First Muslim college opens in the US

[din]

First Muslim college opens in the US - YouTube

[din]

Muslim College Opens in US With Hopes and Suspicions 1 - YouTube

[SiiNii]

Why do they choose to sit on the floor like in a Madrassa?

[faye]

you say you are in afghanistan. do you never see afghans sitting cross legged outside of the madrass? it is a common way to sit in all the eastern countries i have been to.
i believe it is a better way to sit than on chairs and i sit like this, the majority of the time that i am sitting.
my laptop is on the floor.

[SiiNii]

I'm familiar with both sitting "Indian style" and the 3rd world squat.
(T NATION | Third-World Squat)

Of course kids sit like that when desks aren't available. They also use papyrus and clay tablets where laptops and paper are scarce. But this is Berkley California, where the college intends to become a legitimate, accredited institute of higher education. Unless there is a religious significance to sitting on the floor, at the minimum, couldn't they get some beanbags?

[faye]

right, of course, they should conform.

[Khostai]

Why do they choose to sit on the floor like in a Madrassa?

Becuase for some peopel its not enough to difrintiate themselfs from the non-mulslims by calling there uni Islamic uni, they also need to sit and act like they came here just yesterday just to show off how difrent and special they are.

[faye]

maybe they can't afford chairs yet.

[faye]

Of course kids sit like that when desks aren't available. They also use papyrus and clay tablets where laptops and paper are scarce. But this is Berkley California, where the college intends to become a legitimate, accredited institute of higher education. Unless there is a religious significance to sitting on the floor, at the minimum, couldn't they get some beanbags?

you think letting your children sit like that, in that stupid bean bag, is a healthy way to develop and strengthen their backbones?

what does it matter to education that people sit in a different way than the western 'norm'? do you think the way they sit will badly influence their capacity for learning?

[SiiNii]

After browsing their half finished website I came across their tuition pricing:

Student Expenses back to top

Zaytuna College offers the following figures to help estimate yearly student expenses including tuition.*
Tuition (for both fall and spring semesters): $11,000
Registration/Enrollment Fee (non-refundable): $250
Tuition Recovery Fund (non-refundable): $27.50
Books & Supplies: $900
Housing (estimated cost for the academic year): $6,873.75
Total Charges Due for Current Period of Attendance (2013-2014 academic year)**: $12,177.50
Total Charges Due upon Enrollment: $6,227.50
Estimated Total Charges for Entire Educational Program (4 years): $88,260.00

* Student-related expenses are estimated based on costs of living in the San Francisco Bay Area and do not include health insurance costs or the cost of food. Actual student-related expenses may vary.

** Excluding housing.

Also excludes desks and chairs apparently. What a gyp. For 80 Gs why not study in Saudi Arabia.

[faye]

maybe they're there to learn how to make bean bags and chairs.

[SiiNii]

what does it matter to education that people sit in a different way than the western 'norm'? do you think the way they sit will badly influence their capacity for learning?

Yes it negatively affects learning that's why I brought it up. We have these adjustable desks and chairs, ergonomic keyboards and mice, computers with large crisp screens at eye level, etc why? Cause its mo betta.

you think letting your children sit like that, in that stupid bean bag, is a healthy way to develop and strengthen their backbones?

Their backbones? I'd make sure they drink their milk, and stand up to bullies. The bean bag chairs let the students comfortably rest their bodies, so that they may exercise their minds to their greatest potential. If they had placed bean bag chairs in my schools, I'd probably be a nuclear reactor engineer.

[faye]

i was talking about cross legged sitting since that is what you have an issue with.

did they do their experiments with sitting cross legged sitting, for brain activation? i guess that buddha and all the eastern wise chaps would have fared much better with the ole bean bag, lol.

so sitting positions are good for the brain but not for the strengthening and health of the backbone? just milk and standing up to bullies does the job.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

There's actually merits to both what SinI is saying and Faye

Buddha trained his mind to endure long periods of physical discomfort and in that way strengthened his brain and learned to exert maximal control over his body. the problem is this takes years of practice and isn't practical in an academic environment.

SinI is correct in saying such discomfort would impair learning since the focus here isn't to train the mind to overcome discomfort but to learn the subject material for which such uncomfortable postures would be a hindrance. If it was the opposite then we can implore the Buddha and all them.

[faye]

lol..you obviously are not one who sits cross legged. i don't have discomfort sitting cross legged or in half lotus, for as long as i like. i find chair sitting uncomfortable.
so where did you read about buddhas discomfort?

but that is not what sinii is concerned about. it's the LOOK and the non conformism to americanism, that bothers him.