Teacher’s Hymn – Talking about education certainly cannot be separated from the teacher’s name. The role of the teacher in education is very important because it can provide additional knowledge for students as well as shape the character of the students themselves. Teachers will also be happy when they see their students succeed in the future.
Teacher is an unsung job. The presence of a teacher is very important for students. Without a teacher, we will not know much about science. Teachers not only teach basic science, but also as educators for students to become better. Therefore, we should respect and value teachers.
Thanks to all the material provided by the teacher, students become smarter and their insights increase. In fact, thanks to the teacher, we also know which things are really good to do and which are not good things to do.
Definition of Teacher
The definition of a teacher is someone who has devoted himself to teaching a science, educating, directing, and training his students to understand the science he teaches. In this case, the teacher not only teaches formal education, but also other education and can become a role model for his students.
Meanwhile, in the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), a teacher is a person whose job (livelihood, profession) is teaching.
From this explanation, we can understand that the role of the teacher is very important in the process of creating a quality next generation, both intellectually and morally.
Understanding Teachers According to Experts
In addition, some experts also express the meaning of the teacher. The following is the understanding of the teacher according to experts, namely:
1. Dri Atmaka (2004)
According to Dri Atmaka, educators or teachers are people who have the responsibility to provide assistance to students in developing both physical and spiritual.
2. Husnul Chotimah (2008)
According to Husnul Chotimah, the notion of a teacher is a person who facilitates the process of transferring knowledge from learning resources to students.
3. Ngalim Purwanto
According to Ngalim Purwanto, the notion of a teacher is a person who has given knowledge or intelligence to a person or to a group of people.
4. Mulyasa
According to Mulyasa, the notion of a teacher is someone who has academic qualifications and competence as a learning agent, is physically and mentally healthy, and is able to realize national education goals.
5. Drs. M.Uzer Usman (1996)
According to Drs. M. Uzer Usman, the notion of a teacher is every person who is authorized and served in the world of education and teaching in formal educational institutions.
6. Law no. 14 of 2005
According to Law no. 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers, the notion of teachers is professional educators who have the main task of educating, teaching, guiding, directing, training, assessing and evaluating students in early childhood education through formal basic education and secondary education.
Teacher Duties and Responsibilities
A teacher has a responsibility towards his students. A teacher or educator has the duty and responsibility to teach, educate, train students to become quality individuals, both in terms of intellectual and morals or behavior. Here are some of the main tasks of the teacher, including:
1. Teaching Students
A teacher certainly has the responsibility to teach a science to students. This is the main focus in teaching activities in intellectual matters, so that students know about material from a scientific discipline.
2. Educate the Disciples
Educating students is different from teaching a science. In this case, educational activities with the aim of changing student behavior for the better.
The process of educating students is a more difficult thing to do when compared to teaching a science. In addition, a teacher must be able to be a good role model for his students, so that students can have good character according to the norms and values that apply in society.
3. Train Students
A teacher also has a duty to train his students to have basic skills and prowess. If in public schools the teachers train students on basic skills and abilities, then in vocational schools the teachers provide advanced skills and skills
4. Guiding and Directing
Learners may experience confusion or doubt in the teaching and learning process. A teacher has the responsibility to guide and direct their students to stay on the right track, and in accordance with educational goals.
5. Giving Encouragement to Students
The last point of a teacher’s job is to encourage his students to try hard to be more advanced. The form of encouragement given by a teacher to his students can be in various ways, for example by giving gifts.
The Role of Teachers in Education
Teachers have an important role in education. The following is the role of the teacher, including:
1. As a teacher
The teacher is a person who teaches a science to his students. With the role of this teacher, the knowledge of a student can increase.
2. As an educator
The teacher is a person who educates his students to have behavior that is in accordance with the norms that apply in society. Thanks to this role, students will know what can be done and what cannot be done.
3. As a guide
The teacher is the person who directs his students to stay on the right track according to educational goals.
4. As a motivator
The teacher is the person who motivates and encourages his students to learn. The motivation given by this teacher can make students more enthusiastic about learning and not easily bored when teaching and learning activities take place.
5. As a role model
The teacher is a person who sets a good example and example to his students. Therefore, as much as possible the teacher does not show bad behavior in front of students.
6. As an administrator
The teacher becomes the person who records the progress of his students, so he knows which students are developing significantly and which are difficult to develop.
7. As an evaluator
The teacher becomes the person who evaluates the learning process of their students.
8. As an inspiration
Teachers become people who inspire their students, so that they have a goal in the future.
Actually, there are many roles of a teacher in the world of education. Not only in teaching science, teachers are also often role models for their students.
Teacher History
Sinaumed’s, National Teacher’s Day which is celebrated every November 25 has a long history because it is closely related to the birthday of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) on November 25, 1945.
In 1912, native teachers during the Dutch era founded a fighting organization called the Dutch East Indies Teachers Association (PGHB). PGHB’s own members are assistant teachers, village teachers, school principals and school inspectors. In general, they served in the Village School and the Number Two People’s School.
The main goal of this organization is to fight for the fate of its members, who of course, have different social status and educational background. This struggle is certainly not easy. Over time, new teacher organizations were born, such as the Auxiliary Teachers’ Association (PGB), Village Teachers’ Association (PGD), Ambachtsschool Teachers’ Association (PGAS), Normalschool Association (PNS), Hogere Kweekschool Bond (HKSB).
In addition, there are teacher organizations with a religious, national or other pattern, such as Christelijk Onderwijs Vereniging (COV), Katholieke Onderwijs Bond (KOB), Vereniging Van Mulo Leerkrachten (VVM), and Nederlands Indische Onderwijs Genootschap (NIOG) whose members are all teachers without differentiate between religious groups.
