Father's Day......every day

FATHER’S DAY

by Obed Khan

      Father's Day occurs every year on the third Sunday of  June in India but the dates keep on changing. The present date of Father's Day for the year 2019 falls on the 16th June whereas for the last year, the occasion was celebrated on 17th June, 2018. It is a day of meeting, caring and spending quality time with your father. In Islam every day is a fathers day or a parents day for that matter. We have to take care, meet, and make our father happy all the time.

In Islam, parents have a very high status. Allah says in the Qur’an,

“Say (O Muhammad): Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you from: Join not anything in worship with Him; be good and dutiful to your parents…”

[al-An’aam 6:151]

“And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful and kind to his parents”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:8]

It is not allowed to say any word of contempt or even frown upon our parents-

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour.

 And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young’”

[Qur’an Surah al-Isra’ 17:23, 24]

     In Islam children can be good to their parents even after they have passed away- The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When a person dies, all his good deeds come to an end except three: an ongoing charity he has begun, or beneficial knowledge he has left, or a righteous child who will pray for him.”  (at-Tirmidhi, no. 1376)

A lot more instructions on how to treat your parents in the Qur’an and Hadith but ending with this warning by the Almighty Creator-

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The pleasure of the Lord is in the pleasure of the parents, and the displeasure of the Lord is in the displeasure of the parents.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1899 Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani)

      So dear readers make every day a fathers day and a mothers day. Take care of your parents, love them and spend time with them. And as for today, wishing all those who are celebrating Father’s Day…. A very Happy Father’s Day.

VOWEL EDUCATION ACADEMY

vowelhelpdesk@gmail.com / obedkhanin@gmail.com

Factors effecting school performance- 3. Importance of PTA

Active PTA- Amazing benefits

What Is a PTA?

PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association, a school-based organization with a mission to make the school a better place for children to learn. Parents of students work together with teachers to volunteer in classes, raise money for school supplies, and generally support the school's efforts. PTA members are parent volunteers, and while some schools have large PTAs with officers, a bookkeeper, and an operating budget, other schools have effective PTAs consisting of only a few motivated parents. 

The Purpose of PTA is to: Promote the welfare of the children in home, school and community. Secure adequate laws for the care and protection of our children. Establish a closer relationship between the home and school so that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of the children.

PTAs are associations of parents and family based in the school, whose aim is to bring into closer relationship the home and the school for the benefit of the children. These groups form a link between the school, management, education department and the wider community. The child is at the centre of everything parents and teachers do. Usually our schools lack an active PTA which is not in the interest of the school and the students.

The role of the Board is to GOVERN the school. The role of the Principal, Vice-Principal, Supervisors etc. is to MANAGE the school. The role of the PTA, parents, family, and community is to support these by being involved in the school. In best practice, PTA, Board, and Staff communicate closely and regularly so that all sectors of the school community are working effectively towards achieving common goals. If everyone is pulling in the same direction, rather than being at odds with each other, a lot more can be achieved.

Active PTA…a boon to the school

An active PTA can improve school climate, which can lead to more learning. Students perform better at school where their parents are involved. The visible presence of the parents around the school can also make those buildings safer and more orderly. The PTA’s nationwide network provides parents with the forum and tools to collectively influence the decisions that affect children at their schools School Management, Principal, Vice-Principal and Supervisors should encourage and help in the making of a PTA.

So it’s the duty of each and every parent to form a strong network and constitute a strong PTA.

For more blogs and educational videos contact: 

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obedkhanin@gmail.com

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Factors effecting school performance- 2. School Infrastructure & Ambience

SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND AMBIENCE

One of the factors that affects the efficiency of learning is the condition in which learn­ing 

takes place. This includes the classrooms, textbooks, equip­ment, school supplies, and other

 instructional materials. i.e. infrastructure and ambience

In the school and at the home, the conditions for learning must be favorable and adequate if teaching is to produce the desired results. It cannot be denied that the type and quality of instructional materials and equipment play an important part in the instructional efficiency of the school. It is difficult to do a good job of teaching in a poor type of building and without adequate equipment and instructional materials. A school building or a classroom has no merit when built without due regard to its educational objectives and functions. The Management shouldn't ignore these factors if it has to deliver the promise of good education.

"School is the second home” and rightly so. Home away from home, school is the place where children spend their maximum time away from home. When we send our children to school, we not only expect a firm hand of a responsible adult to guide them, but also of a conducive, secure environment. And school infrastructure certainly plays a hand in creating that kind of an environment. It’s essential for any school to create an environment that not only encourages learning, but also focuses on the mental and physical well-being of the student.

With the school infrastructure and environment having this kind of effect on students, the question remains...... What the school management can do to better the school infrastructure and ambience? 

For more blogs and educational videos contact: 

vowelhelpdesk@gmail.com

obedkhanin@gmail.com

Visit our FB page- Vowel Education Academy

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Factors effecting school performance- 1. Overburdened Teachers

Overburdened Teachers 

                                                                                   by Obed Khan

According to DfE teacher workload survey 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-workload-survey-2016

“Increased class sizes and fewer qualified teachers increase workload and stress of all teaching staff.”
TA, academy secondary school, South West England

What’s more, 62% of our respondents believe teachers’ workloads are contributing towards high levels of stress in schools, but under 20% of schools are actively addressing the problem.

High demands can increase teacher frustration, and produce a feeling of being overwhelmed, especially in settings where teachers are already struggling with limited instructional materials and overcrowded classrooms. In addition, many countries do not recognize the workload of teachers. Often teachers are made to carry two or sometimes, even three teachers workload. This indicates the carelessness and commercialization of that particular school education system.

