Don’t use it until you prove it!

In fact, the issues of religion, diversity and social justice are of extreme interest to me. When I was preparing for my case study of Islamic education system in Egypt, it was a very exciting exploration journey. I found out that it is not recent and that it goes back to the time of Prophet Muhamad (PBUH). Actually, I was impressed by Dr Joyanne's answer to my question "When do you think the first form of Islamic schools started?" She said that most religions started with the sending or the existence of their holy books which is related to reading and writing.


Allah (SWT) commanded His Messenger, in the first verse to be revealed to prophet Muhamad, to ‘Read! In the Name of thy Lord Who Created’ (Quran, 96:1). The word ‘Iqra’ literally means to ‘read’, or ‘recite’. And Prophet Muhamad didn’t know how to read. I think this gives a powerful message about the importance of education in Islam. Education is held up high. It is the passage to enlightened minds that could embrace diverse ideas and perspectives to evaluate without prejudice.

As much as the search journey was such an eye-opener, it ended with disappointment. I found out that the "NAME" of the system has nothing to do with its "VALUES". I saw carelessness, corruption, and indifference. What struck me the most is that Al Azhar was basically built as a mosque then a university that aims at graduating individuals who are callers for Islam, its values and become useful and productive citizens, yet; that wasn’t reality, not even close. This may not be the case in other departments but that is how it is in EDUCATION which is basically the base of everything else!  

When I was talking about my interview with the principal of the Islamic private school, I mentioned that the vision of the school is to prevail a "Moderate" Islamic way of life. That is when Mrerriam asked "How can you know it is moderate Islamic view? How can you be sure?". I have been thinking about an answer to this question and it turned to be very simple. "Moderate" way of life is the way of living where our actions don’t infringe on the freedom of others, respect our diversities, and keep the balance of coexistence. I should say that our concern about "Moderate" should not be exclusive to Islam or religions; it should be our pursuit in life.

Going back to the title of my entry, I would like to urge any government, authority or person not to give "tags" to their "products" without really applying them. Accordingly, don’t use it until you prove it!

In 5 words "Sensitively Embracing All Learners' Differences"

For a person who likes to convey the meaning of her words to others in details to ensure that people got the message she wants to deliver clearly and with no confusion, it was CHALLENGING that I conclude my presentation on Diversity in ONLY 5 words!

That made me think about an old program that used to be broadcast across the national radio station, presented by the famous comedy actor Foad El Mohandes, called "In only two words". This program used to critique the bad behaviors and negatives in the Egyptian society in brief.  He used to choose his words carefully and with wisdom. So, they can leave the influence he wants in people's hearts and mind.

The week before our first seminars, we asked Dr Joyanne "Do you want us to send you the presentation?" and her answer came "No, you don’t need to do that. Yes, these seminars are to show your knowledge about the content but more important is what will make this presentation alive; namely, your performance and presentation skills". Which gain made me think about the saying that goes "Actions speak louder than words".

I can conclude from the above that, the less you talk, the more you act, the more influencer you will become. It is a very interesting equation and how intriguing it is that we, most of the times, realize this fact. Yet, we find it easier to keep talking, yelling at each other, shutting our ears to what others say and close our eyes to what they are trying hard to make us see. We were basically created to cooperate and live in peace and understanding. And to be able understand and STAND each other, we need to improve our "Listening" skills. We need to open our mouths to say the wise words and complement all that with our ACTIONS.

In five words I say "Listen, talk wisely, understand, COEXIST"

The Missing Puzzle PIECE

After listening to all our presentations about teacher capacity for many approaches in education, I came up with another theory that builds up on my "Fit to Survive" theory and that is "Teacher Capacity for HUMANITY". I know that it is the name of my country and I like this paradox. I believe that all the various disciplines we tackled in our seminars should all be an integral part of any teacher preparation degree or professional development. All educators mindsets should meet on the same wave length and receive the same frequency that no matter who they are or where they come from, they are dealing with HUMAN BEINGS who are Exactly the SAME but at the same time Contrasting.

