Mengintegrasikan Pembelajaran Empat Keterampilan Berbahasa Melalui Pertunjukan Kabaret (Best Practice di SMPN 7 Majalengka)

Kurikulum di Indonesia saat ini menekankan pada keaktifan para peserta didik untuk melakukan pembelajaran. Peran guru sekarang lebih bersifat sebagai fasilitator yang bertugas memberi jalan dan kesempatan bagi siswa untuk berkembang  (Brown, 2001). Tugas guru adalah men-scaffold peserta didik untuk melampaui  Zone of Proximate Development (Vygotsky, 1962). Berdasar kurikulum yang baru ini guru menyiapkan strategi dan teknik untuk membuat peserta didik bisa meningkatkan kemampuan mereka.

Terkait dengan mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggris, di dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris di Indonesia, pembelajaran difokuskan pada empat keterampilan: menyimak, berbicara, membaca dan menulis. Pemisahan pemelajaran keempat keterampilan berbahasa tersebut bukanlah hal yang sebaiknya dilakukan karena pembelajaran bahasa pasti akan selalu melibatkan semua keterampilan tersebut.

Dalam rangka melaksanakan kegiatan pemelajaran yang terpadu, suatu pembelajaran berbasis proyek (Project-Based Learning (PjBL)) bisa dilaksanakan, yaitu proyek drama kabaret. Kabaret adalah seni pertunjukkan yang di dalamnya terdapat drama dan music. Di dalam proyek kabaret yang dibuat untuk tujuan pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris tersebut, percakapan dan musik sudah terlebih dahulu direkam untuk kemudian diputar ulang selama pertunjukan. 

Alasan dari perekaman ini adalah untuk membuat pertunjukan berjalan lancar tanpa gangguan lupa dialog. Kekhawatiran ini didasari alasan bahwa proyek kabaret ini akan ditampilkan di panggung acara akhir tahun. Ini adalah proyek drama musikal pertama di sekolah kami dan para peserta didik sama sekali tidak berpengalaman dalam hal pertunjukan drama di atas panggung.

Tahapan proyek ini adalah sebagai berikut:

1. menentukan pertanyaan dasar. Tahap ini diselenggarakan pada satu sesi KBM di akhir bulan Maret 2016. Di tahap ini guru dan peserta didik bersepakat untuk menentukan suatu aktivitas yang bisa melibatkan pembelajaran keempat keterampilan berbahasa. Kemudian disepakati bahwa kabaret adalah hal yang bisa dibuat dan pertunjukannya akan dilaksanakan pada saat Pentas Akhir Tahun di akhir Mei; 

2. membuat desain proyek. Masih di sesi KBM yang sama disepakati desain proyek di mana drama akan dilaksanakan dan percakapan direkam terlebih dahulu untuk menghindari lupanya dialog di saat pertunjukan. Naskah yang disepakati adalah naskah yang didasari legenda lokal di Majalengka, yaitu legenda bermulanya nama Majalengka atau dalam Bahasa Inggris berjudul “The Origin of Majalengka”; 

3. menyusun penjadwalan. Tahap ini diselenggarakan pada akhir jam pelajaran di hari selanjutnya. Pemilihan waktu ini adalah karena PjBL pada dasarnya adalah proses yang tidak boleh mengganggu jadwal pelajaran regular. Jadwal kemudian dibuat yang akan mencakup:  (a) pembacaan naskah secara bersama-sama, (b) pembahasan alur, setting, pewatakan, dan pesan moral dalam cerita yang akan dibawakan serta property drama yang diperlukan, (c) pembahasan kosakata sulit dan cara pengucapannya yang benar, (d) pelatihan pelafalan dan kelancaran penyampaian cerita dan dialog, (e) perekaman suara para pemeran, (f) melatih olah gerak sesuai dengan rekaman suara dan musik yang sebelumnya direkam,dan  (g) mempersiapkan property yang diperlukan ; 

4. memonitor kemajuan proyek. Di tahap ini guru memantau kegiatan siswa dari mulai persiapan, latihan, dan persiapan akhir. Guru memberikan bantuan dan bimbingan yang diperlukan, terutama dalam hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan pembelajaran keempat keterampilan berbahasa; 

5. penilaian hasil. Penilaian hasil dilaksanakan saat para peserta didik tampil di panggung Pentas Akhir Tahun. Penilaian akhir hanyalah salah satu penilaian yang diperhitungkan. Penilaian proses pada saat persiapan, pelatihan, dan pelaksanaan pertunjukan mencakup bagian besar penilaian; 

6. evaluasi pengalaman. Dalam tahap ini, guru dan peserta didik duduk bersama kembali untuk membahas semua hal yang dialami oleh mereka. Feedback dan refleksi adalah hal yang diharapkan dihasilkan tahapan ini.

