Why I couldnt kill their spirit? So far my 3.5 year old twins have only been in my care and I took it upon myself to preschool them. Anyway, so I decided a while back that this was the best age to introduce a second language (Arabic) in addition to some Islamic studies but I wanted some help to do it. So I signed them up for a preschool class once a week just to teach them the second language. So on the first day I walked into the classroom I found it very disturbing, unattractive walls, no activity stations...etc. I asked the teacher will they will be learning in any fun ways and she assured me of course they will. I expressed my concern that this will be their first time to be in a setting like this and she responds by saying, dont worry they are sitting down very well now, they will be fine. To be honest when she said that, my heart sank, they are sitting very well!! Are 3 years old expected to just sit on a chair to learn!! Needless to say I went against everything in my body screaming at me and left them there. It was only 3 hours but I felt like I was putting them in a prison. Three hours later I went to pick them up, I have never seen them so energy drawn before and their spirits so low. Of course fun in the teachers eyes turned out to be sitting on a chair for 3 hours and an occasional colouring activity. Naturally I pulled them out and they wont be going back any time soon. It could stop there for me but it still makes my heart ache to see so many children going to places like these and parents not realizing what is happening to their children. There are HEAPS of research out there to prove that before the age of 7 this kind of traditional schooling kills their creativity and ability to think for themselves. Not only that but they also lose self esteem, I had read that a lot before but never connected the dots until we came home that day. I went through their work and I saw the teacher had marked a red cross on an activity that my son had coloured in an extra item for (more than he was supposed to do). This attitude is detrimental to a childs self view of himself and his confidence. They are children , they are playing, I knew he knew exactly what he needed to do but he was having fun. Which is how its supposed to be. I even discovered later on that where we live kids under 5 are not doing well developmentally. After research they discovered it was because of lack of creative and free play. which is directly related to children going into school settings too early and not having enough chance to play and have fun which by the way is how they learn. Not to mention the detrimental effect of the use of ipads...etc at this age not matter how learning friendly they appear to be. So where am I going with this? The modern world is moving in the direction away from this learning model as they now realize how bad it really is and has no true benefits in the future. In fact it does more harm than good. What I wish for us as Muslims is not to fall behind with this like we do in so many other things especially in Arab countries, and especially for our Islamic schools. If you ask anyone who is aware of traditional learning issues and wants to teach their children in an Islamic environment they will most likely choose homeschooling over sending them to an Islamic school. Because our Islamic schools do not live up to the standard whether academically or Islamically. The fact of the matter is we need drastic change and us as parents need to make a difference so the new generations have a better chance at a better education. The way learning should be, is going on an adventure and leaving you thirsty for more. Learning is a tool to discover yourself and what YOU want to do and what you enjoy. Its not about getting the highest scores to get a career. So much creativity and talent has been killed that way and has people working their whole lives in jobs they hate. I myself as an individual would love to make change in this so if any parents here are also interested then please get in contact and maybe we can actually do something about it. We need to seek out like minded people and try and come together, do research and try to put pressure on schools to change. If possible, start our own schools. We want a generation of Muslims who know their religion, are creative, know what they want in life, are independent and LOVE learning. P.S What kids really need at this age to reach their MAX potential: 1- Nature 2- Being read to constantly 3- Opportunities for free and creative play No books,flashcards,lessons.....etc. Would love to hear your feedback and opinions
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 03:24:27 +0000
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