We may adopt a method of teaching for a long time, yet, the people who receive it are different and that means their way they absorb the information vary. You can undertake the same action; yet, receive various responses. In winter, we blow in our palms to feel warm and at the same time we blow in the tea to make it colder. Then, it is not only about how an excellent educator you can turn out to be; but, how an extraordinary sensitive transmitter you can become.

Variety is not only seen in the ethnicity, skin color, religious beliefs or affiliations. It is also vivid in one's attitudes and I think that is what really matters. Our actions and reflexes define who we are and how we seek to live. Excluding a certain group of people from your life means that you are cutting off part of your affiliation to Humanity. I am well aware that it is not that easy like pushing a button and TA DAAA…here we are all living in harmony and embracing each other's differences.

No, it is not like that, not even close. It takes a lot of time, effort practice and understanding. Sometimes you feel like "Why would I care?" or "Whatever…it is taking much energy". Yet, it is worth fighting for. The globe is nothing but a number of puzzle pieces put together to form the final shape of the world we live in. Having a "missing puzzle piece" means that this world will never be complete and eventually will fall apart taking down with it every single goodness humans could have. This world is congested with wars, destruction and plights and if we zoomed in to touch on the reason why…the answer simply is "Because I am not willing to ACCEPT your Difference!"

The Process of Processing

Every day, you gain knowledge through different channels. Either through the people you meet at work place, at the university, your families or you even can gain knowledge from some casual situations. You can walk in a store to buy anything and still have some information about something you have never known before. You can hear 2 people having a conversation and you catch some words by chance. It is wonderful the amount of knowledge we receive; but, most importantly it should be PROCESSED. This is the most important step in the knowledge gain process is to filter, process and absorb it. "The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained", David Bohm.

 

Last time, we had three distinct presenters, Michael, Philip and Merriam. They talked about teacher preparation for reflective practice, teacher preparation for social justice. I had that comment and when I was about to speak it out, Dr Joyanne looked at me and said "I know what you want to say", and I went like "Really, then tell me". She said "You feel that all the disciplines we are talking about in all seminars are interconnected". I looked back at her and said "You literary read my mind". I felt at many points in these presentations that they are talking about the same thing I will be taking about next week. Actually, this is very positive because that means that they all serve the same end. And if we are able to prepare teachers who can encompass all these qualities, we will have a cohort of mind enlighteners!

 

What really grabbed my attention in the Reflection process is that you should question the "norms of your life". We should be inquisitive about what we regard as NORMAL. Also, Michael's photo of the teacher who is hitting the boy with a stick was provocative and received different views. Personally, I am a total believer that injustice breeds injustice and you can NEVER teach someone about justice while you are holding a stick in the other hand. It is no body's right to practice violence upon anyone else; especially when you are en educator (a role model for your students).

"Keep on coming to my class and I will insist on surprising you"

John Dewey once said "I believe that education which does not occur through forms of life, forms that are worth living for their own sake, is always a poor substitute for the genuine reality and tends to cramp and to deaden". In other words, education is not only that we receive in classrooms or what we learn from our educators. It is not confined to reading research papers or attending classes. Yet, it can happen in so many ways.

Usually, when I know that I will have a guest speaker in any class, the norm is that speaker will lecture us. Yesterday, it was completely different. When I first saw Mrs Jennifer entering the classroom with Dr Joyanne, I said that she must be a woman with a considerable amount of knowledge which she will share with us. And when I noticed that we will sit in a circle, not facing the projector, all I thought about was that this woman will have an academic discussion and that she wants to be friendly.

 

First, Mrs Jennifer wrote down our names, I was wondering why she is doing that. Then, the discussion started by her asking a question which I think is one of the most difficult ones to answer "Tell me one thing about yourself that you think I should know!". This makes you think, should I say something about me that look really interesting and attractive? Or should I speak my mind and say what I feel comfortably describes me? This takes me back to the Narrative challenging it was to write the story of your life; to see the stops you made, the hardships you overcame and the progress you have achieved so far. This also makes me think where would that take me?  Mrs jennifer wanted to know about us, so she relates to our experiences and for her talk to be more beneficial to us all.

