Need for Meaningful Activities for Youth

Need for Meaningful Activities for Youth

Posted on February 21st 2014 by Sadia Wali

         

      Sixteen-year-old Ahmed has great inspiration and passion for writing stories, drawing cartoons and making landscape. “That’s what I love to do!” he says, while making a sketch of a village life. He expresses his feelings in form of art and story writing. He engages himself in such activities to make his life exciting and meaningful.

Meaningful activities are often done for enjoyment, pleasure and fun. Simultaneously, it is imperative that these leisure time activities must be meaningful and enjoyable. The scholars of Islam have emphasized the importance of lawful recreation to the healthy development of a person’s character. Al-Ghazali writes:

If the child is forbidden to engage in play and forced to spend his time in perpetual study, this will result in his heart dying, his intelligence waning and his manner of living becoming so wretched that he will seek from it any escape he can find.”

“After completing his bookwork, a child should be allowed to play in a nice manner, so that he can relax from the fatigue of his studies. His play should not tire him out. If the child is forbidden to engage in play and forced to spend his time in perpetual study, this will result in his heart dying, his intelligence waning and his manner of living becoming so wretched that he will seek from it any escape he can find.”

Our youth is lagging behind in knowledge, enterprise and productivity. Teenagers are not making fruitful use of their time – due to unproductive habits, they are suffering from such psychological disorders as anxiety, depression, insecurity, fear, anger and aggression. These anti- social behaviours compel a frustrated person either to commit suicide or engage in violent acts.  Furthermore, the increasing immorality and vulgarity of youth is pushing them towards anarchy and darkness.

The question is: how can a frustrated person relieve his stress? What kind of activities will facilitate mental and physical health and improving the quality of life?

Engaging in recreational activities not only helps in staying healthy but also relieves psychological stress and develops a bright and healthy personality.

 Effective and Revitalizing Activities:

• Morning walk and exercise help to relax, give a soothing effect to nerves and reduce stress. These are the best activities which refresh one’s senses and make one feel light again.
• Good reading habits include reading newspapers, magazines and books. Reading an interesting book motivates a teenager to develop reading habit and enhances their learning and vocabulary.
• Through writing articles, stories and diary entries, one can convey his emotions and sentiments.
• Both indoor and outdoor games and sports, such as swimming, skating, cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, squash, tennis and badminton, help to maintain physical health as well as emotional and psychological stability of an individual.                      In the Sunnah, we see the companions of Prophet Muhammad (sa) participating in many different forms of activities. They engaged in such sports as running races, horse racing, wrestling and archery. They spent time in telling jokes and enjoyed lighthearted conversations. This helps to build up an active, positive personality and improve interpersonal relations.
• Many teenagers are engaged in arts and crafts activities. Hobbies, such as drawing, sketching, painting, knitting, making artificial jewelry and other items from clay, are excellent for utilizing time effectively. Arts and crafts activities also enhance the self-confidence of a young person.
• Teenagers in emotional distress should take an adult education class or a course at any institution. Participation in education classes motivates and inspires them to be optimistic and to adopt a positive way of thinking. These types of social gatherings give them opportunities to relieve stress and build new relationships.
• Young people can engage in long and short term training for honing their skills. They will not only learn but also gain motivation for utilizing their skills.
• Gardening has many benefits – it can ease stress for people, who have been diagnosed with depression and persistent low mood. Being surrounded by fresh flowers and plants helps in achieving peace of mind.

There is a dire need for young people to stop engaging in unproductive habits, which waste their time. Engaging in recreational activities not only helps in staying healthy but also relieves psychological stress and develops a bright and healthy personality.

Sadia Wali is a Research Fellow at Educational Research and Development Centre (ERDC).           

Posted in Blog, Positive Parenting   | Tagged activities, arts and craft, emotional stress, exercise, Full Article, games, Gardening, Halal entertainment, healthy, healthy lifestyle, Hiba Blog, Hiba Magazine, hobbies, Islamic Magazine, Muslim lifestyle magazine, personality development, Productive, Reading, recreation, skills, writing, Youth –

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Book Review – KARACHI, YOU’RE KILLING ME!

