Friday, January 26, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
5 PILLARS OF CLASSROOM WISDOM
1. Command respect
A good teacher is a person who respects children and whose students, in turn, respect him or her. A person who knows how to make a child feel special. A person who is creative enough to open whole worlds to young minds. The confluence of respect and responsibility navigates the journey to ethical fitness.
2. The Key factor is the "C" word
The key factor that makes students like school, study hard, achieve and stay in school, is the "C" word, but its not "curriculum". The word is "caring". CARE deeply about each student and about that student's accomplishment and growth. It begins with the teacher recognizing the student as an individual who brings particular experiences, interests, enthusiasm, and fears to the classroom. The teacher taking time to acknowledge a student's life outside the classroom, enquiring about the family's welfare or the student's participation in an extra curriculum activity. To teach people enough to school them, we must meet their deep human need to feel cared about.
3. Know, Enthuse and Motivate
Know the subject, convey it with excellence, enthuse the student with the relevance of the subject-matter and motivate them to greater heights.
Teacher competence has aroused much concerns from teacher educators, education professionals and the public. Teacher competence could be classified into two main categories: interpersonal skills and classroom procedures. Interpersonal skills refers to teacher's proficiency in creating a comfortable social atmosphere, and demonstrating warmth and friendliness towards their students. And classroom procedures refers to the actual classroom practices which are teaching methods and techniques.
4. Collaboration
To achieve holistic development of the student, there must be collaboration between the three primary role players in the education of the child; the teacher, co-teachers and parents.
When parents asks, "Does my child have a good teacher?" knowing what we do today about the importance of the home in children's achievement, I ask, 'Does your child have a good parent?" We don't have to be perfect to be good, but we do have to be a team and we do need to make an effort to do our job together.
"A student's success in school starts in the heads and hearts of his or her parents and teachers. The way we see them and the way we make them see themselves is what they will become".
A good teacher is a person who respects children and whose students, in turn, respect him or her. A person who knows how to make a child feel special. A person who is creative enough to open whole worlds to young minds. The confluence of respect and responsibility navigates the journey to ethical fitness.
2. The Key factor is the "C" word
The key factor that makes students like school, study hard, achieve and stay in school, is the "C" word, but its not "curriculum". The word is "caring". CARE deeply about each student and about that student's accomplishment and growth. It begins with the teacher recognizing the student as an individual who brings particular experiences, interests, enthusiasm, and fears to the classroom. The teacher taking time to acknowledge a student's life outside the classroom, enquiring about the family's welfare or the student's participation in an extra curriculum activity. To teach people enough to school them, we must meet their deep human need to feel cared about.
3. Know, Enthuse and Motivate
Know the subject, convey it with excellence, enthuse the student with the relevance of the subject-matter and motivate them to greater heights.
Teacher competence has aroused much concerns from teacher educators, education professionals and the public. Teacher competence could be classified into two main categories: interpersonal skills and classroom procedures. Interpersonal skills refers to teacher's proficiency in creating a comfortable social atmosphere, and demonstrating warmth and friendliness towards their students. And classroom procedures refers to the actual classroom practices which are teaching methods and techniques.
4. Collaboration
To achieve holistic development of the student, there must be collaboration between the three primary role players in the education of the child; the teacher, co-teachers and parents.
When parents asks, "Does my child have a good teacher?" knowing what we do today about the importance of the home in children's achievement, I ask, 'Does your child have a good parent?" We don't have to be perfect to be good, but we do have to be a team and we do need to make an effort to do our job together.
"A student's success in school starts in the heads and hearts of his or her parents and teachers. The way we see them and the way we make them see themselves is what they will become".
Linda Holt
1995 Hawaii teacher of the Year
1995 Hawaii teacher of the Year
5. Information for Transformation through Character Education
Today, the vast majority of Americans share a respect for fundamental traits so character: honesty, compassion, justice, courage and perseverance. Yet, in today's world, all children face great uncertainties in a complex and sometimes troubled society. Therefore our challenge is to provide youth with the self-esteem, stamina, and support they need to survive, to be successful, and to develop into strong, competent, caring and responsible citizens.