After introducing ourselves, Mrs Jenniefr started to tell her story. She started by her education then she accompanied us to a journey of transparency, success and determination.  She told us about the many places she has been and the development initiatives she launched or led. What really grabbed my attention was when she said that "We help people to know how to help themselves".  She said that help is not about the interventions international organizations make in countries that need help; yet. To teach these people how to continue without them. That made me think about these two Chinese proverbs "Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime" and “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand" .

When we first started our class, and when I first didn’t find one of the readings, I sent Dr Joyanne an email and talked to her in the following class that I didn’t found them what would I do? And the answer came "You can find them through online search. And if you didn't, I am sure you will find other journal articles on the same topic". I talked to myself "Oooookay…mmmm…I don't get it..should I read these specific readings or do what?". Later on, I understood that she is giving us this list of reading as a guidance, to show us the road so we carry on and drive the remaining distance ourselves. I am taught how to be a self learner for life, how to break the boundaries I am putting for myself.

I believe now that Dr Joyanne's official statement is "Keep on coming to my class and I will insist on surprising you". It is only when we step out of our comfort zone and do things that we usually don’t do, we start to develop new skills, gain rich experiences and reveal even more about our personalities. This is the form of education that stays engraved in your memory and never fades away.

  C u in another surprising class!

Step Up

  Our classroom is home for 6 colleagues and one professor. People build homes but homes don't build people. In our 2^nd class, we laid down the corner stone for the spacious house we will build throughout the semester.We created our countries and designed all systems needed to be run. Last time, we took a step up towards the structure of our house. To do so, we work in teams of twos where each group focuses on building their rooms and decorate it the way they want. We all will create a common stairway that we all will climb to reach out to our aspirations.

  Marriam keeps on surprising me with her fashionable and creative ideas. When she said that they will preserve a fashionable clothes manner for all their immigrants as part of the educational system, I was like "Seriously!".But, Dr Joyanne looked cool with the idea as long as there is no harm would come from it. At that moment, I asked myself a question "Do I need to broaden my thinking horizons to accept ideas that may seem unacceptable or kind of shocking to the way I think?". Actually, I still didn't find the answer to this question. May be I need to wait for a while until I am exposed to more of these ideas and then, I will be able to form an opinion.

  Mike and Othman kept on developing educators’ indigenous professional development to meet the purposes and goals of the educational system in their country. I like the way they fit in all the pieces together. I like the fact that despite the poor situation in their country, they are able to come up with realistic solutions and making use of every single resource they have. They, also, have just built a new university in their country and that is why I will take the opportunity to congratulate them "Congratulationssss guys :)".

  For Care and I, I think that there is yet a lot that we will learn about ourselves. I like that we both work with passions and enthusiasm. We want for our educational system to be the best. We want to reach out to almost every single student in our country and provide them with quality education; which is not necessarily tied up with the financial status of the person. I don't want quality education to be exclusive to the wealthy. I want for  every person to be able to have access to the type of education they would like to pursue.

  Most often, we overlook an important fact and it is that mainstream education trajectory is not the only educational venue that exists. There is also the Technical Educational system with its various branches;commercial, agricultural and industrial. I believe that focusing on that side of education will help heal the rift between individuals socially and culturally. There is this notion in the Arab world that whoever chooses the technical trajectory is beneath those in the mainstream system. And to be clearer, students DON'T choose it, they are sent there automatically because they get lower scores than their peers. Thus, these students are labeled with failure and disappointment which eventually lead to a parallel unproductive generation. That if we considered that the mainstream system students are productive!

  It all goes back to the matter of prestige, which student graduated from which reputable school; sometimes regardless of what they learn. So, as long as I have co-created my country with my partner; Care. Next class, if we will still build up on our activity and do our scaffolding, I would like to develop new ideas with my partner to see how we can build two parallel, interrelated and integrated educational systems; mainstream and technical.

