Project Document (Fundamental Goals and Strategies for Teacher Training Center)

 

Project Document

Fundamental Goals and Strategies

For Teacher Training Center

(According to Islamic commands)

 

 

 

Executive Summary

 

The booklet under review covers all the topics that should be included in the training of a teacher according to the Islamic spirit. The proposed training system is based on six basic factors.

1.      Cultivating certain qualities in the teacher in the light of the injunctions of Qur'an and Sunnah. If these qualities, which are not impossible, are inculcated in teachers, then we can produce teachers whose hearts will be enlightened and whose tongues will be fountains of wisdom.

2.      According to modern research, to equip the teacher with all the basic skills that are essential for an integrated education system. List of proposed tracings is attached at the end.

3.      Implementation of ethics and morals compiled by ethics scholars in the institution.

4.      Establish a strong relationship among the entire stake holders e.g. institution, teachers, students and the parents so that the set goals can be achieved.

5.      Provision of trainings and workshops for each segment of the stake holder.

6.      Develop a very robust Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism so that no one's negligence hinders the achievement of the set goals.

The support of these individuals will be needed to make all of these goals work.

1.      Religious scholars who are well versed in Sufism and spirituality. They will provide guidance on SUBJECT related to Essential Qualities for Teachers.

2.      Highly qualified educational professional those will work full time. These educationalists must be equipped and aware of all the experience and expertise related to teacher training, including research, training modules development, preparation of training materials, conducting training, screening, etc.

3.      Management will play a key role in constantly Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism.

Achieving the set goals is a long journey. This will require hiring some people who are always busy preparing the required material. Without it, the goals cannot be achieved, within a specific time.

 

 

Islam is so convinced about the importance of knowledge and education that even the first blessing mentioned in the Qur'an is the blessing of knowledge as the first revelation was revealed to the Holy Prophet (SWA).

علَّمَ الْانسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَم۔ سورہ علق آیت ۵

(اور انسان کو وہ باتیں سکھائیں جس کا اس کو علم نہ تھا)۔

 (And teach man what he did not know).

As important as this work is, it requires special etiquette to perform teaching obligation properly so that no human being commits any negligence in doing its role as a teacher. The more a person is protected from negligence in the performance of this task, the more successful he/she will be in achieving the goal of this task. Therefore, whoever wants to step into the valley of knowledge, education, teaching and cognition, he/she must be aware of its etiquette and duties before performing this great task. In order to guide the people concerned, some of the etiquettes and duties mentioned by the Quran O Hadees and Aimas, have been pointed out.

Essential Qualities of a Teacher

According to the teachings of the Qur'an, there should be five characteristics in a teacher.

1.      Faith:

وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فىِ الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ كلُ‏ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا۔ سورہ آل عمران آیت 7

ترجمہ: اور علم میں راسخ مقام رکھنے والے ہی جانتے ہیں جو کہتے ہیں: ہم اس پر ایمان لے آئے ہیں، یہ سب کچھ ہمارے رب کی طرف سے ہے

And only those who are steadfast in knowledge know who say: We believe in it, all this is from our Lord.

2.      Tohead

اشَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَاهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَ الْمَلَئكَةُ وَ أُوْلُواْ الْعِلْم۔ سورہ آل عمران آیت 18

ترجمہ : اللہ نے خود شہادت دی ہے کہ اس کے سوا کوئی معبود نہیں اور فرشتوں اور اہل علم نے بھی یہی شہادت دی۔

Allah Himself has testified that there is no god but He and the angels and the scholars have also borne witness.

3.      Repenting (Kushoo O Malal)

 

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلىَ‏ عَلَيهْمْ يخَرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا۔ وَ يَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِن كاَنَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا۔ وَ يخَرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَ يَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا۔ سورہ اسراء آیت  107 ۔  109

ترجمہ : اس سے پہلے جنہیں علم دیا گیا ہے جب یہ پڑھ کرانہیں سنایا جاتا ہے تو یقینا وہ ٹھوڑیوں کے بل سجدے میں گرپڑتے ہیں۔ اور کہتے ہیں: پاک ہے ہمارا پروردگار اور ہمارے پروردگار کا وعدہ پورا ہوا۔ اور وہ ٹھوڑیوں کے بل گرتے ہیں اور روتے جاتے ہیں اور ان کا خشوع مزید بڑھ جاتا ہے۔

Those who have been given knowledge before this, when it is not recited, surely they fall on their chins in prostration. And they say: Glory be to our Lord and the promise of our Lord has been fulfilled. And they fall on their chins and cry and their humility increases.

