Ustad Rasool

Ustad Rasool

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Ustad Rasool, A Dynamic Combination of Knowledge and Experience

Ever wondered why you learn best when a material is presented through charts, diagrams and other visual materials, yet you will have a hard time figuring out the same material if it is presented through a textbook, report or any other form of writing.

Well, PARSA’s Special Education Program and Psychosocial Program are the answer to any questions that must have raised after reading the above two statements. We caught Abdul Rasool, a PARSA Psychosocial Trainer, who specializes in working with students with special needs. Rasool’s rich background both in teaching and Islamic studies and friendly and composed demeanor makes him the best and equal to no one in his craft.

So the first question I asked Rasool was “What is the difference between a regular teacher and a psychosocial trainer?” and this was his response:

“Regular teachers use regular schoolbooks or textbooks and teach reading, writing and other materials. However, our job is different. The first thing we do is assess at what psychological stage or frame of mind the students referred to us are. Then, we prepare a separate curriculum for them and let our teachers use the very curriculum and specific methods to teach them. Until we do not consider the individual capabilities, talents and calibers of the students, it is not advisable to start teaching them.”

According to Rasool, the first thing they did with the current set of students introduced to them was is to assess the students’ capabilities and Intelligence Quotient (IQ). After the test results were checked, they realized that the students were slow-learners and needed more time to learn things. For example, they needed 2.5 hours to learn things taught in regular 45-minute sessions at average schools.

Rasool furthered by saying:

“With the current set of students, we have to recognize the needs separately. In our psychosocial program, we received a student who was in 6th grade, yet he couldn’t write his name. We had to work separately with him. The rule in special education program is that one teacher should work with one student at a given time. S/He can be assigned to teach up to no more than six students separately. The very student who couldn’t write his name is now able to write some terms and has learned the basics after we started working with him over a month and half ago. That is a great achievement considering the novelty of the program to both trainers and students.”

The other element that factors in very effectively in working with these kids is the method. The PARSA Psychosocial Team uses different helpful methodologies. According to Rasool, every lesson has to have a special method. Some lessons are best taught when the students do them practically while others require that the designated or assigned trainers work with the student separately. Similarly, teaching some lessons require that the students work in groups while others require that the students are taken on a field trip or taught verbally (lectured) in a group. As a result, there is not one magical method that we can use to teach all the lessons, nor is there an ace hidden in our sleeves.”

The methods and teaching styles have to embrace the learning styles, which is a critical angel of psychosocial programs. Learning styles refer to the variations in one’s ability to accumulate as well as assimilate information. Basically, one’s learning style is the method that best allows you to gather and use knowledge in a specific manner. Most experts agree that there are three basic learning styles. Each individual may possess a single style or could possess a combination of different learning styles. In most cases, the characteristics of a learning style can even be observed at a relatively young age. Rasool named the three learning styles and defined them as following:

Visual Learners:

They are individuals who learn through what they are able to see with their own eyes. Visual learners have a tendency to describe everything that they see in terms of appearances. These learners love visual aids such as photos, diagrams, maps and graphs. Visual learners frequently are good writers and will commonly perform quite well on written assignments.

Auditory Learners:

They tend to absorb information in a more efficient manner through sounds, music, discussions, teachings, etc. Auditory or verbal learners are those who prefer to hear materials as they are spoken, such as in a lecture format.

Kinesthetic Learners:

Kinesthetic learners are tactile learning. This means that they learn best through moving, doing, acting out and touching. Projects that are hands-on in nature are best for kinesthetic learners. Kinesthetic learners tend to become frustrated when they must sit for long periods of time. They enjoy conducting experiments, exploring and performing tasks.

Rasool furthered that the even square of psychosocial learning can never be complete if the students’ multiple intelligences are overlooked, so I asked him to elaborate further. “Like the sizes and shapes of our heads, our intellectual potential differs, too.” Said Rasool smilingly and added that while one person could be identified with one of the eight intelligences, it did not necessarily mean that his/her mind would not have a flavor of the rest of 7 intelligences. These intelligences exhibit talents, personality traits and abilities, too. Then, he walked me through Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory, which is penned down separately below:

1. Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence:



Individuals with such minds love to listen and learn best while writing things. Their strengths are words, language and writing. People who are strong in linguistic-verbal intelligence are able to use words well, both when writing and speaking. These individuals are good at memorizing, writing stories, memorizing information, reading, debating and giving persuasive speeches, able to explain things well and often use humor when telling stories. They can make good teachers, journalists, lawyers and teachers.


