English language & literature

Biography of Ki Hajar Dewantara

Group II 1. Arafi Falah Guna
2. Arsyah Nakaisyah
3. Bernadet L. G. S.
made by : 4. Delli Rosa S.
 Ki Hajar Dewantara
Raden Mas Soewardi Soerjaningrat who is also known as Ki Hajar Dewantara
was born on May 2, 1889 in Pakualaman and died in Yogyakarta, April 26, 1959
at the age of 69 years. Soewardi was born among Javanese aristocrats, his family
came from the Pakualaman royal family. He was one of the grandsons of Prince
Paku Alam III through his father, GPH Soerjaningrat. Thanks to his family's
priyayi (Javanese aristocratic) background, he was able to access colonial public
education, a luxury that most ordinary people in the Indies could not afford.

Quoted from the book Karya Ki Hadjar Dewantara Part II A: Culture, he

graduated from basic education at ELS (Dutch Elementary School). Then
continued his studies at STOVIA, a medical school for native students. However,
he failed to graduate due to illness.
Later he worked as a journalist and wrote for many newspapers. His writing style
is popular, communicative but imbued with the ideals of freedom and anti-colonial
sentiments. Apart from being tenacious as a young reporter, Soewardi is also
active in social and political organizations.
Since the establishment of Boedi Oetomo in 1908, he has been active in da'wah services to
socialize and increase awareness of the Indonesian people as a united nation (especially in
Java). He also organized the first Boedi Oetomo congress in Yogyakarta. As a result of his
resistance to Dutch colonialism through the criticisms he wrote, Seowardi was exiled to
the Netherlands with two of his friends, Douwes Dekker and Tjipto Mangoenkoeseomo. In
September 1919, Soewardi returned to Java, the Dutch East Indies. He immediately
joined his brother to establish a school in his hometown, as quoted from the journal
Thoughts of Ki Hajar Dewantara and Maria Montessori on Early Childhood Education.
His educational background and teaching experience later proved useful for developing
his concept of teaching in schools, by establishing the National Onderwijs Instituut Ampel
or national university to equalize access to education.

Ki Hajar Dewantara has coined a famous saying to describe his educational ideals. Given
in Javanese, the proverb reads Ing ngarso sung tulodo, ing madyo mangun karso, tut wuri
handayani. The proverb is translated as (for those who) in front should set an example, (for
those) in the middle should inspire, and (for those) behind should give encouragement.
This proverb is used as the principle of Taman Siswa. Today, part of this saying, Tut Wuri
Handayani is used as the motto of the Indonesian Ministry of Education. It is meant to
describe the ideal teacher, who, after passing on knowledge to their students, will stand
behind their students and give them encouragement in their quest for knowledge.