Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullah,
I found this a beneficial read so I thought I'd share.
Reflections of a First-Time Teacher
from SunniPath Blog by Saudah Mirza, Outreach
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim
Teaching is not easy. I learned that first hand last month at the Fawakih Arabic Intensive that took place in Fishers, Indiana, where I had the honor of teaching a section of Introductory Arabic 1.
As it was my first time teaching coupled with the fact that it was an intensive program with 3 straight hours of teaching a day, I went with the expectation that it would be a challenge. What I didn’t realize was how much of a challenge it would. The intense amount of preparation that goes into each day, even when using an existing curriculum. The incredible amount of patience you must have, especially when teaching a language. The time spent on giving extra help outside of class time. It was not easy.
But things are hard for a reason, and good things don’t come easy. Regardless of the challenges, the rewards were so much more. Rewards such as hearing one of my students say after only the second day: “I have taken Arabic courses in the past, but I have learned more after today here than ever before.” And better yet, on the last day, hearing them talk about how much they were now inspired to continue learning, and best of all, to hear them say that they already felt so much more connected to the Quran given that they could now recognize vocabulary and word forms, made my heart full of gratitude that Allah had let me do a little something towards bringing others closer to Him
Alhamdulillah my first time teaching task was made easier by the dedication of my students. They ranged in age from the eldest being a mother of three teenagers, to the youngest being a teenager herself. Each came with a tremendous amount of sincerity and a strong desire to learn, which imbued the class with barakah.
The entire experience led me to reflect on my own position as a student. Teaching gives you a whole new level of respect for your own teachers. It’s similar to how it is said that you only truly appreciate your parents after becoming a parent yourself.
Our teachers tirelessly give us so much of their knowledge, so much of themselves. Just look at the real teachers who were also there at Fawakih, such as Ustadh Fahim Qazi who was teaching Introductory Arabic 2 and advanced Arabic and a special evening Arabic program for community members. Or Shaykh Hamza Karamali, who like me was teaching Introductory Arabic 1, but was also teaching advanced Arabic and Tafsir of the Short Surahs and The Peak of Eloquence, in addition to his pre-existing SunniPath online courseload. Talk about dedication.
Do we adequately show our gratitude to these teachers whose entire lives are dedicated to bequeathing us knowledge?
The best thanks we can give our teachers is to be dedicated students, making our studies a priority in our lives. Studying when they tell us to study. Memorizing when they tell us to memorize. Excelling on our assignments and exams. Taking as much knowledge as we can while we are blessed to have their company. Continuing to learn throughout our lives, learning knowledge that benefits us in our akhira. And most importantly, remembering them in our du’as always.
May Allah give us all the tawfiq to be the best of students and the best of teachers for His sake. Ameen.
A special thanks to the team at Fawakih for putting on a wonderful program.
Source: http://blog.sunnipath.com/2009/08/13/reflections-of-a-first-time-teacher/
I found this a beneficial read so I thought I'd share.
Reflections of a First-Time Teacher
from SunniPath Blog by Saudah Mirza, Outreach
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim
Teaching is not easy. I learned that first hand last month at the Fawakih Arabic Intensive that took place in Fishers, Indiana, where I had the honor of teaching a section of Introductory Arabic 1.
As it was my first time teaching coupled with the fact that it was an intensive program with 3 straight hours of teaching a day, I went with the expectation that it would be a challenge. What I didn’t realize was how much of a challenge it would. The intense amount of preparation that goes into each day, even when using an existing curriculum. The incredible amount of patience you must have, especially when teaching a language. The time spent on giving extra help outside of class time. It was not easy.
But things are hard for a reason, and good things don’t come easy. Regardless of the challenges, the rewards were so much more. Rewards such as hearing one of my students say after only the second day: “I have taken Arabic courses in the past, but I have learned more after today here than ever before.” And better yet, on the last day, hearing them talk about how much they were now inspired to continue learning, and best of all, to hear them say that they already felt so much more connected to the Quran given that they could now recognize vocabulary and word forms, made my heart full of gratitude that Allah had let me do a little something towards bringing others closer to Him
Alhamdulillah my first time teaching task was made easier by the dedication of my students. They ranged in age from the eldest being a mother of three teenagers, to the youngest being a teenager herself. Each came with a tremendous amount of sincerity and a strong desire to learn, which imbued the class with barakah.
The entire experience led me to reflect on my own position as a student. Teaching gives you a whole new level of respect for your own teachers. It’s similar to how it is said that you only truly appreciate your parents after becoming a parent yourself.
Our teachers tirelessly give us so much of their knowledge, so much of themselves. Just look at the real teachers who were also there at Fawakih, such as Ustadh Fahim Qazi who was teaching Introductory Arabic 2 and advanced Arabic and a special evening Arabic program for community members. Or Shaykh Hamza Karamali, who like me was teaching Introductory Arabic 1, but was also teaching advanced Arabic and Tafsir of the Short Surahs and The Peak of Eloquence, in addition to his pre-existing SunniPath online courseload. Talk about dedication.
Do we adequately show our gratitude to these teachers whose entire lives are dedicated to bequeathing us knowledge?
The best thanks we can give our teachers is to be dedicated students, making our studies a priority in our lives. Studying when they tell us to study. Memorizing when they tell us to memorize. Excelling on our assignments and exams. Taking as much knowledge as we can while we are blessed to have their company. Continuing to learn throughout our lives, learning knowledge that benefits us in our akhira. And most importantly, remembering them in our du’as always.
May Allah give us all the tawfiq to be the best of students and the best of teachers for His sake. Ameen.
A special thanks to the team at Fawakih for putting on a wonderful program.
Source: http://blog.sunnipath.com/2009/08/13/reflections-of-a-first-time-teacher/