MCE Update

Salaamun Alaikum,

1.   MCE is concluding arrangements with EduCare for the production of 4 bespoke online programmes customised from their existing content. The programmes, which can   be used internationally, will be on:

      • Child Protection Awareness
      • Preventing Bullying Behaviour
      • Health & Safety
      • Fire Safety

The training will be extremely useful for madrasah governance. Teachers who enrol for the programmes will be provided with their own login details. Monitoring can be carried out at various levels – Madrasah, Jamaat, Regional, MCE. It is envisaged that the programme will be made available to madaris by September 2013.

2.  The latest pilot assessment was undertaken at Huseini Madrasah, Los Angeles. 7 madrasah assessors from North America, who had been trained in Toronto recently, participated in the assessment. It is the smallest madrasah that has been assessed so far. It was interesting to note that there were a few parents who would drive up to 2.5 hours every Sunday to bring their children to Huseini Madrasah even though there were other madaris closer to their home.

3.   The MNET mailing list was created some years ago with a goal to provide madrasah teachers a forum where they can discuss and share ideas to enable them to teach effectively. With the creation of the Madrasah Centre of Excellence (MCE) a couple years ago, the administrators of MNET have decided to evaluate the effectiveness of MNET and plan for its future. They are carrying out a survey of the members on the mailing list.

4.  At the 5th Executive Council Meeting for the Term 2011 – 2014, MCE presented a comprehensive report on its activities to date. The report gave a breakdown of work already completed, tasks which were currently in progress, and timelines for the next 18 months. The structure of the draft Curriculum Framework (below) was explained in some detail.

Knowing your pupils

The better you know the pupils of your class, the better you will be able to teach them. One of the ways of knowing the children is to learn their names. If you know the names of the children, they will realise that you care about them and it will help in asking questions. Learning your children’s names is absolutely vital for good behaviour management; it is all part of building a good and strong relationship with them. However, one cannot underestimate how difficult learning names can be in large classes.

Here are a few strategies to help teachers to learn the names of their pupils.

1.   Have seating plan in front of you all the time at the beginning of year. You will soon learn their names.

2.   Let the students introduce themselves or each other and have them wearing name tags in the beginning (alternatively, have names on their desks as students        might feel awkward to wear tags).

3.  Use the children’s names as often as possible, whenever you address them.

4.  Give the pupils an exercise whereby they have to write their name, explain what it means, who chose it, do they like it, and so on.

5.  Keep practising.

6. Another useful approach is to play some name games with your class, particularly in the first few lessons. These are fun and useful for reinforcing names (both for you and your students). As an example, try this one: 

Arrange the class in a circle. They must all think of something they like or like doing.
1st child starts … my name is ‘Muhammad’, I like football.
2nd child … Muhammad likes football, my name is Zainab, I like stories.
3rd child …. Muhammad likes football, Zainab likes stories, my name is Zahra, I like flowers
4th child ….Muhammad likes football, Zainab likes stories, Zahra like flowers, my name is Hassan, I like ice-cream.
Last person is you, the teacher!!!

Sharing a Good Practice

Students in Huseini Madrasah, Los Angeles, have undertaken projects on the Holy Ka’bah and the Battle of Karbala. The models were placed in the display case in the hallways of the Jamaat Centre so that they could be viewed by all students, staff, parents and attendees of the local majaalis programs. This promoted engagement between the students and the rest of the community and instilled a sense of pride for their achievements.

We Need Your Feedback

We look forward to hearing from you with your feedback, suggestions and opinions on this important initiative of The World Federation. You can contact the Head of MCE by emailing him at [email protected] or call him on + 44 (0)121 246 3575