At the beginning of this book, the author tells what school really means. We may literally understand school as a teaching and learning activity carried out in a particular institution. However, the knowledge that I did not know before was the meaning of the word school itself which means "free time", really at the age of 20 I just understood the beginning of the meaning of school. According to this book, in short, the meaning of school is to make useful free time by studying.

Some of us when presented with the word 'school', there must be a formal activity between teachers and students in a certain place. However, this book seems to be able to change my mindset about school, that schooling is not only done in school buildings or university buildings, even schools can be done anywhere and by any group, as in one of the examples of schools mentioned in this book. namely the Civil Service School. Schools where even learning activities can be carried out in the open field though.

This book also sheds some of the author's concerns. Because maybe some of us still don't understand the essence of 'learning' itself. Many people go to schools that are recognized by the government on the pretext of not wanting to waste time. So, even schools that do not have a license from the current government tend to be ignored or even closed completely. Yes, it is true that the wheel of education works that way.

In the middle of this book, it is also explained how sad the fate of children in several parts of the world, such as children in Palestine who are even forced to read reform banners every day, formulas for guerrilla tactics or even sabotage formulas at such a small age. Even in other corners of the world, we may not infrequently encounter children who have to work after they go to school, which should not be faced by their small age especially in rural areas.

Some of us must also consider the current education system to be 'complicated', in this book the author briefly mentions this. Even the Ministry of Education and Culture has the most employees among other ministries, and also the ministry that produces the most Development Budget Remaining (SIAP) every year. But the result? Quality resources for school graduates who even tend to decline, consuming the teacher's time, and the lives of students who still have many obstacles and so on. However, the experimentation of educators still continues to look for ways that cost money, which of course are not small, which actually do not find a bright spot and make the situation worse. In other words, the reform effort is only concerned with dismantling the surface phenomena (epiphenomena) of the education system, not the real core of the problem. What happens is not a real innovation, but a process of involution.

Another concern is also described by the author, in some villages where the main livelihood of the community is farming, some children only graduate from elementary school. Due to many cases trying to go to school up to the STM level with a major in Electrical Engineering, but he decided to return to his hometown and become a farmer. So some of the children in the area thought, then why go to school far away to the city if the end is the same as being a farmer, why not start from the beginning?

In another sub-chapter of this book, the author re-examines the author's concerns about the Indonesian education system which had become a reference for other countries in the 1960s. But now Indonesia's education system is lagging far behind other countries. The author also mentions some budgets that are not effective or even corrupted. Until 2006, Indonesia was one of the countries with the highest levels of corruption. So, the problem is not really about the availability of costs, but rather the management and policy of allocating costs that are actually possible and available.

Also about what has been taught by the school. Even the character of this student graduate is not created from an institution called a school. So what is being taught or heralded by an institution called a school? Or just demand a child who does not know to know? Few graduates have skills while in school, surely those skills are formed from outside the school institution. In fact, many professions are not as linear as the school major. Maybe many of us come across teacher training graduates as cashiers or even sports graduates as bank employees. Then what is the true meaning of school if the skills we get are not appropriate? So it can be said that the school is not running as it should, aka the school is dead.

Overall, this book recounts some of the author's major concerns or questions. And also explore a little history about the school themselves and what school really means. So it is hoped that readers will find out what the real essence of school is and what is the real purpose of our schooling. So as not to be misguided or just follow the government's line