By Sadia Wali

 

Being an emotional and sensitive lady, I always have great inspiration to read the piece of novel that deeply interprets women issues and problems, romance, culture and traditions. One of the important aspect of choosing Saba Imtiaz novel, KARACHI, YOU’RE KILLING ME to read as it is entirely feminist. It is a story of insider heart, how a young journalist coped up with her career and personal life, how her emotions were crushed and how she avoided stressful thoughts and managed to live a normal life. Passionate by nature, she decided to change the world by being a journalist.

KARACHI, YOU’RE KILLING ME  is a Bridget Jones’s Diary meets the Diary of a Social Butterfly, “a comedy of manners in a city with none,” as Saba describes it. A female voice narrating real life events in form of a diary which follows a sensational beginning which continued till end. Every moment is full of adventure and thrill which kept the readers intact.

The story revolves around a young journalist, Ayesha who works for a newspaper as a reporter, hopping from rickshaws to taxis, covering strange and unique stories. Her life merely moves around work whether it was suicide bombings, visit to literature festival, the Bhutto family tomb in interior Sindh, the-top fashion show or interviewing gangsters in the gang-ridden neighborhood of Lyari. She is always there on the spot with full vigor and passion.

Ayesha’s survival is heavily dependent on her friends Zara and the best friend, Saad who lives in Dubai but returns frequently to meet her.  Ayesha's own career and abysmal personal life often make her feel empty and numbed and she yearned for the company of old friend Saad whose shoulder she cries on whenever she faces mishap in her life. At various moments in the novel, she expressed her deep emotions about Saad.

Once she said, “It is kind of heartwarming to have someone care about you.”

Saad is my oldest friend, someone who I’m going to love unconditionally until the day I die”

“As teenagers, we were far too involved with our own convoluted love lives. I turned off the lights and stagger into my room feeling the giddiness that comes from using the word boyfriend.”

While reading the novel, I felt that one of the Overwhelming aspects of the novel is the characters playing their part in a casual manner whether it is party-hopping through the city's elite Clifton neighborhood, or visiting Mocca Café for coffee or getting liquor, cigarettes and drugs. These scenes switch the tone of the novel from despondency to feeling of joy. In fact,   the inner thoughts and feelings of Ayesha kept the readers occupied of what shall happen next.

As the story slowly reached its peak, every moment and every act turned out to be more spellbinding and captivating. As Ayesha faced two romantic misadventures, she felt dejected and totally broken. 

Her words touched my heart.

“Why can I never have a functional relationship with a non-troll like human?”I’ll be that girl who everyone invites to dinner out of pity because Iam unloved and broken.”

There are more sensational feelings of Ayesha that really moved me as I felt my body shuddering and I unable to control my emotions.

“My heart feels heavy, and my breath keeps catching in my throat. I need to cry and get this out of my system. It feels like I have failed at everything. For years I have focused my energy and time on my career and time on my career because trying to work at relationships with douchebags like Hasan and then Jamie just did not seem to make sense”

At last Ayesha took the most important decision of her life i.e. to leave her fourteen year old job.  - How she felt? “You are a failure. You have done nothing in the past – jeez – ten years. My life lies ahead of me, suddenly feeling like a really, really tediously long time.” 

The last scene Ayesha was informed by Saad’s mother – he is going to the airport. He’s set up a meeting with his boss in Dubai to see if he can move back. The story took a dramatic turn and here I felt a real test of emotions for a woman who yearns for a sincere relationship. Ayesha rushed for the airport in rickshaw. Roaming everywhere on the airport, her eyes searched for Saad. “ I feel like I am standing on the edge of a pit and if I take one wrong step I’m going to fall in.

And then she eventually met Saad who spoke in an indifferent way, “ Clearly you don’t feel the same way, and that’s okay, we ‘ll still be friends. I just need to get you out of my head, which is kind of impossible when you are been in my head since we were fourteen.”

