DISCUSSION TEXT

 ACCELERATION CLASS

At present, we often hear about education ministry’s schedule which wants to make a new program as a strong foundation in our learning process in Indonesia. Consequently, the schedule will cause some effects to the whole high school in our country, not except the closing of acceleration programs. Acceleration programs are a program for special teenagers who have more ability in lessons. Acceleration student can learn even faster than the ordinary students. As we know, acceleration programs force his students to work hard in order to reach the goal. The goal is completing the learning process just in 2 years.

Most education experts agree and others disagree with this program. Apart from the agreed or not, now there are schools that start experiment and try to open this program and later need to be evaluated whether it’s positive or not.

Is it possible to accelerate the education? Below are stated the advantages and the disadvantages of acceleration program for education and teaching in schools. The advantages are, students with high intellectual talent are helped by this program to get a better teaching support according to his talents. They will be able to quickly pass, finish the learning process one year earlier than regular students. So the advantage lies in the acceleration of teaching. With this acceleration program is expected to talented students from getting bored in the same class with other students, so as not to interfere with, disrupt the class, and so he can move forward quickly.

Besides advantages, there are some disadvantages in terms of acceleration class program. The disadvantages are as follows. First, the acceleration programs often focus more on the cognitive aspect. In the national debate over education issues in recent years many discussed about the lack of values ​​education in schools from elementary through high school. Realizing it, many schools over point out the cognitive aspect, but do not point out the other aspects of values educational, including character education and other aspects of humanity such as emotionality, religiosity, sociality, spirituality, personal maturity, affectivity, etc.

Educational value and appreciation of humanity requires a long time to be educated, making it difficult to be accelerated. For example, planting the sociality needs to be realized in each students interaction and cooperation and not enough by just teaching knowledge.

Now, we know the disadvantages of acceleration program. Both the advantages and the disadvantages of acceleration program can be balanced. It depends on our struggle. Our struggle to make acceleration programs as functional as it used to be. Of course, we also must create a space for character building to be learnt. It is important for student’s development. But in college program is very suitable for the acceleration program that pointed out the development of student knowledge, not the value of education as in elementary through high school. So at the college level, students may only take two courses, or a double major, if they can force their brain to study hard.