teach your own

i’m currently reading
teach your own
by john holt & pat farenga

one of the anecdotes in this book
spoke directly to me
– why do i keep being surprised by this?
there is nothing new under the sun. –
when it described a woman who was about to go through the process
of trying to set up a new school
because she wasn’t satisfied with the schools in her area.

what i thought would have been an ideal school for my children was
an islamic montessori school that served organic — even vegan — meals and snacks
and used recyclable, earth-friendly products from construction paper to cleaning products.
the school would be modern, light-filled, child-oriented and solar-powered,
actually making money by selling extra power back to the electric company.
the children would have an outside space to play, explore, and garden freely.

i wanted that for my children
mostly
but i wanted for my fellow muslims’ children as well
cause who are my children going to make friends with
and, eventually, marry?
and i’m sure there are other muslim ummi’s and abi’s
that want something similar to their children.

you’ve got to figure where to collect
like-minded parents, money, teachers, money, administrators, money, a building, money, land, and money.
been there.
it’s a daunting task, but it’s been done many times over.
with Allah’s guidance and the help of a committed ummah-subset,
i could do it, i thought.

at the same time
i continually ask Allah in prayer
to allow me to use my abilities and talents in service to Him.

going back to this particular anecdote,
i was inspired with the thoughts:
teach your own!
duh!
you can give your children all of that
and more
albeit on a smaller, more intimate scale
and have fun doing it, inshAllah.

ameen.