4.      Humble

وَ يخَرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَ يَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا۔سورہ اسراء آیت  107 ۔  109

ترجمہ : اور وہ ٹھوڑیوں کے بل گرتے ہیں اور روتے جاتے ہیں اور ان کا خشوع مزید بڑھ جاتا ہے۔

And they fall on their chins and weep, and their humility increases.

5.      Fear of God

إِنَّمَا يخَشىَ اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَؤُاْ۔ سورہ فاطر آیت   28

ترجمہ : اللہ کے بندوں میں سے صرف اہل علم ہی اس سے ڈرتے ہیں۔

Only the learned among the servants of Allah fear Him.

The Qualities of a Teacher in the light of the Prophetic Hadith:

Declaring Tafqah fi al-Din and knowledge of religion as a good deed from Allah, the Holy Prophet says:

مَنْ‏ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ‏ بِهِ‏ خَيْراً يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ.۔ منیۃ المرید  ص  ۹۹

God Almighty gives the understanding of religion to the one for whom He wants goodness.

Elsewhere, Prophet (SAW) states that seeking knowledge is an obligation on all Muslims:

طَلَبُ‏ الْعِلْمِ‏ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ. منیۃ المرید  ص  ۹۹

It is the duty of every Muslim to acquire knowledge.

In another place he (SAW) says:

مَنْ‏ طَلَبَ‏ الْعِلْمَ‏ فَهُوَ كَالصَّائِمِ نَهَارَهُ الْقَائِمِ لَيْلَهُ وَ إِنَّ بَاباً مِنَ الْعِلْمِ يَتَعَلَّمُهُ الرَّجُلُ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَبُو قُبَيْسٍ ذَهَباً فَأَنْفَقَهُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ. منیۃ المرید  ص   ۱۰۰

A person who acquires knowledge is like a person who fasts all day and spends the whole night in prayer and acquires a chapter of knowledge, then by spending gold in the way of God equal to Mount Abu Qabees. is better.

After being aware of the features and virtues of knowledge and education, we can easily point out the etiquettes, duties and responsibilities that must be adopted during the process of teaching and education, which may be,

1.      Combined duties and manners of the teacher and the student

2.      Specific duties and etiquette with the teacher

3.      Duties and manners assigned to the student

4.      Role of the Parents

 

1.      Combined duties and manners of the teacher and the student

Although the scholars have described many common etiquettes and duties of teacher and student, I just recommend a few etiquettes here for brevity.

a.      Sincerity:

Islam urges Muslims to do every good deed of life with sincerity and with the intention of nearness to Allah. If the intention is pure, its effect lasts forever. As the famous hadith of the Prophet said:

إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ‏ بِالنِّيَّاتِ‏ وَ إِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَ رَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَ رَسُولِهِ وَ مَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكَحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْه. منیۃ المرید  ص   ۱۰۰

ترجمہ : بے شک اعمال کا دارو مدار نیتوں پر ہے۔ اور ہر شخص کے لئے وہی کچھ حاصل ہوگا جس کا وہ نیت کرے۔ پس جو کوئی اللہ اور اس کے رسول کی طرف ہجرت کرے تو اس کی ہجرت اللہ اور اس کے رسول ہی کی طرف ہے۔ اور جو کوئی دنیا کی طرف ہجرت کرے تاکہ اسے حاصل کرے اور کسی عورت کی طرف ہجرت کرے تاکہ اس سے شادی کرلے تو اس کی ہجرت اسی چیز کی طرف ہے جس کی طرف وہ ہجرت کرتا ہے۔

Indeed, the deed depends on intentions. And everyone will get what he intends. So whoever emigrates to Allah and His Messenger, his emigration is to Allah and His Messenger. And whoever migrates to this world to acquire it and migrates to a woman in order to marry her, then his migration is towards that to which he migrates.

b.      Knowledge and practice:

