Bismillah
1) My long-held belief, rooted in my own experience and upbringing, in the value of traditional British public school-style education, complete with extra-curricular activities, prefects and the house system. It made me the woman I am (I was one of the fortunate ones!) and I wanted this experience for my own children. However, I hadn't thought of how much my own priorities would change as I matured, as my iman increased and my knowledge of the world and its varied ways expanded.
2) Having known many, many sisters who decided to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons with varied rates of success, I had come to believe that homeschooling should not consist merely of keeping your children at home because you don't want them in school; it should be a lifestyle, a lifestyle of natural, hands-on, adventurous family learning.
There was no space for such homeschooling in the framework I have inhabited for the last few years: that of a busy working mother of five who always has loads of projects on the go; a soccer mom whose children attended one of the most prestigious schools in Cairo; a believer in the school system.
But one Hajj can change your life forever.
As something I have come to term a 'Hajj aftershock', my ideas about my children's education and our priorities for them have had a radical overhaul since coming back from Hajj.
This conversation with a dear friend who has always homeschooled, Umm Raiyyaan of http://ummihomeschoolsme.wordpress.com, was one of the catalysts for this decision:
UR: You considering HomeEd?
Me: Don't push me! I have been leary of home ed forever. But I'm softening my stance.
UR: Hajj has really changed you, lol.
Me: Realpolitik, my dear. You know, sometimes, when you're in a mindset, you accept certain things as inevitable: the fatigue from homework, the classroom politics, bullying, unIslamic practises, compromises we all make because everyone in the world is making them. Well, why? Why do we have to conform and settle? Especially if we have options, which we do, alhamdulillah. We're so tied to this narrow model of how 'everyone does things'. But education, true education, is more than tests and stress. It should be joyful and lifelong. But it's also a huuuuuuuge commitment and responsibility - and that is the stressful part...
My children would be different children, for sure, if we made such a radical decision. It is one of those fork in the road decisions. But I think we're making it...
And, alhamdulillah, we have. We've informed the children's schools. We've consulted a Muslim homeschooling specialist to find the right programme (accredited, flexible, Waldorf-inspired). We've enrolled in the distance school of our choice. And we've switched on the family learning mindset.
Weekends are different since we switched into homeschooling gear. Even though the children are still at school until after the December holidays, there is a palpable shift in the family dynamic.
Now, learning isn't something you expect to happen in school; you realise that you are the guide, you are the teacher, you are the facilitator of your child's learning and I am finding that so empowering. Every moment is a teaching moment to be shared between parent and child. We talk more. We read more books. We draw more. We cook and wash dishes together. We go for walks and gather leaves and make displays when we get home. We talk about Allah ta'ala and the seasons and the migration of birds and the circle of life. We connect.
Alhamdulillah, both children are eager to get started with their homeschooling programme and I am so stoked for them. I pray that this is the start of something beautiful.
May Allah ta'ala bless us on this journey, ameen.
N.
