Some Thoughts from Sr. Reda, Computer Teacher & Head of the Arabic, Qur'an, and Islamic Studies Dept.

Assalamu  alaikum,
I hope this message finds you all in the best of health and safety and I pray that Allah brings us all through this difficult time in the best state in'sha'Allah.
The situation was very hard at the beginning, especially for us as teachers when the authorities made the decision for a statewide school closure. However, it was only through the amazing, hard work and effort of our administration that we as teachers were able to handle and manage this huge change. Not only did our wonderful administrative staff help prepare for this, they managed to do so in a very short time. They equipped any teacher and any family with computers if needed to allow everyone to have the proper access to our new learning environment.

It goes without saying how challenging these times are for all of us; I personally have never experienced anything similar to this situation in my entire 24 years of teaching. Of course, being able to have the students physically with us as teachers facilitates much of our ability to monitor their work. So this is something challenging and not very easy to do during this quarantine. 

In general, our expectations of the students at this time are different too. There is a lot to consider in terms of the challenges for them at home, not only due to how new this system is to them but also because many of our students are facing very, very sad situations with their families. Some of our families have lost beloved family members to this virus. Many face illness and financial instability in their homes. Most of us are dealing with having multiple family members in the house at once, adding another stressor.

Still there are many positive aspects of the current situation. This period of teaching remotely has  given us the ability to navigate lots of difficulties. It will also help us to face challenges in the future, Alhamdullilah. 

Remote teaching also benefits our students. They are learning how to handle  new responsibilities. I can imagine how difficult it is at home when there are multiple children; it is very hard for the parents to be able to give them all the attention they need at once, when they’re all at different levels. Because of this, the students will learn to depend on themselves  more than before and this will teach them to handle responsibility. 

I thank Allah for everything, good and bad, and I want to thank our wonderful administration for their commendable management and  very helpful guidance throughout this time.

Best Regards,

Sr. Reda Eid

Computer Science Teacher 

Head of Arabic,Islamic& Qur'an Department