The affecting agents in education
The three age phases
The first phase ( 1-7 years)
The Affecting Agents in Education
There are three elements that can have a major impact on forming and building
the baby’s personality. However the effect of these elements doesn’t mean that
he was chosen: if we suppose that a child was influenced by a certain entourage
and strayed away from the right path, that doesn’t mean that he was obliged to
choose the other road but the circumstances surrounding him helped him to make
the wrong choices.
Since the three conditions are important, we as parents must pay attention to
them as we are the responsible ones in the first place for supervising and
reforming our children’s entourage, as well as educating them.
The three surroundings are:
1- The Parents
In the eyes of a child, the parents are the prefect example and the first idol
he looks up at. Therefore, a child sees his parents’ actions as the right thing
to do and the model standard. In this case, parents are responsible towards
their child from many aspects:
A- Their Agreement and Disagreement:
Just as a child opens his eyes to life in a tensed and distressed surrounding,
especially when his parents fight in front of him, their wrong behavior renders
the child’s disturbed troubled and tensed all the times.
B- Never Show Bad Habits:
A child will carry with him these habits since he sees them perfect and flawless
and if he was accustomed to follow them at a young age imitating his parents,
then it will be difficult to change that status quo even if he discovers their
ugliness. The responsibility lies here on the shoulders of the parents,
especially if these habits were legally forbidden according to the rule of the
honorable speech of The Most Honorable Messenger (Allah’s prayers and peace upon
Him and His Household):
“…Never enact a heresy Sunna: if a slave enacts a bad Sunna, he will carry
its burden and the burden of the one who applies it.”
2- The School
The school is the second environment that a child receives his first lessons
from, so the parents’ choice for the appropriate school has a major role in
preserving the child’s religious welfare, as he will be brought up on the good
principles that parents wants his child to carry as he grows.
A good school that builds children upon the Islamic principles is the good
foundation that versions have referred to. In the will of the Prophet (Allah’s
prayers and peace upon Him and His Household) to Ali (p.b.u.h): “O, Ali! A
child’s right over his father is to choose for him a good name, discipline him
properly and put him in a good place.”
3- Friends
Parents must be really careful about the friends’ bad influence and to the way
their child must choose them. A friend affects his friend, so versions insisted
on taking the good friend. Imam Ali (p.b.u.h): “There is nothing that leads
to goodness and safer from evil like the good company.”
On the other hand, a bad friend spoils goodness just as the rotten fruit spoils
the good one. In this aim, versions have warned from the bad company as Imam Ali
(p.b.u.h) says:
“Keeping the bad ones company gains evil, like the wind that passes by the
rotten carries the rotten with it.”