دار محمد Daar Muhammed

One of the most critical topics that the Muslim Ummah needs to master in today’s time is child pedagogy.

As days pass and the world changes rapidly, the routes that “education” is taking and how it is being promoted are not it. The very definition of education is bizarre. What we see live every day is, more times than we can ignore, indoctrination in the name of educating your child.

The values imparted, the literature read and instilled in your child, and simple the priorities the child sees around him leave a bigger impact in his psyche than we might think.

It is not just arithmetic, language, and some fun activities. A place where the people with whom the child spends 6 hours daily for 12 years straight will not leave just that on the child. There is a lot more being imparted— to remain for life.

As parents, we would like a lot of things for our child. A reputed school and a clean place. Teachers with lots of credentials make us feel confident. Nicely drafted speeches on parents’ day make us awe. The promises for a bright future for our child through the lessons being offered make us melt. These are natural. Moreover, since it is to do with our children, there is an emotional element very strongly there. We want our child not to “miss out.” However, these nice things can not come at the cost of the child’s clean natural state and his innocence.

Enter: child pedagogy. It has become normal that a parent is hands off in the minute details of the education of their child. It has become normal to birth a child and hand them off to the “qualified” educators as the child hits 3 or 4 or 5 years old. Somehow, they understand better, while somehow, parents don’t get it. But do you know the funniest part? Somehow, parents can never get it even if they make every effort to grasp child pedagogy, learning techniques, and the nitty gritty of learning and teaching. Do you see where this is going?

It is time to do what is necessary to earn a good grasp of education, prioritise between the different subjects, observe your child’s strengths and weaknesses and have a clear picture of the adult you wish to see him become and the non-negotiable values he needs to carry. Do not sit back and relax, thinking the school will cover these things for you. The human photocopy systems in most schools are not built to accommodate anything more than…photocopying. And also, pleasing the crowd. Or fuelling the job market. Things like that.

It is time to claim your rights as the primary caregiver. Simply for the noble cause of fulfilling the amanah (trust) Allah placed in your lap. A sinless and precious child.

It is time to pause and take a look. What are the children really learning? Where is the literature set for them taking them? What are the ideas that are given a green light in their learning environment?