More Islamic Alternatives to State School Education

[AbuKhadeejahSP]

Regarding More Islamic Alternatives to State School Education

All praise is due to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds, and may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Prophet.

Over the last few years, I have received many inquiries from parents seeking advice regarding the schooling of their children in a Western context. The first thing to point out is that Salafis are active and positive participants in the society around us. We wish to be excellent examples to those around us. We look after our neighbors and we care about those less fortunate than ourselves, both Muslims and non-Muslims. We have shown over the years how Salafis can live in any society, whilst maintaining their faith (imaan and aqeedah) and practice of orthodox Islaam.

As for education, then many parents are turning to alternatives other than state-school education. These parents want their children to be educated in a faith-based environment. In my my view, and in the view of many scholars whom we have asked over the years: they advise parents to educate their children from the early years into early adulthood in Islamic environments so that they may maintain their Islamic heritage. In this regard I encourage all parents in this predicament with the following:

1. Enroll your children into Salafi Islamic Schools in your area. In Birmingham, UK, we have a primary school for children aged between 6 and 11 years of age. It is called the Salafi Independent School, telephone 0121-772-4567. There is also a secondary school for children aged between 11 and 16 years of age. That one is called The Redstone Academy, telephone 0121-448-7933.

However, this solution is not open to every Salafi family living in the West, in which case, we need to consider the next option:

2. Distance learning from your home through a reputable provider. This method is combined with home schooling and is open for all ages. It is an excellent alternative for those parents who wish to keep their children close and truly nurture the parent-child relationship before adulthood. It is a safety-net for our children, that will (inshaa'Allaah) prevent them from falling into immoral and bad behaviour, whether it be crime, fornication, drugs and gangs.

Here are just some of the benefits in home education that many parents and children have experienced:

• Parents have more quality time to train and influence their children.
• There is opportunity for each child to receive individualized attention and instruction.
• Parents are able to give guidance in areas of religion and morality.
• Children develop respect for parents as teachers.
• Spending more time together increases family unity and closeness.
• It provides a good environment for development of confidence and independent thinking.
• There is enhanced communication between all age groups due to the diversified learning environment.
• Home-schooled students demonstrate excellent academic progress.
• School hours are flexible to accommodate family schedules and vacations.
• More control over outside influences such as drugs and gangs etc.
• A curriculum that complies with your belief.

[These are just a few benefits that I myself have experienced and gathered from parents who have posted comments online on home schooling forums]

I truly believe that Muslim parents should not be afraid of home-schooling, especially if it is accompanied with distance learning. It is really not as daunting as it may initially seem! Did you know that there are thousands of children who are home schooled, Muslims and non-Muslims, because they see it as a better alternative to state education?

The key is to be organized and set a timetable - it requires only a few hours a day. Some people have mentioned concerns about lack of socializing with other children, and whether this may affect the children in a negative manner. The reality is that in the home environment the parents can decide who their children socialize with from friends, neighbors and relatives - so parents are able to monitor and guide their children in an appropriate manner from an early age – so by the permission and blessings of Allaah, our children grow up to be balanced knowledgeable Salafis, highly educated with high moral character! Additionally the Messenger (salallaahu ‘alaihi wassallam) informed his Ummah that the one who has the greatest right of companionship is one’s mother, and he repeated that three times, and then he mentioned the father and the siblings. Quite often we take the companionship of those less deserving than our parents, then we pass that on to our children - whereas in the Islamic context it is one's parents who are most worthy of kind treatment and close companionship, and then others. So make your children your close companions and they will accompany you in good in later years!

Home School and Distance Learning with Wolsey Hall Oxford

www.wolseyhalloxford.org.uk is a very good distance learning school for all ages. Indeed I have enrolled two of my own children with Wolsey Hall Oxford on IGCSE and KS3 and hope to enroll two more in September, one into their A Level program. Please note that KS3 (grades 7-9) is not yet advertised on their website as it officially begins in August, but you can register now. The costs are reasonable and when considering that the courses last anything up to three years, it makes sense.

Furthermore, they allow you to spread the payments over the year by monthly payments. They post out to you all the study books and guides your children will need to get through the course. There is an online login website for your child that is specific to him (or her); there is constant monitoring of your child's progress; homework is set and marked regularly; tutors are at hand whenever needed by phone, email or Skype!

You can make enquiries and apply online at www.wolseyhalloxford.org.uk - They will give an immediate 10% discount to anyone who quotes the promotional code “CARDINAL” when enrolling your child. You can call them on 01865-721-215 or from outside the UK +(44)-1865-721-215 and they’ll talk you through everything you need to know with no obligation – very friendly and helpful! Let me quote here what they state on their website:

Why Homeschooling with Wolsey Hall?

At Wolsey Hall our sole business is supporting parents and children who wish to study GCSEs/IGCSEs and A-Levels from home. Children who study with Wolsey Hall work at home through a carefully balanced mix of study texts supplied by the college and our online learning management system WHOLE (Wolsey Hall Online Learning Environment).

Unlike most other distance learning organisations who offer a wide range of different types of courses, our only focus is GCSE's/IGCSEs and A-level through home study.

And that focus means that your child will get the best possible help with their GCSE/IGCSE and A-Level studies.

Here are four good reasons to choose Wolsey Hall Oxford to support your child's education:

1. We offer next generation technologies, including an award winning learning management system, so that your child can expect rapid feedback and first class support.
2. We offer the same level of one to one support that you can expect from an Oxford tutorial college, but at a fraction of the price!
3. All our tutors are qualified and experienced teachers who are not only experts in their fields, but are also passionate about passing on their learning to others.
4. We recognize the critical importance of learner support and so, in addition to our tutors, we have members of the team who are qualified learning support specialists who can offer advice and support in such areas as dyslexia, ADHD and other learning and processing disabilities.

