The start of the school year is marked by a familiar frenzy: ‘back to school' discounts at superstores, stationery shops overflowing with students stocking up on school supplies, trendy (not to mention prohibitively expensive) designer school satchels, accessories and shoes. The focus seems to be on conspicuous consumption rather than acquisition of knowledge and life skills. As an observer and unwitting participant in the annual back-to-school rite, I often find myself wondering what our schools were like in the past. How did they produce men and women of such enduring knowledge and insight, such that even today, their brilliance illuminates our lives? More importantly, how can we regain the lost value of true education? The ‘madrasah' – the place of learning, derived from the Arabic word ‘dars' (lesson/learning) – has lately been the subject of a great deal of bad press and has become a virtual byword for a hotbed of Islamic radicalization. However, once, our children were nurtured there on the three principles of Islamic education: n Ta'leem: From the root word Alima (to know, to be aware, to perceive, to learn), which is used to denote the formal process of seeking knowledge or instruction being imparted through teaching. n Tarbiyah: From the root word Raba (to increase, to grow, to rear), implies a state of spiritual and ethical nurturing in accordance with the will of God. n Ta'deeb: From the root word Adaba (to be cultured, refined, well-mannered), indicates the development of life skills and social behavior. Following the establishment of the first formal schools during the 11th century CE – the Madrasah Nizamiyah by the Seljuk vizier Nizam Al-Mulk – eminent Muslim scholars and theologians concerned themselves with designing the school curriculum and were deeply involved in the process of learning and teaching skills. There were three stages of learning: the Maktab (an elementary school attached to the Masjid, for children from the age of six), the Madrasah (secondary school attended from age 14 to acquire specialized learning and manual skills) and the Jami'ah (university) which influenced the internal organization of the first European colleges and led to a high level of overall literacy and pioneering expertise in arts and sciences. In the book ‘History of Civilizations of Central Asia', M. S. Asimov and C. E. Bosworth called the era between 750 CE and the end of the fifteenth century, ‘The Age of Achievement' owing to the spirit of progress and learning that pervaded Muslim countries. The book mentions Ibn Sina's treatise, ‘The Role of the Teacher in the Training and Upbringing of Children' where he outlined curriculum recommendations for primary school children encouraging the study of a variety of subjects like the Qur'an, language and logic. He also discussed the qualities that parents should seek out in teachers, understood the intellectual and educational value of competitiveness, group discussions and debate and the importance of vocational training and manual skills for all students – regardless of their social status. The book also mentions Al-Ghazali's ‘The Alchemy of Happiness', where he recommends teaching children the Qur'an and lives of the Prophet, the Companions and righteous men at the outset of their education and introducing children to their writing. He advised parents and schoolteachers to pay attention to and nurture each child's special qualities, to praise them in public and encourage them by giving them presents. All of this sounds remarkably “modern” and “revolutionary” to us today, yet, this educational methodology is part of our age-old heritage. How did we forget, what we had ourselves instituted? How can we re-learn these lost lessons? These are complex questions, the answers to which lie in a multi-pronged approach involving everyone: policy-makers, parents, teachers and students.
