Integrated TeachingMaking schooling worthwhile

The two capital crimes committed against society are

the commercialization of education and health care.

Situational diagnosisWhat happens today in the name of

education

4

Why schooling?1. What do you call a person who studied

full time for 17 years but has no life skills and can't survive for a week unaided?

2. High School Graduate.

And remember, you paid for it

5

Who is the school for?1. Then why do you have Parent/Teacher

meetings?2. Why are children not involved in decision

making?3. What choices do children have?

So really, who is the school for?

The first casualty of schooling is imagination. The second is

independence. Confidence dies on its own of a broken heart.

What is this place?1. Authoritarian

structure2. Dress code3. Silence & order4. Punishment5. Walk in lines

6. Loss of autonomy7. Abridged freedoms8. No input in decision

making9. Set time enforced

for waking, eating, etc.

8

Prison

?No, school

9

Problem with schools today1. Schools are run for profit2. Teachers teach because it is their job3. Parents want to outsource parenting4. Students are prisoners without choice

All of the above must change if we want value

10

Problem with teaching1. Discrete subjects with no relation to each

other or to practical application of learning2. Pressure on memorizing, not understanding3. Questioning is discouraged, dissent is banned4. Practical application of knowledge is ignored5. Exams measure nothing except memory

Compulsion kills all joy, energy, enthusiasm

11

Class size & composition1. Classes made up by date of manufacture

2. Size to maximize income per student3. Seating to kill all inter-student

communication4. Pressure on silence, obedience,

conformity5. Questioning, disagreement not allowedHow do you measure teacher effectiveness?

Why else would global leaders make the same mistakes since the Roman Empire except that

they're trained in a flawed system?

How is it possible that we know all about the world and that

there's no other world and yet continue to destroy it? Is this

knowledge?

14

What if?1. Schooling created a lifelong love for learning?2. Inculcated ethics, morals and values?3. Taught brotherhood, teamwork, leadership?4. Produced strong, compassionate, courageous

citizens of the world

All is possible but only for those who really want it

What must be done?Start fresh to create a new generation

16

Teachers must change first1. You must love your children enough to cry for

them before Allahهلالج لج2. You must become their role models3. You must be their point of reference if they are

in a moral dilemma even after you are dead4. Learning must be visibly your first priority

Because only a lighted lamp can light others

Collect dots or connect dots - is the difference between

information and knowledge; mugging and understanding;

success and failure.

18Schooling must achieve these four things

The single, most powerful change to transform the world is to move from - the world is

responsible for me to, I'm responsible for the world.

20

Foundation of ValuesValues drive behavior

Behavior drives resultsValues must be inculcatedThey can’t be legislated

21

Accountability to Allahهلالج لج 1. Integrity2. Truthfulness3. Compassion

4. Courage5. Citizenship6. Teamwork

This is why we need the right teachers first

22

Everything must change1. Core Purpose2. Autonomy of

students3. Class size &

composition

4. Curriculum & syllabus

5. Teaching methodology

6. Examination system

But first the mindset must change

23

Core Purpose1. What are you trying to create in your

school?2. What differentiates you in the market?3. Define the final product in terms of

what he will be trained for and capable of doing

What will be lost if your school doesn’t exist?

24

Autonomy of students1. If the school is for children they must

decide what happens there2. Dignity begins with choice – give them

dignity3. Teachers/authority must be

accountable to the children and must be evaluated by them

Otherwise it is a prison, not a school

25

Class size & composition1. Not more than fifteen students per

class2. Multiple ages – not by date of

manufacture3. Multiple teachers – class + subject

teachers

Supported by state-of-the-art technology

26

Curriculum and syllabus1. Refer to your Core Purpose and design

a curriculum that can deliver that2. Focus on understanding and application3. Must create a lifelong love for learning

Stop teaching – start discovering

27

Teaching methodology1. Integrate knowledge – not discrete subjects

2. Focus on its application – practical experience

3. Open doors to further enquiry – support questioning, dissent, critical analysis

Teach by demonstration because they listen with their eyes

28

Examination system1. Regurgitating undigested food is called

vomit. Regurgitating undigested information is called passing exams.

2. Exams: Name given to test if you can regurgitate unprocessed information at a specified time.

Abolish this insane, illogical and inhuman system

29

What must change?1. In the current exam system, if a person

recalls the information 5 minutes later, you fail him because the exam is over. How stupid is that?

2. Test understanding, application skill, changed values, broadened horizons - not memory. Your student is human and not a silicon chip.

