COVID-19 has certainly upended many things\nin our lives. One of the sectors greatly impacted by the pandemic is education.\nAs a result of the pandemic, schools were forced to shut down, and lessons took\nplace in a manner never thought of before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone\ninvolved had to adjust and adapt to the new normal that came as a result of the\npandemic. Policymakers and education administrators had to come up with new\napproaches, guidelines, policies and thinking in addressing the challenges\nbrought about by the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the ground, teachers\nhad to adjust to the reality that they have to conduct their teaching using e-learning\nplatforms. Students had to undergo lessons by not being in schools. Parents,\nmeanwhile, had to ensure that their children do not miss the virtual classes,\nwhile at the same time provide the necessary facilities to enable their\nchildren to be online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All\nthese are but a few of the challenges of the new normal for education. No doubt\nthere have been many complaints and criticisms regarding the ways in which the\nissues are being addressed. To be fair however, there have been no previous\nexperience to fall back on in addressing the situation leading to a lot of\ntrial-and-error approaches that may not be to everyone\u2019s cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nonetheless,\nas we are entering the second year of the pandemic, and with the arrival of\nCOVID-19 vaccines, it is hoped that things will improve considerably. The fact\nof the matter is we have to learn to live with the virus, and as such, this\nrequires a lot of adjustments in our lives including the way in which lessons\nare conducted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
School\nchildren are scheduled to return to schools as per the announcement made by the\nMinistry of Education. However, the new normal with all the SOPs are there to\nstay for the foreseeable future. Having said that, it is pertinent for teachers\nand policymakers to be aware that, while the new normal is here to stay, there\nare certain aspects in education that needs to be inculcated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One\nsuch aspect is the concept of suhbah <\/em>in\neducation. This concept, which can be traced back to al-Ghazzali, in its\nsimplest meaning can be defined as \u201cfriendship\u201d which is related to the\ninteraction of members of societies. From history, we note that Prophet\nMuhammad SAW was an example in using the approach of suhbah <\/em>to guide and educate his companions. By being close to the\nteacher, in this instance the Prophet himself, his companions were able to\nlearn many aspects of Islam either by way of what the Prophet said or\npracticed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nare several verses in the Quran that stress on the need to be in close company\nof people who can bring us toward good and distancing us from evil. One such\nverse is verse 15 of Surah Luqman, translated thus: \u201cBut if they pressure you\nto associate with Me what you have no knowledge of, do not obey them. Still\nkeep their company in this world courteously, and follow the way of those who\nturn to Me in devotion. Then to Me you will all return, and then I will inform you\nof what you used to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When\napplied in education, suhbah <\/em>actually\nhighlights the need for a strong relationship between teachers and students.\nSuch a strong relationship could not only make learning more effective, but\nwould shape and mould students with the right character and attributes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nchallenge during the pandemic is that interaction between teachers and students\nhave been limited. Classroom interactions are replaced by virtual interaction\nprimarily in the form of online classes. Even when online classes take place,\ninteraction is comparatively minimal to that of an actual face-to-face teaching\nand learning process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the context of\ne-learning, lessons can also take place offline when teachers e-mail tasks in\nthe form of assignments or exercises for students to complete. This form of\noffline e-learning has an even minimal interaction compared to virtual classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In these circumstances,\nit would be difficult for teachers to gauge their students\u2019 understanding as\nwell as know their problems and difficulties if teachers do not form a good\nbond with their students. The concept of suhbah\n<\/em>in essence encourages teachers to get to know their students better in\norder to forge a close relationship which will form a two-way trust between\nteachers and students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This bond is especially\ncritical during this challenging time of the pandemic. If there is no trust\nestablished between teachers and students, it would be difficult for teachers\nto identify any problem or difficulty that students are facing. Some students\nmay not open up easily, and with the decreasing amount of contact hours between\nteachers and students due to e-learning, the problem can be more serious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The basis of suhbah <\/em>is empathy, compassion and\nconcern that teachers have for their students. Education is not merely the\nprocess of disseminating knowledge. What is equally, if not more, pertinent is\nthat education is also a process of personal development for students. This will\nnot only make them people of knowledge, but also people of good character and\nvirtue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a strong bond based on\nsuhbah <\/em>is established between\nteachers and students, the latter aim can be achieved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" COVID-19 has certainly upended many things in our lives. One of the sectors greatly impacted by the pandemic is education. As a result of the pandemic, schools were forced to shut down, and lessons took place in a manner never thought of before. Everyone involved had to adjust and adapt to the new normal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-straits-times","category-139","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}