Character education presents life with context, inviting students to listen, share, explore and reflect. Cultivating knowledge for purposeful living, students learn through literature, art, humanities and throughout the existing school curriculum the benefits and consequences of behaviour. They learn the power of choice. They learn to appreciate the qualities of being human and to share their appreciation at home, in school, and in the community.
Advice to the Teacher
ECHOES OF THE HEART
As we enter the new academic year we present an extract from Sadullah's paper on VALUE-BASED EDUCATION delivered at the Teacher Development Seminar in Pasadena, USA.
ADVICE TO THE TEACHER
The Holy Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, "I have been sent as a teacher" and "have been commissioned to complete the pattern of human behaviour". These prophetic traditions emphasize the significance of education, of ethical values and of moral conduct.
AIM OF EDUCATION
It is my contention that the aim of education in Islam is to functionally inform and positively transform the student; i.e. initiate a catalytical reaction leading to continuous development of the student's beliefs, thoughts, actions, potentialities, faculties, expressions, motivation and aspirations.
Our academic institutions and educational systems must be faith-based and value-laden. Learning is meaningful where there is cognizance of its usefulness. Education is beneficial if it transmits and promotes deeply cherished values of sincerely, honesty, integrity, sense of responsibility and concern for the rights and welfare of others.
- - -
As we enter the new academic year we present an extract from Sadullah's paper on VALUE-BASED EDUCATION delivered at the Teacher Development Seminar in Pasadena, USA.
ADVICE TO THE TEACHER
The Holy Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, "I have been sent as a teacher" and "have been commissioned to complete the pattern of human behaviour". These prophetic traditions emphasize the significance of education, of ethical values and of moral conduct.
AIM OF EDUCATION
It is my contention that the aim of education in Islam is to functionally inform and positively transform the student; i.e. initiate a catalytical reaction leading to continuous development of the student's beliefs, thoughts, actions, potentialities, faculties, expressions, motivation and aspirations.
Our academic institutions and educational systems must be faith-based and value-laden. Learning is meaningful where there is cognizance of its usefulness. Education is beneficial if it transmits and promotes deeply cherished values of sincerely, honesty, integrity, sense of responsibility and concern for the rights and welfare of others.
- - -
Save Islamic Ummah with Children’s Education: Expert
CAIRO, January 14 (IslamOnline) – If Muslims want to change their current status, they have to direct their attention to education and children, Dr. Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman said in a lecture here Monday, January 13.
President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Dr. Abu Sulayman, addressed an audience of around 60 academics, Islamic scholars, students and reporters on the issue of "Violence: An Islamic Perspective", as part of Cairo University’s Faculty of Economic and Political Sciences’ program of dialogue between civilizations.
In order to overcome the crisis that is currently facing the Islamic ummah (nation), Muslims need to address both the curricular and the emotional aspects, he said.
Stressing the importance of children’s education, and school curriculums, Dr. Abu Sulayman, who was one of the founders of the International Islamic University in Malaysia, and served as its rector for ten years (1988-1998), said that the sidelining of religion in schools was a dangerous phenomenon.
The problem with schools in Muslim countries is that they do not sufficiently deal with Islam in a successful way, he said.
Giving an example from his life, Dr. Abu Sulayman.
This is a grave mistake, Dr. Abu Sulayman, who is the author of several books including Crisis in the Muslim Mind, said, because this is exactly the age that these values should be stressed, because children will be able to feel the importance of charity and therefore be able to properly apply the rules of zakah with the spirit that Islam calls for.
On the other hand, if all the child was learning was the technical rules of zakah, then this value will be missing in the ummah, because knowledge without values is pointless, and can be very dangerous, he underlined.
Regarding violence as Islam sees it, Dr. Abu Sulayman dwelt in detail on the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life and his way of dealing with both internal and international politics.
The Prophet (pbuh) would never use violence to solve a problem within the ummah, Dr. Abu Sulayman said, adding that using violence to solve internal political problems was prohibited in Islam as it is a breaking of relations.
