Islamic schools in Toronto

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

Everyone, and I mean everyone that I met who went to Islamic highschool, so far, have all had a weird personality..they are these confused children who think they are locked in a world and the world that’s out there is something fascinating.
I remember meeting a girl in summer, she came from an Islamic school. First time i talked to her, she was overly excited about being at a public school(and that’s summer school too..noone is ever excited for this) and wanted to try EVERRYYYTHING that she couldn’t at Islamic. She talked **** about how brown her parents are and how SHE’S MISSING OUT ON EVERYTHING, and how Islam supresses women. wth?. weirdo.
sighs and I know so many other people. It just confuses the children.

Anyways,
Nuggest Mosque has a full time school.
and There’s Madina-tul-uloom. http://www.mua.ca/

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Madinatul Uloom they are all cheater amla.

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Teach your kids islam at home. Put them in islamic classes on weekends, but please dont cut them off from children of other religions/backgrounds. You live in Canada. Your kids will grow up in Canada. Dont put them in a situation where they grow up relating to muslims only. In university, they'll hate themselves. When they cant relate to other people at work, they'll hate you. That would be tragic.

If you think keeping them away from the outside world is the only way to control them, you have failed miserably as a parent. Islamic school is no way to provide a proper upbringing. If anything, it'll make sure your kid stays in these religious cliques for the rest of his/her life.

If feel the need to seperate your kids from the most innocent of places (publc schools), you need to leave this country. Go back to Pakistan, really.

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

She is not asking your mashwara to go back.

If you can't give right answer then don't bother to answer.

why should she go back to Pakistan.

Its better to give first religious education. If you are a muslim then you know the rule.

whoever learns about Islam knows better how to deal with any situation. Because by religion they become clear what she can and what can't.

Stop yourself before giving any stupid mashwara to others.

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^^ By the way I’m not a “she,” I’m a “he”… nice advice anyway to hskhan :slight_smile:

I appreciate your honesty with me… and you truly nailed it when you said that I should go to Pakistan if I don’t want my kids (or myself) to be going to a public school. In fact, if our plans turn out right :insha: we will be going to Pakiland or I hope Dubai within the next 2 years… so I just want this chapter of my life in Canada to be the way I want it to be; Islam at home is a must for any Muslim kid regardless whether they go to Islamic school or public schools. Anyway why in the world would I think about raising my kids in Canada :konfused:… maybe it’s okay to the point of citizenship but I just don’t find myself blending in here; I appreciate your conformity nonetheless if you can blend in this environment.

And P^S^B there are always confused ppl you will find–even in Islamic schools, perhaps it’s just because they’re not told what to expect in the future (i.e. in my case, I won’t be living permanent in Canada :insha: if things go alright).

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My sister scouted Islamic schools in TO, and was adamant to send her daughter to one, but she eventually settled on French immersion. Havent heard good things about them.

If..
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*Beautiful post :k: . *

Interview by Dr. LKK
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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

Islamic schools are not that bad idea, afterall you will go to university after that. Schools only are a small part in terbiyat anyway so inshAllah will work out for you.

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

faith schools are an affront to open minded education and should have no place in a modern, progressive state.

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

^^ Only say so if you've ever been to an Islamic school in Canada... it's not like Pakistan where kids in madressas are taught to become extremists, even though contrary to popular belief not all madressas upbring extremists. So does anyone have any experiences to share about an Islamic school in Canada here... on another note I do appreciate people like hskhan and the game who are actually clear-minded enough to know where they are headed.

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

Let me make it clear, Islamic schools are in no way radical. The curriculum they have is IDENTICAL to that of public schools. They merely provide an Islamic environment.

Years ago, my parents decided not to put me in an Islamic school. Rather, they signed us up for friday night islamic classes at Nugget mosque. It was a long drive from white town Vaughan but the point was to ensure I interacted with "Canadians" AND "Muslims".

The problem that I have with any faith based schools is that they marginalize kids from the realities that exist beyond the school's walls. The problem thus is the child's social upbringing. In a society such as Canada, I would never encourage a parent to isolate their children by putting them in an Islamic school. You're asking for a myriad of problems down the road.

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

My cousins all go to Islamic school and they're doing pretty well, socially and academically. They might not have non-Muslim friends, but that doesnt mean that they hate all Muslims and that they dont know how to relate to non_muslims or come out as socially awkward as you may think. By the way they range in ages 6 to 13 :) Just make sure hte teachers at teh school are actual teachers, not just stay at home moms doing part-time jobs or teenagers volunteering. If Islamic schools are taught/run the same way Catholic schools are, I don't think there should be any problem.

