method of arabic introduction

            More and more Muslim parents in the west are now voicing their desire to give their kids a quality Arabic education; something they themselves didn’t have. I am one such parent. I want my kids to have sound knowledge of the language so that there is no language barrier between themselves and their Book, the sunnah of their prophet and their own prayers.

Islamic schools all over the country are doing their best to address the issue of Arabic studies. Having visited nearly fifty of them, I’ve come to some conclusions about how things are and how they should be in this area of study for our full time and weekend/ after school institutions. This series will be an attempt to organize these thoughts in a coherent and hopefully beneficial fashion. In the spirit of pragmatism, expect no radical changes at your local Islamic school because of these articles. It is my hope that at the very least (a) this will serve as food for thought at the local level in your community and (b) bring like minds together for a robust collaborative effort in bringing together a powerful, new and innovative curriculum with realistic, scalable goals.

           Generally, why do adults learn a new language? Most often because the goal is to communicate in that language. Generally speaking then, why do children learn a new language? Most often because their teacher told them to. It isn’t curiosity that drives a child’s Arabic learning, it is an academic obligation. Arabic education isn’t only aimed at achieving certain academic milestones, but also injecting enthusiasm, curiosity and a love of learning the language into children. I never get tired of saying that the most important thing you’re going to need to study Arabic is motivation and the first thing to fade away into nothingness when you embark upon Arabic studies is also motivation. This is a major concern even for adults so we shouldn’t overlook its paramount importance in the context of our children.

                     My personal vision for installing this motivation as a fixture in our children’s lives is the connection we can build between them and the Qur’an, more precisely Qur’anic stories. At early grade levels, we have to devise an educational strategy not just made up of illustrated books that tell them what the people said to their messenger and what the messenger said to his people. I’m talking about a training program for our Arabic and Islamic studies teachers where they learn to turn into animated, imaginative characters making stories jump off the page in the class room giving our children the feeling that they’re standing at the edge of a cliff watching water part as they can hear enemy horses charging towards them and a cloud of dust rising behind them! The teacher tells this AMAAAAZING story, builds this incredible suspense and then says, “and you know what happened next….”. At this point the children have their eyes bulging out of their sockets, the look of concern and curiosity invading their facial expressions. Some can’t help themselves and cry out “tell us teacher!” The teacher recites the ayah in an animated fashion bringing its words to life in the classroom without translating. “The End.” “What?” the children exclaim. “What does that mean?” “You mean you guys don’t know what that means? OHOHOHHHO…Let me tell you!” The teacher takes a word from the ayah and builds a story around it and every few seconds asks, “What was that word again?” The class screams out the answer making the principal nervous about what’s going on in the class.

              Animating the story is a great way to spark curiosity and a fantastic covert method of vocabulary introduction. Word lists on a page are boring and students only remember them as long as they are studying for a test. Words, even phrases that are given a meaningful, memorable context embed themselves in the student’s mind. This, mind you, is an alternative approach to the early years of Arabic learning, say 2nd grade. This is just one means of building excitement around the subject. In a later part of this series, I’ll talk a little bit more about the grade level by grade level academic targets we should look to achieve

Source

9/28/2015 05:27:00 PM   by Unknown ·   0

What is Islam's view about education, science and technology?

What is Islam's view about education, science and technology?

              The framework of Islamic thought represents a comprehensive view of life and the universe.  A Muslim is therefore required to acquire both religious and worldly knowledge.  In fact, Islam advocated knowledge at a time when the whole world was engulfed in ignorance.  In a matter of years the early generation of Muslims became a learned and refined people, for Islam had awakened in them the faculty of intellect.  Those early Muslims understood from the teachings of their religion that useful knowledge is necessary for the benefit of the self and of humanity.  Hence, they pursued it to such a degree that they surpassed other nations in development and productivity and carried the torch of civilization for many centuries.

Muslim history abounds with examples of scientific and cultural ingenuity.  Muslims inherited the knowledge of the nations that came before them, developed it and placed it in the context of a precise moral framework.  Muslim scholarship made a vital contribution to the enrichment and advancement of human civilization.

         While Europe was still in the dark ages, religious Muslims were making great advances in the fields of medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, literature, and history documentation to mention but a few.  Many important new procedures were transmitted to medieval Europe from Muslim regions, such as Arabic numerals with the principle of the zero vital to the advancement of mathematics and the use of algebra.  Sophisticated instruments, including the astrolabe and the quadrant, as well as good navigational maps, were first developed by Muslims.  Only after people lost sight of their religious beliefs and obligations did the scientific achievements of the Muslim world cease and fall into obscurity.

            Similarly, Islam does not now oppose any modern inventions that are beneficial to mankind.  It is sufficient that they be used in the name of God and for His cause.  In reality, machines, instruments and devices have no religion or homeland.  They can be used for either good or bad objectives, and the way they are used can affect much of the earth's population.  Even something so simple as a glass can be filled either with a nourishing drink or with a poison.  Television can provide education or immorality.  It is up to the user to decide, and a Muslim is commanded to make good use of all the means at his disposal while being prohibited from causing harm to himself or others.  Failure to use the proper means toward benefit is, in effect, a deprecation of Islamic teachings.

