Food for thought...

What Montessori teaching entails…

Montessori approach to teaching is indeed ideal. We were given the opportunity to view some samples of teaching which took place in some of the western countries. The children were of the age between 3 to 5 years old…yes, that young! When they came into the classroom early in the morning they folded their windbreakers nicely and in a very organized way and placed them one on top of another. Also, they were trained not to tread on other people’s territories as it was wrong to do so. Thus, we didn’t see anyone putting their belongings in other people’s place unnecessarily though we would expect it would be very natural for children at that age to behave in such a manner. I was thinking to myself, “Wow, such discipline!”

Now, you would have to visualize this in the classroom ; after putting away their coats nicely the children went around looking for stuff to do for instance colouring, polishing a metal tray, fitting in shapes, etc. Bottomline, they were supposed to engage themselves in activities which demanded their full concentration and focus and eventually to finish doing them. They took out the apparatus/equipment/ tools/materials from the shelves and started doing their job. After finishing it, they put the apparatus back in the rightful place, without leaving it in a mess. We even saw in the video how this boy went to the extent of wiping some spots of colour which dropped on the floor when he was working. This is a typical scene in a Montessori classroom. Again I was wondering to myself “…such trained minds”.

Also, if these children wish to do an activity and it so happens another child is doing that activity, they are trained to wait for their turn till the other child is done with it. These children do not simply grab it from another child and start fighting over it. That is not a common scene in a Montessori classroom. I was beginning to think, if this is the kind of practice we have in the real world among adults, then there wouldn’t be wars to begin with!

Even the way they learn to read is very organized and systematic. It starts off with sounding the letters in the English alphabet not just naming them. Children in conventional pre-school classrooms would just name the 26 letters. These Montessorian children learn to utter 44 sounds as compared to 26! The books they read have a system to it. The sentences are repetitive and expanded in a very structured way. Thus, everything is done in an organized manner. And these are the children whom, we were told, have grown up to become amazingly distinctive leaders of the world a few of whom were the founders of the renowned Google.

Our home scenario: Malaysia is a multi-racial country with the majority of the people being Malays, which means they are Muslims. The reality being a big number of the students in the pre-school classes are Malays who are Muslims. Early childhood education is the most significant part of human education as it is in this initial stage an individual develops intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically and most importantly, as a Muslim, spiritually. What do parents want them to become when they are sent to schools? It is stated in the hadis which is to this effect : “Anak yang dilahirkan dibentuk oleh ibu bapa sama ada menjadi Majusi, Nasrani atau Islam”…(correct me if I’m wrong).

In my opinion, as a Muslim, there should be a good balance of the two, the worldly knowledge and the hereafter. It would be most ideal if a child is trained in the abovementioned aspects with no one aspect overriding the other. There should be a good balance. And this is not easily attainable if one is not fully aware of the consequences or effects it will cause if such a balance is not struck. We need to bear in mind, we are talking about developing a human here. A human who is disciplined in every sense of the word…

My qualm is this : is the Ministry of Education able to provide the kind of education which is truly needed by a child when he or she enters pre-school? When I am writing this, Montessori kits have been already distributed to the various State Education Departments to be further distributed to schools. My only worry, as usual, we are doing some people a favour by promoting their business in the name of providing education. At the end of the day, how many children really benefit from such a decision. And I am really looking at the potential problems faced especially by Malay children who, I would safely account to, the majority do not come from English speaking homes. Thus, there are many loopholes here…

We are looking at the shortcomings pertaining to language per se. What about the more important issue of developing the child wholly as stated in the National Education Philosophy which means the spiritual aspect of learning has to be properly addressed too. I truly think this aspect is not given due attention and this is something the ministry has to take into consideration when they structure the new pre-school curriculum.

Nothing is new here. As in the Teaching of Math and Science in English, the Montessori way of teaching pre-school children is just a spin-off. It all adds up to improper and hasty planning just to give satisfying answers to certain people who feel they are experts in everything they do just because they have the power. And we know, at the end of the day we have God to answer to…

Food for thought…

"Allah has commanded you to render back your trusts to whom they were due; and when you judge between man and man, that you judge with justice: verily, how excellent is the teaching which He gives you! For Allah is He who hears and sees all things. O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best and most suitable for final determination." (Al Nisa’ 4: 58-59)

This verse therefore mandates upon governments and Muslims alike to be trustworthy over what are entrusted upon them and governance is a form of trust. Thus authority and governances are authorized power, so to speak, and therefore should not be looked upon as a privilege or as a crown of glory. Since rulers and administrators are not absolute in their authority but are subjected to the Supreme Authority of Allah, they are therefore accountable to the Almighty Lord.

The questions are simply these: are we providing the children the kind of education they really need in order to become a balanced individual in the true sense of the word? Or are we addressing the intellectual aspect more than anything else? If so, how are we better than the western approach to education? Is it in name only that Malaysia is an Islamic nation? What should our model of education be as far as pre-school education is concerned?

Intellectual Submission entails…

“…the fact that the door to Islam is through the mind, the intellect, signifies further how significant the role of knowledge is in Islam. Indeed, so much attention, as highlighted earlier is given by Allah the All Knowing, to assist man to think, to ponder and finally to decide, among others, on the Role, Position and Power of the Almighty Supreme vis-á-vis mankind and all creations. It is only when a person is fully convinced of the existence of Allah, the Creator Lord, acknowledged His Might and Supremacy, and appreciated His Bounties and Wisdom then only will that person submit to His Authority willingly, wholeheartedly and totally. Indeed, the theme of knowledge recurs over and over again, encouraging man towards reflections and observations.”

