February 5, 2013

• Religion & education/curriculum: the link
• Madrassas: among the earliest schools
• Questions and answers about Madrassas
• 2-page Draft Paper Assignment: Due Feb. 12
• “Our School” (2008)s

There are several striking differences between our concept of education today and that of …the South Sea people…
…but perhaps the most important one is the shift from the need for an individual to learn something which everyone agrees he would
wish to know, to the will of some individual to
teach something which it is not agreed that
anyone has any desire to know. [curriculum]

…the master did not go seeking pupils; the pupils and their parents went to seek the master and with proper gifts…. persuaded him to teach the [learner]
…with the appearance of religions which held this belief in their own infallible superiority, education becomes a concern of those who teach rather than of those who learn

• “How does one represent other cultures? What is another culture? Is the notion of a distinct culture (or race, or religion, or civilization) a useful one, or does it always get involved either in selfcongratulation (when one discusses one's own) or hostility and aggression
(when one discusses the
'other')?”
• 1935 – 2003

My contention is that
Orientalism is fundamentally a political doctrine willed over the Orient because the Orient was weaker than the West, which elided the Orient’s difference with its weakness
....As a cultural apparatus
Orientalism is all aggression, activity, judgment, will-totruth, and knowledge
(Orientalism, p. 204).

• “Islamic”
• Maktab versus
Madrassa
• “the prophet”?
• “the empire”?
• “machinery of colonialism”
• “Every Muslim child, girl and boy, is expected to read and recite the
Koran early on”

YEAR SUBJECTS
First Year Biography of the Prophet (Syrat), Conjugation-Grammar (Sarf), Syntax
Second
(Nahv), Arabic Literature, Chirography, Chant illation (Tajvid)
Year Conjugation-Grammar (Sarf), Syntax (Nahv), Arabic Literature,
Jurisprudence (Fiqa), Logic, Chirography (Khush-navisi), Chant illation,
(Tajvid)
Third Year Koranic Exegesis, Jurisprudence: (Fiqh), Syntax (Nahv), Arabic Literature,
Hadith, Logic, Islamic Brotherhood, Chant illation: (Tajvid), External study
(Tareekh Millat and Khilafat-e-Rashida – these are Indian Islamic movements).
Fourth Year Koranic Exegesis, Jurisprudence (Fiqa), Principles of Jurisprudence,
Rhetorics, Hadith, Logic, History, Cant illation, Modern Sciences (sciences of cities of Arabia, Geography of the Arab Peninsula and other Islamic countries)

Al Azhar Education system (p. 9)
1. Primary: 4-5 years to 11 or 12 years
2. Secondary: 12 or older to 16-18 years
3. Tertiary: 18 – 22 and older
Middle school: 4 th or 5 th year to 8 th or 9 th year of school primary
Secondary
Tertiary

– Schools and their curriculum have a history
– There is a tie between religion and the first schools
– Becomes international as a culture / religion spread
– There are regional variations with this spread
– Indonesia & Bangladesh: Islamic education
(Pesentrens) and also public schools (Alyia)

• Two Page Draft Paper on a Selected Theme,
20%: This theme can be one of the general themes identified in the course schedule, above, or it can be one of the more specific topics listed below. The purpose of this paper is to outline how you will address your topic in the final presentation and paper for the course. This will allow instructor feedback, as necessary, on your approach and topic.

• basics of curriculum, teaching and learning:
What are they and why are they important
• Aboriginal Curricula
• Non‐Western Curricula
• Curriculum in the West
• Inclusive Curricula
• OTHER: Discuss with Instructor!

• Robert M. Gagne,
• Victor of Aveyron,
• Islamic Education,
• Chinese Education
• Education for any other religious/cultural group
• The term “Curriculum”
• Cognitive Science
• Behaviourism
• Constructivism
• The Enlightenment
• bell hooks
• segregated schools in the USA
• residential schools in
Canada
• Koreans in Japan; North and south Korea
• John Dewey
• Alternative forms of lesson planning

1. What is your general topic area?
2. Why are you/why should we be interested in it?
3. Narrow you topic down
4. What is your position on your topic?

• 2-3 examples, arguments, points, ideas, suggestions, ways of:
– Explaining your topic (e.g., Independent schools in
Canada for Chinese students)
– Linking related positions on your topic (e.g. TV and learning)
– Describing your position on your topic (e.g.,
Chinese versus Canadian family/parenting)
– Defending your position on your topic (why is ecological / green education important?)

http://www.sfu.ca/philosophy/resources/writing.html
• Always present a ”reasoned defense of a thesis.”
• There must be a specific point that you are trying to establish together with grounds or justification for its acceptance.
• Before you start to write your paper, you should be able to state exactly what it is that you are trying to show.
• you should be able to state in a single short sentence precisely what you want to prove

• Doesn’t have to be a “hot controversy”
• Your method must be that of rational persuasion. You will present arguments
• Assume that your reader is intelligent and knows a lot about your subject, but disagrees with you.
• Chose the strongest and most important points; often 2-4 will do.
• Clear, grammatical and

• “The difficulty/importance of Dewey’s
Pedagogical Creed”
• “Aboriginal curriculum: Its necessity and/or challenges”
• “’Anything can happen:’ the open future in
Lozinski’s 1995 documentary”
• “Different forms of learning in ‘The Weeping
Camel’”
• Madrassa and Western curricula: similarities and/or differences

The thesis is somewhat clear
Understanding of the topic and its relation to course themes or egs. is somewhat demonstrated and applied
The thesis is clear
Understanding of the topic and its relation to course themes or egs. is clearly understood and applied
The thesis is clear and original
Deep understanding of the topic and its relation to course themes or egs. is understood and applied
Some abilities (or
potential) for analysis and synthesis of material are demonstrated and some arguments are presented
Strong abilities (or
potential) for analysis and synthesis of material are demonstrated and well developed arguments are presented
Exceptional (or potential) abilities for analysis and synthesis of material are demonstrated and strong arguments are presented
The document shows some structured and writing ability
The document is well structured and well written
The document is extremely well structured and well written