Dari pelaksanaan kegiatan ini terobservasi bahwa keempat keterampilan berbahasa bisa dilatihkan dan diterapkan secara bersama-sama dalam proyek ini. Pertama, keterampilan, menulis, di dalam persiapan proyek, para peserta didik bersama guru menyusun naskah untuk pertunjukan dalam Bahasa Indonesia dan kemudian menuliskannya di dalam Bahasa Inggris. Pada tahap ini, guru hanya memberikan koreksi-koreksi yang dibutuhkan sambil tetap memberi keleluasaan pada peserta didik untuk mengembangkan ide cerita mereka. Keterampilan menulis menjadi terasah.

Selanjutnya, keterampilan membaca, para peserta didik di dalam tahap persiapan pertunjukan melaksanakan pembacaan naskah drama. Secara bergiliran mereka melakukan Reading Aloud di mana satu peserta didik membacakan naskah dengan suara nyaring agar peserta didik lain bisa menyimak. Pada teknik Reading Aloud, guru akan memberikan masukan tentang pelafalan dan intonasi yang tepat dengan cara yang tidak menjatuhkan peserta didik yang membaca.Masukan ini akan disimak oleh semua peserta didik. Hal ini membuat pemelajaran tentang pelafalan dan intonasi menjadi lebih bermakna dan kontekstual. Selain itu, Reading Aloud adalah efektif dan efisien karena bisa menjangkau semua peserta didik dengan cara yang ringkas.

Keterampilan ketiga dan keempat selalu harus dilaksanakan berkesinambungan. Di saat seseorang berbicara memerankan perannya, tentu ada orang lain yang menyimaknya. Bermain peran memang efektif untuk membuat peserta didik berlatih menyimak dan berbicara pada saat yang sama. Di tahap latihan untuk perekaman, unsur kefasihan dan kelancaran berbahasa menjadi fokus yang mendapatkan perhatian lebih. Hal ini disebabkan proses perekaman membutuhkan kelancaran yang berterima. Saat di panggung diharapkan semua peran memperagakan tuturannya dengan sangat lancar dan tanpa hambatan.

Pada saat hari H, semua kerja keras kami terbayar. Para peserta didik tampak percaya diri karena mereka yakin akan bisa melaksanakannya didasarkan proses persiapan yang telah mereka jalankan. Dilihat dari respon para penonton di Pentas Akhir Tahun, mereka terlihat tertarik melihat pertunjukan kabaret. Respon ini sangat menggembirakan para peserta didik. Mereka terlihat lebih percaya diri untuk melaksanakan hal yang sama. Penilaian proses dan akhir bisa dilakukan pada saat pertunjukan ini.

Tahap terakhir adalah Evaluasi atau refleksi. Para peserta didik mengungkapkan bahwa mereka sangat menikmati proses produksi kabaret ini. Bahkan mereka menyatakan ingin melaksanakan hal yang sama untuk tahun depan. Mereka tertantang untuk mempertunjukan langsung kebolehan mereka tanpa perlu direkam. Hal ini menjadi tanda bahwa motivasi bisa terbangkitkan selain tujuan utama pembelajaran keempat keterampilan yang bisa berhasil tercapai.

Praktik proyek pembuatan pertunjukan kabaret ini bisa disimpulkan merupakan satu terobosan pertama dan berhasil di sekolah kami. Pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris yang sebelumnya sangat monoton dan tergantung pada buku bacaan berubah menjadi hal yang menarik dan menantang bagi para peserta didik. Proyek pertunjukan ini bukanlah hal yang terlalu sulit. Hal ini bisa dipraktikan di sekolah lain asal ada kemauan dan tekad.

A Creepy Night

 

One dark night, Alana went for a ride on her bike. As a shy girl, she gathered all courage to answer her friend’s challenge to prove her bravery by riding through a cemetery in the town and took a selfie in front of the biggest tomb in the middle of it.

 It was raining lightly and nobody was seen on her way from her house to the cemetery.