Islam tells Muslims to use all possible peaceful methods to reach a solution to internal problem, and only if there are absolutely no other methods, then the solution is immigration, and not violence.
Regarding international politics, Dr. Abu Sulayman said that any relationship with a foreign country should either be one of peace through agreement or war.
There are two rules regarding the use of force in Islam, he said. The first rule is that it must be in self-defense, a reaction and answer to aggression.
The second rule, Dr. Abu Sulayman asserted, was that there should be no excess in the use of force.
Questions that Muslims must ask themselves include: Are we in a just and necessary war? War should never be waged if it is not absolutely necessary, Dr. Abu Sulayman stressed.
Audience members included Islamic scholar Dr. Ali Gomaa, diplomats and political science professors.
A heated discussion about the West’s perception of Islam’s history and the accusations that Islam faces of being a violent religion followed the lecture.
The International Institute of Islamic Thought is a private, non-profit, academic and cultural institution, dealing with general issues of Islamic thought.
It was established in 1981 in the state of Virginia in the United States.
According to the Institute’s website, it is an “intellectual forum working from an Islamic perspective to promote and support research projects, organize intellectual and cultural meetings and publish scholarly works.”
“The Institute has played an essential role in recognizing and responding to a need felt by the ummah to increase awareness of Muslims in the intellectual dimensions of their faith.
“It also developed the concept of the ‘Islamization of knowledge’, hoping that this would help to integrate various aspects of reform in the life of Muslims,” the website said.
Source: islam-online.net
President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Dr. Abu Sulayman, addressed an audience of around 60 academics, Islamic scholars, students and reporters on the issue of "Violence: An Islamic Perspective", as part of Cairo University’s Faculty of Economic and Political Sciences’ program of dialogue between civilizations.
In order to overcome the crisis that is currently facing the Islamic ummah (nation), Muslims need to address both the curricular and the emotional aspects, he said.
Stressing the importance of children’s education, and school curriculums, Dr. Abu Sulayman, who was one of the founders of the International Islamic University in Malaysia, and served as its rector for ten years (1988-1998), said that the sidelining of religion in schools was a dangerous phenomenon.
The problem with schools in Muslim countries is that they do not sufficiently deal with Islam in a successful way, he said.
Giving an example from his life, Dr. Abu Sulayman.
This is a grave mistake, Dr. Abu Sulayman, who is the author of several books including Crisis in the Muslim Mind, said, because this is exactly the age that these values should be stressed, because children will be able to feel the importance of charity and therefore be able to properly apply the rules of zakah with the spirit that Islam calls for.
On the other hand, if all the child was learning was the technical rules of zakah, then this value will be missing in the ummah, because knowledge without values is pointless, and can be very dangerous, he underlined.
Regarding violence as Islam sees it, Dr. Abu Sulayman dwelt in detail on the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life and his way of dealing with both internal and international politics.
The Prophet (pbuh) would never use violence to solve a problem within the ummah, Dr. Abu Sulayman said, adding that using violence to solve internal political problems was prohibited in Islam as it is a breaking of relations.
Islam tells Muslims to use all possible peaceful methods to reach a solution to internal problem, and only if there are absolutely no other methods, then the solution is immigration, and not violence.
Regarding international politics, Dr. Abu Sulayman said that any relationship with a foreign country should either be one of peace through agreement or war.
There are two rules regarding the use of force in Islam, he said. The first rule is that it must be in self-defense, a reaction and answer to aggression.
The second rule, Dr. Abu Sulayman asserted, was that there should be no excess in the use of force.
Questions that Muslims must ask themselves include: Are we in a just and necessary war? War should never be waged if it is not absolutely necessary, Dr. Abu Sulayman stressed.
Audience members included Islamic scholar Dr. Ali Gomaa, diplomats and political science professors.
A heated discussion about the West’s perception of Islam’s history and the accusations that Islam faces of being a violent religion followed the lecture.
The International Institute of Islamic Thought is a private, non-profit, academic and cultural institution, dealing with general issues of Islamic thought.
It was established in 1981 in the state of Virginia in the United States.
