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  Case: Friday Prayer
Mohammad joined my fifth grade classroom in mid-September. It has been about five months since he arrived, and he has been doing a great job on all subjects. He does not cause any discipline problems. He and his family are Muslims. My only problem with Mohammad comes every Friday. The 5th grade team at my school does weekly testing on Fridays to monitor student progress in Reading and Math. Therefore, we need all the students at school on Friday. Mohammad's father wants to take him to Friday prayer every week. I did some research and found out that the Friday prayer is a special prayer in the Muslim world. I want to respect their religion, but because of the Friday prayer, Mohammad has been missing the weekly tests. I talked to my colleagues to entertain the idea of changing the time of the test, but it does not seem possible because of the special area courses and other obligations we have on Fridays. So, my only other option is to ask Mohammad's father. I do not know how to go about this? Should I ask him? What if he says his son must go to the Friday prayer every week? What do I do then?
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
I would first have a meeting with Mohammad's dad to see if there is another time that Mohammad could go to prayer. Like maybe after school on Fridays. If he says no, I will suggest that Mohammad stay after school and take the test or take it during his recess time on Fridays. During the meeting, I would let Mohammad's dad know that I understand Religion is important, but so is
taking test.
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments:
Rated On: February 17, 2013 8:55 pm
Rated By: Margaret Lales
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments:
Rated On: March 2, 2013 11:56 pm
Rated By: eruHeB
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments: I thought this was the best compromise. The teacher is respectful to Mohammad's dad while relaying that the test is important too.
Rated On: October 15, 2014 12:54 am
Rated By: ySaryN
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this being a teacher is all about accomodations and helping our students meet there needs.
Rated On: October 19, 2014 9:35 pm
Rated By: apened
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: Two things: 1. Prayer in the Muslim faith is at specific times. You can't just do a prayer at another time.

2. Making a child skip recess to do work is a very bad thing. Recess is necessary for kids to blow off steam. Also, the kid will of course want to go to recess and resent his father and even his religion for making him miss his fun time and you don't want that.
Rated On: March 2, 2016 10:56 pm
Rated By: daPaJa
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments: I would ask about timing too, since in Islam there are five prayers a day maybe Mohammed’s family would be willing to go to mosque at a different different time of prayer.
Rated On: February 24, 2018 5:33 am
Rated By: upyWyH
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments: yes!
Rated On: October 13, 2022 12:07 am
Rated By: VuBytu