My Somali school curriculum

[Internet Nomad]

What would the typical school day look like if it were designed for a student in Somalia? Would you favour the Scandinavian or East Asian educational models? Would you emphasise athletics heavily, similar to the American school system?

Well, I think it's a combination of everything with a unique twist.

I think that every student should be required to serve in the military for two years before they graduate from high school. However, you would need to maintain your students' physical fitness throughout their time in school, so P.E. classes would look like the video below.

When it comes to things like examinations and homework, I'd adopt a Scandi perspective. It appears to be the method that produces the finest outcomes and works the best for kids' mental health.

I respect how disciplined Asian schools are. Any school, regardless of its curriculum, would fail if there was no discipline. The only issue with Asian schools is their strict discipline policies, which don't take into account the private lives or mental wellness of their kids. Complete 180 degrees to the scandi model. Look at these Japanese students as they tidy up their classroom.

I would embrace the method of Islamic education that was popular throughout the Islamic Golden Age. Other subjects would be taught alongside religious studies.Its only a recent phenomena that science and religion run counter to one another.

Education would begin at a young age with study of Arabic and the Quran, either at home or in a primary school, which was often attached to a mosque.[Some students would then proceed to training in tafsir(Quranic exegesis) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which was seen as particularly important. Education focused on memorization, but also trained the more advanced students to participate as readers and writers in the tradition of commentary on the studied texts. It also involved a process of socialization of aspiring scholars, who came from virtually all social backgrounds, into the ranks of the ulema.

For the first few centuries of Islam, educational settings were entirely informal, but beginning in the 11th and 12th centuries, the ruling elites began to establish institutions of higher religious learning known as madrasas in an effort to secure support and cooperation of the ulema.Madrasas soon multiplied throughout the Islamic world, which helped to spread Islamic learning beyond urban centers and to unite diverse Islamic communities in a shared cultural project. Nonetheless, instruction remained focused on individual relationships between students and their teacher. The formal attestation of educational attainment, ijaza, was granted by a particular scholar rather than the institution, and it placed its holder within a genealogy of scholars, which was the only recognized hierarchy in the educational system. While formal studies in madrasas were open only to men, women of prominent urban families were commonly educated in private settings and many of them received and later issued ijazasin hadith studies, calligraphy and poetry recitation. Working women learned religious texts and practical skills primarily from each other, though they also received some instruction together with men in mosques and private homes.

Madrasas were devoted principally to study of law, but they also offered other subjects such as theology, medicine, and mathematics. The madrasa complex usually consisted of a mosque, boarding house, and a library. It was maintained by a waqf (charitable endowment), which paid salaries of professors, stipends of students, and defrayed the costs of construction and maintenance. The madrasa was unlike a modern college in that it lacked a standardized curriculum or institutionalized system of certification.

Muslims distinguished disciplines inherited from pre-Islamic civilizations, such as philosophy and medicine, which they called "sciences of the ancients" or "rational sciences", from Islamic religious sciences. Sciences of the former type flourished for several centuries, and their transmission formed part of the educational framework in classical and medieval Islam. In some cases, they were supported by institutions such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, but more often they were transmitted informally from teacher to student.

 

[Internet Nomad]

@Idrus @Somali Ugaas how would the local somali dictators model the educational system of a future somalia.

 

[notinuse.]

East asian school systems are literally cursed, I'll rather take Dutch or German school system over it any day. Despite East asian children studying for almost 11 hours a day since middle school wasting their childhood years away, neither China, Japan or korea are first on the rank of best education system in the world.

 

[Internet Nomad]

East asian school systems are literally cursed, I'll rather take Dutch or German school system over it any day. Despite East asian children studying for almost 11 hours a day since middle school wasting their childhood years away, neither China, Japan or korea are first on the rank of best education system in the world.

Exactly they seem to care more about producing robots than the students mental health. Thats why i opt for a mixed system. Give the students some freedom and discipline.

 

[Khaem]

I remember seeing that video and thinking that this should be the standard.
I believe that Somalia should have a "Tiger school" model of Asia which made their vast illiterate population into the smartest people in the world with world class manufacturing and high tech companies that are global. Our goal is a developed Somalia and that can only happen if we create high quality manufactured goods.

