Teacher's Pet

"Well, good, he's the teacher's pet!"

Both hubby and I said in unison, "Uh oh."
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H told us yesterday that the Sheikh announced to the class that he loves H for the sake of Allah because he's good.

"You can bring them on Sunday because they're good and quiet," said the sheikh to hubby, when we decided only to send them to the program Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and drop the Sunday class. So we did. We kept sending them to the Sunday class.

From what the kids have been telling us, it seems that the other kids kept talking to each other during class, thus not paying attention.

I was chatting with a friend whose nephew also attends the program at the masjid with my kids.

When they asked him what he learned, he allegedly said,

"Only F's kids learn anything," F, being my husband's name. The focus of the story was her nephew calling my husband by his first name, but the statement he made took me by surprise.

Hearing it from my kids is one thing, but hearing other people's testimony that attests to the same facts really affirms those facts.

The kids come home spouting off Arabic words they learned from the classes, and despite having to repeatedly write alif ba ta, which they are way past knowing, they do seem to learn something else that I wasn't able to teach them : the Arabic language.

One time, S and H came home and told us,

"The Sheikh said that H is good and the best student, and S too."

I wondered how N felt to be left out, but I didn't ask her. I think I know why she wasn't mentioned.

Then yesterday, they told us that the Sheikh exclaimed,

"I love him," referring to H, and the kids laugh, and the sheikh said again,

"I love him for the sake of Allah, because he's a good student."

Then came that statement that elicited "Uh oh," from both hubby and me; "Well, good, he's a teacher's pet."

"That's the public school environment," said hubby.

We seem to be discovering more and more negative aspects or effects of public school on kids. It's mostly the culture of the public school that concerns us; kids not respecting their teachers, kids experiencing unnecessary pressure from the other kids, the akhlaq of the kids themselves, the hidden nuances of girl-boy relationships, yes, even in preschool, bullying, and that's probably not even exhaustive of the list.

It's a shame that such a technique such as pointing out good behavior doesn't elicit more good behavior from onlookers, as it should. I'm sure the sheikh said that just so that the other kids would be encouraged to pay more attention, or maybe he's not doing it in the correct way, allahu aalim, but I worry for H.

When you guys go out of the house always read your three Quls, okay?" I reminded them.

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Volume 7, Book 71, Number 636:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "The effect of an evil eye is a fact." And he prohibited tattooing

67: Muhsin Khan: And he said: "O my sons! Do not enter by one gate, but enter by different gates, and I cannot avail you against Allah at all. Verily! The decision rests only with Allah. In him, I put my trust and let all those that trust, put their trust in Him."