How teacher creates syllabus and conducts classroom

Question

Assalaamualaikum. Could you please give some ideas on how a male Islamic teacher should create his syllabus/contract with his students according to the Shariah? This male Islamic teacher is a new teacher and would like to know some Islamic rulings on how to conduct his class. Thank you.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad  is His slave and Messenger.

There are books that are written about the standards that should be taken into account in writing syllabuses in general and the syllabus of Islamic education in particular. By searching, the teacher may be able to know many important criteria in this regard.

Here are some basic ideas that we may suggest to you:

1- The effort for writing such a syllabus should be a collective effort; you may seek the help of some experienced teachers and share ideas with them so that the work will be comprehensive, Allah willing. Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated that Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “There are no people who consult each other except that they are guided to the best of their affairs.”

2- Ensuring that the syllabus is comprehensive and gradual, so that each part of it corresponds to the age of the student and his ability to assimilate the scientific subject.

3- Focusing on Faith (Creed), especially in the first years of education, and to speak in a simple and clear way, and to support the ideas with evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah and examples from the general experience that the child lives; thus it will be more likely that the child grasps the information and that it will have an impact in his life.

4- It is very important that the syllabus includes the issue of puberty; its signs, and the rulings that apply to it (or which result from it). This should be done with the students that are approaching the age of puberty so that they will be aware of what to do.

These are some ideas regarding the syllabus.

As regards the management of the classroom, then you may find many ideas in the books of pedagogy that will benefit you in this regard, but it is important to remember the following:

1- The teacher should show a strong personality and be firm. This will enable him to run the classroom in the best way. However, along with firmness, one must be lenient, so that the students’ fear of him will not prevent them from loving him.

2- The teacher should try to attract the attention of the students at the beginning of the lesson, such as by mentioning a story, asking a question, or presenting an interesting puzzle.

3- The movement of the teacher and his sight should encompass the entire classroom and all the students; so he should not focus on one side of the classroom and neglect another side, or focus on some students but not others.

It is clear that this aspect is purely technical and not related to any specific Islamic rulings.

Allah knows best.

-islamweb.net