Ayesha wrapped her hands around Saad and as Ayesha said, “ And for the first time in years , I feel pure, unadulterated  happiness.”

Ms. Imtiaz has managed to pull together a novel that you want to read and share with people, especially its characters and events which focused reality and moved hearts deeply.

The writer is a Research Assistant at Teachers' Development Centre

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My Reflections on a Seminar

‘Who Fails When A Child Fails’

By Sadia Wali

While attending an inspiring Educational Seminar on Saturday, 1^st August 2015, at Karachi Arts Council organized by Educational Resource Development Centre, I remembered John Holt’s book How Children Fail. The book I have read three times and every time I read it moved my heart more deeply. The last time I read the book, I marked the quote I liked the most. John Holt writes   in his book, How Children Fail,

“For many years I have been asking myself why intelligent children act unintelligently at school. The simple answer is, "Because they're scared." I used to suspect that children's defeatism had something to do with their bad work in school, but I thought I could clear it away with hearty cries of "Onward! You can do it!" What I now see for the first time is the mechanism by which fear destroys intelligence, the way it affects a child's whole way of looking at, thinking about, and dealing with life.”

The Seminar ‘Who Fails When A Child Fails’ made teachers and parents realized their role and responsibilities in developing skills of their children. It is only possible by providing cordial environment at home and school which helps in character building and enhancing the learning and creative capabilities of young kids.

The seminar focused on the key roles of the teachers to recognize and understand the psychological and emotional problem of the children. Learning and failure need to be revisited and changed. Creative aspect of education should be highlighted. How children learn and explore, teachers never ponder at. It is essential to build a strong bond between teacher and student to develop natural talent and skills of children.

Skits performed by the students of 22nd Batch of Professional Teachers Certificate course was superbly performed. The short role plays was written by renowned writer Manzar Imam. The role plays focused on various themes of parenting and negligence of teachers which leads to a child’s academic failure. The guests and chief guests greatly admired the poster exhibition by participants which depicts their deep thinking, extensive research and creativeness.

Participants of the seminar Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder, Tahir Javed, Rashida Murtaza, Dr.Shahida Mohiuddin and Salman Asif Siddiqui highlighted various aspects which teachers do not consider important in boosting up the intellect and skills of young growing children.

Tahir Javed’s opening statement caught my attention. As he said, children are the loveliest creations of Allah. They are not born for failures, they have to play a pivotal role in the world. We need to nurture the capabilities and talents of young kids. Another captivating statement by Tahir sahib was about testing and grading.  Testing means measurement of things like measuring vegetables or other eatables. The intelligences of children cannot be measured at any age or at any level; teachers need to comprehend this critical element. As it is seen that the examination papers are not made according to a child’s level of understanding; this kind of testing does not helps to improve the skills of the children rather the fear of getting fail make them more anxious, pessimistic and insecure. So who faces the consequences?  And how the child cope up with the circumstances, we educators need to ponder at.

Rashida Murtaza spoke in an enthusiastic tone about retention and class repeating of the child. She emphasized over the schools to discourage Retention Policy rather introduce Remedial Support Program for children who needs assistance to uplifts their learning and skills.

Dr.Shahida Mohiuddin expressed her views with whole-heartedness, a teacher should aim at creating a learning environment in classroom; let children be engaged in learning and develop their creativity and curiosity. Just see their creativity, experimentation, how they think in depth and their power of questioning makes them unique and distinct, Let their self- confidence and self- esteem grow not wither. When children have fear of failure, they lose their sense of joy. Self- building concept and imaginative thinking becomes stagnant and they begin to drift towards dejection and misery. Sense of failure deeply affects the personality, the child continues to feel negative about himself. For example, ‘I can’t do anything in life’ or ‘I am a failure’. Sense of failure and guilt is the source of all abnormalities’ she emphasized.

We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions -- if they have any -- and helping them explore the things they are most interested in.”

