“the Effectiveness of Teaching Moral Values to Elementary Students Using Character Development Songs”

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, we need the improvement in intensity and quality of character building implementation in formal educational institution. This claim is based on the growing social phenomenon, namely the increasing juvenile delinquency in society, such as brawl and various other cases of moral decadence. These phenomena are obviously not expected to happen in our society. Therefore, the formal education institutions which are functioned to create the younger generation is expected to increase its role in the formation of personality of students through increased intensity and quality of character education. Since the reformation of our national curriculum, we have been developing new methods in building the students’ character, which we know better in schools as character education. It has been applied to the national curriculum method which turns around developing “good character” in students by practicing and teaching moral values and life skill. Moral values and life skill can be taught in a fun way using the media such as music, specifically songs which has a good moral values and life skill. This paper reports the effectiveness of using character development songs in teaching moral values and life skill in SDN Adiarsa III Karawang. The samples taken will be only the 6th grade students. Data are collected through interview and classroom activity. The study reveals that the effectiveness of using character development songs in teaching moral values is unexpectedly successful, though there are some difficulties in organizing the 6th grade class which are great in number. This study is expected to give contribution to those who are planning to conduct a research on character building in English Language Teaching (ELT).

Research Question
1) How can songs as a media in CTL of ELT be implemented in teaching moral values?
2) The students’ response to the use of character building songs in CTL of ELT to teach moral values to the 6th Grade students in SDN Adiarsa III Karawang.

Background
Nowadays, the need of improvement in intensity and quality character education implementation in formal educational institutions is increasing. This idea is based on the growing social phenomenon, namely the increasing juvenile delinquency in society, such as a mass brawl and various other cases of moral decadences. These phenomena are obviously not expected to happen in our society. Therefore, the formal education institutions which are functioned to create the younger generation is expected to increase its role in the formation of personality of students through increased intensity and quality of character education.
Before we discuss further about the need of character education nowadays, it is better to know the definition of character itself. The Sage’s English Dictionary and Thesaurus defines character as “the inherent complex of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions”. American Dictionary of the English Language defines character to be “the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual’s life which determine his or her response regardless of circumstances”. Abraham Lincoln once said that, “Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree.” Our character is not just what we try to display for others to see, it is who we are even when no one is watching. Good character is doing the right thing because it is right to do what is right.
Nancy A. Wood (2008) defines character as an evaluation of a particular individual's moral qualities. It can also imply a variety of attributes including the existence of lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits. When someone is a moral character, it is primarily referring to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from another. Character building is the way to strengthen one’s character by molds oneself into a productive person within one’s sphere of influence. Developing such personal qualities seems as a purpose of education.
Character building in school, we call this term as character education, is applied to the national curriculum method that turns around developing “good character” in students by practicing and teaching moral values and decision making. On the other word, character education is an investment system of the character values to the citizens of schools that include components of knowledge, awareness or volition, and actions to implement those values (Bila Nastiti, 2010). As Theodore Roosevelt expresses that to educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace society. His statement implies that if we want to make students good at not only cognitive aspect but also have a competent in moral aspect, we should educate them in a pleasurable condition.
Songs are one of a pleasurable media to teach moral values in English subject. English teachers can use songs as part of their classroom teaching repertoire. Larry M. Lynch (2010), states that songs contain authentic language, is easily obtainable, provide vocabulary, grammar and cultural aspects and are fun for the students, especially to Elementary students.
The 6th grade elementary students somehow will enter Junior High School later. This is a stage of adolescence for them. According to Ghifari (2004), adolescence is a group of people who are leaving childhood full of childhood dependency and towards the establishment of responsibility. Therefore, teaching moral values through education is important to be implemented in early education, as well as an early preparation for them to face their adolescence later.
This research titled “The Students’ Response to the Use of English Character Building Songs in CTL of ELT to Teach Moral Values to the 6th Grade Students in SDN Adiarsa III Karawang”, is carried out to see how the students response to the implementation of using character building songs in teaching moral values to them. In order to accomplish this purpose, the writer conducts a teaching simulation of Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) using songs as a media in English Language Teaching (ELT) and wrote their responses through interview to conclude how the students response. The writer also purposes to see how songs as one of a pleasurable media, can be implemented to teach moral values to the young learners, specifically to the 6th grade elementary students.