  C u all in another fruitful class ;)

Stepping outside the BOX of CONVENTIONALITY

First of all and before reflecting on why I choose this title for my new entry, I would like to thank you Dr Joyanne  for being considerate about my prayers time. You looked at your watch more than I did. It is amazing when we find people who respect other peopl edespite their cultural and religious differences. This sets a model of how we should be as human beings. Our differences are basically meant at bringing us closer to each other through cooperation and understanding. But, surprizingly, the human race  used these differences as an execuse for violence, incoherence and disunity.

This brings me back to our activity yesterday "Different roads to the same end". This activity was such an eye opener. Although each group created its own country with its all different characteristics, population, geographical locations, weather, currency or systems. Yet, all of us had a unified goal and it is how to make education a better place for all generations, not only the younger one. Thinking about the different countries, it amazed me how Othman and Mike chose a poor, underpriviliged country. Any person, if she/he, had the choice, would choose the best bet for themselves. I like how they  appreciated the indigenous  culture of their people, how they relied on the natural resources they have to generate funds for the betterment of their society. In the educational system they designed, they were keen to tailor it to the need of their people, to prepare and educate a generation suitable for the labor market. They adopted entrepreneurship model. This remineds me of Philippines. There, the unemployment rates among adolescents are high despite the advanced post-high school degrees. The reason is that what they learn and study doesn't go hand in hand with the labor market needs. Mike and Othman came up with this cocktail of  learner-entrepreneur mix that produces learners/professionals.

Of course, it is important to learn what makes us fit in the future plans of the labor market. But, what is more important is the educational process itself. The process that we endure for over 18 years of our lives. This process involves many facets including students assessment practices. Most, if not, all the countries apply standardized tests. These kind of tests, that come under many names like PISA, TIMSS, Ib and Thanawya Amma, impose a huge pressure on the students and the parents as well. In short, these tests determine and define the student's future ambition, though ambition should be a matter of choice. This takes me to Philips and Merriam country. Although, from my viewpoint, it lacks diversity, they succeeded in laying down a system where students have the opportunity to select the learning and career path they want for themselves. They figured out a system where students from different age groups can learn the same subject at the same time and in the same room. Although, I still think that this is hard to achieve in real life. But, Dr Joyanne seemed that she found it possible and reasonable.So, I will look up some research and journal articles on this area and try to find if this is really doable.

Caroline and I almost covered everything an educational system can have or need, but still we were caught up and stuck in the old traditional and conventional way of testing. Despite the fact that we introduced skill-based college admission evaluations and we allowed students, who lack the necessary skills to join a one year program to come back and  re-apply for the college they want. But, Dr Joyanne said that it is still competitive. And that as long as these evaluations have numbers on them, the issue of the score remains. So, we need to come up with an evaluation that alleviates the high-stake exam pressure. I liked that we considered all social classes in our country, but the stratification dilemma persisted. I hated it when I realized that we determined  persons' jobs based on the social class they belong to and the money they have. I hated it because I don't believe in the concept that suggests that money defines a big part of who we are and what we do in life, although this is partially true.

Difference is the idea the human beings were created upon. We belong to different ethnic, religious, cultural, social, demographic, geographic backgrounds. BUT, this is only to have the chance to develop our personalities, to help others, and to realize our societies' needs. The educational systems around the world need to realize these disparities. Policy makers need to start putting plans that contain us. We need systems that help us embrace our roles as human beings towards each other and the communities we belong to.

Going back to why I choose this particular title, it is because yesterday, the way we learned was outside-the-box- method. We had hands-on experience that made me realize that as an educator and a reformer, there is no easy way to do that. We need to equip ourselves with the expertise needed. I realized that it is not only education that I should learn about, but also statistics, sciences, technology and many other subjects. Education is an interrelated, multidisciplinary institution. It is not only about the curriculum or the best practices, but also about how LITERATE we are of othere disciplines. I learned a lot from my colleagues and more about myself. Only through involvement and practice that we realize what we need to enhance in ourselves, what we need to diminish and what we need to change.

My last words will be that Educational systems all over the world should stop nurturing the concept of "Survival of the fittest", instead, it should start teaching students the concept of "Fitting to survive".