― John Holt

According to Dr. Syed Irfan Hyder, schools instead of focusing on external environment of teaching i.e. classroom management and the paradigm of testing, teachers need to boost up creativeness in children, to let them think and explore new ideas and create great things. Let the child grade himself and understand his competences.

Lastly, Salman Asif Siddiqui and Tahir Javed talked about consequences and some solutions. Salman Asif Siddiqui said that Holistic learning for the child is important. Nowadays, the phenomenon of teaching has been changed.  Instead of fostering knowledge and learning in young people, education is merely motivating young people towards accomplishing academic goals. Teachers need to understand their role; provide insult stress free learning environment at schools. An innovative atmosphere will help teachers to understand the child’s attitude and behavior, improve teacher- child relationship and builds up his character. To make a child confident and motivated, respect his self-esteem and instantly respond to the queries of children.

Tahir Javed said he never saw a teacher or principal being upset on a child’s failure. The school never take the blame of a child’s failure, it is the child and the family suffers economic and social consequences. In his opinion, if teachers follow the passion and commitment of not failing the child and helping the child to improve his skills. At least till secondary level teachers can opt for this decision and can implement in their schools for the better progress of the child.

Summing up the Session, Salman Asif Siddiqui said there is something seriously and fundamentally wrong with our contemporary education system. We feel that a radical change is possible if teachers and parents take initiatives and help those who are launching movements for the educational change in ummah. 

I will quote Qur’an here: “And those who strive in our (cause), we will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right”. (Al-Ankaboot: 69)  

        

 The article is written by Sadia Wali,She works as research Assistant at Teacher's Development Centre

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Hopes and dreams of under-privilege youth

                Hopes and Dreams of Under-Privilege Youth

                        By Sadia Wali

"Our youth are not failing the system; the system is failing our youth. Ironically, the very youth who are being treated the worst are the young people who are going to lead us out of this nightmare."  Rachel Jackson

In this era of globalization and technological revolution, education is considered as a first step for every human activity. It plays a vital role in the development of human capital and is linked with an individual’s well-being and opportunities for better living (Battle & Lewis, 2002). It ensures the acquisition of knowledge and skills that enable individuals to increase their productivity and improve their quality of life. This increase in productivity also leads towards new sources of earning which enhances the economic growth of a country (Saxton, 2000)

 The future of youth is directly related to the educational opportunities, economic conditions and sustainability of the individuals in our country.  Young people of well-off families have resources and means to avail the best opportunity to enhance their learning. But have we ever thought about the plight of the young people of low income families, residing in the underdeveloped areas? The talent of these youth has been crushed due to limited resources, inequities in social, economic and political conditions; gender discrimination; unemployment; armed conflict and confrontation. Due to prevailing injustice, young people living in underdeveloped or remote areas have been indulged in anti- social activities. They often become disillusioned, indulge in drug usage and even resort to criminal activities. 

 “Deep resentment built up in me when I was deprived of a job opportunity for the third time when I disclosed that I dwell in one of the under- privilege areas of Karachi .i.e.  Lyari. As I began job hunting, I felt all my hopes shattered and crushed, I have no faith in the justice of this country. Wide spread racism and discrimination has created despair, defeat, despondency and hopelessness in young people, young man grumbled.  

During the last decade, there has been an unprecedented increase in the crime, violence and terrorism activities; majority of these activities are carried out in underdeveloped areas. One of the major reasons for this growing deterioration in law and order situation in Pakistan is the disengagement of young people.

To engage youth in constructive and productive tasks, Non- profit organizations in Karachi have taken initiatives to impart skills and knowledge to youth of under-resourced areas such as Lyari and Korangi. They have empowered youth by engaging them in inventive projects to develop values and beliefs and develop a positive frame of mind.  Their aim is to train youth in conflict prevention and management, civic engagement and community mobilizations.

 The urgent need of time is to facilitate our youth; Karachi Youth Support Network in collaboration with other NGOs and private organization started facilitating youth from Korangi, Saddar and Kemari and now they have expanded the scope of its activities to Lyari and Sultanabad. They also plan to execute their plans to other under- resource areas of Karachi. Up till now more than 300 energetic youth of Lyari, have been provided opportunities of their interests by KYSN.

