Our beloved Prof. Dr. Omar Kasule will be with us on our first fundraising dinner and talk on Friday, January 11, 8:00PM at Ibn Taimiyyah Conference Room, Kuliyyah of Economics and Management, IIUM, Gombak. He will be talking on 'Raising Future Global Leaders: Guidelines for Parents and Schools.'Well, it is our dream that one day graduates of Seri Al Huda will be the UN or OIC Secretary General.Donation will be RM20 per person. Please reserve your seat before Jan 10.
ABSTRACT
Successful child upbringing is following closely the teachings of the prophet on the ‘aqidat, physical, moral, intellectual, and social development of children. Children brought up that way will be outstanding leaders in every field of endeavor. The first 7 years are crucial because after that the basic personality structure is formed and changes are more difficult to make. Parents have the primary and most important tarbiyat role but our modern socio-economic forces keep parents away from this crucial task for 8-10 daylight hours. The community also has a role because good models in the home and the society are more effective than lectures and admonitions. The school plays a complementary role in tarbiyat. It should enhance and not take over the parental tarbiyat duties. A successful school will aim at a curriculum that ensures joint reading of the 2 books of Allah: kitaab al wahy and kitaab al kawn. The social environment of the school has a bigger impact on the child than the classroom teaching. Both the school and parents must cooperate in making effective use of the time between the end of the school day and the sleeping time because it is often wasted in recreational that can adversely affect the children’s moral development. The final outcome of both parental and school tarbiyat efforts is an adult who knows himself (self-confidence, self-esteem, and bravery), has positive relations with the Creator (‘aqidat and ‘ibadat), has positive relations with the rest of the community (mu’amalaat), and has positive relations with the environment fulfilling the vicegerent role, khilafat, of improving and not degrading the earth. The reality, which is by no way the ideal, is that children spend more time with their teachers than with their parents. We therefore need to pay more attention to the school.
Successful child upbringing is following closely the teachings of the prophet on the ‘aqidat, physical, moral, intellectual, and social development of children. Children brought up that way will be outstanding leaders in every field of endeavor. The first 7 years are crucial because after that the basic personality structure is formed and changes are more difficult to make. Parents have the primary and most important tarbiyat role but our modern socio-economic forces keep parents away from this crucial task for 8-10 daylight hours. The community also has a role because good models in the home and the society are more effective than lectures and admonitions. The school plays a complementary role in tarbiyat. It should enhance and not take over the parental tarbiyat duties. A successful school will aim at a curriculum that ensures joint reading of the 2 books of Allah: kitaab al wahy and kitaab al kawn. The social environment of the school has a bigger impact on the child than the classroom teaching. Both the school and parents must cooperate in making effective use of the time between the end of the school day and the sleeping time because it is often wasted in recreational that can adversely affect the children’s moral development. The final outcome of both parental and school tarbiyat efforts is an adult who knows himself (self-confidence, self-esteem, and bravery), has positive relations with the Creator (‘aqidat and ‘ibadat), has positive relations with the rest of the community (mu’amalaat), and has positive relations with the environment fulfilling the vicegerent role, khilafat, of improving and not degrading the earth. The reality, which is by no way the ideal, is that children spend more time with their teachers than with their parents. We therefore need to pay more attention to the school.
The school should set itself the objective of producing a complete individual, insan kamil, in terms of taqwat, ‘ibadat, personality, character, and behavior. The curriculum should be Qur’an-based i.e. imparting knowledge from the Qur’anic perspective of istiqamat. Qur’an-based learning emphasizes critical thinking, tafakkur; critical observation, tadabbur, and critical analysis, tafaqquh while it rejects blind following, taqliid, and rote learning. The school, as a socializing agent, is a laboratory for reform of the total society. It should exemplify the adab of the teacher which consists of: kindness, sincere advice to the student, humility, being a good example and role model, knowing the characteristics of each student and dealing with him or her as an individual. It should also inculcate the adab of the student: commitment, ikhlas; humility, tawadhu’u; respect for teacher, and applying what is learned. The school curriculum must should emphasize iman; ibadat; ‘amal salih; mu’amalaat; social renewal and reform, islaah & tajdiid; mutual social cooperation, takaful; balance, tawazun; moderation, wasatiyyat; and equilibrium, i’itidaal. Extra-curricular activities should be encouraged such as: essay competitions, art competitions, drama, trips, excursions, camps, songs, sports, practical dawa experiences, amr bi al maruf & nahy ‘an al munkar.
Presented at a fund-raising dinner organized by Seri Al Huda Islamic Primary School Kuala Lumpur on Friday 11th January 2008 by Omar Hasan Kasule MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) Professor of Epidemiology and Islamic Medicine University Brunei Darussalam and Visiting Professor of Epidemiology University Malaya. WEB http://omarkasule.tripod.com/ EM omarkasule@yahoo.com
