Education - options for Muslims in Western societies

public schooling is a waste of time - yes, if kids have a place to hangout with other kids (we are social animals you know) then the school can be totally avoided. if you are in a place where there are no such avenues for kids, it may become necessary to send kids to school until 8-9 years for kids to socialise. thereafter school will only cripple the mind, extinguish thinking and imagination.

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materialism and show-off is rubbing off on tiny tots. little kids come back home asking about the car we drive and the phone we use. if you do not spend time with kids and explain things to them - teach them the difference between good and bad/evil, expect them to make their own judgement.

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as an aside, the unwanted side-effect of feeding an imaginative and curious mind, is an endless stream of questions. "when can i die and see grandpa?" "i want to die now and go to live in palaces where i can have everything i want". "oh, i wish i were dead...and gone to heaven"

 

I would say this needs to be taught regardless of what schooling option is chosen.

One of the main problems with public schooling, in addition to the more common ones such as negative teachings / environment / influence, is that it consumes a significant amount of a child's time - 6 to 8 hours per day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 10 months a year for 14 to 15 years.....these are the prime years a child / teen / young adult has to learn and study Islam with no responsibilities.

So when a child spends an entire day at public school, they then come home and would need a session with parents to debunk any junk they learned and correct their perspectives (as per your points). Then additional time would be spent on top of this for Qur'an recitation and memorization. These important aspects though are being taught to the child when they are at their lowest energy levels for the day and are tired, making it less effective and taxing on the child.

Hence the benefit of home schooling or an Islamic school - the items you mentioned are integrated in the lessons in the first place along with Qur'an, etc. therefore there's no additional time added on the child.

One of the aims of home schooling / Islamic school should be that the student becomes fluent in reading, writing and speaking Arabic over the course of these 15 years, or at least have a solid foundation in it. With public schooling I would say it is impossible for children to learn Arabic on the side.

 

As Salamu 'Alaykum Wa RaHmatullāhi Wa Barakatu,

There may be a fourth option. What if there was a series of books written for parents to teach their children how to survive an environment like public schools. Examples includes knowing how to address topics like evolution, social interactions in that environment, and dawah - all from a Sunni perspective.

The fact of the matter is that a Sunni Islamic school is something that may not happen soon. Moreover, many of us have had to learn rational proofs against atheism, research evolutionary theory, and familiarize ourselves with refuting heretical sects. This is because we encounter a multitude of people in many aspects of life - often many of whom we disagree with.

Thus, the most practical solution is to directly educate parents and children. You'll find in history examples like Said Nursi ('Alayhi Rahmah) and his Risale Nur that he wrote with the intent of protecting Turks whose children went through the secular education system.

 

Basically we have three options:

1. Public schools
2. Islamic schools
3. Home schooling

I think we're all aware of the issues one faces with public schools.

Home schooling is discussed here.

Can anyone recommend any Islamic schools in North America and UK?