“Learn, Lead, and Prevent opines a young teacher, residing in Lyari (Karachi) .He thinks that from the tender age of eight to ten years, our children see anger and violence all around and think violence is the only way to survive. On grounds of gang allegiance, language, ethnicity or religion, what they do best is fight! Since we have no prospect of getting good quality education, our youth remain disoriented.” I believe that through better employment opportunities and community service, the youth have the power to bring a real change in the impoverished and strife-hit neighborhood of Lyari”

Young people of Lyari, Korangi and Sultanabad are extremely talented and have capacity to improve their lives. Being part of the facilitators at a training workshop, titled ‘Peace and Tolerance ‘conducted by KYI and Teachers Development Centre, I got the opportunity to interact with the dynamic teachers of those areas. The aim of the workshop was to cultivate positive aspirations in young people; young teachers felt a unique and life-changing experience which paves the way towards improving their professional skills.

It was heartening to see young jubilant and energetic individuals attending the workshop. Young boys and girls aged  between 18 and 30 are passionately coming forward to act as agents for social change, economic development and technological innovation and  I really felt young people’s participation is valuable to raise up the standard of education.   

My conversation with the teachers regarding their participation in peace-building training initiative showed that they had high purposes in life. Mostly young teachers especially women face hardships and problems such as limited transport options, family restrictions and other social norms yet; it is encouraging to see them determined and firm. 

As one participant in the workshop said, “Work hard, aim high and stay committed to your goals!”

Another opined, “It is our right to get exposure to activities that encourage our imagination, ideals, energy and vision to flourish to the benefit society and our educational institutions.”  

“I am very much impressed by this session and had good learning. This type of innovative workshops should be conducted to build up the better future of our teachers. Thank you for creating awareness and waking up us and put us on a right direction” an enthusiastic comment of a participant.

Another reflection that touch my heart was, “Our area is portrayed by media as a place where criminal gangs roam the streets, and it is the reason that it is backward and regressive as compared to other sections of the city. With NGO’s support, we intent to get engaged in constructive tasks that mobilize young individuals, instill a passion to excel and achieve excellence.”

These are the desires and aspirations of our future torchbearers. Youth of under – privilege areas are exceptionally talented, they are capable of working wonders; the need is to channelize their talent into right direction.

The young blood of underprivileged areas needed a platform to learn necessary skills for standing parallel in the society. Engagement in constructive activities will empower them and ultimately leads this young energetic blood towards achieving their positive aspirations

.

It is an irony that we as citizens do not seriously think about facilitating young individuals of low income families also the, government has turned a blind eye to their needs and to their problems. Our politicians and policy makers have no understanding about the consequences of ignoring young people. If there are any efforts underway, they are merely up to organizing seminar or workshops or passing rules, practical steps are always missing from the government's strategies. Private sector and NGO’s have undertaken target oriented programs for youth development, providing opportunities to young people to explore and realize their potentials, educate and guide them against terrorism and inhuman activities.

 We cannot think of any development, prosperity and progress without the engagement and contributions of young people .Time has come for us to seriously ponder over it.

It is rightly said,

‘The Youth of a Nation are the trustees of posterity’ (Benjamin-Disraeli)     

The article has been written by Sadia Wali while attending the training program titled, ‘Training for Peace and Tolerance’ a program organized to train teachers of three areas of Karachi (Lyari, Korangi and Sultanabad).The training workshop was organized in collaboration with Karachi Youth Initiative (KYI) and Teachers Development Centre (TDC) The workshop was attended by 304 teachers of these three areas. The workshop had eleven training sessions which began from 23rd of February and successfully concluded on 22nd of April 2015

Sadia Wali is a Research Assistant at Teachers Development Centre. She can be contacted at sadiawali@hotmail.com

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E-learning

          Learning through information technology

   By Sadia Wali

      Innovations in teaching and learning have changed the perspective of learning across the world. Educators have adapted new educational technologies which have enhanced the scope of collaborative online learning for students. E-learning is an educational technology that technically supports learning and teaching. Bernard Luskin, a pioneer of e-learning, advocates that the "e" is interpreted to mean "electronic." This interpretation focuses on new applications and developments. E-learning encompasses multimedia learning, computer-based training, internet-based training (IBT), web-based training (WBT) and online education.