Upon arriving, she opened the creaking gate of the cemetery and slid through. Nothing was heard except the soft sound of raindrops and the whistling wind that breezed coldly passed her.

She looked around and surely she would not find anybody stupid enough to go there. She pushed her bike slowly along the path between the tombs approaching the biggest tomb. She whispered to herself, “Go on, brave Alana. You can do it. Go on.” But still, her trembling body couldn’t hide her fear.

As she was whispering, a faint sound of something soft dragged along the wet grass caught her attention. She quickly looked around but her eyes only saw tombs protruding above the ground. She walked again slowly and still the same sound seemed to follow her. She began to feel very anxious. Then she turned and looked back and when she faced forward again, a dark figure flew right towards her as quick as a lightning. It had the scariest face she had ever seen. It was a vampire with two sharp fangs coming out between his lips.

“How dare you come to this place, young girl?” he grunted.

She tried to make comprehensible words but she was too scared to do it. She could only babbled. Shakingly she walked backward slowly. Yet the vampire approached her slowly but surely. She searched her pocket but she only brought her cellphone.

She took it out and tried to contact someone. However, all she touched was the camera application. It opened and turned the backlight accordingly. She tried to close it but the vampire noticed and stopped her. “Don’t close it!” he said unexpectedly. “Why?” Alana answered, still shaking with fear. “Why, to have selfies of course!” So, he took the phone and had selfies with Alana. He kept smiling during the selfie sessions and grinned a lot. Alana, on the opposite, was really ackward. After taking many selfies, the vampire handed the phone to Alana and thanked her. He then vanished without a trace. 

Then she hurried up to get out of the cemetery. Once she reached the road she pushed the pedals as hard as she could and headed home. Instead of taking a selfie, she got selfies of herself AND a vampire.

(A workshop assignment from Ms. Frances Christie in ISFC 2016 Post Congress Bandung)

Kabayan and the Bags of Beans

Kabayan was a lazy man. He married Iteung, the daughter of Abah Ontohod and Ambu Ijoh. His father-in-law didn’t like him because of his laziness.

One night, Kabayan was asked to go with Abah to harvest the beans in the garden.

Actually he didn’t want to go. He said to Iteung, “The garden is far. I will be tired and sweaty.” 

Iteung soothed him, “Never mind atuh Kang, Abah will be angry if you refuse to go.”

Kabayan complained, “Owh Okay…”

The following morning, the two men went early because the garden was far from their house. Nobody talked along the way, even Kabayan walked sleepily. He usually woke up after the sun was high but today, he was awoken early.

“I don’t understand Abah,” he thought, “He is so old but he keeps wanting to collect richness. What are those riches for if not for making us happy? What happens is the riches become punishment. Just watch…” 

When they  arrived at the garden, they immediately gather the harvest. Abah worked very seriously while Kabayan often stopped, stood looking around. He hardly got any harvest because he was always daydreaming and complaining because he didn’t want to work. He apparently didn’t want to continue working.

He looked around. When he saw an empty bag, he came up with a trick. He smiled.

“Abah, abah” 

“Heuy.”

“I need to go to take a pee. My stomach hurts. If I am away too long, wait for me! Don’t leave me behind.”

“Okay! Just don’t be too long.”

“It depends because sickness comes like a flash and leaves slowly.”

Abah talked while keep harvesting the beans. He didn’t look around. 

Kabayan went into the bean bag. He curled himself and covered himself with beans to hide him.

When Abah came, he put the beans into the bag.  He saw that the bag was already full. He tied the bag to a stick and pulled it. “What a heavy bag,” he said. Then he sat and waited for Kabayan.

Kabayan didn’t show up for a long time and the evening came closer. “Why is he taking a long time? Said Abah to himself. “I bet he went home because he was sick. What a brat, how can he do it? He should have told me if he wanted to go home, but he just went. What a brat.”

Then he put the bag onto his shoulder. “Wow, it is so heavy,” he said while touching the bag, “the beans were pressed so hard into the bag.”

When he arrived home, he put the bag in the kitchen on a couch. Ambu untied the bag and said, “Wow, the harvest was really good. There are so many beans.”

“Hih, we didn’t harvest all the beans because it was soon full. The bag is too small, “ said Abah. “They are only one half I guess. By the way Ambu, I didn’t hear Kabayan. How is his stomachache?”

“He has a stomachache? I didn’t know that. I thought he went with you to the garden.”