Distance Learning Courses for GCSE, IGCSE and A Level

Wolsey Hall Oxford has been helping students across the globe achieve qualifications through home study since 1894. Well over 750,000 people have gained qualifications with Wolsey Hall through distance learning...

Today we focus exclusively on providing the best possible tuition for Distance Learning GCSE/IGCSE and Distance Learning A-Levels for both mature students and young adults being schooled at home. Using a cutting edge learning management and delivery platform, we're providing distance learning courses to students from Beijing to Buenos Aires!”

So they can teach your children regardless of where you live: UK, Europe, India, Canada, Caribbean or the USA! There are no doubt other good providers out there, so search thoroughly. I found this one to be good and that's I have mentioned it here.

For those of you living in places where Islamic Schools upon the Sunnah are not available, consider this option as an alternative to state schools, which may not give your children the Islamic environment that you seek. We want the best for our children, and what better place to receive the best cultivation than in the home of one’s parents.

We want the best for our children, beginning of course with the most important affair of understanding the Islamic religion in accordance to the Qur’aan and Sunnah upon the way of the Salaf. We also wish our children to be competent and strong in worldly affairs, so they can in turn support their families and support the community positively and not be in a position where they are need of handouts. Also having daughters who are well-educated means they can in turn pass that knowledge on to their children, so that the next generation is also strengthened in terms of both religious and worldly knowledge.

In conclusion, I ask that you consider your options carefully and do not allow the precious abilities of your children to be squandered in their important early years!

May Allaah bless our families both in this life and in the Herafter.

Abu Khadeejah 'Abdul-Waahid

[Umm.Yahya.bint.Abdul.Khaliq]

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi

I was hoping to share a few sites that I regularly use and have found to be extremely useful in aiding the delivery of lessons.

Children are engaged by exciting lessons which need not be elaborate deliveries, nor take hours of planning. What I’ve found engages most children of all ages, whether it be young kids, or the older teenagers, is the simple yet Varied lesson - broken up into piecemeal chunks.

Using a variety of media definitely aids understanding. Similarly, it helps those who are not natural speakers to convey information clearly and concisely.

For secular subjects, Websites such as:- Skoool.co.uk; TES and Teachers TV videos support this.

The sites can be used for:- 1) the introduction of the lesson,
2) to act as a spring board for discussion,
3) to printout prepared resources for games
4) quite simply personal learning/professional development.

All are easy enough to use both by home tutoring parents, who may be somewhat daunted at the prospect of home tutoring, or teachers of any size class.

www.skoool.co.uk
As the home page states, ‘A new concept of e- learning.......’.
An interactive website including animations of key objectives from ks2-ks4 with a clear voice over. It has animations very closely linked to the curriculum in Science and Numeracy- allowing independent learning.

www.tes.co.uk
A website of all the current topics in the Education Field. It has thousands of resources ready to be downloaded in subjects across all stages; from Early years to special Educational Needs.

Teacher TV Videos
Hundreds of videos from Subject Topics, to those viewed for professional development. ( Can be accessed from TES, as Teachers TV has now ceased)

Finally, although the resources/videos are grouped in to subject areas, once teachers are confident and experienced, resources don’t really have boundaries- they can be just as effective when used to meet other learning objectives in different subjects. Such as:-

1) A section of a video or recording at the beginning of an English lesson for a listening exercise- to make notes from.
2) Short videos, say on light, watched from start to finish to highlight the structure and language of explanation texts.

These are to mention just a few examples that may be useful.

Assalaamu alaikum
Umm Yahya, Naweeda bint Abdul Khaaliq

[Umm.Yahya.bint.Abdul.Khaliq]

Bismillaahi Arrahmaani Arraheemi

Assalaamu alaikum

To add to a previous post on websites for Teachers and Home educators posted some time ago, i‘ve recently come across
http://www.khanacademy.org
and wanted to direct others to its array of tutorials.

The lessons are delivered progressively; are well structured yet use an engaging style of delivery. And for those who favour Freestyle and Creativity over pre-prepared uniform power points, then the blackboard notes that are associated with the Khan Academy should prove to be liked.

Although, at times the lecturer, ‘Sal’ may speak at a fast pace, there’s always the option for the rewind tab, and from experience pupils do become accustomed to the speed and ease at which he is able to communicate concepts.

The Tutorials are of Sciences, Finance, Humanities subjects etc and cover KS1 concepts to post A-level. A 20 minute lecture from TED features on the homepage where ‘Sal’ gives a little background to the Academy and shares His views on learning, as well as talking through the other features of the Khan Academy. TES magazine and the BBC Education website also have articles of his Academy.

Perhaps, this could begin a thread for ‘Useful Websites’ for Teachers and Home Educators.

As the list can become somewhat endless (and resemble a Google search), perhaps the best one or two sites could be shared- those that are used regularly?
Maybe a summary of how the site is used could also be included to add a little direction?


Assalaamu alaikum
Umm Yahya, Naweeda bint Abdul Khaliq

[UmmMujaahid.bint.AbdulKhaaliq]

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi,

The following website maybe useful for Arabic learners as well as teachers. Registration is optional. All resources are free to download without logging in.

http://www.almiftaah.net

The site has: grammar notes,worksheets,grammar games,vocabulary banks,exams, flashcards,posters,teaching aids, puzzles and much more.

If you have any resources to share or suggestions please email admin at: arabic4sisters@hotmail.co.uk

Baarakallahu feekum,
Umm Mujaahid, Naheeda bint Abdul Khaaliq bin Muhammad Faadil