Whatever he/she teaches or acquires knowledge, he/she must first act on it himself. In the eyes of Islam, education alone has no value. Rather, the purpose of education is to be a practical world. As Imam Sadiq (AS) likened the advice of an inactive scholar to a drop of rain on a hard rock:

إِنَ‏ الْعَالِمَ‏ إِذَا لَمْ‏ يَعْمَلْ‏ بِعِلْمِهِ زَلَّتْ مَوْعِظَتُهُ عَنِ الْقُلُوبِ كَمَا يَزِلُّ الْمَطَرُ عَنِ الصَّفَا۔ منیۃ المرید   ص ۱۸۱

ترجمہ : بے عالم جب اپنے علم پر عمل نہیں کرتا تو اس کی نصیحتیں دلوں سے اس طرح پھسل جاتی ہیں جس طرح  سخت چٹان سے بارش کے قطرے پھسل جاتے ہیں۔

When the ignorant person does not act on his knowledge, his advice slips from the hearts in the same way that raindrops slip from a hard rock.

c.       Trust:

For anyone who teaches or acquires knowledge, trust should be his/her goal and he/she should have all kinds of trust and confidence in God Almighty. The beloved Prophet (SAW) said:

أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ تَكَفَّلَ‏ لِطَالِبِ‏ العلم بِرِزْقِهِ خَاصَّةً عَمَّا ضَمِنَهُ لِغَيْرِه۔ ‏کنز العمال ج۱۰/ص ۱۳۹

ترجمہ : بے شک اللہ تعالیٰ نے طالب علم کے لئے دوسروں کو رزق کی جو ضمانت دی ہے اس سے بڑھ کر ایک خاص کفالت کی ذمہ داری اٹھائی ہے۔

Indeed, Allah Almighty has taken on the responsibility of a special sponsor for the student beyond the guarantee he has given to others.

d.      Good manners:

Because the responsibility of leading and guiding the people rests on the shoulders of the teachers, their morals should be such that people can easily meet them. There is a great need for humility, modesty and good morals for the scholars. Imam Sadiq (AS) says:

اطْلُبُوا الْعِلْمَ‏، وَتَزَيَّنُوا مَعَهُ بِالْحِلْمِ وَالْوَقَارِ، وَتَوَاضَعُوا لِمَنْ تُعَلِّمُونَهُ الْعِلْمَ، وَتَوَاضَعُوا لِمَنْ طَلَبْتُمْ مِنْهُ الْعِلْمَ، وَلَا تَكُونُوا عُلَمَاءَ جَبَّارِينَ؛ فَيَذْهَبَ بَاطِلُكُمْ بِحقّ كُم۔ ‏ اصول کافی ج۱/ص ۳۶

ترجمہ : علم حاصل کرو، اور علم کے ساتھ بردباری اور وقار کے ذریعے زینت دو،جسے تم علم سکھاؤ اور  جس سے تم علم حاصل کرو  اس کے سامنے انکساری اور تواضع اختیار کرو اور جابر و متکبر علماء میں سے نہ ہوجاؤ، کہیں تمہارا باطل تمہارے حق کو اپنے ساتھ نہ لے جائے۔

Acquire knowledge, and adorn it with knowledge through patience and dignity, and humble yourself before the one whom you teach knowledge, and the one from whom you acquire knowledge, and do not be one of the arrogant and arrogant scholars. Don't take your right with you.

e.       Self-respect :

Because religion and guidance lies upon the shoulders of scholars and students, both should be free from any financial burden. Both these segments of the society should live among the people in such a way that they are respected and no one looks down on them.

In addition to the above-mentioned etiquette and ethics, it is important for a teacher and a student to take care of all the things that are the identity of a student and a religious scholar and it is worthy of him, such as attending congregational prayers, praying first time. Kindness, kindness to people, respect for rights, care for the sick, compassion for the poor and oppressed, compassion for the needy and treating all people with love and regard. In the same way, one should be careful in every aspect of dress, manners and mannerisms.

2.      Specific duties and etiquette with the teacher

The specific etiquette and duties with the teacher can be divided into three parts if viewed from one point of view. Personal etiquette of the teacher himself, etiquette related to the student and etiquette and duties while teaching.

a.      Personal etiquette of the teacher:

·         The teacher should be well versed in his field.

·         He/she must have the ability to identify a true and worthy student.