“Indeed, we went together this morning, but he went home early. He had a stomachache.”

“Really!? Please Abah, help me empty this bag. It is so heavy.”

When they emptied the bag, some beans fell out but it was stuck. When they pulled and shook, Kabayan came out and fell curling. Ambu yelled because she was surprised. Abah jumped backward because he was surprised too.

Kabayan said sheepishly, “Hehe, it is because I was too tired!”

“It’s you Kabayan?” said Ambu.

“I was so tired Ambu! And also, I like it so much when Abah had me on his shoulder.”

“How could you do that? It was not polite to do that to your father in-law.” Ambu said. Abah didn’t say anything and just walked into the house. His heart was burning because he wanted to take a revenge. 

Nyi Iteung was very angry at Kabayan. She asked Kabayan to work seriously when harvesting the beans.

“Tomorrow, finish harvesting the beans with Abah, Kabayan! Do it well.  Behave yourself. It is not a good thing you did today, “ said Ambu.

“Heug, I won’t do it again, Ambu.”

The next day, Kabayan and Abah went to the garden again. They worked diligently once they got there. Abah glanced at Kabayan occasionally. Kabayan worked diligently harvesting the beans. It seemed that he remembered what his mother-in-law said. He really worked hard this time.

Knowing that Kabayan worked busily, Abah sneaked in. Kabayan went on harvesting the beans until the bag was fully stuffed. Then he tied it tightly.

“Where is Abah? He must leave ahead of me. Perhaps, he is still angry at me for what happened yesterday. It’s okay. I will go home. I will drag the bag because it is too heavy for me to carry on my shoulder, “ he said while rolling the bag. Then he quickly dragged the bag.

“Kabayan! Kabayan!” said a voice inside the bag. “It’s me, your father-in-law. Don’t drag me!”

Kabayan stopped, “Aah, you are beans..beans..!” Saying that, he hit the bag hard. He dragged the bag again quickly.

“Kabayan! It’s me, your father-in-law! Not beans!”

“Beans… You are beans!” he said smirking devilishly while dragging the bag.

Abah kept shouting until he lost his voice.

When Kabayan came to the house and entered the kitchen, he dropped the bag on the floor. “Ek!” came a man’s voice.

“There you are, Ambu, a bag of beans!” Kabayan said and went to wash himself.

When Ambu unloaded the content of the bag, Abah fell from the bag groaning. His body was black and blue as the result of being dragged along the way in the bag. Ambu was horribly shocked. She then took care of him. For two days, Abah couldn’t even wake up.

(Adapted from a Sundanese Folklore. Adapted from http://bujanggamanik.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/80/)

Akhirnya Saat Itu Tiba

Aku tak suka tatapan mereka yang membuatku tidak tahu harus berbuat apa. Langkahku selalu diikuti mata-mata terpesona yang meneliti setiap bagian tubuhku. Bukankah mata mereka harusnya untuk mahram mereka? Sungguh melelahkan.

Belum lagi tatapan sinis pasangan para pria itu. Pandangan mata mereka seakan ingin mengupas seluruh bagian tubuhku dan menjadikan kulitku sebagai panji kemenangan mereka karena telah membuatku tak indah lagi. Bukankah mereka seharusnya memberi obat mata paling perih yang mereka bisa beli dan meneteskannya ke mata para pasangan mereka? Sungguh mengesalkan. Terlebih setelah kedua orang tuaku wafat akibat kecelakaan 3 tahun lalu.

Aku tidak ingin menjadi pusat perhatian namun beginilah aku tercipta oleh-Nya. Aku ingin mensyukuri nikmat-Nya tanpa harus membuat orang lain berdosa. Aku ingin berjalan ke tempat di mana aku mempunyai hak di dalamnya. Ya, aku ingin pergi ke sekolah tempatku mengajar tanpa harus mengkhawatirkan apapun. Tak sabar rasanya menunggu datangnya Aa Deden seusai menyelesaikan tugas belajar S3-nya di luar negeri.

Semoga hari ini aku bisa mengajar dengan tenang tanpa terganggu pandangan mereka. Diiringi alunan adzan Subuh Aki Tatang di Mushala Arrohim yang mendayu dan memelas, aku bangkit dari kasur meninggalkan lamunanku dan menuju ke kamar mandi untuk menyegarkan badan dan jiwaku dengan bersuci. Setelah itu, serangkaian kegiatan rutin pagi sendirian aku kerjakan sampai tiba waktu dimulainya siksaan sejak langkah pertamaku dari rumah menuju sekolah.