Throughout elementary and junior-high school, the religion curriculum consisted of the life of Jesus, the Bible, Beatitudes, Commandments etc. Every month there was mass service (also during christmas and Easter and Ash wednesday). I (being the only Muslim/desi there) was never ostracized or made to feel inferior or anything because of it. In high school, theology studies pertained more to morals and values (with a lil bit o' Bible verses thrown in) than the biography of Jesus. Senior year was divided into Death and Dying and Christian Womanhood, where we learned about how to handle relationships, how to handle grief, different rituals surrounding death and marriage in the different cultures/religions (and yes Islam was included in there). We had nuns and secular teachers all the time, there was no problem there.

If Islamic schools can follow that model, have accredited and experienced teachres even if they're not Muslim, teach the basics and then go into the moral/values in the higher grades, the basic feeling of inclusion than exclusion, then there's no reason why students should turn out so "screwed up" as people say..

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

HI ALLAH G,,ISS MEI LARNE KI KYA BAAT HAY,,AGGRESSION IS NOT SOLUTION,,,,,I READ EVERY1'S SUGGESTION,,BUT I FULLLY AGREE WITH 'MRS SAIEEN'..............THIS IS WAT I VE SEEN IT HERE IN CARDIFF,WALES.......& I VE NOTICED IT IN PAK. AS WELL......+GOOD&BAD ARE EVERYWHERE,,ITS JUST THAT HOW U TACKLE D SITUATION&HOW PARENT TEACH THR CHILDERN TO DIFFERENTIATE B/T RITE&WRONG...BASICALLY IT STARTS 4RM HOME..I REMEMBER,WAT MY FATHER USED TO DO WAS,IN OUR CHILDHOOD,EVERYDAY....YES EVERYDAY,AT LEAST 4 HALF AN HOUR45 MIN,,,NO MATTER HOW TIRED HE IS,,WE USED TO HAVE A GATHERING AROUND HIM,& HE ASKED EVERY1,,EVEN MY MOM USED TO TEL WAT SHE'D DONE THROUGHOUT D DAY AT HOME,THEN WE KIDS,,THEN HE HIMSELF TOLD US WAT HE DID...OUR WHOLE FAMILY IS FOND OF READING,,,& WATEVER QUERIES WE HAD,,REGARDING EVERY TOPIC,MY IT B RELIGION OR POLITICL,ALHAMDOLILLAH,HE USED TO GIV US ANS OF THEM & SATISFY US..........SO CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME,SIR....IF 'U' TEACH UR CHILD PROPER NORMS,,THN RELAX HE LL NOT CHOOSE ANY WRONG SIDE

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And another thing, sending kids to an Islamic school because htey think they will stay otu of trouble is wrong... teaching ur kids the values is YOUR job not the teacher's jobs. The only [benefit] I c from going to an Islamic school is that they get more in-depth knowledge of religion... as for manners, how to interact, how to treat others, that's the parents job....

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

Its one thing with Catholic schools. The kids there ARE socializing with the mainstream westerners, because they're not the immigrants.

When you're talking about opening Islamic schools modelled on the Christian private school system, you have a different class of students. Kids who are immigrants, or who come from immigrant families. How is such a school going to prepare a student to get an advanced level job when that requires one to be totally comfortable in communicating with non-muslims? Their only exposure to peers is other muslims; meanwhile, if they're to get a job, that environment changes ANYWAY.

So if you're going to live in a pluralistic society, why not get schooled in it and take advantage of the public governmental opportunities offered for such education? Like, I know here, coming from ANY kind of private school puts you at a disadvantage for many scholarships and financial aide.

I had little cousins who were put into such a schooling system. It was run by stay-at-home moms who had very little education and hadn't touched the material in a very long time. The teachers were mostly immigrants, and so didn't have a very good handle on English. Very disorganized, and a lot of favoritism for particular nationalities. Like if the teacher was Arab, she played favorites with the Arab kids.

In the end, I managed to convince their parents to pull them out and put them in a regular school system. I think they realized it when the kids were coming home not being all that smarter.

It turned out to have a good pre-school based education, so when the younger one entered public school, he already had a good handle for basic things. But then so did I, with the preschool I went to.

And keeping the religious education reserved for Sunday school, etc is probably the best. Makes it something that they end up looking forward to, since its that one time of the week.