E- Learning has rapidly increased in developed countries. However, developing countries like Pakistan are facing challenges in implementing E-learning programs. Since E- learning has been introduced recently in Pakistan, this online education system is developing slowly. Consequently, this system of education is expensive and the educational institutions lack professional instructors that could provide complete guidelines to students about their studies. The institutions are also deprived of all the essential facilities such as computers and laptops. Most of the students and working professional are interested in broadening their horizon and knowledge through e- learning however domestic responsibilities, limited choices and financial problems constraints them to arrange time for an E-learning course.

Another challenge is related to course, its development, and delivery. Concerns have been raised regarding designing an innovative curriculum suitable for E-learning environment. The tradition of attending school is still prevailing among people, therefore mostly students are trained to show honor for teachers who are considered as the experts. Students being spoon fed by teachers and too much dependency of students on teachers are taken as obstacles in E-learning settings.

“There is a need to create awareness how E-learning is different from conventional classroom based learning   said a teacher. While comparing e- learning with traditional face-to-face classroom learning, she believed that that traditional classroom environment following instructors dictating content and rote learning has become uninteresting for the students. E-learning environment is a more learner-friendly as the role of a teacher is different in an e-learning environment.’’

“E-Learning foster students interaction and collaboration and assists them to choose content and tools appropriate to their interests, needs, and skill levels. It motivates students to be much more engaged and to take more responsibility for what they’re learning’’ stated another teacher.

  “E-learning is good for education uttered a mother. As it gives more knowledge, practical approach and provide global knowledge to students.”

However some parents do not agree. They believe that e-learning cannot be attained without proper guidance and help as some students find hard to study online course.”

Similarly, another mother declares, “E-learning can definitely be useful but then the overall development of a student is hindered. I suggest that there should be a facility of both classroom learning environment and E-learning facility too. So child should have an experience of going to school and also gets acquainted with technological world.’’

What do students really think about online learning? Can E-learning be a substitute for the class room learning?

A survey conducted by some Pakistani students in the year 2009-10 revealed that the majority of students (over 90%) found learning over the Internet and via satellite TV beneficial. Students who have opted for e-learning think that the flexibility of online learning is a positive factor.

“It is an efficient alternative to taking the class physically. To study the topic in depth, students can select some important websites such as Coursera's online classes which are designed to help students to achieve mastery over course material. The website Coursera is offering massive open online courses since 2012. Lectures, talks and discussions of the teacher are also accessible on the website. The option of video conferencing technologies and online demonstrations of concepts are helpful in imparting valuable knowledge.’ opined a group of students.

However, some students do not find E-learning interactive as they say “We love the personal classroom feeling of attending the lectures and getting involved in group discussions, assignments, and projects. Students are more engaged in learning and retain knowledge better than online study. By analyzing the students learning styles and interests, the teachers can adjust their teaching methods and strategies.’’

A group of students hold similar opinions, “In classroom learning, we get to know many important things which we cannot get from E- learning. We get to know how to behave, how to interact and maintain relations within group or friend circle. These etiquettes can be learnt in a classroom environment.’’ 

Students in far-flung areas of Pakistan are eager to acquire on-line education. Accessing E-learning education in remote areas of the country is not easy since the survey conducted by students notified that mostly small cities and towns do not have specialized educational institutes which provide e-learning education. Students also complain of lack of computer and internet facilities; well-organized libraries and efficient mentors who could guide them about e- learning education. Government need to provide modern education facilities  in less privileged areas  so that people living in these areas also get opportunity to acquire modern education. Learning through information technology has evolved a new era of education all over the world. It is hoped that e- learning in Pakistan will refine the cognitive skills of young individuals and it will assist them to contribute towards the development of global knowledge.

