Home schooling — An evidence based insight from Dr. SMA Logics
Reverse engineer your life: Imagine if you never had to go through the separation anxiety from your mother or dad during your fragile and most important years of life. The pressure of waking up early, clarification for your absenteeism, and the ache of omitting important family events. Dealing with different teacher’s temperaments, school’s heedless curriculum, uniform policies and other senseless regulations, peer pressures, dis-likeness to the methods or topic being taught at schools and lastly, cramming under the exam pressures.
These are all superficial negative aspects that invaded & impacted your precious years of life. In-depth critical analysis of attending schools and the damage it offers is far more threatening than one can ever imagine!
The restructuring of the connections between brain cells after birth is highly affected by experiences provided in the child’s environment. Parents have such a vital role in shaping a child’s cognitive, motor, language, and social emotional development. It is the presence of consistency of positive experiences for their children that parents have an eternal influence on his or her child’s brain development(1–8).
Contents
1-Everyone is born pure, 2-Two essential domains — capacity and capability, 3-How are schools affecting the natural learning?, 4-Holistic learning, 5-Cons of attending a school, 6-Pros of home schooling, 7-How to home school?, 8-A System to cope with home-schooling, 9-The home-schooling curriculum, 10-Critical periods for learning, 11-Core concepts, 12-Languages, 13-Math, 14-Then sciences and other subjects, 15-Other tips, 16-Conclusion, 17-References, 18-Acknowledgments.
1-Everyone is born pure
God has created every single human in its purest and the best form. Three things are innate in every individual: creativity, confidence, and character. It is crucial to nurture these as part of our kid’s upbringing, to protect and take these to the next level. Woefully, schools are disrupting all three core elements which will be discussed later in the article.
2-Two essential domains — capacity and capability
A child’s brain develops rapidly from birth to age five. Research shows that what a child experiences in these initial years whether nurtured or neglected, positive or negative, unswervingly affect how the brain develops. This then have a long-term impact on the child’s health and the aptitude to learn and succeed later in life(9).
Two things are important: capacity and capability. Capacity can be compared to an engine of a car. The bigger the engine, the more powerful it will be. 0–3 years of life are “capacity building” years. During this time, 85% of brain is developed and these early years are often underestimated and neglected which require the greatest attention of parents(10). Brain development is remarkable during yearly years of childhood. The young brain transforms its shape and size in response to all being faced in the early years. New surroundings, life practises, custodians, and associations can all affect the way complex brain circuits are wired. This linkage of synaptic connections will eventually inaugurate brain function and expansion(11). All efforts must therefore be made to maximize the capacity and to enhance the size of the child’s brain. 3–13 years are “ability building” years; therefore, all hard work of parents need to be directed in cultivating these skills.
3-How are schools affecting the natural learning?
Sadly, the present school education system is decreasing the capacity of our kids’ brains in their early years, and we are generating dwarves. The damage does not halt here, after decreasing the capacity, they attack kid’s abilities and as a result we are raising oppressed individuals which will be unraveled one by one. A child can be best compared to a plant which are diverse and exhibit many variations as they are all different from one another. Plants therefore need distinctive favorable conditions to thrive or would otherwise die. Our present school environment is not individually tailored, and the environment it offers is sufficient to distort or damage our kids, which can be best compared to the unfavorable environmental conditions that kill fragile plants.
So far logic: Each child is unique and perfect as created by God, a parent needs to maintain and take their core innate qualities (confidence, creativity, and character) to the next level. 0–3 years are “capacity building” years to maximize kid’s brain size, 3 plus years are “abilities enhancing” years where kids can grow up to their full potential and maximize their capabilities and grow up happy sensible individuals with a bigger vision of life.
4-Holistic learning
To understand why schools are having a damaging affect in our children’s life, you need to understand what holistic learning is comprised of. Schools are preparing breeds of grades or number-oriented individuals, who are only trained to accomplish 3 hours-based exams. These objective assessments are a mandatory requirement for schools to run their business and sustain their living. Real life’s tests are much bigger, and a holistic learning approach is required to accomplish success in both the worlds. Holistic learning broadly focuses in all areas of needs and learning as below:
Physical needs: Food choices, outdoor time, nature, sleep, and exercises etc.
Emotional needs: Unconditional respect, love, and a strong bond or relationship from the parents and the educationalists.
