Bunga itu Beraneka Warna

Dunia anak-anak penuh warna.

Flowers are Red

The little boy went first day of school

He got some crayons and he started to draw

He put colors all over the paper

For colors was what he saw

And the teacher said, "What you doin' young man?"

"I'm paintin' flowers" he said

She said, "It's not the time for art young man

And anyway flowers are green and red"

"There's a time for everything young man

And a way it should be done

You've got to show concern for everyone else

For you're not the only one"

And she said, "Flowers are red young man

And green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen"

But the little boy said

"There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in the flower and I see every one"

Well the teacher said, "You're sassy

There's ways that things should be

And you'll paint flowers the way they are

So repeat after me"

And she said, "Flowers are red, young man

And green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen"

But the little boy said

"There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in the flower and I see every one"

The teacher put him in a corner

She said, "It's for your own good

And you won't come out 'til you get it right

And are responding like you should"

Well finally he got lonely

Frightened thoughts filled his head

And he went up to the teacher

And this is what he said

And he said

"Flowers are red, and green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen"

Time went by like it always does

And they moved to another town

And the little boy went to another school

And this is what he found

The teacher there was smilin'

She said, "Painting should be fun

And there are so many colors in a flower

So let's use every one"

But that little boy painted flowers

In neat rows of green and red

And when the teacher asked him why

This is what he said

And he said

"Flowers are red, and green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen"

 (from : www.metrolyrics.com)

Lagu ini berkisah tentang seorang anak yang di hari pertama masuk sekolah menggambar bunga-bunga dengan beragam warna yang berbeda. Gurunya menilai bahwa bunga yang digambarnya salah. Seharusnya, dia memberi warna merah pada bunga dan hijau untuk daun, seperti yang selalu mereka lihat. Si anak protes, dia meneruskan menggambar sesuai imajinasinya. Hingga, guru itu menghukumnya. Akhirnya, anak itu menerima permintaan sang guru bahwa “bunga berwarna merah dan daun berwarna hijau.” Si anak melakoninya terus menerus, sampai melanjutkan sekolah ke tempat lain.

Puisi karya Harry Chapin dan kisah di atas mengingatkan saya pada sebuah pengalaman masa kecil. Saat itu, saya duduk di bangku Sekolah Dasar. Suatu hari, murid-murid mendapat tugas menggambar pemandangan alam. Saya membuat gambar dengan warna-warna yang nyeleneh, tidak lazim menurut standar warna yang normal. Berikut ini detil warna dalam gambar yang saya buat : awan berwarna ungu kehitaman, bunga-bunga berwarna biru, daun-daun penuh warna kuning tua dan merah hati. Aneh! Mungkin, begitu komentar sebagian orang.

 Akibatnya, wali saya dipanggil ke sekolah. Guru menggambar menyarankan agar saya dibawa ke dokter mata. Saya dikhawatirkan mengidap penyakit buta warna! Olala.... Akhirnya, terjadi dialog di antara sesama orang dewasa tersebut. Wali saya menjelaskan bahwa pada kondisi tertentu awan mendung memang muncul berwarna ungu (kelabu) plus kehitam-hitaman. Di luar negeri, ada bunga-bunga yang berwarna biru. Spesies tanaman puring daunnya banyak yang berwarna kuning, oranye atau kemerahan. Nah, saya tidak buta warna bukan?!

Roda kehidupan terus melaju. Zaman demi zaman berlalu. Dahulu, seorang anak yang kreatif kadang-kadang justru dianggap ‘berbeda’ dan kurang mampu diterima lingkungannya. Alhamdulillah, di masa kini sistem pendidikan di negara kita sudah banyak berubah. Namun, sistem dan pola belajar mengajar di sekolah tentu perlu terus ditingkatkan. Model pendidikan di masa kecil saya rata-rata bercorak factory style (zaman pabrik) dengan pola pembelajaran satu arah, bercorak doktriner. Di akhir fase belajar, ada quality control bernama ujian nasional. Guru mengajar di depan kelas, murid-murid menghafalkan materi pelajaran. Jawaban ujian cenderung harus sama seperti yang diajarkan. Kreativitas anak didik relatif kurang ditumbuhkan.

            Alhamdulillah, semangat menumbuhkan kreativitas di dunia pendidikan kini semakin berkembang. Banyak sekolah baru bermunculan, mengusung kurikulum dan metode belajar yang semakin berkualitas, menyenangkan dan memberdayakan siswa berikut segala potensi kreativitas yang dimilikinya. Semoga generasi baru ini kelak mekar menjadi bunga yang beraneka warna di taman indah Indonesia. Biarkan bunga terlukis beragam warna. Bunga-bunga tak melulu berwarna merah. Seperti halnya cita-cita masa kecil, tak semuanya harus menjawab : “Presiden!”

*) Surabaya, 23 Juli 2013.

~ Tulisan ini didedikasikan untuk anak-anak Indonesia, “Selamat Hari Anak Nasional! Nikmatilah keceriaan masa anak-anakmu. Lukislah impianmu dalam beragam warna, seindah pelangi di angkasa."   ^_^