Teaching Children

Ann El-Moslimany

9781565649897

Paperback

A Moral, Spiritual, and Holistic Approach to Educational Development

The author explores education from the essential principles of Tawhid (Oneness of God, humanity, knowledge); fitrah (concept of human nature); and the role of humans as vicegerents of God on earth (responsibility and stewardship).

The current education system dates back a hundred years or more, and is in desperate need of a 'reboot'. In developing the industrialised society, the education system itself became like a factory, the end product being pupils who merely regurgitate facts, and themselves end up as cogs in the machine that is the wider industrial complex.

The legacy of this is a soulless "functional educational system that fails to develop pupils to meet the present and future needs of individuals and their expectations. This failure inevitably impacts on society and humanity at large. Society has long since moved beyond the industrial revolution and into an age of global connectedness where the sum of human knowledge is freely available via the internet. It is an age where people are generally more well informed and on a variety of issues.

An effective holistic educational philosophy is required, one that gives full spiritual meaning to all that a child learns. It should equip children with spiritual awareness, morals and values, social responsibility and accountability, self-discipline and self determination, self-confidence and empowerment, ambition and aspiration tempered with thoughtfulness and a sense of gratitude.

Ann El-Moslimany holds a science PhD in Botany, is author of Islamic books and science research papers, and is retired Educator and Founder of the Islamic School of Seattle, USA, of which she was Founding Director for just over forty years.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Expanding Our Choices

3. From Factory School to the Standard Management Paradigm

4. Unleashing the Power of Tawhid

5. The Unity of Truth

6. The Mind, Brain, and Education Science

7. Towards a Tawhidic (Unified) Curriculum

8. Fitrah or Behaviourism

9. Self-Determination

10. Islamic Civic Engagement

11. Moving Forward

Appendix A: Montessori: A Model for Islamic Schools

Appendix B: Exploring Themes with Students