According to the Institute’s website, it is an “intellectual forum working from an Islamic perspective to promote and support research projects, organize intellectual and cultural meetings and publish scholarly works.”
“The Institute has played an essential role in recognizing and responding to a need felt by the ummah to increase awareness of Muslims in the intellectual dimensions of their faith.
“It also developed the concept of the ‘Islamization of knowledge’, hoping that this would help to integrate various aspects of reform in the life of Muslims,” the website said.
Source: islam-online.net
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Teach My Grandson Teacher - Gently, If You Can
My grandson starts school today. It's going to be strange and new to him for a while, and I wish you would sort of treat him gently.
You see, up to now, he's been king of the roost -- he's been boss of the backyard. His mom, dad, and Grandma have always been around to repair his wounds, and soothe his feelings.
But now things are going to be different! This morning he's going to walk down the front steps, wave his hand, and start out on a great adventure... it's an adventure that might take him across the continent... it's an adventure that might incllude wars and strategy and sorrow.
To live his live in this world, will require faith and love and courage. So teacher, I pray you will take him by his young hand and teach him the things he will have to know.
Teach my grandson teacher -- but gently, if you can. He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, that all men are not true.
But teach him also, that for every scounderel, there is a hero.. that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend.
It will take time teacher, I know, but teach my grandson, if you can, that a nickel earned is far more value than a dollar found... teach him to learn to lose... and to enjoy winning.
Steer him away from envy, if you can, and teach him the secret of quiet laughter.
Let my grandson learn early that the bullies are the easiest people to lick.. teach him, if you can, the wonder of books... but also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill.
In school, teacher, teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat... teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him that he is wrong... teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with tough people.
Try to give my grandson strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is getting on the bandwagon... teach him to listen to all men... but, teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.
Teach my grandson teacher.. but gently if you can, how to laugh when he is sad... teach him there is no shame in tears... teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success.
Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob... and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.. teach him to sell his brawn and brains to the highest bidders but, never, never, put a price tag on his heart and soul.
Treat my grandson gently, teacher, but don't coddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel.. let him have the courage to be impatient... let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself. Because then he will have sublime faith in God and Mankind.
This is a tall order, teacher, but please help him if you can do. You see, he's such a nice little fellow... my grandson.
Teach my grandson, teacher.. but gently if you can.
Adapted by Thomas Halbert
You see, up to now, he's been king of the roost -- he's been boss of the backyard. His mom, dad, and Grandma have always been around to repair his wounds, and soothe his feelings.
But now things are going to be different! This morning he's going to walk down the front steps, wave his hand, and start out on a great adventure... it's an adventure that might take him across the continent... it's an adventure that might incllude wars and strategy and sorrow.
To live his live in this world, will require faith and love and courage. So teacher, I pray you will take him by his young hand and teach him the things he will have to know.
Teach my grandson teacher -- but gently, if you can. He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, that all men are not true.
But teach him also, that for every scounderel, there is a hero.. that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend.
It will take time teacher, I know, but teach my grandson, if you can, that a nickel earned is far more value than a dollar found... teach him to learn to lose... and to enjoy winning.
Steer him away from envy, if you can, and teach him the secret of quiet laughter.
Let my grandson learn early that the bullies are the easiest people to lick.. teach him, if you can, the wonder of books... but also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill.
In school, teacher, teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat... teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone tells him that he is wrong... teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with tough people.
Try to give my grandson strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is getting on the bandwagon... teach him to listen to all men... but, teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.
Teach my grandson teacher.. but gently if you can, how to laugh when he is sad... teach him there is no shame in tears... teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success.
Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob... and to stand and fight if he thinks he is right.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.. teach him to sell his brawn and brains to the highest bidders but, never, never, put a price tag on his heart and soul.
Treat my grandson gently, teacher, but don't coddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel.. let him have the courage to be impatient... let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself. Because then he will have sublime faith in God and Mankind.
This is a tall order, teacher, but please help him if you can do. You see, he's such a nice little fellow... my grandson.
Teach my grandson, teacher.. but gently if you can.
Adapted by Thomas Halbert
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