Kindergarten Students and Blackberry

Last week, I have to teach 4 students in 3 different private classes, because my asisstant couldn’t come. It was started at 7am with twin girls aged 5. They come from a very rich family in my hometown. So rich until they have their own Blackberry! It shocked me a lot … They came to my place while still having chat through their messenger. The cover was exclusively designed with their mother’s initial on the back. It was made from hundreds of tiny beautiful black swarovsky. I’ve got the information, that the cover itself costs 2,400,000 IDR (around US$ 240). Well, for most of us, that amount of money is much more that minimal standard wages for workers in Indonesia.

Another asisstant of mine told me another shocking story. Those twin girls is having an older brother and he has his own BB for himself. He is 9 years old and on his 3rd grade now. Then another girl, called Cin, from the same P3 class also brought her BB in the class. One thing that my asisstant asked was, how responsible that kids to bring such expensive gadget? Cin was almost lost her BB, for she left it in my class.

Children nowadays are exposed to such hi-tech gadgets way too early than they supposed to be. They know nothing about how hard is it to make money and being able to buy such things. All they know is buying stuff and use it, for most of their friends are using the same thing. My Dad said to me that children nowadays are such cranky and they know nothing of suffering and pain. All they know is how to have maximum fun with minimum works.

Whose to blame?