Things I’ve Learned as a Mom to find the Best Quran Teacher
My biggest fear is for my children to grow up without knowing Quran.
What kind of Muslim parent would I be if I didn’t make my best effort to ensure my children learn Quran properly? The thought makes me sad. The journey of teaching them hasn’t been easy. But I know it’s important they learn while they’re young, so they make sure to do their salat/namaz.
Growing up in a Muslim household, I learned how to read the Quran as a child. But I can’t teach my children.
It’s too difficult for me to teach them. Plus, there is a possibility I might be teaching them wrong. After all, it’s been many years since I learned how to read Quran.
I have tried sending my children to afterschool classes at our local Masjid (madressa), but it seems they didn’t learn very much. There are too many children in the class for their teacher to give them more than 5 minutes of time in the long hours they are there.
I understand the strain on our local Quran teachers. It’s also harder to find female Quran teachers, so while it isn’t working for my children, I don’t blame the teachers.
My journey of looking for a teacher for my children to learn the Quran online with tajweed hasn’t been that simple. Fortunately, I have found a place I am happy with, but it has taken me some time.
This is what I’ve learned. It’s based on my personal experience, which may save you a lot of time, money, and headaches.
1.Find an Experienced Teacher
In the local madressa, where my children would go five days a week, I saw a difference in how my sons’ progressed compared to my daughter. My sons were taught by a Hafiz of the Quran. He had spent many years in madressa, then taught for many years.
A wonderful sister in the community taught my daughter, but she had not learned how to teach, nor did she have much experience. She had my daughter repeat a few letters daily and got upset when she didn’t remember them. Even when she started remembering, she made very slow progress connecting letters.
I felt like a failure as a mom. That maybe I wasn’t doing things right, even though she would sit and “practice” at home. I only later realized it was the way the class was. There was much chatter in the girls class. Things weren’t organized. My daughter was often confused about whether she was saying it right or not.
My point here is that a qualified teacher keeps things organized and controls the class.
Experienced teachers can teach according to how a child learns. Also, they interact with them based on their personality type (i.e., as soon my daughter feels someone is upset with her, she shuts down). I don’t want to make excuses for my daughter, but it does make a difference if a teacher can understand where she’s coming from. Experience helps this process.
There’s no price to put on how beneficial an experienced teacher is to a child’s progression.
2. Read Reviews
I cannot stress this point enough – read reviews!
Finding a Quran teacher online isn’t easy because there are many options! Many do it on the side, but there are established online platforms just for Quran and Islamic Studies teachers. I preferred going with an established organization because I can read reviews.
I like transparency. I trust a business when I see other customers going there and like to read the good and bad, it gives me an idea what to expect. I was surprised to find almost all online Quran schools don’t have any reviews posted! They don’t publish them publicly, which made me weary.
The one I picked was easy to find reviews for and read other parents like me finding success. I like that it was professional (not all are, but the one I use is, Alhamdulilah). I like their “customer support.” Also, the extra activities they do, especially in Ramadan, which my children are excited to join. It feels like a community. Whatever you choose, a single person or an organization, just look at the reviews!
Reviews are an excellent way to save you from wasting time booking classes and people not showing up or wasting money for people that don’t even know what books to use to teach Quran. I wonder if some even know tajweed (for me to have my kids learn Quran with tajweed is super important to me!).
3.Make Sure the Teacher Has Time
Lastly, make sure the person you choose for your children to learn Quran online with tajweed has time.
It sounds like an obvious thing to say, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes you can book a teacher, and they rush the student through the lesson and say, “Okay, now just practice.” But they don’t take the time to repeat it for them or explain why they’re saying it a certain way. Or why they’re stopping.
Nor do they stop them and correct their pronunciation (saying “raa” correctly was hard for one of my kids). When a child feels rushed, and their teacher is trying to get through one of your kids after the other, it’s hard for children to connect with Quran. It just becomes a thing they must do.
When I finally found the company I use, not only did my children get time with their teacher, but they got the same teacher every time (as long as I had my classes booked).
My children have built a relationship with their teacher to the point that they even want to visit them!
Also, because of this relationship, my kids try to make sure they know their lesson so their teacher won’t be disappointed. For me, that makes a difference. I feel like my children are learning (and like I’m a good mom now, lol).
So, to summarize, finding a teacher for your children to learn Quran online with Tajweed doesn’t have to be complicated.
Consider the three tips I listed:
-an experienced teacher
-a teacher with time
-always read reviews.
The extra effort in ensuring you can check all three boxes on these things really makes learning Quran online a more straightforward process. Well, at least it did for my family and me!
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