·         Practicing knowledge becomes more the responsibility of the teacher than the students.

·         Must be moral and exemplary.

·         The teacher should not let knowledge fall into the hands of incompetent people.

·         Always be ready and willing to teach.

·         Use truthfulness to identify falsehood.

·         Do not forget to perform important duties such as enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.

b.      Etiquette and duties of the teacher regarding the student:

·         Train, guide and teach the students according to Islamic etiquette and morals.

·         Always invite his/her students to divine piety.

·         Treat students with humility.

·         To take care of justice and equality among the students.

·         Make every effort for their development.

c.       Etiquette and duties of the teacher related to teaching:

·         Before entering the classroom, the teacher should prepare for the lesson, clean his clothes and body, show seriousness and dignity.

·         When leaving home for teaching, remember God and recite DUA narrated from the Prophet (SAW).

·         When entering the class, greet the students and treat them with a smile.

·         If he/she does not know the answer to a question, it is better to express ignorance than to give a vague answer and this is not a defect.

As Hazrat Ali (AS) said:

“When you are asked about something you do not know. Escape.”

On questioning how to escape?

He said: “Say that God knows best.”

Ref. منیۃ المرید، ص۱۱۰

3.      Specific etiquette and duties with the student:

In the same way that the specific etiquette and duties with the teacher have been divided into three parts, the duties of the student may also be divided into three parts.

a.       Student's personal etiquette and duties:

·         For every student, it should be mandatory to be good and self-prepared before starting a class. It means of cleansing one's heart and soul. It is as important as a farmer clean and prepares the land before sowing seeds in a field. It is necessary to purify the heart from malice and sin before attaining the classes. Moral scholars have emphasized on adopting piety and abstaining from sins in order to strengthen the memory.

·         Don't waste the time during the process of education. In this age all the abilities and strengths of life are at their peak and the senses are intact and the responsibilities are less.

·         As far as possible, stay away from engagements and association that adversely affect education and spoil thoughts.

·         In addition, develop the good habits like meeting good people, having high determination, thinking prestigious goals, strengthen passion for education, etc.

b.      Student duties regarding the teacher:

It is important for a student to choose the best teacher, pay attention to the teacher's paternal impressions, be humble and thankful to the teacher.

·         Do their best to recite the Qur'an because the Qur'an is the source of Islamic knowledge.

·         Test their abilities correctly, do not put too much burden on their mind and memory, adopt the right way of memorizing reading lessons.

·         Students must have a timetable according to which they can carry out all their academic activities with restraint throughout the day.

·         Clean body and clothes with full preparation for teaching and keep your necessities like book, pen, copy etc. with you.

·         Avoid being absent without an excuse.

·         Greet each other as you enter the classroom.

·         Respect each other's rights.

Role of Parents

Training children should be a top priority for parents. The commands of Allah and His Prophet (SAW)  regarding this are very clear and clear.

Allah commands,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ﴿سورہ تحریم:۶ ﴾

اے ایمان والو! تم اپنے آپ کو اور اپنے گھر والوں کو اس آگ سے بچاؤ جس کا ایندھن انسان ہیں اور پتھر

O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is men and stones.

It is narrated on the authority of Hazrat Amr Saeed bin Al-Aas that the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“There is no greater gift for a father than to teach his children good manners.”

(Jami 'al-Tirmidhi and Hakim)

Today's children are tomorrow's architects. All parents want their children to be successful in life but the role of parents in educating their children is not realized. Parents want their children to be well trained, but they do not plan practical steps. There are a number of reasons for this, including lack of knowledge, lack of awareness and negligence.

Just wishing is not enough to succeed. The right decision at the right time and the right strategy is essential for this. Training children is a full-time activity. The slightest omission in this is very harmful. The potter's example is the best example of understanding the role of parents in the training of children. To make pottery, the potter chooses clay that has a certain proportion of clay and sand. He prepares a special kind of mixture by kneading the soil hard. He puts the prepared clay on the round mill and begins to move the mill with his feet. He is very careful in the whole process of making the pot. He is engaged in all the matters of rounding, cleaning and cutting of the vessel and in all this process he uses all his skills to create the vessel.

