Excerpt From:
Islamic
Home Schooling Advisory Network Newsletter
Volume
1 Issue 2
THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT OF SCHOOL
Children are imitators and like all of us they learn from their
surroundings. Because of this it is
important to provide them with an environment that is conducive to instilling
beneficial knowledge from teachers who are caring and committed to developing
the spiritual character of the child. As Muslims we must equip them with an
education that can benefit them in both this world and the next. If we desire
the best of both worlds we need to think more seriously about our children’s
education and whether we are fulfilling our duty to them and Allah (swt) by
giving them a good education in an Islamic environment. On the authority of
AbudDarda’, the Holy Prophet (saw) said, ‘If anyone travels on a road
in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of
Paradise’.
(Sunan of Abu-Dawood)
Many
of the young Muslims acquiring an education these days are often led along a
very different path. The
environment in schools can in many cases have a bad influence on children. They
are exposed to ideas, concepts and manners which are contradictory to the
teachings of Islam and thus degenerative for both society and the individual, in
this life and the next. This society argues that it values ‘freedom’ –
freedom of movement, thought, expression and so on – these are seen as basic
rights. However, these days school children are denied their right to be free
from erroneous ideas and immoral teachings and behaviour. This can lead to
children abandoning home values in personal and social matters.
Additionally, the system encourages children to take a sceptical view on
religion and adopt a materialistic outlook on life. These days teachers assume
that their students are each an end in themselves and are often simply viewed as
a commodity in the vocational world – you learn, earn money and die.
As Muslims we know that we are but a means to serve a greater purpose –
for the worship of Allah (swt).
Mainstream
schools thrust children into competitiveness from a very early age.
Schools are now taking children from the age of three into their
nurseries. Although this is regarded as not being compulsory, parents are under
increasing pressure to register their children in school nurseries. This is due
to the fear that their child may not otherwise be guaranteed a place in their
school of choice as priority is given to pupils in those nurseries.
This results in the distancing of the child from the mother at an
alarmingly early age, the child is placed in an environment that drowns them
amidst a sea of strangers and they are not given the attention that is so vital
at this age.
One of the biggest problems in schools is the bad influence
children can have on one another. More
and more Muslim children are being enticed into immoral anti–Islamic behaviour
and habits. Such institutions offer
little if any discipline in themselves. Amidst
the growing climate of attacks on teachers, school bullying, drugs and violence,
we are losing more and more children to the system. Bad habits such as lying,
cheating, stealing, disrespect for authority, drug abuse and immodest dress are
the diseases which have contaminated most, if not all schools.
There is a lot of emphasis on good companionship in Islam. Keeping the
company of pious Muslims leads one to think in an Islamic frame of mind,
facilitating ones journey to paradise. Often the parents’ efforts in
inculcating good Islamic teaching are destroyed by the influences of immoral
placements. Parents have little
control over such influences on the child especially when they are apart from
each other for an average of 7-8 hours every day.
At school, children often lose their self esteem and are exposed to much
negativity: rejection, taunts, bullying, mockery if he is a slow learner, if he
is gifted, too tall, too short – the list is endless.
Many
educational writers such as Neil Postman, John Holt and David Huxley, to name
but a few of the growing number of critics, claim that schools support a
competitive, exploitive ideology which perpetuates inequality in the world and
further add that this can even undermine the cause of peace.
Paul Goodman, a leading critic of State education and an acclaimed
educational writer, states in his book ‘Compulsory Miseducation’: ‘…the
mass superstition…is that education can only be achieved by the use of
institutions like the school…’. Goodman argues
that, ‘…On the contrary, subjecting young people to institutionalised
learning stunts and distorts their natural and intellectual development, makes
them hostile to the very idea of education, and finally turns out regimented,
competitive citizens likely only to aggravate our current social ills…’. We
may find this view a touch extreme, however we cannot discard the mounting
research that has been carried out and the growing concerns of many educational
analysts about the effects of modern schooling.
Imam al Ghazali (ra) defined the role of the teacher in Islam as:
‘…to dissuade students from evil ways with care and caution…’. As
parents, we need to ask ourselves whether the teachers in the schools fulfil
this criteria. These days teachers
themselves are often the reason for the rise in immoral concepts and ideas and
they often set a bad example for the young. In contrast to school the child who
is educated at home can learn and feel confident about his Deen and is not
confronted by atheist teachers who more often than not set examples of immoral
speech and conduct. In State
schools our children are exposed to false doctrines and are taught subjects such
as evolution as ‘a matter of fact’, often supported by ‘scientific
research’. Concepts such as
homosexuality, and premarital sex are also discussed and even encouraged.
Schools indoctrinate with these false philosophies.
At
home, in contrast, concepts such as what is right and what is wrong and respect
for elders are taught naturally, as the child develops and establishes
themselves as a member of their family. This home contact is crucial. In their
formative years children need to be in a nurturing environment for it is at this
point that the foundation of their character is formed and they require much
love and attention, and, who better to give it than the child’s own family?
Home-educated children are also at an advantage socially as they
will be far more likely to associate with children that their parents choose for
them. This lessens or can even
eliminate the harmful influences that other children can have on your child.
This helps to enable the child to develop into a responsible, reflective adult
with a solid foundation both in the Deen and Dunya: beneficial to his own self
and society at large.
It seems to be a fact that one of the biggest misconceptions people
have about home educated children is that they are isolated socially.
Research has proven on the contrary.
Such children are, in fact, more socially mature and thus play a more
effective role in society. Some of
the greatest thinkers in modern days were home educated (see Education Otherwise
web site – http://www.education-otherwise.org). Home-schooled children learn
to think more independently than school children their age.
As the home child associates more with adults and children of both their
own and of other ages, they learn to get along with a variety of people. This
aids in breaking down the growing generation divide between parents and
offspring that many Muslim families are exposed to in the West and it can also
help children grow up to become good social leaders. At home the child is free from peer pressure thus
they learn and develop naturally and confidently in an environment which is
spiritually healthy – the family. Children who are home educated are much more
likely to develop respect for their parents and, therefore, respect for all
authority figures, above all, Allah (swt).
One thing we need to remember is that education does not end at the
receiving of a certificate – it is for life and for the next life.
Real life is not simply about making a living, that is only a minute
portion as a means. Our main purpose should be to become good Muslims.
This is more likely to occur if a child is placed in a healthy, wholly
Muslim environment where like a precious rose, is watered and cared for so that
he may bloom. A child needs both
spiritual and physical nourishment to develop into a righteous believer – only
then can he be a true benefit to others. The child needs to be in an environment
with other good Muslims, and not associate with children from morally deficient
households, as is the norm in our schools today.
-Shahida Khan
ISLAMIC
HOME SCHOOLING
ADVISORY
NETWORK
-IHSAN-
PO Box 30671, London, E1 OTG, ENGLAND
Phone/Fax: 020 8851 1866