“Priorities, Priorities”

Educating a child is not something to be taken lightly and requires some level of skill and aptitude.  Alhamdulillah we are Muslims and we have Islaam to guide us and help us focus on what is important.  Too many times we tend to shift our focus to the important things in life, so we think, not truly understanding what is important.   Our children are important, yes we know, but educating them on who their Lord is, their religion, and their Prophet is more important than Math, English, Science, etc…  So as parents we should take the time out and try to develop a curriculum that focuses on Islaam all the while not neglecting their interdisciplinary studies. 

Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab said in his beneficial book Usooluth Thalathah (The Three Fundamental Principles),

It is obligatory upon every Muslim man and women that they know (have knowledge of) three fundamental principles, which are (as follows); Knowledge about his Lord, Knowledge about his Religion, and Knowledge about his Prophet sallAllaahu alaihi wasallam 

As Muslim parents we should try and instill in our children the knowledge that is incumbent upon them to know and understand.  There are many books that we can utilize to help us when making an Islaamic studies curriculum, yes it’s more work but our children are worth it.   

Our children are precious and fragile, while educating them we must remember and take into account their ages and cognitive skills.  As parents who become homeschoolers we tend to be stern on our children when it comes to their education, forgetting they are only children.  Every child has the ability to reason and to think if they are given guidance and age appropriate materials that focus specifically on their stage of development. 

Children as we stated have the ability but require guidance and instruction.  An early theorist in child development Jean Jacques Piaget (1896-1980) deduced that children think in fundamentally different ways from adults.  He theorized that teachers should prepare stimulating exercises and interact with children to enhance and encourage thinking.  His research supports the idea that it is not important to find out “what” children know but, rather, “how did they come to know, what they know”.  As a homeschooler I “know” that a child may “know” something but it is important to understand what they know and how they understand what they know.  Every child develops at their own pace but it is incumbent that we aid in this development and make it as stimulating and enjoyable as possible.

As teachers we should try to create situations that have a personal meaning to our children, provide them with the opportunity to come to their own decisions, and last but not least, give them the opportunity to exchange their ideas and views with their peers.  To encourage thinking and learning, we may need to refrain from telling our children how to solve problems.  However, we should ask questions that will initiate and encourage our children to observe and conform to their own ideas. 

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was a physician and a theorist in the field of education.  Her methods and ideas have shaped the way many educate children today.  She theorized that children should be given the chance to shape their own education, meaning that the child was left to guide his learning and the teachers were there as facilitators.  The teachers were there to observe and aide the child allowing them to become independent learners.   Although this particular theory may seem loose it is the exact opposite.  Children have the capability and aptitude to understand what is being asked of them, of course we have to keep everything age and developmentally appropriate but if given the chance our children may surprise us. 

Umm Abdis Salaam al Grenaadiyyah