Social needs: Family, neighbors, relatives, friends and extracurricular groups or academies.
Intellectual needs: Asking questions, experiments, & travelling.
5-Cons of attending a school
A child is born pure, as it grows, impurities are added. Sadly, schools are becoming one big constant source of impurities in our children’s lives(12). A School is a factory system that aims to create labor or work force, a boss pleasing oppressed individuals. If you ponder and unravel these essential ingredients of holistic learning, you will be alarmed how schools are damaging these. Schools are attacking three things: JOHAR LILAHIYAT (religion), JOHAR TALUQ (relationship), and JOHAR (TAKHLIQI SALAHIYAT) creativity. For example, distortion of “physical needs” that include lack of sleep(13), lacking free-will outdoor adventure, awfully loaded bags, posture issues and stress. “Emotionally & socially” a child is badly affected by teacher’s unfair attitude, peer pressure and in many learning institutes it goes too far when a child is physically or emotionally abused that generate anxiety and depression. Self-confidence is killed at school because of unhealthy competitions. Age wise class grouping is also wrong. Suspicions proliferate in schools, and this affect their emotional well-being. For example, a talkative child if caught by a teacher in the class is punished because of its chatty nature, the constant fear of being penalised for breaking school’s insane rules and exams deadlines all hamper learning and make them emotionally unstable. “Intellectual needs” that vary from rigid unreasonable curriculum & examination boards, unhealthy competitions and then the teaching techniques are impossible to achieve in a class of twenty to thirty plus students. Schools extract the ability to think critically or creatively due to exam deadlines and pressures. School’s foreign syllabus is controlling our youths and implanting their own cultural domination. Once the hearts & minds of our generation are imprisoned, conscience suppressed, creativity killed, remaining damage is ultimately guaranteed as they may continue to oppress our youths for a countless number of years. Almost all students are tempted to migrate to the foreign countries that initially designed our school’s curriculum and because of this continuous migration, our own homeland never flourishes. Mistakes & failures are highly discouraged in schools, and they are installing fixed mindsets which make a person vulnerable to future challenges. In School’s, kids remember irrelevant facts and figures that have no role in real life. Many other life-threatening problems like exposure to age-inappropriate content, drugs, suicidal and attention-grabbing tendencies, sharp objects, or weapons are outside the span of this article.
6-Pros of home schooling
Home schooling unravels many alternative pathways and solutions to tackle these problems, but homeschooling requires much greater commitment, techniques and knowledge from parents than opting out for a much easier option, that is sending a child to a school. The home school is a humane system and contradicts with the school “factory-oriented” education system. Home schooling is basically a God’s natural organic system. A child receives complete 1:1 attention which is a bare minimum right for every child. According to research, home-schooling was found to be academically superior when compared to the structured schooling system(14). There is more time for extracurricular activities. Being educated through parents, family structure gets super strong. You can control your learning interests, pace and time. Terminal control as to what you want to achieve is another big advantage. There is no ridiculous switching of subjects like it happens in the classroom settings. You may even control subjects’ depth as much as you can. Endless learning opportunities and the most efficient individually tailored methods can be adopted. Most importantly, you can focus on religious curriculum, can engage in house chores and other family events and socializing, can serve our parents, and foster better relationship with one family. Parents can interact with their kid’s friend’s parents and guide them accordingly. Time edge is another massive advantage, the scope of school is too narrow and that stretches the curriculum for up to many years. When a child is being home schooled, he or she can finish education early, as a result can get married early then have children early. In a nutshell, the advantages are unbelievably enormous and covers a broad spectrum of holistic learning.
7-How to home school?
Basic approach
DUAZ (prayers) and that God Controls everything. We play just a small part to the best of our abilities in raising our children and should never feel boastful about our methods or consider others inferior.
A parent’s own flexible mindset — be a lifelong learner yourself. Master the art of parenting, take criticism positively, and start journaling and keep educating, updating yourself.
A Parent’s motivation — easy simple life, easy house management and join groups of home-schooling parents.
Making kids independent learners — Guide them and install self learning, discourage tutoring or over-helping and allow them to make mistakes.
What to teach?
The best starting point is to keep a holistic approach that includes all four domains of learning (physical, emotional, social, and intellectual) because our aim is to raise individuals that gain success in both the worlds as highlighted in the QURAN.
