Alhamdulilah, All Praises and Thanks Belong to Allah, Al-Huda School students undertook their first day of online classes via Zoom, bright and early today, Monday, March 23 at 7:40 a.m. following their morning adhkaar.
How is THAT for 21st-century scholarship? Students as young as 5 years old are learning to connect digitally with their classmates and teachers under parental supervision to view the shared lesson, speak on the microphone, utilize the “raise hand” feature for questions, communicate through written dialogue as well as marking tangible annotations on the screen when prompted.
Many schools across the country, from Maine to California, have shut down operations due to the Coronavirus pandemic. While e-learning is common at the university level, it is much less common at the grade-school level. In an unprecedented act of forward-thinking, Al-Huda School administrators and teachers transformed the entire in-class curriculum into interactive, online learning in less than a week, wa lillahil hamd (and Praise and Thanks to Allah alone).
Principal Haroon Baqai announced in an email Sunday evening that teachers, staff, and administrators are “super excited and ready for the big day”. Brother Haroon included guidelines for the students to abide by on camera such as modest dress, upholding a neat, clean appearance, and using high-quality headphones to maintain a professional learning setting.
Will the remaining few months of the 2020 school year remain virtual? Time will tell, in shaa Allah - if Allah wills.
At Al-Huda, the journey of cultivating students who will be spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually well-rounded individuals ready to unravel the challenges of the world has only just begun. The students apprehend that Corona can not cancel their caravan to Jannah!