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Re: Islamic schools in Toronto

Its one thing with Catholic schools. The kids there ARE socializing with the mainstream westerners, because they’re not the immigrants.**
Do you actually have any statistics that say the majority of students goin to Islamic schools are immigrants/children of immigrants? Don’t you think students from Catholic or public schools come from immigrant famillies? **

When you’re talking about opening Islamic schools modelled on the Christian private school system, you have a different class of students. Kids who are immigrants, or who come from immigrant families.How is such a school going to prepare a student to get an advanced level job when that requires one to be totally comfortable in communicating with non-muslims? Their only exposure to peers is other muslims; meanwhile, if they’re to get a job, that environment changes ANYWAY.
**
What is it about goign to a school where they are taught ISLAM that would make them unable to make friends or get a job later on in life? And so what if their peers are Muslim? Does having only Muslim/desi friends make one automatically unable to do well in life? **
So if you’re going to live in a pluralistic society, why not get schooled in it and take advantage of the public governmental opportunities offered for such education? Like, I know here, coming from ANY kind of private school puts you at a disadvantage for many scholarships and financial aide.
**
Yeah and if I"m living in a western society, why not send my child to a school where they can learn about their religion from a CREDITED institute, with a curriculum that conforms to national standards? If we can have good schools that happen to teach Catholicism or Judaisim, then why keep Islam separate from it?
**
I had little cousins who were put into such a schooling system. It was run by stay-at-home moms who had very little education and hadn’t touched the material in a very long time. The teachers were mostly immigrants, and so didn’t have a very good handle on English. Very disorganized, and a lot of favoritism for particular nationalities. Like if the teacher was Arab, she played favorites with the Arab kids.
**
Yeah and I have little cousins who are put into an Islamic school system, as is stated in my previous post. However, not all schools are volunteer-run Sunday schools. There are really good ones, and there are really bad ones…**

…

And keeping the religious education reserved for Sunday school, etc is probably the best. Makes it something that they end up looking forward to, since its that one time of the week.
** Or makes them think “damn why do I have to go to school on SUNDAY too!!” :hehe:

Do you think Catholic schools started out being that way? No, I believe they changed over time. The same has to happen with Islamic schools, I’m sure there are changes that need to be made, but how is that going to be possible if people will think of Islamic school as a once-a-week/after-school activity instead ot eh primary source of education for their children? Like I said before, teaching your child manners, how to treat everyone with respect and dignity, how to treat non-Muslims, that drinking and drugs and dating are to be prohibited, that’s in the parents’ hand. Parents lead by example. Most of hte non-academic stuff I was taught in school I’ve pretty much forgotten, what HAS stuck by me is what my parents have done. To discredit Islamic schools because the students MIGHT grow up to NOT treat other peopel properly, well that’s one’s own personal bias and insecurity speaking.**

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And one last thing, the thread starter asked for some good Islamic schools in the area. NOT whether he should go or not, so I think this debate is pretty useless, if someone's mind and heart is set on doing something, its ridiculous to try to convince them otherwise.

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ok i went to church of england schools for a fair few years. now they were respectful of my non xtian heritage, but it dawned on me that religion is just one bore after another.

it was me, 1 jewish kid, and 28 odd xtians. we had choir, service on wednesdays. totally took me off religion. it was a good school, with great facilities, but boy did the religious tones suck.

then there was mosque after schools, so boring.

my distaste for any religious education is grounded in experience.

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Some directly-addressed replies from me to posters on this thread:

hskhan: Dude, why do you expect the world to revolve around you? Why do you keep bringing up the point that if I a child has to be raised in Canada an Islamic school will be a setback... I have different plans, different circumstances, things you won't be able to understand, so please be a bit versatile... especially when I specifically mentioned my current plans in earlier posts. Well yes, most Islamic schools basically have the same curriculum as public schools but the environment is the main thing.

Ms Saieen: An Islamic school and Catholic/Christian school can have the same fundamentals when it comes to academic education, but religious education is something totally different. For example, it is not mandatory to study philosophy, other religions etc. unless you choose them in high school... and even in public schools you don't have to study religions (unless the teacher is racist, in which case you can complain). I still don't get how can an Islamic school's religious education be MODELLED after that of a Catholic school.

PyariCGudia: There are all kinds of Islamic schools, good ones and bad ones. Islamic schools I know mostly have teachers who've graduated from UofT (and others from universities of similar caliber), the exceptions are teachers for Islamic studies, Quran, Arabic etc. By the way, most Islamic schools I have known consist mainly of Canadian-born students, many of whom are put in Islamic schools from public schools since grade 2 to grade 4... and the good Islamic schools do teach their students how to interact properly with non-Muslims (at schools, in workplace and stuff) and recognize their rights as Canadian Muslims.

legbreakgoogly: Please get out of this thread if you don't have a point or reason for what you are punching on the keyboard.

Once again, as PCG reminded, this thread is not for views or ideas about Islamic schools, and I would mostly like to hear from people who've actually been to Islamic schools and hear from them how did they think it was... if the former is submitted it should have a decent meaning or point to it.

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It can be modelled the way I outlined it in that post: A number of years studying the language, the holy scripture and the lives of important people, and in the high school years, the ethical/moral/social justice aspects of religion. If parents don’t want their children ttaught any religion than send them to a public school, simple as that. And that was me who reminded :snooty: