Thread: Maktab/Islamic supplementary school Teacher training handbook.

My Muslim Uni professor once commented on early Muslim works relating to education as being an example of what we would today refer to as self help/training manuals for teachers. #education #IsEd #teacher

UK Muslim communities give great importance to the maktab/Islamic supplementary school system. The maktab provides an authentic, confessional religious & spiritual ed. to Muslim children. Since the 1st wave of Muslim migrants, mainly of South Asian origin, maktabs have increased
Many maktabs have managed to adapt to local needs. Work has been done on implementing and maintaining teaching/learning standards, updating curriculum and revising syllabus. However many are still playing catch up and are not lead by qualified and experienced leaders/teachers.
Furthermore, to my knowledge, structured, research driven, evidence based training courses or training manuals for those aspiring to be maktab teachers are non-existent. There seems to be an assumption that anyone can be a maktab teacher. As long as they know the content.
So a trad Darul Uloom/Islamic seminary graduate is seen as qualified to be a maktab teacher. They have extensive knowledge of Islam. But is that enough to be a maktab teacher? Should maktab SMT’s start looking into developing a QMTS qualification?
This is 1 of many trainee teacher handbooks for aspiring teachers in the mainstream. I’m sure maktab SMT’s value such training; what would a maktab trainee teacher handbook look like? Which discussions, ideas and theories are imp for a QMT? Or is having the knowledge sufficient?
I hope SMT’s at maktabs will collaborate with experienced Muslim educationists who understand the maktab system, maybe with Darul Ulooms too, and direct attention to fill this gap. To start work on a ‘trainee maktab teacher’s hand book’ and training courses that lead to a QMTS.
Someone may have knowledge of Islam but without any educational know how, training or expertise, how competent and effective will they be as a teacher? For those of us who are in maktab management, leadership or teaching what content would you say needs to be covered?
The Islamic scholarly tradition of ‘handbooks’ can be revived collaboratively. Let’s go back to the content of the handbook to give us ideas of discussions, theories and content for trainee maktab teachers...
On learning to teach:
1. What is Ilm?
2. The virtues of teaching & learning
3. The deeni dunyawi binary?
4. The history of UK maktabs
5. Why do you want to teach at a maktab? Quran literacy, Islamic studies or both?
6. Planning your journey through maktab training
7. Working with/shadowing a mentor
8. Reflective practice
9. Feedback & development
10. Potential challenges to teaching
11. Resilience...

What about teaching practice? That’s where discussions around ‘What do maktab teachers do?’ can take place...
1. The key aspects of the maktab teachers role
2. What is teaching and what are teacher competencies?
3. Pedagogy: Planning lessons, creating resources, being inclusive, classroom management, checking progress & assessment, pastoral support.
This can then be followed up with a part discussing maktab teacher CPD, because as teachers we should never stop reflecting on our practice and continue learning and benefiting from new research.
Working on such a project will help to improve the quality of maktab education, enhance teacher skills, raise classroom standards, facilitate for varied ability students and really drive for a much needed renewal in maktab teaching and learning.
This no doubt requires substantial financial and human resources, research, discussions, planning, time, sincerity, dua. Most of all, to recognise and acknowledge the need for well thought, structured maktab teacher training resources and programmes and not take it for granted.
I believe if we start to review the foundation and the core function of the maktab, which is the teaching and learning, we will make great progress in meeting the religious and spiritual needs of Muslim children in the UK.
Yes, maktabs are facilitating training for their teachers, however this is at times ad hoc, met with resistance from ‘teachers’, not delivered by experts in both Islamic subjects and education fields, theory centric, resources are not organic and there is little to no mentoring.
I hope this post inspires work on this project. May Allah Almighty bless & preserve all the efforts of Deen, may He facilitate it through us whilst we are informed by the trad but apply it effectively, in accordance with current needs & meeting new challenges.
والله ولي التوفيق
This thread was inspired by classroom discussions with my fellows (Darul Uloom grads working as Imams, maktab leaders, Is HE teachers etc) whilst studying at Warwick and led by my teacher, Professor Dr. Abdullah Sahin @WarwickIESS

More from Religion

Rig Ved 1.36.7

To do a Namaskaar or bow before someone means that you are humble or without pride and ego. This means that we politely bow before you since you are better than me. Pranipaat(प्राणीपात) also means the same that we respect you without any vanity.

1/9


Surrendering False pride is Namaskaar. Even in devotion or bhakti we say the same thing. We want to convey to Ishwar that we have nothing to offer but we leave all our pride and offer you ourselves without any pride in our body. You destroy all our evil karma.

