Online Quran Classes or the Mosque Madrasa?

A local madrasa gives a child something an online class cannot: belonging to a community in person. Children make friends who share their faith, get used to being in the masjid, pray in congregation and see adults around them who know their family. For many parents this matters as much as the reading itself, and rightly so.

Madrasas are also often low cost, and some are run by teachers who have served the same community for years. If your local one is well organised, has sensible group sizes and your child is progressing, there may be no reason to change.

The biggest difference is reading time. In a group, each child reads aloud for only a few minutes, and quieter children often read least. In a 30-minute one-to-one class, your child reads for most of the lesson and every mistake is heard and corrected while it is still new.

The second difference is pace. A group moves at roughly the speed of the middle of the class; a child who is ahead waits and a child who is behind gets left. One-to-one, the lesson follows your child. And because there is no travel, a class can happen at a time that suits your family rather than straight after school when everyone is tired.

Online classes need a reasonable internet connection, a quiet space and a parent who keeps the routine going; without that they drift. Some children also miss the social side and find a screen less engaging than a room full of friends.

Madrasas vary enormously. Some are excellent. Others have large classes, long sessions late in the day, limited correction of Tajweed, and little communication with parents about what was covered. Travel time adds up too, especially with more than one child.

Cost is worth comparing fairly as well. A madrasa is usually cheaper per hour, but the useful measure is how much individual reading and correction your child gets for the money. An hour in a large group and thirty minutes one-to-one are not the same thing, in either direction.

Neither option is right for everyone. A few patterns are worth considering:

Plenty of families do not choose at all. The child keeps going to the mosque for community, prayer and Islamic Studies with friends, and takes one or two online classes a week for focused reading and Tajweed. The two complement each other: the madrasa gives belonging, the online class gives individual correction.

If you do this, let the online teacher know what your child is covering at the madrasa so the two do not pull in different directions.

The fairest way to compare is to try. The first three classes are free and no card is taken. Sit in on them, then compare what you see with your child's madrasa. Plans start at $39 a month for two classes a week, with a 10% family discount from the second child.