A truly Islamic government is required to the best of its ability to provide all means that promote adequate education for its citizens.  Education is a right for all individuals and the required moral duty of every capable Muslim.  All able, intelligent and skilled individuals in an Islamic society are required to educate themselves not only in the basics of their religion but in necessary worldly affairs.  Further, it is obligatory upon qualified people to study every beneficial field of knowledge.  For example, since every society needs doctors, it becomes obligatory for some people to go into the field of medicine to fulfill the needs of society.

            Advancements in science and technology are among the ways and means to achieve development of the Muslim world.  Islam calls upon Muslims to pursue knowledge in the broadest sense of the word.  Prophet Muhammad said, "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim."[Narrated by Ibn Majah] He also said, "For one who treads a path to knowledge, Allah will make easy the path to Paradise."[Narrated by Muslim] And the Qur’an contains numerous references to knowledge and its importance, such as: "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day are signs for those of understanding."[3:190] "Say, 'Are those who know equal to those who do not know?'"[39:9] "Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge by degrees."[58:11]

Qur’anic verses encourage study and contemplation of the universe that surrounds us and is particularly concerned with those sciences that give human beings the ability to benefit from the world around them.  While encouraging investigation, the Qur’an contains references to a variety of subjects which have been shown to be scientifically accurate.   This is the fulfillment of God's statement over 14 centuries ago: "We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth."[41:53]

            Thus, when a Muslim has a sincere and wholesome intention to obtain knowledge, it will also have a positive effect on his faith.  For knowledge reinforces textual evidence for the existence of the almighty Creator and assists in appreciation of the many scientific allusions found in the Qur’an. There has never been an established scientific fact that contradicted the teachings of Islam.  Whatever modern science discovers only increases the Muslim's knowledge of God's magnificent creation.  Thus, Islam actively encourages scientific endeavors and the study of God's signs in nature.  It also welcomes beneficial technological advances and allows people to enjoy the fruits of human ingenuity.

To a Muslim, conflict between science and religion is an impossibility, for religion comes from God and so does His system of creation and development.  The modern, purely materialistic approach to scientific and technological advancement has indeed granted man a measure of physical comfort, but not mental or spiritual comfort.  Islam advocates the incorporation of knowledge within a just and balanced value system where anything beneficial for one's spiritual and worldly improvement is encouraged and advocated.

Source : http://gainpeace.com

9/28/2015 05:26:00 PM   by Unknown ·   0

The Differences Between School in Indonesia, Europe and Australia

The Differences Between School in Indonesia, Europe and Australia

         Surabaya- This is my officially first working day whereby my internship at this organization – Tunas Hijau – dealing with environmental matters got under its way. The first school to target any potential findings and problems was the SMP 5 Surabaya, a junior high school. The obvious differences between educational systems in Europe and Australia and the one in Indonesia are easy to notice at first sight. Right from the beginning of my tour I was heading to the Garden section, students study the aspects of nature without any textbooks and the entire Nature lecturing is structured as it goes. This area also lacks necessary aspects of safety ranging from not maintained pathways and the like.

When it comes to classrooms, they are not always equipped with pertinent equipment that is deemed as indispensable in western countries such as over head projectors and basic visual and audio equipment in order to lead smooth teaching activities. All classrooms ought to obtain necessary fans or other means of ventilation that allows students to focus on their studying responsibilities. The library that is available for students suffers from an obvious lack of information resources such as Internet access and computer stations for students to search information online.

This library also should support students who are willing to further educate themselves with adequate book sources from various fields. Library is the place to study and seek additional information; therefore there should not be any barriers to propel this behavior. To foster any other further steps in the future, these students need to be given proper equipment that would actually allow them to gather pertinent data, establish appropriate communication channels worldwide and also to deliver this betterment observed from other places around the world into their institutions. Right this worldwide experience is the means of change brought into a certain country.

However, a positive side of the SMP5 Surabaya School is the fact that they managed to deal with other environmental matters precisely as opposed to those ones in western countries. I witnessed students who showed their creativity and capability of dealing with rubbish and turned it out towards certain useful products that could be potentially used in the future in Surabaya or elsewhere. These students attempted to come up with determined notions and showed an ability to comprehend that these threats concerning the environment we are currently living in nowadays can not be overlooked for everyone’s sake.

In this regard, the SMP5 Surabaya School should seriously consider some sort of competition when it comes to the students’ creativity in this field. Thus their efforts would be further encouraged and fostered. On the other hand, these students who comprehended aforementioned matters to a certain extent concurrently failed to undertake such a basic responsibility such as separating rubbish into organic and non-organic. All rubbish bins throughout this school were not separated despite its obvious and colorful marks. This is the basic step to accomplish in order to propel other more complicated accomplishments. To ensure proper rubbish separation there should be certain pictures sticked on a rubbish bin to make it easily distinguished which one is the right one.

All things considered, the students of the SMP5 Surabaya School are well aware of the magnitude with regard to clean environment and are also determined to continue with their actual efforts. To encourage and support their willingness to learn further and to accomplish their main goal to become the most environmentally friendly school in a national level as I was told, they ought to strive towards better learning conditions, smoother learning activities and more importantly increasing their international involvement.

source

: http://tunashijau.org/2010/01/22/the-differences-between-school-in-indonesia-europe-and-australia/

9/12/2015 05:07:00 PM   by Unknown ·   0