Be A Good International Student & A Good Citizen

First of all what is student ?A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution or in wider term student is used for anyone who is learning. And what is an International Student ? According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national education system though in general it referring to those studying in foreign educational institutions. This includes either those doing the long term or the short term programs. Why become an international student? The main reason is to be better educated by study abroad. Being international student also means we have to be good at English who is the international language, in fact English is international student main language in school and college as it used in class conversation and academic report and writing. Hopefully by standardizing the use of English as main language of any international student in every country, it'll remove the language barrier among the international student and allow us to communicate freely with them. By being international student means we also use well supposedly a standardized education

system that developed or taken from many nation education system with hope that the international student learns in the best education system Studying abroad is also part of being an international student, Whether with long term dual degree program or short student exchange program. By studying abroad the school/college introduce or show outside world looks like. Other nation cultures like social culture or school/student culture and various education system that implemented. Despite the merging of the education system and studying cultures the international student is expected to be able to represent their people in the international class. To show our own culture and roots in international stage. To further enriching the international education system, else it'll become an exclusive monolithic community which is something that against the value of international community who supposedly able to capable to accept various cultures. So in overall, what is the purpose of all of that complex education system? To create the best education system by merging many different education and studying culture which allow the student to become not only good in terms of school subject but also knowledgeable about the world while still proud on his own people and have a high international quality. So a good International Student criteria is explained, good at communicating internationally, good at knowledge of the world's culture and system, have a good sense of pride of his own roots and of course a good student by international standard.

How about being a good citizen? In book definition, a citizen is a member of a group membership of Sovereign People that have Equal Rights, Liberty, Freedom, who consent to form and maintain a Government that protects these rights. The Government serves to admit & exile people from this citizenship/Vessel, in order to hold/protect these Rules/Rights. So in short a group of people who held the same value and principles lives and protects this value collectively. So in very basic form, a good citizen is a citizen who respect others rights and freedom and willing to fight to protects it. In more advance form however being a good citizen means we also participate in advancing the citizens very community. Improving it from time to time, which of course every citizen has their own sector to improve. Police tries improve the law system to be more effective, scientist tries to make our life easier and students while not yet considered a fully fledged citizen can also improve by simply doing their best to improve themselves as a good student. Tough many student have become independent and participate as full fledged citizen, student can also participate in improving the community by simply monitors it. like, participate in how to improve the education system itself by participating and monitoring the how education system works. Many student however also participating in monitoring how the government or companies works. Via democracy and freedom of speech, when the student realize things goes wrong, the student can perform demonstration and publicly protest their works.

So a good citizen is a citizen that uphold, respect and protects the value or rights, freedom and other value that held by the community while perpetually tries to improve the community of the citizen itself. and student can be a good citizen by uphold, respect and protects the value as well as do their best to improve themselves and perform monitoring on the community as one of the educated people in the community. How about international student? especially international student of economic faculty of Atmajaya? By being international we have more access on outside or other nation. knowing how they works, how they thinks. This is important as outside views helps to know whether on how things supposed to work, especially how other nation can make it works while not leaving all the values that the nation/community upholds. In skeptic point of view, the students as a monitors prefers to see on how things supposed to works not how people make it works. they have has some sort of delusion of perfection as they want everything must be done correctly, morally and didn't care much about the fact that sometimes people have to sacrifice few to save many. Not to mention the blind faith to follow the value that they uphold sometimes renders them to unable to see things actually went wrong as well as only able to see in short run. Things like the "morally just" action that they ask sometimes is not a "morally just" action in the bigger picture or in the longer run.

So how bout international student? We are given change to learn in a internationally approved education system which contain multiculturalism that makes us to have further understanding of our culture and our value that we held up high by being able to see it from all sides, the good and the bad. We also have seen how things work in more advance nation who may held a similar value or doesn't follow the value altogether. By being an international economy student we should be able to see economy problem from all side and compare it with other system in other nation. and we can tell how well our economy system performance by that comparison. And we should communicated that finding of ours to other student or even public monitors so they also can see things from all side. Like in BBM problem for instance, true, if government raise the price other price will raised and makes life a bit harder and this fact is used many student for major demonstration but in other side government also have reason on why they raise the price and plans how they going to use the money they saved from reducing the Subsidy. Not to mention that in other nation, BBM especially Gasoline/premium is considered as luxury items which instead of given subsidy to reduce the cost they give a tax on it. Surely, we can't just copy other nation system and implement it right away but we get a fact that there is a nation who perform well despite the price and there is way to get cheap transportation without forcing the government to reduce the gasoline price.

Basically to guide people or other student by using capability to be able to see the bigger picture clearer that normal student is what we should do. In even bigger picture international student should unite or connect the student from nations to nations. We can help normal student to get globalized too, lead the knowledge sharing, and with and cultural learning with hope that by learning from each other that we can improve ourselves and with that our nation even better