Thank you for sharing with us your concerns.

It is heartening to see parents make such effort in working together for the benefit of all family members. We pray that you will never lose sight of this because this helps to create a level of buoyancy in a family, making the family able to survive all challenges and obstacles together, insha-Allah…

In fact, the conclusion you have already come to, to overcome the current obstacle is what I would have suggested. When a child is at such a young age, homeschooling can potentially be more beneficial in accordance with the natural learning processes of a child.

Most schools today are geared aggressively against the natural learning curve of a child, and though some children may seem to do well, in reality most do not. What is lost in the process is their imagination and creativity which are important skills of life in their own decision-making process, and their ability to think independently, and develop compassion. All of these abilities are “put to sleep” by modern education – this process is known as schooling or being schooled. Even in some so-called Islamic schools this can happen, because the teaching mode is in conflict with the learning mode of the child.

Essentially the learning mode of any child is experiential, not text-based. So whatever you intend to teach your child it should be brought to life by connecting it with the world in which your child lives through activities both indoors and outdoors. Education is a process of becoming, it is social, and it allows for a child’s inquiring mind.

A child up to the age of 7, generally speaking, learns through imitation, so caring adults need to be around the child from whom the child will learn to emulate. The T.V. and other media which have irresponsible images and communications should be avoided, otherwise they take control of a child’s learning, and they begin to mimick what they pick up from the media.

Learning should be on three levels:

• Intellectual – to nurture thinking and logic

• The Heart – to nurture expression and spirit

• The Hands – to nurture practical work, and learning how to do.

A child attending the kind of school which is totally reliant on the “banking” system of education (i.e. schooling) i.e. the depositing of knowledge into a child’s brain as if the child is empty/void undermines a child’s ability to sense right from wrong (fitrah), competition, individualism, and intellectual dependency. Intellectual dependency without the heart is cold, unyielding, and uncompassionate.

By working with a child’s learning process, and development, you will find that their pace of learning covers more within a set period, and in general are usually more advanced than their peers who are being schooled. They are more able to apply what they learn in the real world, and to benefit from the schooling system if they so desire if they enter school at a later stage. However like most children, the smaller the school the better, because then there is a greater sense of community i.e. they do not feel displaced lost, and vulnerable to any aggressiveness ,and the ugly competitiveness that takes place at large schools which leads to the growing phenomenon of school violence (both physical or non-physical. This means that when you are able to send your child to school later, that there should be no conflict as long as the school chosen is suitable for your child insha-Allah.

However, many parents lose confidence because they believe that they are not equipped enough to homeschool their children. They lack confidence in their ability to learn with their child, and the child’s own intelligence. When this happens it is preferable for a child to be suitably placed in a school, where a parent can play a strong role in partnership with the schooling, as opposed to “depositing” a child at school and expecting the school to provide all.

This may be a lot for you to think about, so please find below a list of resources, and further guidance. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further questions, and keep a look out for a series on homeschooling which we are planning to do on our editorial page, insha-Allah…

For your further guidance, please try the following link(s):

Homeschool...How?

Educating for Life

The Crisis of Islamic Education in the West.

Court Ruling Threatens Virtual Schools

Between the National Curriculum and Home-schooling

Homeschooling Success

To Home-School or Not to Home-School?

Banning God From the School Curriculum

Ready, Steady; Back-to-School Special Focus

Ten Reasons to Take Your Kids for a Walk This Summer

TV Turnoff Week

‘Education for Change’

‘What is Islamic Education?’

The Failures and Limitations of Modern Schooling


Resource:

The Homeschooling Mum

Islam and Muslim Homeschooling
Education Today