“Aduh, Neng Ani, udah cantik banget. Mau ngajar ya?”

Bi Oneng berbasa-basi padaku sambil matanya melirik ke jendela rumahnya untuk mengecek jikalau Mang Ohid mengintip di balik kaca.

“Iya, Bi. Permisi Bi,” jawabku sambil buru-buru melangkahkan kaki saat sekelebat kulihat Mang Ohid di balik tirai jendela.

Pertigaan jalan raya masih 10 meter lagi jaraknya. Para tukang ojek rupanya sudah hapal jadwal keberangkatanku ke sekolah karena terlihat mereka siap menyambut kedatanganku dengan cengiran penuh harap mereka agar aku menggunakan jasa mereka. Mereka seakan selalu melupakan bahwa sekolahku itu hanya 50 meter jaraknya dari pertigaan tersebut.

“Ojek, Neng?” sapa Kang Aceng dengan genit. Kang Dadang tak mau kalah berkata,

”Sama Akang aja, Neng. Gratis deh.”

“Enggak, Kang. Sudah dekat kok,” tolakku halus sambil berlalu berbelok kanan. Punggungku terasa panas karena aku tahu pasti pandangan mereka sedang terpusat pada diriku. Jalanku semakin cepat seakan ada sesuatu yang mengejarku.

Akhirnya gerbang sekolah terlihat dan di depan gerbang Abah Sayid berdiri gagah dalam usia rentanya seperti biasa. Beliau adalah penjaga sekolah. Hanya beliaulah yang selalu bisa aku percaya dan yakin akan menjagaku. Beliau adalah sahabat almarhum ayahku dan bersama Ma Dedeh menjadikanku sebagai anak sendiri.

Namun, hari ini senyumnya saat menyapaku agak berbeda. Terasa ada kebahagiaan yang lebih di dalamnya.

“Assalamu ‘alaikum. Sehat Neng?” katanya.

“Wa ‘alaikum salam. Sehat, Bah. Abah sama Ema gimana?” jawabku sambil membalas senyumnya.

Beliau menjawab, “Alhamdulillah, sehat. Ema di kantin tuh, lagi semangat buat goreng pisang kesukaanmu dan ...” 

Kalimat itu terpotong dengan satu senyuman misterius. Ya. Aku tahu maksudnya. Pisang goreng adalah makanan favoritku dan Aa Deden. Beliau tidak melanjutkan karena tahu akan mengingatkanku padanya yang nun jauh di luar negeri.

Setelah berbasa-basi sedikit, aku memasuki bangunan sekolah dan menuju ruang guru. Di sepanjang koridor aku bertemu berpapasan dengan sejumlah guru dan saling bertukar sapa. Namun, ada yang berbeda dari sikap para guru pria yang biasanya menunjukkan rasa kagumnya padaku meskipun tidak segenit pria-pria lain di kampungku. Mereka hanya tersenyum tipis misterius seperti halnya Abah Sayid tadi. Para guru perempuan para sahabatku juga seakan menyembunyikan sesuatu. Ada apa ini?

Saat melangkah masuk ruang guru, aku tertegun. Ada seseorang duduk di kursi tamu membelakangiku sedang berhadapan dengan bapak kepala sekolah. Detak jantungku mendadak bertambah cepat. Aku sangat mengenal bentuk bahu itu. Tapi mungkinkah?

Aku melangkah perlahan mendekati sang pemilik punggung. Tak kupedulikan guru-guru yang sedang duduk di tempat mereka. Entah apa yang mereka lakukan.Pandanganku hanya tertuju pada orang yang duduk tersebut. Aku kenal betul rambut lurus rapi itu. Mungkinkah?

Bapak kepala sekolah menatapku dengan senyum hangat. “Assalamu ‘alaikum, Bu Ani,” beliau menyapaku.

Orang tersebut memalingkan wajahnya untuk melihatku dan tersenyum. 

“Masya Allah,” ucapku tanpa sadar. Senyum itu selalu membuatku terasa aman dan tenang. Senyum itulah yang ingin selalu aku lihat di saat bangun, di sepanjang hari, dan sampai aku menutup mataku untuk terlelap di akhir hari.

