Pamboekaning Toeas, The First LKS in Balinese Language Subject

Pamboekaning Toeas, TheFirst LKS in Balinese Language Subject

Who doesn’t know LKS (Lembar Kerja Siswa or student worksheets). Every student going to school or those who have finished any formal education in Indonesia must be familiar with the student worksheets (LKS). This is due to the fact that student worksheets always take a part in learning activities in class, even more importantly the word “LKS” is often taken as the determining factor of students’ circumstances at school. Take an example of a situation when a teacher isn’t able to come to the class, the students then are usually instructed to finish their worksheets. Some students will sit quietly and diligently finish their worksheets, while some other lazybones will play around while waiting for the diligent students finishing their worksheets, and then they will just copy their work. Even worse, some students will ignorantly go to cafeteria and forget their worksheets. However, it applies not only to students, but also to some teachers as well. In a condition when some teachers (sometimes) doesn’t feel like teaching, the LKS will be a powerful weapon for teachers. “Okay students, open up your LKS chapter two, do the exercise number 25 to 80”, well this type of teacher does exist in reality, and quite often becomes the slackers’ favorite at school. The LKS is also frequently used by teachers as a tool of punishment to force students to study. When the troublemakers make mistakes or trespassing school regulations, doing LKS in teacher’s office becomes one of excruciating punishments, cold sweat streaming down due to dozens pairs of teachers’ eyes watching them. It hurts so bad but doesn’t bleed.

So this is the hustle and bustle of doing student worksheets that come up in our mind when hearing the word “LKS”. However, when we are pursuing formal education, we have never got to know closely what LKS truly is because what we are busy doing is fulfilling the blanks. Therefore, let me review what LKS is.

Student Worksheets (LKS) are sheets containing assignments that must be done by students. Student worksheets are usually in the form of instructions, steps to complete a task; and a task instructed in the worksheet must state clear basic competencies to be achieved (Ministry of National Education, 2004). Trianto (2008) defines that student worksheets are the student guides to carry out investigating and problem solving activities.

Based on the two meanings above, LKS is in the form of sheets containing tasks from the teachers to students, which are adjusted to the basic competencies and the learning objectives to be achieved. It is also mentioned that the LKS is a student work guides to facilitate students in conducting learning activities. The presence of LKS, on the basis of noble intentions, aims at succeeding teaching and learning activities in the classroom with a teacher as the guide / the tutor / the instructor / the guardian of the students.

Since when, then, was LKS in Bali? To be exact, it was since the formal education institution established by colonial government. Formal education system was enforced on the people of Bumiputra as one of “responsibilities” of the Dutch East-Indies to the indigenous people, and also as part of their ethical politics too.

The first student worksheets in Bali was in Balinese language and script, so full of Balinese language and script with no Malay language nor Dutch. The use of Dutch as the LKS description only appears on the front and inside cover of the worksheets. The student worksheets is entitled Pamboekaning Toeas, Woordvorming en Balineesche-Taaloefeningen, which more or less means Pamboekaning Toeas, Word Formation and Language Practice. This student worksheets were published in two series; the first series was published in 1915/1916, the front cover was printed in Dutch alphabet (Latin), yet the content was full with Balinese script and language. The first series was reprinted in 1922, but in the second edition, the front cover was printed in Balinese script. The second series was published in the same year as the first series, however the front cover already used Balinese script.

From visual and layout wise, the first LKS in Balinese language is indeed very simple and has no illustration. The cover design is plain; only text with 2 to 3 variations of font and size. In the first edition of the first series, a simple illumination is used on the front cover, but in the next series the illumination is removed. Perhaps, the printing company did not wish to put too much effort on adding pictures on the cover; also, a pictorial cover might not be common for ‘formal’ books published by colonial government printing. This LKS was printed by one of big companies owned by colonial government, Landsdrukkkerij, which was located in Batavia. This printing company also published many books for colonial government.

The writer of the LKS is I Made Pasek, he was a teacher worked in Singaraja, in second level school which now has transformed to Elementary School 2 Singaraja. I Made Pasek was one of many Balinese who studied in teacher training school (Kweekschool) established by colonial government in Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Padang, Makassar, Ambon, and Bandung. However, it was not known in which school I Made Pasek attended. There was a probability that he went to school in Yogyakarta because the city is the closest to Bali. Moreover, the teaching material of Balinese language and Javanese language is relatively closed in terms of cultural and social aspects.

Judging from the title of the LKS, this is not the main book for student to study, but rather a compilation of exercises type of book. Compilation of exercises assembled in this book consist of several types of questions. Type of question dominating the worksheets is the mentioning-object type by presenting keywords related to the characteristics, something which being produced, or something which commonly attach/is used to the object being asked. Samples questions of this type are shown below:

Indayang sambat apa-apa pada malelima, ané gobané:

Barak, selem, kuning, putih, gadang, klawu, poléng, plung, tangi, dadu, nasak gedang, blang, rangréng, gulaklapa, kuning nguda, gadang nguda.

Upami; ané magoba barak: gtih, kincu,.....

The questions above ask students to mention things/objects based on color physical characteristic. Questions in this book are provided with a how-to-answer example, but it is available only for the first question, not for the rest of questions. Some words above which related to color are perhaps not known today by majority of Balinese people especially by the youngsters.

Other type of question appearing in this book is complete-the-sentence type. The author prepared an incomplete sentence, and students are expected to fill in the gaps to complete the sentence. Samples questions of this type are shown below:

Pragatang lengkaranéné:

Putih mletak buka.....

Ngrempayak buka.....

Sngitné amunan.....

Basangné kréyak kréyok buka....

I Cening dkah tur makohkohan, simbuha baan......

Another type of question appearing in the book is finding-synonym or finding-other-names type, for instance:

Alih patunggalan kruna arané ané betén ténénan:

Pulo patunggalan.....

Kadutan patunggalan...

Tlabah soroh.....

Bubu soroh.....

All of the examples above are actually written in Balinese script, however I have transcribed them into Dutch alphabet (Latin) enabling all Tatkala wise readers to read them easily.

The 32-page LKS book for the first series and 34 pages for the second series provide a fairly clear picture of Balinese teaching pattern in the colonial period. This LKS certainly helps activate students in the process of learning activities, and it helps students develop concepts relating to their daily lives. Another thing is to train students to find and develop their skills through learning activities. More importantly, students are able to find and learn a concept which is closely related to their daily lives, not an unreachable concept which is far from their daily lives, which, well… just like many Balinese language LKS today. The concepts presented in Balinese language LKS learned by students today is really far from related to their daily lives.

Types of questions presented in student workbook Pamboekaning Toeas are fairly simple and comprehensible. Questions along with the instructions are clearly and briefly made, consequently students will easily grasp the meaning of the questions then enabling them to find and develop the concepts.

The preparation of these student worksheets might follow the standardized writing books patterns which had been implemented in formal colonial-owned schools, with the terms today known as core competence, indicator, or standard process. For whatever reason, the need for colonial government was to keep their colony within their standards. Educating the people of Bumiputra with formal education was solely for their own needs and was very pragmatic, stated by J. A Wilkens, a colonial government employee who was an expert in the field of Javanese language education.

“Education for the people of Bumiputra must solely for practical purpose. The purpose is not to train the people of Bumiputra so they can acquire deeper knowledge on their native language. The real purpose is not more than teaching them how to read and write in their language and Malay language, so it will be enough to help them with administrative tasks.”

Once colonizer remain colonizer, their necessity is to maintain the colony and to dominate over their colonies. Education is purely for pragmatic purposes, for fulfilling the needs of the rulers and the entrepreneurs, and this custom has been running to this day.