2. Logical - Mathematical Intelligence:

Individuals with such minds analyze problems and mathematical operations. They can learn difficult things and solve complicated mathematical problems. These individuals tend to think conceptually about numbers, relationships and patterns. They are good at reasoning, recognizing patterns and logically analyze problems. They enjoy thinking about abstract ideas, conducting scientific experiments. They can make good scientists, mathematicians, computer programmers, engineers and accountants.

3. Visual-Spatial Intelligence:



Individuals with such minds have good visual and spatial judgment, which means that they are good at visualizing things. These individuals are often good with directions as well as maps, charts, videos and pictures. They are good at reading and writing, recognizing patterns, putting puzzles together, interpreting pictures, graphs and charts, drawing, painting and visual arts. They can make good architects, artists and engineers.
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Individuals with such minds are good learners when they physically move. In other words, they are good at body movement. They have excellent hand-eye coordination (physical coordination) and dexterity. They are good at creating things with their hands, sports, dancing and remembering by doing things, rather than hearing or seeing them. They make good builders, sculptors, athletes and dancers.

5. Actor Musical Intelligence:

Individuals with such minds tend to be very good with rhythm and music. They find rhyme in words and learn them. It may take them many times to remember, for example, the alphabets if taught regularly, but may learn it once if it is read to them in a rhythm with a musical instrument. They think in patterns, rhythms and sounds. They have a strong appreciation for music and are often good at musical composition and performance. They like singing and playing musical instruments. Hence, they are good at remembering songs and melodies, recognizing musical patterns and tones easily and have a rich understanding of musical structure, rhythm and notes. They make good musicians, composers, singers, music teachers and conductors.

6. Interpersonal Intelligence:

Individuals with such minds have a good understanding and relating to other people. The problem is that they cannot work by themselves and have to be in groups. As a result, they do well while interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at assessing the emotions, motivations, desires and intentions of those around them. They are good at communicating verbally, nonverbal communication, seeing situations from different perspectives, creating positive relationships with others and resolving conflict in groups. They make good psychologists, philosophers, counselors, sales persons and politicians.

7. Intrapersonal Intelligence:



Individuals with such minds have strong introspection, self-reflection and intrapersonal skills. They are good at being aware of their own emotional states, feelings and motivations. They tend to enjoy self-reflection and analysis, including day-dreaming, exploring relationships with others and assessing their personal strengths. They are good at analyzing theories and ideas and their strengths and weaknesses, possessing excellent self-awareness and understanding the basis for their own motivations and feelings.

They would like to learn things on their own and avoid being or working in in groups. There can be several reasons for that. Some of these reasons can be because their families are too strict, so they strongly advise against companionship and staying in contact with people other than their family members; they may have bad experiences in making friends. Or, it could be other social and cultural reasons for him or her to be a social outcast. For example, he or she may be a Dari speaker and the individual he or she likes to befriend with may not speak Dari, at all. Another reason can be social status. For example, the person he or she wants to befriend with may be rich while he or she may be poor or feels so. Last but not the least, the individual with such mind may be hypersensitive to his or her personal values. Until the bubble he or she lives in is broken, that individual should be taught individually.


8. Naturalistic Intelligence:

Individuals with such minds find patterns and relationships to nature. They are more in tune with nature and are often interested in nurturing, exploring the environment and learning about other species. These individuals are said to be highly aware of even subtle changes to their environments. While they are interested in subjects such as botany, biology and zoology, they don’t enjoy learning unfamiliar topics that have no connection to nature. They are good at categorizing and cataloging information easily, camping, gardening, hiking and exploring the outdoors. They can make great biologists, conservationists and gardeners.

Rasool further threw light on the merging of Islam and psychology on the issue of “genes” in order to have good kids. Islam and psychology require that a couple should test their blood before getting married in order to avoid any complications that are arisen while giving birth. Islam requires that both boys and girls should look in one another for marriage.