2/9

We bow before you so that you assimilate us and make us that capable. Destruction of our evils and surrender is Namaskaar. Therefore we pray same thing before and after any big rituals.

3/9

तं घे॑मि॒त्था न॑म॒स्विन॒ उप॑ स्व॒राज॑मासते ।
होत्रा॑भिर॒ग्निं मनु॑षः॒ समिं॑धते तिति॒र्वांसो॒ अति॒ स्रिधः॑॥

Translation :

नमस्विनः - To bow.

स्वराजम् - Self illuminating.

तम् - His.

घ ईम् - Yours.

इत्था - This way.

उप - Upaasana.

आसते - To do.

स्त्रिधः - For enemies.

4/9

अति तितिर्वांसः - To defeat fast.

मनुषः - Yajman.

होत्राभिः - In seven numbers.

अग्निम् - Agnidev.

समिन्धते - Illuminated on all sides.

Explanation : Yajmans bow(do Namaskaar) before self illuminating Agnidev by making the offerings of Havi.

5/9
🌿𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 : 𝑫𝒉𝒓𝒖𝒗𝒂 & 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒏𝒖

Once upon a time there was a Raja named Uttānapāda born of Svayambhuva Manu,1st man on earth.He had 2 beautiful wives - Suniti & Suruchi & two sons were born of them Dhruva & Uttama respectively.
#talesofkrishna https://t.co/E85MTPkF9W


Now Suniti was the daughter of a tribal chief while Suruchi was the daughter of a rich king. Hence Suruchi was always favored the most by Raja while Suniti was ignored. But while Suniti was gentle & kind hearted by nature Suruchi was venomous inside.
#KrishnaLeela


The story is of a time when ideally the eldest son of the king becomes the heir to the throne. Hence the sinhasan of the Raja belonged to Dhruva.This is why Suruchi who was the 2nd wife nourished poison in her heart for Dhruva as she knew her son will never get the throne.


One day when Dhruva was just 5 years old he went on to sit on his father's lap. Suruchi, the jealous queen, got enraged and shoved him away from Raja as she never wanted Raja to shower Dhruva with his fatherly affection.


Dhruva protested questioning his step mother "why can't i sit on my own father's lap?" A furious Suruchi berated him saying "only God can allow him that privilege. Go ask him"
just a my thought...

❶/12 Roughly speaking, primitive Buddhism was about liberation from the inner suffering of the ordained individual. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism, especially the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, emphasises 'the salvation of all people, together'.


❷/12 In short, people of Mahayana Buddhism do Practice as Bodhisattva for all in the secular world. Strictly, these are different religions, and primitive Buddhism is not well suited to being associated with the state or secular communities.

❸/12 I believe that if anti-secular primitive Buddhism had arrived in ancient Japan it would not have spread very far. In Japan, where rice cultivation is very important, the idea of destroying the community would have been a threat of people's survival.

❹/12 By the way, it's perhaps inevitable that the purity of the teachings will diminish depending on how they are disseminated in society. In other words, I think that, roughly speaking, what develops away from the original form can even become a civilization.

❺/12 But anything that significantly reduces the quality of the original should be called a degeneration. I think that Christian civilization, although flawed, has built a civilization in tension.
I had written this thread in refutation to your false claims which you had made from your previous account and you had even quoted it from your old account and now you are lying that you didn't know about this thread?
Are you trying to say the Verse of Quran i had mentioned


in the thread is false? If that's your claim then say it clearly that all the verses of Quran and hadiths are false which talks about equality and your propaganda is the ultimate truth and hidden secret of Islam.
a) If you are trying to say that just being born in a Quraysh tribe

makes one superior than others then let me remind you that the first oppressors of the Prophet pbuh were Quraysh, the first battle of Muslims happened with Quraysh, the guy who was cursed by Allah in Quran was a Quraysh (ever read Quran?). And if you want to show that being from

the lineage of Prophets makes you superior than others then let me remind you that the son of Prophet Adam will be in hell (as informed to us by the narrations), the son of Prophet Noah will be in hell, the wife of Prophet Noah will be in hell, the wife of Prophet Lut will be in

hell. And if you are trying to say that only Quraysh had the right to rule and not others then let me remind you from history that the Messenger of Allah pbuh appointed leaders Abdullah bin Ruwaha, Zaid bin Haritha, and Usama bin Zaid, and all of them were not from Quraish.

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