A Sound Vision Newsletter Helping Teachers Teach Better

April 1 , 2010

		Why the "Muslim Teacher"?
		Young Muslims today face tremendous pressures. These pressures arise from a variety of sources: adjusting to a culture different from their parents' culture, living and working in environments often hostile to Islamic values, facing outright prejudice that results from the constant negative portrayal of Muslims in the media. These pressures can have dire consequences for Muslim youth. We are launching the "Muslim Teacher", an online newsletter, with the hope of offering educators tools and best practices to help them develop Muslim youth who are contributing citizens and confident Muslims. Our writers and editors, as well as audience, include educators in full-time Muslim schools, weekend and after school Islamic studies programs, public schools, and homeschooling parents. We invite you join us in this creative endeavor. Find out how you can contribute! [Read more...] Sara Mujahid & Saba Syed Co-Editors, Muslim Teacher

Muslim Teacher Team

Co-Editor: Sara Mujahid
Co-Editor: Saba Syed
Managing Editor: Taha Ghayyur

Editorial Board:
Abdalla Idris Ali, Dr.
Yahiya Emerick
Preacher Moss
Audery Shabbas

Editorial Team:
Bambade Abdullah, Dr.
Nadia Aslam
Jeewan Chanicka
Debbie DePalma
Catherine England
Shazia Hassan
Farhana Qazi
Michele Mohamed
Samana Siddiqui
Omar Zia

Sound Vision's Board of Directors
Abdul Malik Mujahid, President
Muhammad Khalid Riaz, Md. Secretary
Ahmed Murad
Taufiq Ahmad, Treasurer
Muhammad Fuad Lashkarwala, Director
Janaan Hashim, Director
Hanna El-Amin, Director

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Chicago Hosts ISNA Education Forum on April 2nd-4th

The 11th Annual ISNA Education Forum will be held April 2nd-4th in Chicago. This year's theme is “Crayons to College: Empowering Muslim Students to Color a Brighter World.”

The forum is a a great opportunity to hear from educators at the forefront of Islamic education, and to network and exchange ideas with fellow teachers. Read More >

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Preparing Muslim Students for Success by Abdul Malik Mujahid

If you're attending the ISNA Education forum, check out the presentation by Sound Vision's president, Abdul Malik Mujahid entitled “Preparing Muslim students for success in a diverse America and a globalized world” on April 3, 2010, at 3:30 pm-5:00 pm.

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Education Statistics

**The greatest shortages of teachers are in the South and the West. Math and Science teachers, are in high demand specially in low income areas (Source: www.kelloggforum.org)

**Elementary enrollment has leveled off, though high school enrollment will continue to rise.
The greatest demand is for special education teachers (Source: www.nea.org)

Ihsan: How You Can Inspire Excellence In Education
By Dr. Abdalla Idris Ali & Sara Mujahid

Ihsan is the highest act of worship to Allah. Imagine leading life as if we were seeing Allah moment to moment. How well would our time be spent? What heights would we reach?

This is the essence of excellence which we must teach our students and which we must strive to inspire in them.

The idea of excellence in education is thrown about so frequently, specially by politicians, that it has become a meaningless abstraction for some. However, the idea of ihsan is powerful, and the definition of ihsan, as explained by the Prophet is clear and applicable. Read More >

Challenges Of Weekend Schools And Some Solutions
By SoundVision.com Staff Writer

Sound Vision is working on a solution to one of the most important challenges of being Muslim in America: educating our young.

Despite the best intentions, our present Weekend School (Sunday School) classes are inadequate for a variety of reasons and our biggest problems remain- what do we teach and how do we go about it?

We want our next generation to be well-balanced, knowledgeable Muslim adults, who can positively connect with society at large. Read More >

7 Ways To Bring Alive The Story Of Ants In Your Classroom
By Dr. Abdalla Idris Ali

Nearly a third of the content of the Quran can be classified as narratives. These include stories of the prophets and people of the past. One such story is the story of Prophet Suleiman (Solomon) and the incident of the ants as related in chapter 27, an-Namal, the Ants.

Suleiman was given by Allah a special gift of understanding the speech of animals. These verses also invite our attention the miracle of the ants.

Let's explore creative ways to teach this story to your kids and your classroom. Read More >

MyClassroom:
What My Students Gained From The Black History Month
By Saba Syed

As a teacher of English literature in an Islamic school, I too used month of February to recognize Black American authors. My colleague and I chose to have our students read and study The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

I did, however, have some students who questioned the purpose of acknowledging Black Americans. The underlying question was, why highlight the Blacks only, while we, as Muslims were still victims?

For those students, and others, my answer was simple, ‘we need to understand their struggle to fight our own.’ In addition, as minorities, we have lessons in the civil rights struggle as well as deep connection with those who fought for this society to become open and more tolerant. Read More >

Three Reasons to Sign Up for this Newsletter:

Connect: Every teacher feels the need to connect, share ideas, speak her mind, learn from colleagues trenches. The Muslim Teachers newsletter provides you with teacher's voices and an opportunity for you to have your voice heard.
Grow: Many of us choose teaching because we love learning, but our time is a limited specially during the school year. The Muslim Teachers newsletter gets information and wisdom to your inbox, and we strive for quality and concision.
Contribute : Teaching means that you've decided to give back to the community. We hope that the Muslim Teachers newsletter gives you many opportunities to grow to our collective wisdom that can help to build lasting institutions. We also hope many of you will contribute articles