30

Teachers must become farmers

• Think agriculture1. Prepare the soil2. Plant the best seed3. Water it

Without a good farmer nothing will flourish – teachers must be inspired to be inspirational

Quranic teaching methodology

Recognize Allahهلالج لج, then research His creation

32

Dhikr wa Tafakkur

يل ماوات واألرض واختالف الل إن في خلق السeولي األلباب fهار آليات أل والن

eوبهم ن eودا وعلى جeعeون الله قياما وق eرe ذين يذك النا ما ماوات واألرض رب ون في خلق الس eر ويتفك

ار بحانك فقنا عذاب الن eخلقت هذا باطال س

33

A’al Imraan• 190. Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the

earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.

• 191. Those who remember Allâh standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and reflect about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): ‘Our Rabb! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You. Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.’

The purpose of knowledge is to open the eyes

34

First priority1. Connect them to Allahهلالج لج 2. Introduce them to Rasoolullahملسو هيلع هللا ىلص3. Make the Aakhira real for them4. Enable them to love the Qur’an5. Reveal to them the secret of the

Sunnah

But you have to do all this first

35

To achieve this…1. Tazkiyatun Nafs2. Tarbiyatul Akhlaaq3. Demonstrating by personal example4. Study of Seerah and biographies

Teacher must stand in the night and ask for the help of Allahهلالج لج

36

Shape attitudes1. Contribution, not consumption2. Humility, not arrogance3. Confidence, not dependence4. Collaboration, not competition5. Compassion, not selfishness

What are the metrics to show that this is happening?

Teach life skills1. How money works2. Entrepreneurship3. Investment4. Politics = Influencing5. Conflict resolution 6. Negotiation Skills

5. Media analysis6. Thought steering7. Communication8. Discipline of Dialogue 9. Photography & Film

making

37Above all, teach them discipline

Teach life skills1. Art, drama, literature,

poetry2. Artisan crafts,

carpentry, pottery 3. Appreciate difference 4. Gardening, agriculture,

ecology, conservation

5. Survival skills, orienteering6. Woodcraft, tracking,

archery, fishing, shooting7. Horsemanship and training

animals, Swimming, sailing8. Love of service

38Teach them that value is intrinsic

Teach through ProjectsBecause knowledge and people are

holistic

40

Why Projects?1. Projects are a wonderful way to teach

because they encourage participation from the child in learning

2. Choose a topic; then teach all subjects with that topic as the base

Make learning practical and applicable

Project: Oceans1. Biology: Marine plants &

animals2. Physics: Displacement floats

ships3. Chemistry: Why is sea water

salty?4. Geography: Navigation:

Orientation, sailing, Qibla5. History: Maritime history of

nations

6. Trade: Routes, goods, cultural & population change

7. Tafsir: Qur’anic Ayaat relating to Oceans

8. Fiqh: Mathaa’il related to sea water, food, travel etc.

9. Hadith: Ahadith related to the sea10.Seerah: Stories of Seerah and

Sahaba about the sea

Go sailing, make salt, catch fish, camp by the sea

42

مرج البحرينذي مرج البحرين هذا عذب وهeو الeجاج وجعل بينهeما فeرات وهذا ملح أ

برزخا وحجرا محجeورا• Furqan 25: 53. And it is He Who set free the two seas

(kinds of water), one palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter, and He set a barrier and a complete partition between them.

Project: Mountains1. Geology: Isostacy of

mountains: Stabilizing effect

2. Geography: How mountains effect climate

3. Biology: Mountain flora & fauna

4. History: How mountains affected nations

5. Tafsir: Ayaat related to mountains

6. Seerah: Mountain of Uhud7. Hadith: Related to

mountainsCamp in the mountains, rock climbing, rappelling, climb

Kilimanjaro

44

Think & Question1. Teach them to ask questions and draw lessons

2. Encourage imagination, dreaming, dissent

3. Let them teach for that’s the best way to learn

4. Ask, ‘Why not?’ and ‘So what?’Essential lesson: Critical analysis is not criticism

45

Study the Seerah1. Study the Seerah and draw lessons for today2. Show how values, ethics and morals are

ageless and eternal – what worked then still does

3. Teach biographies of Sahaba to show how they changed their world

Make Rasoolullahملسو هيلع هللا ىلص real to them

46

Bring theology alive1. While teaching history, ask them what they would

have done in a similar situation and why? 2. Let them appreciate the challenges that

Rasoolullahملسو هيلع هللا ىلص faced and show parallels in today’s world

3. Show them how his methods apply today and how they can get us the same results if we practice them

Islam spread by winning hearts, not arguments

47

Purpose of teaching1. Is to change lives2. Not to accumulate information without

understanding its meaning, implications or value and without the tools to use it

Because learning is for life

Not only for a living

48

Question • If Islam can’t change their lives in this world, how can it help them in the Aakhira?• We have to learn & teach how to leverage the knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah to become valuable contributors

Only then will we fulfill our purpose

Because Allahهلالج لج sent us to take from Him

And give to the rest of the world