IMPROVING CHARACTER ASPECT BASED ON MARIA MONTESSORI

AND KI HAJAR DEWANTARA PERSPECTIVE TOWARD YOUNG

LEARNER

Abstract

The research aims to study the thought of Maria Montessori and Ki Hajar
Dewantara with the ideal education related in improving of students character.
This paper is research literature study, techniques data collection is done in the
library based on the readings of some literature that has information and the
information relevant to the topic.

Keywords: Improving character, Maria Montessori, Ki Hajar Dewantara, young

learner.

INTRODUCTION

The term "character" in Greek and Latin, character derived from the word
“charassein” which means to carve a fixed and not deleted style. Personality or
character is a combination of all human nature that is fixed so that a special sign
to distinguish one person with another. According to Suyanto (2010) character is a
way of thinking and behaving that characteristic of each individual to live
cooperate, both in family environment, society, nation and state. A well-
characterized individual is an individual who can make decisions and is prepared
to account for any consequences of the decisions he makes.

Admitted or not that a lot of young learner character lately experienced a

very faded terrible. The young generation now, both in the village and in many
cities spend only time to playing play station, gadgets, games online, and so on.
They are not appreciate the value of local culture and also foreign to the terms
such as manners, etiquette, mutual cooperation and noble values that exist in
Indonesia. Various life activities and games seemed to keep him busy even no
longer recognize the importance of social interaction and cooperation, attached
with the current school conditions that many spent their time, so that the children
don’t have time to learn about local wisdom.

Surely this is a failure of education in addressing the changing times which

does not favor the formation of character based on religion and morality. Indeed,
childhood is an important period for the growth and cultivation of the moral
values of the nation, because it is a golden period to describe the values of the
wise character in the mind of his soul. Children are provided with good morals
and life experience well, he will grow into a virtuous, valuable, creative, and
independent child.

Education needs a total reform of the role of education in shaping the

nation's character. It need the existence of khitah or returns to the starting line
about the essence of educational goal itself, as ever initiated by National
Education Father Ki Hadjar Dewantara. Why refers to Ki Hadjar, because
according to Abuddin Nata, that the problem of education in general and Islamic
education in particular in Indonesia, presumably can not be left behind the talk of
the character named Ki

Hadjar Dewantara, an expert in the field and concentrating his expertise in

education.