Spiritual Submission entails…

“Spiritual submission is the submission of a person’s spiritual entity to Allah the Lord Supreme. This spiritual entity is the inner being of a person which is often referred to as the soul, the heart, conscience, intuition, feeling, emotion, sentiment, inclinations, among others. It is this spiritual entity of man that motivates him to manifest his faith into acts of worship and religious activities. In Islam, spiritual submission comes after intellectual submission. This is because, unlike some other religions, Islam requires understanding and conviction in faith as well as sincerity in worship, and not blind belief nor mere inherited practices.”

In a nutshell, Islam proposes an education which develops a human being wholly, in a balanced way, so to speak. Thus, education is a means to an end and not an end in itself as we have a duty to perform as vicegerents on this Earth.

Wallahu’alam…

Reference:
Kamar Oniah Kamaruzaman (2007). Understanding Islam : Contemporary Discourse.
Saba Islamic Media: Kuala Lumpur.

When fate intervenes...

“He’s lying still and the doctors are doing their best to save him. The swelling on the face has subsided, Alhamdulillah. A fine wire has been put through his skull and placed near the blood clot in his head. This is to measure the magnitude of the concussion and to monitor the blood clot. If it gets more serious than this then a surgery is needed. “ She tried real hard to hold back the tears as she spoke and at times I had to give her time to compose herself and find the right words to say. I just wished I was there to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright, InsyaAllah. This is indeed a test on her ‘iman’.

She is my closest cousin sister and the only female cousin I have on my mother’s side. A very humble person though she has high qualification and comes from a prominent family. They met when they were studying in London and even when he first courted her I was among the first to know . We were so close that we shared almost everything . Then they came back one summer and they got engaged, if I’m not mistaken. The following year they got married but they had to go back to London immediately as her husband was doing his professional course in Accountancy. Soon afterwards we got news she was expecting and later the baby was born in London…

It was only last weekend my uncle had the ‘khenduri doa selamat’ for both my cousins who were due to leave for Mecca to perform their Haj. Her brother left the very next day and when the accident happened he was already in Madinah and most probably nobody told him about it. They planned to go together but his sister couldn’t get an earlier date.

My cousin’s husband, Shariman, was working with Sime Darby when he decided to quit his job in pursuit of another in Jeddah. His plan was to go there first and later to have his wife and children join him. They spoke of living in Jeddah and it would be very convenient to go for Umrah and even perform the Haj later. But things turned out otherwise when one day we heard he came back after staying there for 6 months or so only. Perhaps the long distance from the family was not a very good idea after all despite the good pay and what not…

So he came back to Malaysia and 2 months later he got a job offer in Johor Bharu. He has been travelling back and forth between KL and JB quite frequently until the time of the fateful accident. I was told by my cousin that he came to KL that Wednesday to attend a meeting and pushed off to JB as early as 2 a.m. trying to beat the heavy traffic jam as he entered the town. He must be sleepy and hit a timber lorry in the back. One of the logs penetrated the windscreen but it didn’t hit him directly on the head. However, the massive impact must have caused the concussion on his head . But God is great as his life has been spared. Until now he has not regained full consciousness but according to my cousin there has been good progress. My cousin and I speak on the phone as much as we can so that she could update me of his condition.

In the light of this event, I have been reflecting on the turnout of events in our lives. For instance, my cousin has even got her date to leave for Mecca, which is 16 November but Allah has his plans which no one knows. She has cancelled her trip since and has taken it in good spirit and with much patience.

I just read a book entitled ‘Don’t be Sad’. Somewhere in the book it says something like this; we can’t say ‘had it been like this, then things would turn out differently.” This is because things are meant to be the way they are for reasons known only to Him. It doesn’t mean if my cousin managed to get an earlier date whereby she could go with her brother, the accident wouldn’t have taken place. It is not as simple as that as events in our lives have been pre-destined…

Tidak ada sesuatu kesusahan (atau bencana) yang ditimpakan di bumi dan tidak juga yang menimpa diri kamu, melainkan telah sedia ada di dalam kitab (pengetahuan Kami) sebelum Kami menjadikannya.
(Surah Al-Hadid:22)

It has been such a long time since I last wrote...

Assalamu'alaikum,
I owe a friend some journal entries which I would say are long overdue! How I wish I had more time to write so that I could put my thoughts on paper. Well, now would be a good time as any...
The other day I was telling a friend about the ironies in life; how things would take a complete different turning when we least expect it. And more often than not, these very events cause us to reflect on things which happen around us, the people we deal with in life and never, ever should we take life for granted. Of course, at the end of the day, we notice the 'hikmah' that underlies all these events is priceless and awaits to be unraveled. In fact, the various events (or life dramas, as once was used by my Islamic Philosophy lecturer) were meant to happen in the first place and we are kept not in the know by Allah for various reasons known only to Him. As the saying goes, "Manusia hanya merancang, Allah juga yang menentukan..."
Hmm I need to get some sleep before dawn sets in. InsyaAllah, I will continue with the rest of this journal very soon...