The example of clay is from the sperm of man. The potter is the parents, the time is round wheel, the roundness of the pot, the cleaning, the pruning are all stages of the child's training. Just as the carelessness of the potter spoils the vessels, so the carelessness of the parents destroys the children. Just as a potter must have all the skills to make good and beautiful utensils, so parents need to have all the skills related to training children to complete a good, decent and successful person.

How strange is a man, who looks at all of this, but does not understand. To make good pots, special attention is required. How it is possible to equip the human being with all those skill, which are ordered by Allah, without proper planning, guidance and proactive participation of the parents.

In view of this, the presence of parents in the proposed training system is essential. Parents, the institution and the teacher must be in constant touch so that the students can continue the etiquette and duties assigned by the institution at home. In the absence of parents, it is impossible to achieve the goals that are set for the child's character building and mental abilities.

Duration of training

The duration of teacher training should be between 1 to 5 days. A maximum of two topics should be covered in a day.

Capacity

The training center can provide training facilities over 100 to 120 teachers every month. A minimum of twenty five and a maximum of thirty persons will be able to benefit from each training program.

Resources required

The following resources are essential in the training center.

·        Training hall with a seating capacity of 25 to 30 people. This room should be equipped with all kinds of modern audio and visual equipments.

·        Arrangements for accommodation and meals for the training participants.

·        Required stationery such as white board, marker, writing notebook, photocopies of training material, CD for presentation and video etc.

·        If resource persons are hired, their lecture fee or free pick and drop facility

·        Staff costs required to run the training center

 

Proposed Training

Workshops for Professional Teaching Skills

1.      Multiple Intelligences - Using MI to make classes more interactive & interesting

2.      Learning Styles - Understanding Learning styles and how we can maximize learning using this understanding

3.      Thinking Skills - What are they and how we can use them inculcate them through our classroom

4.      Active Learning  - Methodologies to make teaching more interactive, involving & more meaningful

5.      Cooperative Learning - How to get the get best out of peer to peer interactions and to multiply learning using groups

6.      Organizing Learning -What to use where - to enable effective understanding and recall.

7.      If they're laughing-they're learning - Effective strategies towards Using humour in classroom

8.      Understanding and working with Higher order thinking skills

9.      Developing and using Creativity in learning

10.  Using Art, colour, clay & sand for effective learning

11.  Using Theater for effective Learning

12.  Using Music for learning

13.  Language Development in Early Childhood / Middle School

14.  Making Mathematics more meaningful

15.  Brain based learning & Study Skills

16.  Using Story telling / doing in learning

17.  Understanding Activity Design

18.  Using Experiential and Integrated design

Workshops for Understanding Child

19.  Understanding Emotional needs of a child

20.  Working with acceptance and Intentions

21.  Understanding and Developing high Self esteem

22.  Developing Life skills or success skills

Workshops for Effective Classroom Management

23.  Cooperation - Effective Methods to solicit cooperation from children in the classroom

24.  Disciplining in the classroom - Alternative to punishment that work

25.  Communicating to motivate children: Bring the best out of students by simple changes in our communication

26.  Circle Time - using group dynamics for learning

27.  Creating stimulating yet enjoyable physical, Mental and Emotional environment in the classroom

Subject Specific Workshops

28.  Spellings  - Strategies to enable children to learn write and remember spellings correctly

29.  Science is looking, doing, concluding  - Let each Science class be an active exciting journey for children. Experience science all around you through activity based workshop.

30.  Language Development – the natural way – Joy of knowing and using a language is the key to learning the language. Geniekids approach is to simply follow the natural way in which we use the language and learn it on the go.

31.  Make Maths a pleasure to teach and exciting to learn - Activities that connect Maths to real life.

32.  Unravel the Mystery of History - If History is exciting is what you want the children to say, this workshops shows you simple but extremely effective way to make history fun.

33.  Geography is all around us  - A workshop which shows teachers how geography is best learned through events, landmarks and experiences all around us.

Teacher (Self) Development Workshops

34.  Discovering one’s potential as a teacher

35.  Developing effective Facilitating Skills

36.  Conducting Effective Sessions

37.  Developing and Adding MY creativity to my teaching

38.  Developing communication skills that make teachers more effective

39.  Frameworks of my mind - helping me relax, enjoy and give the best to children.

40.  Becoming the favorite teacher of children