Column A



Qualities & Traits in Girls That Boys Should Look for :

Economy: Can the couple be economically fit? If one is well off while the other is poor, will that not create any problems in the future?



Beauty: Does the boy find the girl attractive or beautiful? Marriage is a sacred bonding. Marriage should make a boy avoid adultery and fornication. If a boy does not find the girl attractive, he may go astray and commit the aforementioned sins.



Genealogy and Parentage: What kind of family is the girl from? Who and how is her father and mother? Where do they live? How is her moral behavior? How well is she connected with her relatives, peers and friends?



Religion: Is she religious? How well does she know her religion? In the Afghan society, men are required to work outside home, so women are the first teachers, mentors and leaders the children have. If they are not religious, they cannot present religiously sound kids to the society.


Column B


Qualities and Traits in Boys That Girls Should Look for (In addition to the Four Qualities/Traits Listed in the Column A: Economy, Handsomeness, Genealogy and Religion):


Behavior: How is his behavior, in general? How will she behave with his wife? Is it acceptable?


Afghanistan and Afghans have been facing tremendous challenges throughout the last three decades both inside Afghanistan and outside Afghanistan as mere Afghans. When I asked Rasool why we were facing so many problems, his response was an academic and unique one.

“In a country, those who are responsible for providing education have two goals, namely academic goals and general goals. Academic goals are the ones that teachers and other educators use to teach a subject in a specific period of time, decide on what needs to be taught, how it should be taught and so on and so forth. On the other hand, there are four general goals and they are political, economic, social and cultural goals.”

Political Goals: The education system should ensure that its receivers should be at least politically aware. Is the current generation of Afghans aware of at least the sort of politics that runs this country? A great majority is NOT.

Economic Goals: The education systems should help its receivers find jobs and work. We have engineers and doctors, but we import engineers from other countries and our Afghans go to India for treatment, which is a pity.

Social Goals: The education system should teach the secrets of handling relationship inside the family, at school, at the country level and outside. Unfortunately, at times, we fail to maintain good relationship inside the country and have failed miserably to promote our values and who we are to the rest of the world.

Cultural Goals: The education system should have been able to teach us how to behave well inside and outside Afghanistan, but as we see it, we have failed in this department, too.

Not having achieved and learned the above four goals has left us in a situation where the outsiders don’t respect us, either. Because we have not learned them well, we cannot teach and promote our values, wants, needs and demands in an appropriate manner, either.

I couldn’t have let him go without asking about him about a critical issue of “suicide attacks” considering his background in Islamic studies. He gave me a rather new response that I had never heard:
“Again it goes back to the political goals that we haven’t achieved. We have not been able to present aware folks to the society. As a result, they can be misused. When a group wants to gain power in a country, they analyze people and see what they value the most. When they figure out what phenomena they are big about, they use it as a tool to reach their goals. One of the greatest values to us Afghans is martyrdom. The people who use Afghans as human bombs don’t care who is martyred and who is not. It is simply meaningless to them. They ask themselves whether they have tanks and airplanes. And the answer is No, so they say, ‘let’s use these people instead.’ We all believe that martyrdom is THE great achievement, but not when “why, when and how” are overlooked. At the moment, the suicide bombers are not told that they are used so that a group can reach their goals. They are given misinformation. The current goals achieved are not human goals or social goals that can better the relationship and so on and so forth. They have mendacious and false goals.”

Last but not the least, I had to ask him whether the psychosocial programs had a future in Afghanistan to which the answer was a definitive YES and what the current problems were considering it was a very young program in Afghanistan. Rasool responded that the duration of the program, lack of establishment and the tests that were given were problems.

Duration: According to Rasool, 3 months, 6 months or a year of working with the students who have suffered three decades of war is not enough. “Psychosocial activities should not be implemented in form of projects. There should be long-term programs and should go on just like the average programs at schools in the country.”

Establishment: “A psychosocial trainer and a student should have a special establishment for them, which may be different than a regular classroom. It should be left to the trainer and the student to design the classroom. It will help a lot in building the trust between the student and the trainer.”

Tests: “The tests that we currently give to the students are basically direct translations of the tests given in Iran, America and England. The students in the aforementioned countries are different and have more facilities than the Afghans do. Also, the cultural differences are vast. Individualistic differences have to be considered, too.”