Another problem arising out of this is that the teaching quality is effected in a negative way and students suffer. Too many classes, insufficient infrastructure, lack of training and less free time are the number one teaching quality killers. It is unfortunate to see that teachers are not happy and stressing out about teaching. Teaching is passion rather than a profession. However, expanding teacher workloads will disturb and frustrate the teachers. Also, time is a very massive constraint in teaching and learning experience. Therefore, being able to spend more quality time in teaching and learning is very crucial than dealing with workloads for teachers.

This issue has to be tackled as we see this happening a lot. Some teachers leave the profession mainly because they are so mentally drained by the end of the day. There needs to be a realistic expectation for some teachers to focus on. If there are too many things to focus on, they will grow to resent their job which most school managements should keep in mind.

The Parents Teachers association should respond immediately to this problem and bring it to the notice of the management to maintain the quality of teaching. Teachers whose work is not properly recognized and rewarded often feel overburdened and undervalued, which can influence absenteeism, motivation and effectiveness. All of these factors may cause talented people to avoid becoming teachers. Educators shouldn't compromise on quality and they should keep in mind that they are for educating and not just running schools.

For more blogs and educational videos contact: 

vowelhelpdesk@gmail.com

obedkhanin@gmail.com

VOWEL’S TEACHING FUNDAS’ Part 3- HOW DO WE TEACH?

VOWEL’S TEACHING 

FUNDAS’ (Preparing Teachers for better teaching)

Part 3- HOW DO WE TEACH? by Obed Khan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abq0BjvpQ7U

     This is the third part in the series of Teacher Preparation. We have seen in the first part- Why do we teach? What is our vision, what is our inspiration for teaching. In the second part we saw- What do we teach? The content, the written and taught curriculum. In this session we are going to see- ‘How do we teach?’

    How do we teach in terms of actual instructional practice?....How do we teach in terms of class room activities?…. How do we teach in terms of projects? etc. How we can motivate students who seem to be unmotivated? How do we deal with the students who are disruptive? A lot depends upon the Teacher’s approach to teaching, which answers- ‘How?’

    Dear Teachers, focus on the instructional approach. See, how you can improve the way you teach, how you engage your students, so on and so forth. I am giving you a rough framework for teaching methodology-

1. know the content to be taught

2. know the learning objectives

3. identify the problems in the teaching process

4. overcome the problems through lesson enrichment

5. assess, evaluate and inform the students of their success and failures

6. take a feedback from your colleagues and students for improvisation.

This exercise will improve your teaching and make your job easier.

For educational training sessions and orientation programs, feel free to contact-

Vowel Education Academy (vowelhelpdesk@gmail.com / obedkhanin@gmail.com)

VOWEL’S TEACHING FUNDAS’ Part 2- WHAT DO WE TEACH?

VOWEL’S TEACHING FUNDAS’ (Preparing Teachers for better teaching)

Part 2- WHAT DO WE TEACH?

      Another thing in preparing teachers for better and effective teaching, is to have them focus on the content to be taught. Teachers should ask themselves- ‘What do we teach?’This question pertains to the Curriculum and Syllabus.

       Teachers should have a very clear Curriculum framework in their minds, especially the Islamic School Teachers where the Curriculum is very vast and there are a lot of resources to choose from.

     I want to emphasize on two points- Written Curriculum and Taught Curriculum1. Written Curriculum- It is the official document in which the Curriculum is clearly mentioned. It pertains to the ‘Learning expectations’, the ‘Learning outcomes’, ‘What the student is expected to know in that particular Academic year.

2. Taught Curriculum- It pertains to what you actually teach.This is very critical.The Written Curriculum does not specify the details of teaching, it just tells you the learning outcomes.It is up to the Teacher to decide how much emphasis should be given or how much time should be spent on a particular topic, how can be the topic be made more interesting etc.

     These two topics should be properly understood and adopted by the Teacher for effective teaching. These aspects become more important in an Islamic school set up where the Curriculum is very vast.

So dear Teachers, prepare yourself for better teaching, focus on the content, ask yourself this simple question- ‘What do we teach?’

For educational training sessions and orientation programs, feel free to contact-

Vowel Education Academy 

(vowelhelpdesk@gmail.com / obedkhanin@gmail.com)

TEACHING FUNDAS’ (Preparing Teachers for better teaching) Part-1 WHY DO WE TEACH? by Obed Khan

TEACHING FUNDAS’ (Preparing Teachers for better teaching)

                                          Part-1 WHY DO WE TEACH?

       For Teachers , especially the Islamic School Teachers, the beginning of the year is a good opportunity to introspect sand to reflect as to how would they improve their teaching? How could they better themselves as Teachers?

   The first step to motivate them, to inspire them is that they should ask themselves a simple question- ‘Why do we teach?’ Why do we teach in an Islamic School? Why do we teach in a particular school? Why do we teach at all as a profession? This ‘Why?’ is the driving force for the way Teachers teach.

     In a school there are so many expectations from Teachers. Expectations from Students, Parents, School Administration, Colleagues etc. that can answer your ‘Why’. But for you as an Islamic Teacher, the primary expectation that you should be mainly concerned about is the expectation from your Creator. i.e. What does Islam expect from you? What do Muslims as a community expect from you?

    As an Islamic School Teacher you have the opportunity to teach, train and inspire the future Muslim Ummah, the future generation. One of the best service you can provide, one of the best expectation you can fulfill for the Muslim Community.

    This answer to the ‘Why’ should be the driving force behind an Islamic School Teachers efforts in teaching, for his sincerity and for his commitment to the teaching profession.

     So dear Teachers, prepare yourself for better teaching, take a stance, ask yourself this simple question- ‘Why do we teach?’

For educational training sessions and orientation programs,

feel free to contact-

Vowel Education Academy (vowelhelpdesk@gmail.com / obedkhanin@gmail.com)

For more informative videos watch Obed Khan's youtube channel.