Why Would a Muslim Homeschool?

In different presentations and conversations I've had in Ottawa, I've gotten different opinions and attitudes from those in the community. The reactions can be summarized as follows:

-"Isn't that illegal?"
-"I thought that kind of thing was for strict Christians"
-Looking at my kids with a sympathetic face, worried for their education
-Insulted, defending the honour and purpose of our local Islamic schools

So this post I will examine each opinion and discuss how valid is each concern.

No, homeschooling is not illegal here in Ontario, although in other parts of the world it is. Alhamdulilleh the organized groups of homeschoolers have fought long and hard to make sure they could homeschool legally. One step beyond Ontario is Alberta, which offers people's school taxes back to them, if they homeschool, MashaAllah. If you don't believe me, you can check out the authority on homeschooling in Ontario and find all the legal stuff here.

As for homeschooling being left to the Non-Muslims, I say that Muslims didn't come up with chocolate first either, but that doesn't mean we can't share in the sweetness! (Expect a lot of my posts to include the word 'chocolate' by the way) For the Muslim family that can homeschool, we can bypass a lot of the fitnah (trials) that Muslim kids endure among Non-Muslim teachers, students and materials. Just imagine the difference between studying ancient pagan civilizations and making your child actually fascinated in the culture, as opposed to explaining that the culture was destroyed by Allah because of their wrong-doing and oppression of the believers and rejection of His Prophets. Imagine keeping your child away from school during the the Non-Muslim holidays or enduring Christmas coloring pages, as opposed to continuing on the school schedule, oblivious to the holiday, except perhaps with a lesson as to it's evil origin....

And the level of educational standards is the easiest point to discuss, as every exclusive, private school that produces the future leaders of the world has a small ratio from teacher to student. The larger the class size, the less one-on-one time the student has to understand the information. Now, let's take that teacher and make him or her know the student from birth, being thereby aware of his/her likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and put that child in the comfort and relaxation of their own home, and you have: homeschooling. There is also a greedy satisfaction in watching your child learn and grow under your care, and having your hand in what your children learn and how they learn it, without you ever asking yourself, "When's the last time I spent 'quality time' with the kids?"

Those who run the local Islamic schools, and those loyal to them, need not be insulted by Muslim homeschoolers. By and large, the main reason that Ottawa Muslims homeschool is because they cannot afford the tuition or live beyond bus service. There are of course those that have actually taken their children out of the Islamic schools to homeschool them, but this is still a better solution than public school.

For those reading this article with interest since you don't homeschool yet, I want to say that you can still be a large part of your child's education even if they attend school. If they are in public school, make sure to make time for Islamic studies at home, or at a weekend school, such as this one. Play tapes or CDs of Quran in the house, and reward them for memorizing new surahs outside of school time. As Muslims, we should always strive to teach what we know, and continue to learn, and the best place to start is with our children.