Education for Life

Let's discuss social issue and have some fun

This weekend I went on a journalism training held by Al Falah Islamic Course (FIS) owned by Zamrony and his wife Ida. Both are English teachers though one came from teaching faculty and the other from literature faculty. The training was delivered by a team of four dedicated men Daniel Stephanus, Tri Anom, Taufik and Dwika and photographed by Hari. FIS is actually an English course in Siwalan village, Sidoarjo. I thanked them and my friend Nineng for allowing me to come for the program as an observer. I know their reason to invite me is to encourage me to take over the decision in executing the program that we had planned last year.

To give you a background story how I got to know these four dedicated men was an event that I supported last year. My friend and I had wished to do a training program and we decided to do basic writing course for IMQ students. Though I couldn't attend the program because I was on work assignment in Bali for a month, the course was successfully held. The respond and the report given was very pleasing. Both the trainers and the students were happy and look forward to have more.

Responding to their wish, we tried to outline a follow-up program with the output plan was on the history of organization within Shiddiqiyyah community. As the first enthusiasm was welcomed by the chairman of the institution, the planned was hijacked by some teachers who underestimated their students' persistence in keeping the enthusiasm and passion to learn. What a shame!

If previous arrangement took only 1-2month to prepare, this time take longer considering up to now there is still no confirm date. After the approval for execution verbally given by the chairman with a note that the teachers must accompany the students in going through the course, the written document doesn't materialize till now. Because it was supposed to be under formal agreement between the two education institution. I had no authority to interfere, when the end-receiver do not have their confidence to do it. However with my position as general secretary, I can take over the program and do the training to serve the purpose. All I need to do is to ensure all necessary person especially the general leader to get his approval to do it. So the team's lesson plan and the enthusiasm of the students have no one to facilitate them. And they invited us, my friend and I - and we brought with us two of IMQ students - to see how the program was going to be held.

Teaching under the rain - such is the passion to share

And I was glad I came. I was glad to be invited to attend the program. Apart from their intention to persuade me to take over the execution plan as the first program, I found something else. I learned new training games called Resource Attack, Star Power Game (I would called it Structural Poverty) and Environmental Spider Web to do social analysis which is a new thing for me. And then a tool to do social analysis called tree of problem from the leaves to show the phenomenon, the body to show the support system and the root to show the value.

Secondly, I was reminded to my buried and forgotten wish I had long ago, a passion I always have on natural education. Not to mention the inspirational books collection in the owner's private library where we stayed for a night. I found my heaven among these people with their passion on education both the students and the teachers. I feel at home. During the break while we rest and talked, I told one of the trainer, that when I retired from organizational activity, I wanted to be a farmer. Because a farmer is about planting a seed. And education is also about planting the seed; the seed of knowledge. I want to be the hands, the feet and the mouth in which God delivered His Knowledge to mankind. And being a farmer is not an easy task. It doesn't seem to be in my blood. But there's something else about it that will teach me to work with Nature, to understand its behavior, to take wisdom from natural flow of things and to be one with the energy that move them in such a beautiful and magnificence orchestra.

My friend told me that I would be a good teacher in such environment. She said so because she knew I had done some teaching in the past as well as having my own tutorial club before I take my existing work now. However I know that I'm not that good. I have no background on formal teaching course to prepare a proper lesson plan. I have my teaching materials but I don't know how to make formal lesson plan like any school teacher should be. By God's grace, while I was there, I found a book with an article about preparing a lesson plan. So I took note on the principle method. I may need it one day.

The Universe supports

And that night, I finished up a book under titled Mestakung written by Yohanes Surya in a night reading. I have always been proud of him for bringing forth Indonesian students to compete on International Physics Olympiads. Many of the students by now had gone to top universities in US and Japan to learn Physics in their further studies. His dream is to have one of Indonesian to become a noble winner :) what a dream! I had that thought too when I was a little girl reading the life stories on Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Thomas A. Edison, and of course Alfred Nobel. Where did my thought gone?! It seems that life had taken me to different route :) By the way, Mestakung is an abbreviation of Semesta Mendukung (The Universe Support). He wrote about the physical evidence in term of Physics Law and the Law of Nature when we are working our way towards making dream come true based on his experience in preparing those students to be the winners.

As I read through the book I then found connection to the thought that came to me after I did my Friday prayer in the morning before I went for this weekend trip. All of the sudden I was reminded to my buried intention to write book that would put together science and holy scripture especially Qur'an side by side. This thought happened because in the past and I think to some extend till now, the way we learn science has been differentiated from religion as the effect of the past experience in Christian scientists. It creates secular science thus secular scientists. Unfortunately this differentiation to some extend has affected the Islamic community as well. In the other hand Qur'an has clearly stated that " Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. " [QS 3:18]

As I didn't know how to start the book, years later I knew Mizan had published science book for children that combined science information with Qur'an verses. It was done by a team of writers and editors. Had my thought been fulfilled? Yes and no. Yes, I'm glad someone had the same thought and worked their way. No, because what came to me after Friday prayer was something more. It was a combination of outer science, inner science and Qur'an verses. And I know it was such a lot of work. Because to do that, I have to do some research on outer science and then seeking inner guidance from My Lord to put the two together, add some wise thought of others great men and find the general conclusion within the Qur'an verses. This great task is in following the verse "And these examples We present to the people, but none will understand them except those of knowledge." [QS 29:43]. So it's really a holistic process in learning from His signs in the Universe that formed Nature's Law and then connect them to our mind to convert them into spiritual education for life.

but none will understand them
except those of knowledge
[QS 29: 43]

As I read through the book of Ibn 'Arabi RA, the great sufi scholar, under title Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom, he mentioned about the similarity between the outer universe called macro cosmic to the inner universe called the human self. That our hair is like trees, our blood channel is like rivers, our feet is like mountain and so on. So how will we connect the math, physics, biology, or chemistry that we learn so that we can always be in His Remembrance? That where ever we go or we face ourselves, we can be in peace because we know that before us is our Greatest Lord, Allah SWT. That whatever we are going to be either as a scientist, a farmer, a doctor, an engineer, a teacher, a secretary, an entrepreneur, a presenter, s student, an unemployed or anything we will be a grateful servant to our Lord.

Will this thought ever become a reality? Hopefully so. I have a life time to prepare it. I have about some topics that I can think of to start the research including their sub-topics, from the sky, the earth, the home, animals, plants and trees to chemistry to lights, to motion and technology and to maths.

So it is going to be a difficult work to do. But I think I just have to write a page at a time to make it real. And it is going to be my third book after the previous two finished. The first is Crossing the Border, the second is Coming Home. You may not find them in any book store, because I don't publish them for some reason. These two book were written in English. But for the third book I think I will write it in Bahasa Indonesia. I'm thinking of giving it's title The Living Science - Sains Kehidupan.


Hey, what about the school I thought about? Hmm.. I have to work hard to have it.
Let's see if the Universe support us.
Let's see if I can make it real and finish it before I'm dead.


Bismillahi tawakkaltu alalloh laa hawla walaa quwwata illa billah