So I've recently signed up to be a islamic studies scripture teacher at a public school literally NEXT to my apartment building. And my first class with this certain public school happened to be on the final week of Term 2. So I've only had one class with the school.
And that's about the ONLY class I will be having with that school.
Why you ask? Did I get fired?
Well technically, since it's all voluntary... "fired" wouldn't be the right word for it. More like "if that teacher comes back I'm pulling my kid out of the scripture program".
That shocked me. Initially my supervisor didn't want me to know why she was offering to relocate me... but I insisted. I needed to know what I did wrong! I'm not the type to ignore my mistakes (if it genuinely was a mistake). I want to fix things and become better!
So what was my mistake?
Well apparently, there were 2 things I said: "You're not allowed to listen to music" and "if you don't wear the hijab you're going to hellfire".
I DID NOT SAY THAT.
I specifically kept saying to myself in my mind that day to not say anything so direct. And it was emphasised so much during my training to avoid the "going to hellfire" topic. And I did abide by that! It must've gotten twisted or misunderstood during the lesson. I remember saying you should wear hijab, but not saying ".. and if you don't, you're going to hell".
And with the music question, I did not say that outright either. I asked the question what they shouldn't do in Ramadan. One of the kids say "listening to music" which I said "yes". I think the kid might've thought you shouldn't listen to music in general, Ramadan or no Ramadan. The music topic is a controversial one. You're really not supposed to, since the angels don't like it and will go away when they hear it... along with many other reasons. But some Muslims still listen to music voluntarily anyway. But the issue here is... I did not outright say "you shouldn't listen to music". If anything, the message I was trying to communicate was "there are better things you could be doing rather than doing this and that, including listening to music".
So after a discussion with my supervisor, I have decided to relocate to another school. And it's not as close as my initial school. It's about a 20 minute bus ride. Grrr... $3.50 one way!
Tutoring adults is so much more fun. Maybe being a paediatrician isn't for me? But I love kids!
To be honest, I think the problem here was with the parents. Yeah, maybe the kid was a little spoilt but the decision to threaten to pull out their kid lies with the parents. And I could've gone back, but that would mean those kids' only chance of learning Islam would be taken away. And Allahu a'lam what they grow up to be. When they're older, it's hard to turn them back to Islam.
Well. Now that I've vented my frustration... I'm going to give my new school another go. Fresh start and now wiser! Not going to let one class pull me down. Gotta keep learning and inshaAllah I get rewarded for this. And inshaAllah those kids at the old school get a better teacher and grow up to become better Muslims and are guided on the correct path.
Ameen.
wassalam,
Nurilen
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