 Today, many educational institutions in Pakistan have greatly emphasized the need for the development of internet based information technologies which will help to enhance standard of education and training systems. However it is essential that the government should provide facilities to those institutions that are providing online education and assure that e- learning should be easily accessible by all groups of society.

The Writer is a freelance writer. She can be contacted at sadiawali@hotmail.com

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Prevailing anarchy in our society

Prevailing anarchy in our society

 By Sadia Wali

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’

(Reference ‘The King James Version translation of Proverbs 29:18’)

In developed societies, family and community with their collaborative efforts, motivation and commitment accomplish their higher goals. Dedicated individuals committed to bring social change in society create an invigorating and inspiring impact on young people to be responsible, develop a positive vision and sense of direction. These are the profound leadership qualities which actually pave the way towards a successful and meaningful existence. 

We as a society have become victim of anarchy and disorder. Civic sense as an ethic has less significance since our youth do not show any concern regarding fulfilling their civic responsibility. As I quote an example.  We are the first to complain about public facilities but at the same time, we neglect our responsibility to maintain it. Roads are not dirty because nobody cleaned it, but because we think that somebody dirtied it in the first place and it is his responsibility to clean .Thus, we continue to throw dirt on the road side. The most common violation which people do are spitting and smoking in public places. In spite of the red signal on the road mostly young people ignore the traffic rules and break the signals.

Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine the purpose and course of our lives. 
— Ayn Rand, Russian-American novelist and philosopher (1905-1982) 

 It is an irony that we do not have proactive individuals who realize the significance of collective and individual potential to bring change in society.  How many times we have heard any dedicated person speaking, ‘I can initiate a change! Even If we talk about change, it is merely the change we want for ourselves and not for the community or society.

It is a sad reality that today our youth is completely lost, their blurred vision, lack of sense of obligation, core values and moral principles is drifting them towards anarchism. To become sound practicing Muslims, our youth needs to realize the purpose and vision of life and this has been clearly defined in the holy Quran and Sunnah. The Islamic paradigm is Tazkiya - Nafs which means purification of our heart and minds.

 As stanch Muslims, it is our belief that we are accountable to Allah for every acts and deeds. As Quran says, “And as such on the final Day of Judgment each Nafs or human will have to reply for his conduct of this earthly sojourn. (al-Infitar: 05) and that will be a very tough day of this meeting (al-Inshiqaq: 6).”

Realizing our priorities and responsibilities, we need to develop inspirations of a Khalifa who served the people selflessly, honestly and sincerely. Our young fellows who are torch bearers of Islamic values and traditions need proper guidelines, role models   and leadership that broaden the vision of young fellows, make them positive thinkers, realize the importance of moral values and understand the purpose of shared vision. Motivated young individuals can utilize their potentials in the best way by positive involvement in fulfilling the tasks such as taking small initiatives, determining the objectives for the task and provoking civic sense and sense of responsibility in others.

To foster tolerance, moderation ethics, morality and self reliance is indeed a big challenge for us. It is the cultural norms and values which lead us to a well-balanced and successful society. Social bonding, goodwill and respect towards each other serve a lot of purpose, helps to manage our social life and develop good relationship with the people around us. The spirit of empowerment, self- awareness, individual competence, personal growth, collaboration and team work will help to transform our thinking and thus bring revolutionary changes in the society.

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Does school really prepare students for a job

Does school really prepare students  for a job

By Sadia Wali

“Education in Pakistan cannot be acquired, it is something taken as a purchasable thing says Hassan, a student of a private medical university. Today, goal of education is simply to prepare young students to attain materialistic purposes in life. The spiritual and moral education which is essential for character building and nurturing minds is not given significance in our education.”