You see, the biggest problem in lots of countries, especially in Africa, is that we run our economies the same way it did in the colonial times. We simply get foreigners to extract recourses with locals doing the poor manual labour and foreign workers filling up the upper roles which is unsustainable. By only exporting raw materials we do not gain much, the only way for a economy to mature and grow is if it is able to take its raw materials and turn it into manufactured goods.
An example is the difference between the Congo and Japan.
The Congo only exports raw materials such as metals however Japan uses its materials to create World class cars that it exports and makes a thousand-fold of what the Congo makes. This is because by manufacturing the goods you can add value to it.


I went off topic there but we should also add mandatory maths and Somali literature. The literature and language part of the education system needs to have some work done to it though since we don't have many books translated into our language. So the first course of action would be to higher people to translate as many books into the Somali language which will open our people to more knowledge.
This is was the Arabs did during the Islamic golden age and is why Arabs have such a great literary tradition. The only reason we have classical works such as the Illiad is because during the Islamic golden age, the Muslims would take works from China, india and the west and translate them into Arabic. So when Europe lost these old works, they managed to recover these Greek and roman books from their Arabic translations.

Another thing would be to use school as a method of pushing ideas onto kids that would unite the country more. By putting them through an education system of community activities such as cleaning, gym, poetry and quran. It would build a sense of Somali unity in the younger generation who would eventually take over and so we could get rid of Qabilism with that.

Poetry should be a must aswell, it is a big part of somali culture and one of the first things I would do is write down all our oral history and poetry so it could be passed down and spread. Poetry will build a sense of pride in somalinimo as it is one of the foundations of our culture

 

[Garaaddada]

I will have a mix of this two systems. In my opinion everyone must serve 2 years in the military after their high school graduation not any time before. A school with no exams will never know the strength and weaknesses of their students. The school should be aware of what the students need in order to help them effectively. So I would introduce a unit testing method where we will have a 4 unit sections every semester in every subject and you must get an overall average of 75 to advance to the next grade.This will give students to improve and make changes as they do this unit exams. Plus i will introduce CS and business classes early in kids life like maybe in their middle school.

 

[notinuse.]

Exactly they seem to care more about producing robots than the students mental health. Thats why i opt for a mixed system. Give the students some freedom and discipline.

I don't know about scandanavia, but in the Netherlands young children actually do clean classroom similar to Japan. Our teacher will choose two students to form a pair and make each pair clean the classroom and the stairs after all the lessons are over for about week until it's the next pairs turn.

 

[Khaem]

I will have a mix of this two systems. In my opinion everyone must serve 2 years in the military after their high school graduation not any time before. A school with no exams will never know the strength and weaknesses of their students. The school should be aware of what the students need in order to help them effectively. So I would introduce a unit testing method where we will have a 4 unit sections every semester in every subject and you must get an overall average of 75 to advance to the next grade.This will give students to improve and make changes as they do this unit exams. Plus i will introduce CS and business classes early in kids life like maybe in their middle school.

Yes I agree.
We should have some compute science especially since the world is moving online and learning how to program would give Somalis an edge all over the world. It would also benefit our industry at home by allowing Somali Companies to get ahead of everyone in terms of using AI

 

[iskufilann]

I will have a mix of this two systems. In my opinion everyone must serve 2 years in the military after their high school graduation not any time before. A school with no exams will never know the strength and weaknesses of their students. The school should be aware of what the students need in order to help them effectively. So I would introduce a unit testing method where we will have a 4 unit sections every semester in every subject and you must get an overall average of 75 to advance to the next grade.This will give students to improve and make changes as they do this unit exams. Plus i will introduce CS and business classes early in kids life like maybe in their middle school.

Would you make CS and business studies a mandatory subject, which all students have to particpate in?

 

[Internet Nomad]

School lunches would be free for every student. However no processed foods would be available. Natural foods grown from the schools garden.