 Ya, dia yang selalu aku tunggu akhirnya hadir di hadapanku. Lelaki yang ingin menjadikan aku muhrimnya, ibu anak-anaknya, nenek dari cucu-cucunya. Dialah lelaki yang aku harapkan masuk bersamaku ke surga yang abadi.

Dia sudah menyelesaikan tugas belajarnya dan dia berhasil mempersingkat pendidikannya karena ingin segera mewujudkan impian kami bersama. Kami bermimpi akan menciptakan keluarga Sakinah Mawadah Warahmah. Insya Allah waktu itu telah datang.

Mousedeer and the Scarecrow (Adapted from A Local Fable)

 Once upon a time, in a forest, Mousedeer was looking for food. After a long time, he couldn’t find any fresh leaves to eat because the forest didn’t have many trees anymore because humans cleared many parts of the forest to have lots of land for plantation.

Then finally he came to a lot of land which was planted with cucumbers. The farmer who had the land wasnot around.

He thought, “Wow, fresh cucumbers. The farmer was not here. What a lucky day for me.” So, he ate as many cucumbers as he could eat and left after he was full.

When the farmer came to see his plants, he was furious. “Something had eaten my cucumbers. I have to keep my eyes on my plants but I cannot be here all the time.”

Then he had an idea to make a scarecrow that resembled him.

The next day, Mousedeer came again to the cucumber plantations to eat cucumbers. At first he was afraid and hid when he saw the scarecrow. He thought it had been the farmer.

Once he knew it was a scarecrow he came to it and kicked it so hard that it fell down. He laughed and yelled at it, “You are not human. I am not afraid of you!”

The next day, the farmer saw what happened to his scarecrow and decided to put on some sticky liquid on it. The liquid was so sticky that animals who touched it would be stuck.

Mousedeer came again when he couldn’t find any food in the forest. At first he ignored the sticky scarecrow and went on eating the cucumbers. When he had enough, he kicked the scarecrow. Unfortunately his right front foot  was stuck on the scarecrow.

He yelled, “Let me go!” Then he kicked again using his other feet. Finally all his feet were stuck on the scarecrow.

When he felt he was helpless, he said to himself, “Humans have cleared the trees in our forest and now one of them will have me prisoner. What horrible creatures, humans are.”

 

ˈfjʊ ə  .ri.əs  furious

 

 

Laugh lɑːf

 

Touch   tʌtʃ

 

Fell   fel

 

Felt  felt

 

 

Forest    ˈfɒr.ɪst

 

Creature         ˈkriː.tʃə r

 

Finally   faɪ.nə.li

The Lorax (Adapted from Dr. Seus' The Lorax. At the end of this post, credits are stated.)

 

There once lived two best friends, Once-ler and the Lorax in a very beatiful land. The land was full of trees which had magical leaves. The leaves can be spun to make clothes of many purposes. Once-ler was a cloth maker and the Lorax was the guardian of the land. For years they lived as best friends. They were also friends with the animals living in the land.

Once-ler took as many leaves as he needed and never too many. The Lorax approved this and always reminded him not too greedy to harvest too many leaves to make clothes.

The Lorax often said, “Take as you need my friend or you will regret it if you take too many leaves.” Once-ler replied, “Sure, my friend. I make clothes for myself and sell them to get some money for my other needs.”

Once-ler’s clothes were very popular and many people like them. However, Once-ler’s family was greedy. They wanted to get more money. They persuaded Once-ler to make more clothes. Unfortunately, more clothes means more leaves. Once-ler was forced to get more leaves by cutting more leaves.

The Lorax was surprised by this change. He then reminded Once-ler, “My friend, please don’t be greedy. You will destroy the environment!”

Once-ler ignored him and his family made him stay away from the Lorax who tried to stop the action. Once-ler said, “You don’t know anything about money. It can give you many things. Go away!” The Lorax then said, “Please, stop. You will regret it.”

But the family keep cutting more and more trees and got more money but the land became barren in a short time. When the last tree was cut down, the Lorax came to Once-ler. He wanted to bid farewell. He said, “This is the last time that we can meet. You are still my friend but I have to go because there aren’t trees anymore that I can guard.”

