among thousands of schools. However, what they discovered at the TPPK BimTek far exceeded their expectations.

 "It turns out, subhanallah [God willing], what we found here truly provided enlightenment, broadened our connections, enhanced our insights, sparked inspiration, and certainly boosted our courage," Pak Oo remarked. He believes that this training, coupled with ongoing mentorship, will ignite the courage to act and initiate new steps in building a robust violence prevention system.

Pak Oo also highlighted how the role-playing simulation method in the BimTek helped him grasp the concept of early identification and maximize the role of each team member. A key realization was that violence prevention is not solely the responsibility of the principal or teachers, but of all school elements, including security guards.

The fresh material from PeaceGen's BimTek, delivered using creative and interactive ARKA methods, supported by experienced moderators and facilitators, and punctuated by ice-breaking activities, made the learning process engaging and effective for Pak Oo and other participating teachers. For Pak Oo personally, much of the material was entirely new, and he admitted that 

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"the existing treatment I provided was inadequate in preventing and handling violence in schools."

The next steps for Sekolah Cinta Ilmu involve socializing the information to all stakeholders, restructuring the team, and updating existing SOPs to be more relevant and effective in violence prevention and handling. This journey has just begun, but the enthusiasm and enlightenment brought back by Pak Oo and his team serve as invaluable capital for realizing a safe and conducive school environment for all students.