The Influence of Living in Boarding House to Students’ Motivation
[Expository Essay]
The school achievement of a student is not only depending on the students’ ability to process and use the knowledge offered in class but also depends on some factors outside the classroom. Those factors are, the media of learning, or more personally, the people in the students’ direct environment, such as parents or friends. Parents are the closest persons who directly influence and control students’ attitude toward learning. But, if those students live far away from home, their friends would be the most influent person for them. This condition will decrease parents’ role as the controller of their children’s learning progress. The lack of parents’ role and the dominancy of friends’ influent will not always inhibit students’ learning progress but somehow it gives some advantages. The real fact can be found In Sukma Helen Flavel Foundation owned by Mrs. Padmadewi, the teacher remarked that the students who live far from home and stay in this foundation boarding house generally work harder and receive higher marks than the students who come for regular school. How does it happen?? There are two reasons which cause this phenomenon, they are, constant supervision and peer’s influence.
Constant supervision as the first factor builds students’ responsibility. Living in boarding house means children already prepare themselves to run their daily life differently. They have rule and must obey the rule as well. They have daily schedule for doing each activity. As what children in the Sukma Helen Foundation have experienced, they were tied by the strict rules and requirements for doing certain activities. At 5.30 a.m. they had to already get up and making their bed well. Half an hour later they should prepare themselves for praying together then studying until ten o’clock and soon, so forth. There is only a little time for them to watch TV and play outside. In other side, teacher has a role to supervise whether or not those children do and obey the rule constantly. These repeated-treatments will make those children become more responsible with their time arrangements. They will be very respectful with their time and try to finish the school’s assignments soon. As the impact, there will be no doubt for not giving them a good mark.
Second is peer’s influence. It can be assumed that peers will give higher influence toward students’ school success since they who live in the boarding house interact with each other in whole of their time both in class and also their daily life as well. For the boarding house students, school life and their closest friendship ties may more or less replace their family ties. In this case, children will be dominantly affected with their peers’ attitude. If their friends has good attitude, children may have a good attitude too. They can be more motivated to learn and do some activities emphasized on the positive ones. They can easily find their sharing partner to exchange knowledge and experience after school ends. Like in Sukma Helen Flavel Foundation, since the boarding house is located inside the school area, students who live there easily to explore their knowledge every time because the class is opened freely for them. This kind of boarding house will effectively raise students’ motivation in learning activity. The ease of reaching learning sources (media of learning or peers’ knowledge-exchange) can be the best way of gaining students’ motivation and increasing their achievements.
Considering these two reasons, taking children to the school boarding house can be one alternative for parents to treat their children. By taking children in boarding house they will be more responsible with their time and can be more motivated to study because of peer’s influent. Later, their social life (daily life in boarding house) that affects their academic life has implications for their attitude towards school and their achievements. In a nutshell, the constant presence fellows’ motivations, who are at the same time their reference group, actually are the important explanation of the boarding house students’ success.
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