During a recent staff meeting at work, an important issue came up.  More and more girls were not adhering to the dress code by rolling up sleeves, unbuttoning buttons, unpinning hijabs, and wearing makeup.  Us teachers were asked to put our heads together and figure out a way to make all these girls stop breaking the rules.  One or more teachers suggested calling parents and reminding them of the contract they signed at the start of the year, while other teachers thought it would be best to use their class-mates against them, and have their peers remind them not to break the dress code.

As this discussion went on, one of the male staff members raised his hand quietly and simply asked, “Why can’t they wear makeup?”  Immediately an administrator answered it was the school policy.  But he asked again, “But why not?” There was silence.  I thought to myself, What do you mean why not? They shouldn’t wear makeup.  The administrator explained to him all the Islamic values the school was trying to preserve while enforcing the dress code– modesty, not being shallow and vain or competitive, etc.  He then responded with, “Do they know that’s why?  Or do we just tell them, ‘You can’t wear makeup!’?”

Since that time in the staff meeting, the wheels in my head have been turning.  In our school, do we ever explain to the students the reasons for our rules?  Or do we just enforce them and tell them they have to do it?  Do we label our rules as school rules?  Or do we say they are Islamic rules?

I’ve noticed over the course of 9 weeks that the students treat our rules as school rules.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Our rules about cheating, lying, stealing, swearing, dress code, etc, are only restrictions placed on them between 8:30 and 3:30 between our four walls.  So when the bell rings, and school is out… so are the rules.

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Allah fashioned the human, as well as every type of creature, to naturally interact with similar creatures. The closer these two creatures are, the more they will interact and become similar to each other in their manners and characteristics, to the point that one would be unable to distinguish between them except in terms of their physical appearance. –ibn Taymiyyah

Consider my interaction with high school girls.  Now on a regular basis we have a very, “I’m the teacher, you’re the student” kind of relationship.  I give them homework, they do it, turn it in to me, I grade it and turn it back to them, we rinse and repeat if desired.  That’s our daily routine.  But every once in a while, I’m given the opportunity to hang out with the girls, away from the instruction, and be with them when they aren’t students, but just… girls.

Yesterday at work we had our Eid celebration which included the girls going bowling and then to Old Country Barf-fest.  When we first got to the bowling alley, I was pretty calm and chill, sitting with the other teachers and acting “my age.”  After a while I got kinda… I don’t want to say bored, but I guess fidgety.  So I hopped up off my seat to go mingle with my students.  I figured now was the perfect time to get to know them, outside of the classroom, away from all the homeworulerk, quizzes, tests and disciplining.

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The administration asked teachers to make themselves more availible to the students who need help, so we have to keep office hours once a week.  Every Wednesday I stay after school for one hour to tutor my students.  This is now the 5th week of school, and since then, I have only seen 2 students ask me for help.  It’s interesting, because these students probably don’t really need that much help, but they just want to ask.  And because they come to my office hours and show me they’re concerned with mastering their skills, I’ve grown to love them more over my other students.

Meanwhile, the masses are still not coming.  And I’m becoming more and more frustrated with them.  Why?  Because they all need my help.  They’re failing quizzes and tests and getting really low scores on the homework that they hardly turn in.  I know they care about their grades, because when I pass back graded assignments, they’re all really upset.  But they don’t do anything about it.  I have repeatedly told them about my office hours, and that I’m availible to meet them on other days too, before, during or after school.  And yet, no one takes me up on this offer.  So, like I said, I’m starting to become frustrated with them because they won’t help themselves by asking for help.

I was thinking, the other day, of the stupidity of the whole situation.  Here I have students in dire need of help, and I’ve made myself availible to them, and they’re not coming or asking.  And then I thought… this sounds familiar.

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Over the past week each of my math classes has had to face their first formal assessment.  Before any test I usually like to give some extra credit.  This time was no different.  I offered the students a few extra points if they were willing to explain to me what the above equation meant to them in terms of Ramadan and/or Islam.  Below are some of the more interesting answers I read through:

To relate this equation Islamically you will have to think about it very closely.  So the — or the 2 minuses will change to ++.  So Islamically the meaning of this equation is that 1 good deed + another good deed = 2 good deeds.  We should always do good deeds and Allah will reward us with double the deeds.

^ Not quite what I had in mind, but good. ^

I think that this equation can tell a lot about Islam.  One way is that if there is a good influence people will be affected. So what we can relfect off this math problem is that if there is a good person who has good iman and is a really good person, and there is another person but he is bad when it comes to this behaviors, that one person can influence him to be a better person.  So when you get that bad out of him, then tehre will be two people with good iman, etc.

^ This had an illustration to go with it! ^

If there is a non-Muslim and you are there when he/she converts to Islam, then now you have 2 muslims.

^ I do agree that when I see people take the shahada, it renews my faith ^

First of all, math, especially algebra, was first introduced by Al-Barooni.  So math relates to Islam a bit.  And this equation right here means to me that if there is a bad person (-1) that does all haram things like backbites, lies, cheats, drinks, etc and he stays with the company of a good person (1) that is pious and follows the way of Allah and does good things like prays, read Qur’an, gives to the poor, takes care of his family, etc, then that bad person will eventually become a good person and goes on to the straight path and becomes a better Muslim.  So now there will be two good Muslims (+2) following the way of Allah and so and so forth.  So that is what this equation means to me in Islam.

^ Very detailed, right? ^

Well, it shows that if one person works together even if they have different religions a positive and a negative they can work together and be a positive.

^I think she meant that the -(-1) is a person of a different religion ^

The expression means that 2 negative people can become positive with the impact of one good person.

^A very short and simple idea ^

And finally my favorite… a little hard to follow, but fantastic all around.

This math expression is related to Islam.  This is the reason why.  The negative outside the parenthesis is the environment and the negative sign in the parenthesis is the person’s heart and the positive one (+1) is the good person.  The negative person and his diseased heart is surrounded by a negative environment.  Then one day this sad negative person with his negativ heart meets this very positive individual who relfects his positive akhlaq and imaan to change the 2 negatives into positives.  Then the negative person’s heart and it’s environment become positive and the two positive individuals become a strong force of two to spread the message of Islam.

^ Moral of her story… spread some positivity!  It might affect a negative heart ^

When will this year end?

Such were the thoughts running through my mind on my drive home from work.  I cannot wait until this first year at a new school is done.  I am waiting for the day when I can no longer be “the new teacher.”

I was the new teacher all last year.  I spent so much time trying to get my curriculum together and keep things neat and organized for next year.  I don’t know why I did that because I knew from the start I would be leaving the school at the end of the year and moving.  I worked so hard to adjust, learn the rules, learn names, and find my way around.  It was all in vain, bummer.

Now I’m AGAIN the new teacher, and I’m having the same troubles.  Writing curriculums, planning lessons for the first time, writing new quizzes and tests, learning students names, and figuring out what works for them for discipline.

That’s the hardest part.  I had to start from scratch and figure out all over again how in the world to get some respect from a classroom full of 14 yr olds.  It’s sooo hard, and everyday is a battle.  I come home worn out and downright depressed at times thinking about my students and how I have to manage them.

But I guess, they can win the battles, because insha’Allah I will win the war.  If I can make it through the year, and next year not be the “new teacher” who is still adjusting, then I consider myself victorious.  It may seem extreme that I’m using a war analogy, but foreals, if you were teaching, you’d understand.  Standing in the front of the class is like standing at the front lines.