“The One who created death and life, so that He may test you as to which of you is better indeeds….” (Surah al-Mulk: 21). This worldly life is a short stay, and we are here to appear and perform in the test or exam (set by God) to the best of our abilities. Our focus is not just technical education, but it is much broader than that and we all want to pass the final day of judgment exam with flying colors.
8-A System to cope with home-schooling
What or how to teach is only possible by the system that we put in our life. Remember system defines our goals or outcomes. A pragmatic system is a mandatory requirement to achieve home-schooling outcomes.
1-Easy house management & practicing minimalism
Home schooling parents and especially mums cannot survive this journey without a proper house management. Managing house can sometime seem a very daunting task. Remember, we are all humans and things can fall apart on some days. Therefore, the house management has been grouped into three categories. Category A is the most vital and essential, followed by B and C. Remember, by involving all family members and designating responsibilities according to age and interests can be a great source of learning for our kids. Outsourcing some chores can also take the burden off our shoulders.
2-Reducing outdoor friction: All domains of holistic learning can be mastered if we keep the mindset of exploring outdoor world and uplifting the socializing spirit of our life. Keeping clothes simple & stuff ready, sorting out the means of transport and liaising with friends can reduce the friction.
3-Parenting techniques — We cannot emphasize how important the correct steps of parenting methods are in our life. It can make or break our life’s momentum. We must constantly engage ourselves learning and updating our own parenting mistakes or errors, to make ourselves better parents than yesterday. Some basic parenting tips which must never be violated by a parent are described below:
4-Dopamine dilated brains awareness
If your child indulges into too much technology in the form of video games, watching videos or being on the mobile phones, then home schooling or any useful education is impossible to achieve and can become very challenging. Educate them what dopamine is and how technology damages our brain, show graphical pics of dopamine dilated brains, steps of our conscience, brainstorm healthy indoor and outdoor activities (pics below), assist them with care when they don’t want to do something productive, spend time in nature, eye to eye human interactions. Journaling, psychological coping skills, and anticipation of dealing with the predominantly dopamine dilated brains of this world. Techno-science in the current era has become dependent on capitalist markets, and a cause of nurturing thoughtless consumerism and senseless entertainment. God has warned us to be mindful of our worldly desires, to control our NAFS, to use our time, energy, efforts, and assets wisely. Being heedless about our time and money can be great source of hinderance in accomplishing good deeds or knowledge, and we will be questioned about all these worldly luxuries on the day of judgment for which we must be thoughtful.
9-The home-schooling curriculum
Some discipline and some carrier field sketches are essential for terminal control. Just like God has perfected his plantations and his kingdom, for example: apple seeds will harvest apple trees, a monkey will be fonder of trees when compared to Lions. Similarly, a child who is born to be a scientist or an artist cannot be something else. Though in this multi-dimensional world, we humans are way complicated and advance than plants, and we interchange and master multiple things at a time, but again our basic inclination or creativity remains the same. Remember the bigger aim of home schooling is not to duplicate the structured or traditional school environment, but to make kids independent learners. Relying entirely on tutors proliferate a disabled form of learning and this needs to be highly discouraged. Home schoolers can excel from any part of the world and get the options to choose from a variety of examination boards. They can sit exams privately and apply to universities just like traditional school educational system.
10-Critical periods for learning
Critical periods in brain development acclimatise the growth of precise skills. The brain is particularly active in forming connections for specific abilities(15).
0–7 years — are nursing years: quality time, love, and care from parents
0–3 years — no education
3–7/8 years — no fear, punishment or consequence, super motivated system, natural rhythm with no pressure of waking up or sleep early
1–7 years — are language years as they increase brain’s capacity
5-year onwards — Formal Math to be introduced
9–12 years — Sciences to be introduced
15–17 years — Humanity sciences to be introduced
Remember Screen free as much as possible otherwise home-schooling would become very challenging. Talking or communicating, playing, and travelling are a great natural source of learning.
11-Core concepts
Religious education
It is the heart of home-schooling curriculum as it captures all domains of learning. 6 pillars of faith (Shaikhul-Is-lam Ibn Taymiyah by Dr. Muhammad Naim Yasin). Umar Sulaiman al-Ashgar’s Islam-IC Creed Series is also a great source. Books by Syed Abul Ala Maududi also has a great appeal. Apostasy — it is important to understand what takes a person out of Islam. This can be cultured from works of FIQH such as Reliance of the Traveller, from its section on justice.
Quran: What message Quran gives? The clear Quran by Dr. Mustafa Khattab is an eloquent piece of translation
Biography of the Prophet: When the Moon Split by Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri. The Life of Prophet Muhammad: Highlights and Lessons by Dr. Mustafa as-Sibalie. 365 days with Prophet Muhammad (Nurdan Damla, Osman Turhan)
FIQH: on. FIQH-AS-Sunnah As-Sayyid Sabiq is a fairly simple comprehensive book on the FIQH.
Islamic History & lessons to be incorporated in life.
12-Languages
One of the first windows of chance for language comes early in life(16) “Science reveals that babies’ brains are the best learning machines ever created, and that infants’ learning is time-sensitive. Their brains will never be better at learning a second language than they are between 0 and 3 years of age,” said co-author Patricia Kuhl, co-director of I-LABS and a UW professor of speech and hearing sciences(17–18).
A child should naturally learn his or her native language, then after those other languages should be considered. As a Muslim, Arabic language has a great significance compared to other languages as it is the language of the Quran.
13-Math
Then comes Math. Math is beyond four operations that is addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. Most math skills are so innate, and you can start informal Math almost as early as you can. However, a formal Math system is best to start between the ages of 5 and 7 years(19). Later years, educating and merging concepts of DEEN with laws of inheritance and how to calculate Zakat etc.
14-Then sciences and other subjects
15-Other tips
- Set clear measurable learning tasks that must incorporate religion topics and try to do all in the morning and take kids outdoor
- Keep a mindset that everything is learning from house chores to socializing
- Keep things simple like a few topics per week to maximize the focus
- To make them independent lifelong learners and avoid tutoring as much as possible
- Teach them patience, resilience, and mindfulness techniques
- Teach them life’s essential skills
- Take them, socialise, and involve them in house chores
- Follow Kinaesthetic model of learning
- Involve different trustable members of the family
- Kids could be grouped as 3–7, 7–12 and 12+ as with different age bands, children adjust better.
16-Conclusion
Home-schooling if done in a correct fashion will not only harvest better outcomes for kids, be a great source of happiness in our life, but it will make us (parents) better individuals. This enlightens our hearts, then our homes, our communities or societies and eventually the entire nation and the world. With this kind of attitude there is a pretty good chance of accomplishing success in both the worlds.
17-References
2-Barnet, A.B. and Barnet, R.J. The Youngest Minds, Parenting & Genes in the Development of Intellect & Emotion. (New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 1998)
3-Begley, S. “Your Child’s Brain,” Newsweek (New York, NY: 55–62, 1996)
4-Begley, S. “How to Build a Baby’s Brain,” Newsweek (New York, NY: 28–32, 1997)
5-Gopnik, A., and A.N. Meltzoff, P.K. Kuhl. The Scientist in The Crib, What Early Learning Tells Us About The Mind. (William Morrow and Co., 1999)
6-Johnson, G. “Building a Better Brain for Baby,” The New York Times (New York, NY: 1–6, 1994)
7-Eliot, L. What’s Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1999)
8-Shonkoff, J.P., From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2000).
9-https://azpbs.org/2017/11/early-childhood-brain-development-lifelong-impact/
10-https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-science-of-ecd/
11- https://www.parentingforbrain.com/brain-development/
12-https://witherswhisper.com/10-reasons-why-school-can-be-harmful-to-your-mental-health/
13-(https://www.medicaldaily.com/early-school-start-times-harm-kids-brains-study-claims-440594)
14-https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1005657.pdf
17-University of Washington. “How exposure to a foreign language ignites infants’ learning.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 July 2017. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170717115351.htm
18-Naja Ferjan Ramirez, Patricia Kuhl. Bilingual Baby: Foreign Language Intervention in Madrid’s Infant Education Centers. Mind, Brain, and Education, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/mbe.12144
19-https://www.mathnasium.ca/meadowvale/news/when-should-my-child-start-to-learn-math
18-Acknowledgments
1-Salman Asif Siddiqui — Educational Psychologist and Director. Educational Resource Development Centre (ERDC)
2- Sahil Adeem — Behavioural psychologist, behavioural trainer, Corporate consultant. Entrepreneur and Public Speaker. Leadership consultant. Skill and competency development consultant
3-Videoscribe images