Once-ler was shocked and finally realized that the beautiful land had became a barren land. He saw the Lorax and his animal friends disappeared. He regretted what he had done. Then he spent his life trying to plant trees and wished that the Lorax and his animal friends could come back and they would become friends again.

guardian  gɑː.di.ən

 

approved   əˈpruːvd

 

 reminded rɪˈmaɪnd

 

greedy   griː.di

 

persuade        pəˈsweɪd

 

 surprised       səˈpraɪzd

 

change            tʃeɪndʒ

 

 

environment  ɪnˈvaɪ ə  .rə n  .mənt

 

realized          rɪə.laɪz

Author	Dr. Seuss
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Children's literature
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	June 23, 1971 (renewed 1999)
Pages	64
ISBN	0-394-82337-0
OCLC	183127
Dewey Decimal	[E]
LC Class	PZ8.3.G276 Lo
Preceded by	"I Can Write—By Me, Myself"
Followed by	"Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!"

Nyi Rambut Kasih and the Origin of Majalengka (An Adaptation of A Folklore)

Once upon a time, there lived a queen in West Java. Her name was Nyi Rambut Kasih. She was very beautiful. She ruled Sindang Kasih Kingdom, a Hindu Kingdom. The kingdom was famous for its endemic trees, the  Maja trees of which fruits were the cure of many kinds of illnesses. 

The kingdom shared a border with the Cirebon Sultanate. One day, a deadly plague started to spread in the sultanate. The people suffered so much and many victims of the plague could only live for a few weeks before finally died. 

Sunan Gunung Jati, the ruler of the sultanate, then summoned his student, Prince Muhammad and asked him to go to Sindang Kasih to request for Maja fruits to cure the people.

He said, “My student, you know our people are suffering from the plague. I want you go Sindang Kasih to ask for Maja fruits. Please go as soon as possible. We are in an emergency situation.”

Prince Muhammad answered dutifully, “Certainly, Your Highness. I will go straight away and I am taking my wife to accompany me.”

The prince was a handsome and well-mannered gentleman and was just recently married to Siti Armillah. 

So, the Prince went to Sindang Kasih. When he met the queen in her palace, he said, “Greeting, your highness. Let me introduce myself. My name is Prince Muhammad. Sunan Gunung Jati has sent me to ask your permission to have Maja fruits for the cure for our sick people.”

The queen was reluctant to give the fruits but liked Prince Muhammad’s politeness and wanted to have him as her husband. Smiling, she then asked, “Dear Prince, you can have as many Maja fruits as you want if you become my husband.”

Prince Muhammad was surprised that the very beautiful queen asked him to become her husband. However, he knew that it would be a problem because they did not embraced the same religion. Furthermore, he was just married and he loved his wife so much.

He said, “It is an honor, Your Highness. Yet, I cannot marry you because you know too that we had a surmountable obstacle and also I am a married man. Please forgive me.”

The queen was disappointed. Enraged by this refusal, she said, “If I cannot marry you, I will not let you have the Maja fruits.” Then, she ordered her soldiers to cut down all Maja trees in Sindang Kasih and to destroy all the fruits. She was said to disappear without any trace after the incident.

Prince Muhammad was very sad to see all the trees being destroyed. He couldn’t fulfil Sunan Gunung Jati’s order and he was too ashamed to go back to Cirebon. He decided to stay in Sindang Kasih which was afterwards called Majalengka after he said “Maja Langka” which meant “Majas were gone” in Cirebon language. 

The Transit

First trip is always both exciting and nerve-cracking. There are so many things to be cautious and excited about. I remember my first trip to Japan  and took a transit at Changi Airport four years ago. 

I was among 22 teachers who were appointed to go to Japan for a short course. We had to switch planes in Changi Airport. This was my first time going abroad and also the first one to transit and switch planes. I was nervous because we had to rush to another terminal immediately after getting off the first plane. It turned out that the terminal we should go to was rather far from the arrival terminal. We only had thirty minutes to walk and take a skytrain to the departure terminal. I walked with two heavy bags and sat for seconds on a couch in a terminal just to take a breath before rushing again to keep up with the group. Once we got on the skytrain, I suddenly felt something was wrong. 

It turned out that I left my handbag on the couch. I had a panic attack because all the important papers were in the bag. I could not stop the train and I sweated all over because we only had few minutes before taking off. 

Once the group got off the train, I spoke to the group leader and he kindly said that he would accompany me to the previous terminal to get the bag. I was worried because even though we could get back to the terminal, there was no guarantee that the bag was still around.

We took the train again and once we got off I almost ran to get to the couch. God bless! The bag was still on the couch. It felt like I was granted another scholarship when I saw and grabbed the bag. Then we went as quickly as possible to reach the departure terminal. And we were the last passengers who boarded the plane to Japan. We were also the only passengers who had sweat all over our clothes. I didn’t care because in seven hours I would be stepping my feet on the soil of the samurais.

