In the medieval Islamic world, an elementary school was known as a maktab, which dates back to at least the 10th century. Like madaris (which referred to higher education), a maktab was often attached to an endowed mosque. In the 11th century, the famous Persian Islamic philosopher and teacher <answer>Ibn Sīnā</answer> (known as Avicenna in the West), in one of his books, wrote a chapter about the maktab entitled "The Role of the Teacher in the Training and Upbringing of Children," as a guide to teachers working at maktab schools. He wrote that children can learn better if taught in classes instead of individual tuition from private tutors, and he gave a number of reasons for why this is the case, citing the value of competition and emulation among pupils, as well as the usefulness of group discussions and debates. <answer>Ibn Sīnā</answer> described the curriculum of a maktab school in some detail, describing the curricula for two stages of education in a maktab school.
Who wrote a training guide for Islamic maktab teachers?
Ibn Sīnā