At that time, teachers in the ranks of the natives were well aware that they had to fight for equal rights and positions with teachers from the Dutch side. This step was successful, the HIS head, which had always been given to the Dutch, was now allowed to be held by native teachers.
In 1932, native teachers were determined to change the name of the Dutch East Indies Teachers’ Association (PGHB) to Indonesian Teachers’ Association (PGI), which of course surprised the Dutch because they did not like the word “Indonesia”. Because, considered to reflect the spirit of nationalism.
In fact, the organization was at its lowest point during the Japanese occupation when it banned all organizations, closed schools which made the Indonesian Teachers’ Association (PGI) unable to carry out its activities anymore. However, on 24-25 November 1945, they held the Indonesian Teachers’ Congress in Surakarta. In that congress, they agreed to erase all differences in graduation, work environment, regional environment, politics, religion and ethnicity.
Apart from that, the congress also agreed to establish the Association of Indonesian Teachers (PGRI) on November 25, 1945. In fact, through Presidential Decree No. 78 of 1994, the Indonesian government implemented and commemorated National Teacher’s Day on November 25 every year.
Lyrics of the Teacher’s Hymn
Blessed be
O you, mother and father, teacher.
Your name will always live
in my soul
I will engrave all your devotion
in my heart
as an inscription of my gratitude
for your dedication
Praise be to you, ladies and gentlemen,
your name will always live in my heart,
I will engrave all your dedication in my heart
as an inscription of my gratitude
For your service
You are like a lamp in the darkness
You are like a cooling dew in thirst
You are an unsung national hero
History of the Teacher’s Hymn
In the 1980s, Sartono composed the song “Teacher Hymn: Unsung Heroes” as an effort to appreciate teachers because they were considered to have contributed greatly to education in Indonesia. As reported by the book Collection of National Compulsory Songs, Traditional & Popular Children (2017) by Hani Widiatmoko, Dicky Maulana, Sartono is a former music teacher at a private foundation school in Madiun City, East Java.
The man who was born in Madiun, May 29, 1936, studied music on his own without having had any education in music. However, in 1978, he was the only music teacher in the Madiun area who could read musical notes. Due to the limitations of musical instruments at that time, the Hymn Guru song was created by whistling while writing the notes down on paper.
The Teacher Hymn song is generally played when commemorating National Teacher’s Day on November 25, which is also the birth of the Indonesian Teachers’ Association (PGRI) on November 25, 1945.
Before becoming PGRI, native teachers during the Dutch era founded a fighting organization called the Dutch East Indies Teachers Association (PGHB). The members of PGHB are assistant teachers, village teachers, school principals, and school owners. In general, they work in village schools and public schools. The main objective of this organization is to fight for the fate of its members who have different social status and educational background.
In 1932, native teachers changed the name PGHB to the Association of Indonesian Teachers (PGI), which shocked the Dutch. Not only that, PGI was also inactive because Japan banned the activities of various organizations in Indonesia and closed schools. In the end, on 24-25 November 1945 the teachers held the Indonesian Teachers’ Congress in Surakarta, which was marked by the formation of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI).
In this congress, PGRI members agreed to erase all differences in graduation, work environment, regional environment, politics, religion and ethnicity. National Teacher’s Day was decided in 1994 with the writing of a presidential decree, namely Presidential Decree No. 78 of 1994 and also written in Law no. 14 of 2005 concerning teachers and lecturers which stipulates that November 25 is National Teacher’s Day which is celebrated at the same time as PGRI’s birthday.
This song was composed by Sartono in the 1980s. Sartono himself is a former music teacher at a private foundation in Madiun City, East Java. Actually, Sartono himself never studied music formally, but he was the only music teacher who could read musical notes in his area. Due to the limitations of musical instruments at that time, the song Hymn Guru Sartono was composed by whistling while writing the notes down on paper.
Even though his income from his job as a teacher was meager, his passion for music made Sartono create several songs. Coinciding with the momentum of National Education Day in 1980, Sartono took part in a competition to compose songs about education. Of the hundreds of participants, the song “Teacher’s Hymn, Unsung Hero” was the winner. Apart from getting some money as the winner, Sartono along with a number of other model teachers throughout Indonesia were sent to Japan for a comparative study.
The Meaning of the Teacher’s Hymn
The song “Teacher’s Hymn” describes the important role of the teacher in educating and educating the nation’s children. In this song there are lyrics such as “You are a lamp in the dark, you are like cooling dew in thirst, you are a patriot, a national hero, unsung”. The lyrics describe a teacher as a light for his students who are thirsty for knowledge and full of ignorance. It is the teacher who delivers, directs, and gives views until we know where we are going to continue our journey.
The lyrics “Praise be to you, ladies and gentlemen teachers” can be interpreted as a teacher not only as an introduction to knowledge, but as an educator for his students, so that they can anchor themselves as moral individuals. In addition, this song also remembers what our teachers have remembered in helping us take steps, as in the lyrics “Your name will always live in my heart.” The advice they have given is able to guide us in reaching the pieces of the dream we have.
Even though we have been far apart from our teachers, they will always live in our hearts. In the end, the teacher’s services cannot be measured, as in the lyrics “I will engrave all your dedication in my heart, as an inscription of my gratitude for your service.” This is because the teacher is a form of national hero who does not take up weapons or join wars, but imparts knowledge to his students. That way, teachers are also said to be “unsung heroes.”
Being a teacher is certainly not easy. We not only prepare knowledge, but we must also prepare mentally and sincerely to teach. If Sinaumed’s is interested in becoming a teacher. Make sure Sinaumed’s has read a lot of books in addition to the information available at sinaumedia.com .