"Kalian itu calon guru."

Bertahun lalu di satu kelas mata kuliah grammar, seorang dosen killer memandang kecewa tumpukan hasil ujian yang baru saja dinilai. Mulutnya bergetar menahan emosi. Hati dan logikanya berdebat keras. 

"Kalian itu calon guru."

Beliau akhirnya berkata setelah emosinya mereda. Kalimat yang sederhana. Singkat. Jelas. Pernyataan. Namun itu secara tata bahasa.

Kami menundukkan kepala dengan rasa malu. Bukan hanya pada Pak Soeratno namun juga malu kepada diri sendiri dan kepongahan diri menganggap nanti pantas disebut guru.

"Anak didik seperti apa yang akan kalian hasilkan jika kalian masih seperti ini?" Lirih beliau melanjutkan. Pelan namun jelas terdengar. Kelas memang sangat hening saat itu. Tak ada lagi gelak tawa dan candaan khas mahasiswa semester 2 jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris yang katanya elit itu.

"Guru seharusnya menurunkan ilmunya sebanyak yang dia bisa. Saya tanya sekarang. Berapa banyak ilmu yang bisa kalian berikan kepada anak didik kalian yang menganggap kalian seseorang yang digugu dan ditiru?"

Kami tidak berani menaikan pandangan. Namun di dalam hati, kami tertampar sangat keras dan jatuh ke dalam rasa berdosa.

"Maukah kalian memperbaiki diri agar anak didik kalian bisa mendapatkan yang terbaik dari kalian? Bisakah kalian berhenti merasa puas dan membuat layak kalian disebut guru? Kalian bisa. Hanya saja entahlah. Pikirkan anak didik kalian nanti."

Berucap beliau serasa membereskan materi kuliah dan melangkah keluar kelas. Kertas hasil ujian tengah semester beliau tinggalkan di atas meja dosen.

Selama beberapa menit setelah beliau meninggalkan kelas, satu per satu kami mengambil hasil ujian kami. Tak ada satupun dari kami yang mencapai nilai 70 dari 100 yang bisa diraih.

"Kalian itu calon guru."

Kalimat ini terngiang kembali dan menusuk hati. Sederhana secara tata bahasa namun secara semantik, kalimat ini bermakna dalam.

Guru harus memastikan anak didiknya mendapatkan materi ajar yang layak, metode ajar yang sesuai untuk mereka, kemampuan memberikan umpan balik yang baik dan guru yang menguasai betul apa yang diajarkannya.

Jika kami hanya mampu menguasai materi ajar setara nilai 60 dari 100, seberapa kualitas anak didik yang akan kami hasilkan?

Jika kami salah menuliskan kalimat dan kemudian anak didik kami yakin itu benar karena kami merasa benar, apa pertanggungjawaban kami nanti?

Tanpa canda tawa, kami meninggalkan kelas merasa kalah. Bukan kalah pada ujian, namun kalah kepada kepuasan kami pada kemampuan kami yang sebenarnya bisa meningkat. Kalah pada keinginan kami bermain ke Malioboro atau Parangtritis saat kami harusnya mempersiapkan diri untuk ujian. Kalah atas optimisme kami bahwa kami akan berhasil menjadi PNS karena kami dibutuhkan, sekalipun nilai kami pas-pasan.

Duapuluh tahun kemudian.

Seorang mahasiswa di kelas itu berdiri di panggung tingkat nasional. Seorang guru yang mewakili kabupaten dan provinsinya di suatu ajang. Meraih medali tingkat nasional.

Namun, ucapan sang dosen tetap terngiang. Yang diraihnya di hari itu adalah hasil dari "cambukan" beliau. Sejak hari itu dua puluh tahun lalu, dia tidak pernah melihat bangga dan puas atas nilai 643 yang diraihnya, namun dia akan melihat 34 nilai sisanya yang seharusnya dia bisa dapatkan. Dia melihat di bagian mana dia harus memperbaiki diri. 

Dia harus memperbaiki diri agar bisa memberikan yang terbaik bagi anak didiknya. Terbaik yang harus diberikan. Bukan terbaik yang bisa dia berikan karena terkadang yang terbaik yang bisa diberikan hanyalah 60 persen dari 100% yang seharusnya.