This study aims to know the children's insight toward the existence of school as
educational institution and to improve their critical awareness toward the real meaning of
education. This study uses descriptive qualitative method for identifying the meaning of
school, the impact of that meaning and the implications for the development of the
educational system in Indonesia. The results show that school, for children, is defined as
the process of knowledge transferring, hence it will be useful to seek jobs. This concept is
also supported with schooling-oriented thinking. It means that children have to go to their
school in order to meet their duty toward their parents and country. In boarder sense,
school (or schooling) works as the representation of socio-cultural phenomenon because
it contains such policies and programs issued politically in which the act of those is forced
and dominated by the leaders. The effect of these situations is that the children lack
awareness of the truly meaning of schooling. It implies that the school children are less
good in daily life behaving and less in paying attention and caring of their surrounding
environment. Based on those arguments, we need to train the children to act critically and
improve their critical awareness so that the school children have good morality and
attitude that make them useful for the existence of our nation.
Kata Kunci: sekolah, anak usia sekolah, pendidikan, sosial budaya, makn