Therefore, the question arises in our minds what are actually the goal and objectives of an educational institutions? What they aim at? Nowadays, the phenomenon of teaching has been changed? Instead of fostering knowledge and learning in young people, today education is merely motivating young people towards accomplishing academic goals.  Teachers are demoralized and lack spirit of professionalism and commitment. Consequently their capacity for learning is also passive and this has negatively affected individual competencies and personal growth.   

A teacher, who had taken fifteen years out from the profession of teaching to raise her kids returned to teaching six months ago. Being a teacher she observed various changes in the attitude of teachers and students. ‘What really struck me is that kids have become more cynical, impatient and intolerant and less receptive for learning. They use vulgar language.

Parents think that young individuals are less motivated, less responsible and more confused about life. They believe that it is not worth paying thousands of fees in an institution which are not providing purposeful education. Their children seem to have completed the whole course yet they could not prove what they learnt. The question comes to our minds what they learn at the institutions? It is imperative for parents to know whether their son or daughter is acquiring quality education or finding an easy way out to get fake degrees to get desired job.    

Due to uninspiring teachers, young people lack vision and objectivity of acquiring authentic learning, core values and morality. The learning capacity of young people has been influenced by consumer culture. Hence they opt to study those subjects which offer more market value and have better chances of money making. For money minded individuals, it does not matter as to which of the subjects can be more useful for improving their academic learning and knowledge or helpful in character building. They are solely engaged in pursuing fulfilled careers.

However some young intellectuals say that a degree is just a certificate that tells to the world that we have studied some facts from a text book, but the actual thing is that the knowledge and learning which we gain from our education institution should bring a positive change in our thinking and attitude thus, playing a pivotal role in developing a wholesome personality. It is a harsh reality that we have fewer intellectuals and more money minded individuals.

To regain leadership qualities and intellectual stimulation it is essential that our youth must understand the real purpose of education. The most important aspect of education is to develop realization in an individual to know about the purpose of his existence, truth, reality and wisdom. Learning is as natural as breathing, so the aim of Education should be to develop Self initiated learning in young people which boost up their creativity and imaginative thinking and enhances their quest for continual learning and knowledge.

Imam ghazali says, "knowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil; by learning the potential becomes actual." 

To make young people innovative thinkers, teachers who are also mentors; need to reform the mind of young individual by being optimistic, passionate and visionary. Vigorous and energetic teachers motivate their students to work with passion and enthusiasm and engage them in real-life learning activities.

As Khalil Gibran says about an inspiring teacher, “The teacher who is indeed wise, does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”

To lead an inspiring life, teachers have to rethink about educational beliefs. Committed and enthusiastic teachers should think about the aim of education and enhance their own teaching practices and try to bring about a positive change in students’ lives who could then contribute to bring a change at societal level. 

An enthusiastic student appreciated the efforts of his mentors who played an eminent part in building up his successful career.  He says, ‘My experiences make me feel that life changes if you have a mentor who is enthusiastic, understand you well and encourage you to face the challenges of life with persistence  and strength of mind.  I still remember my mentor words that life is not determined by the grades. Secondly, possibilities are infinite we have to be ambitious and eager to find a way to accomplish them’.

Consumer driven society and distracting mass media continues to influence the minds of our youth. The prevailing anarchy in young people indicates that they lack the spirit of empowerment, self- awareness and individual competence. To foster tolerance, moderation ethics, morality and self reliance in young individual, educational institutions have to play a pivotal role. Teachers have to become more innovative and apply modern teaching methods in classrooms which develop "thinking" students.

Education system can become more powerful if it is integrated with Islamic tarbiyah. Islamic Tarbiyah endeavor to establish a school setting for children who provide them with the learning and education necessary to effectively establish and maintain their character, norms, values, and ideals and combined with outstanding academic achievement.

Muhammad Abid Ali says in his article “Islamizing the taleem part 10, Education and perception development’’

‘‘An education system developed on the wrong assumptions and sprouting from the wrong roots will be full of misleading and hidden traps for us as Muslims. Present dilemma is we ourselves are more or less the product of this alien western education and cannot see these traps unless we go to some depth of educational processes and compare it with the requirement of education from Islamic perspective.’’

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