 

[Khaem]

School lunches would be free for every student. However no processed foods would be available. Natural foods grown from the schools garden.

Exactly what I was thinking.
I would get health experts to create a breakfast and lunch meal that can fulfil a child's nutrition requirements for the day so that none will be deficient which would do wonders for the population.

 

[iskufilann]

East asian school systems are literally cursed, I'll rather take Dutch or German school system over it any day. Despite East asian children studying for almost 11 hours a day since middle school wasting their childhood years away, neither China, Japan or korea are first on the rank of best education system in the world.

I wouldn't mind introducing East Asian School Systems. These children turn out to be genius but at the same time, their mental health becomes drained. Probably as to why suicide rates are high over there.

 

[Somali Saayid]

@Idrus @Somali Ugaas how would the local somali dictators model the educational system of a future somalia.

Obviously I'd start of first with the creation of a national curriculum with the basic subjects and replace English classes with Somali and literature.
If I were Fuher of Somalia the day in a school would look this.

Early Hours; 7:50 8:30
Students enter the school and head to their class rooms putting away their stuff and changing into fitness uniforms and make their way to a large center courtyard, during this period they may socialize and by the end of it the majority of students will have arrived.

Morning Fitness and Announcements
8:30
The Head fitness instructor at the school will address the students and they will do a series of exercises and extra cardio preparing them physically for *Point One. and then the Headmaster of the school addresses them and updates them on the school and events. After this they sing the national anthem and salute the flag walking back to their class rooms. They then change and shower and get back into academic uniform.

First Period of School
This is up to the school to switch up and place but
Core Studies
Af Soomali
Literature and Writing
Math
Science
History
Technology
(Additional Language Classes, only one is mandatory)

This would head all the way up to Salat Dhur and then the students would eat either what they brought or the schools food.

Second Period (Free Study + Additional Class )
Any other classes they didn't do during the first periods. This would also include a time during Friday's for community service to build a sense of patriotism in the students.

This would be up to primary, I'd also open trade schools for students to learn specific crafts and the details of other jobs preparing them better for the future.

 

[Somali Saayid]

School lunches would be free for every student. However no processed foods would be available. Natural foods grown from the schools garden.

In arid places like GM or PL I don't think that would be sustainable.

 

[Khaem]

I wouldn't mind introducing East Asian School Systems. These children turn out to be genius but at the same time, their mental health becomes drained. Probably as to why suicide rates are high over there.

The overall society there is soul crushing.
Also I don't see madax adeg somalis comforming like asians, they would probably start a revolution if you told them to go school 11 hours a day

 

[Somali Saayid]

@Idrus @Somali Ugaas how would the local somali dictators model the educational system of a future somalia.

Someone recognized me less goo, @Idrus has been stealing all the spotlight as of late.

 

[iskufilann]

The overall society there is soul crushing.
Also I don't see madax adeg somalis comforming like asians, they would probably start a revolution if you told them to go school 11 hours a day

They actually would. The revolution would be a disaster that it will be remembered a decade later.

 

[Khaem]

In arid places like GM or PL I don't think that would be sustainable.

I mean a functioning serious country would invest in its supply chain.
Japan became such an manufacturing powerhouse because they invested and created the best supply chain in the world making it simple to get all the recourses and goods all across the country at cheap prices.

Somalia should invest in rail and make sure everyone gets enough

 

[Garaaddada]

Would you make CS and business studies a mandatory subject, which all students have to particpate in?

Yes I would make them mandatory. The world is in/will move more into a digital age. The Somali nation will need this skills in order to part of the revolution changes the world is going through. We must capitalize in it and come up with our own innovations. Plus you will need a business discipline to do all this.

 

[Somali Saayid]

They actually would. The revolution would be a disaster that it will be remembered a decade later.

They'd burn up the school building.

I mean a functioning serious country would invest in its supply chain.
Japan became such an manufacturing powerhouse because they invested and created the best supply chain in the world making it simple to get all the recourses and goods all across the country at cheap prices.

Somalia should invest in rail and make sure everyone gets enough

Investing in railroad transportation would make jobs and a steady and fast form of transport.