Morocco IREX Fulbright International Field Experience Day 4:

We visited Almotanabi High School in Sale’. International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) alum Houria Kherdi teaches at this school.

This was actually the BEST DAY EVER (in my Sponge Bob voice). The students kicked off our campus tour with a presentation on Morocco’s history’s, education system, and issues they face as students. Similarly to many schools in the U. S., some of their issues center around the lack of resources, technology, decreased graduation rate, and a decrease in students attending a 4-year university. However, they do have opportunities for students to pursue vocational education. There appears to be more young ladies than young men in many of the high school classrooms we visited. The student’s presentation on various topics were quite impressive, and they revealed it only took approximately two weeks to prepare the PPT Presentation and determine what their delivery would look like. I instantly cringed when I heard this, because it takes some of my students six weeks plus to put together a presentation on a topic we have studied and worked on after days and sometimes weeks of constant reminders. Anywho, it made my heart sing as I watched the students and how poised, confident, fearless, and articulate they were as they bared their souls to adult educators with whom they were not familiar with at all. Did I mention they have far less school resources and materials than many U. S. schools? After their stellar presentation, we (2022 Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Moroccan Cohort) participated in an intellectual round table type dialogue with students. They had many questions for us regarding what and how American students learn. They also asked us to share stereotypes, expectations, and impressions we had about them prior to our arrival. One of our teachers mentioned terrorism because the media has fed and perpetuated those types of stereotypes to our society at large. A male student quickly dispelled the stereotype and looked somewhat dismayed that it was even a perception. One teacher lightened the mood by playing a nifty Science game with students where they had to guess why the small red strip of cellophane paper from a card either curled in their palms or stayed relatively flat. Students were actively engaged and all participated. We popped in a Science, Math, and French class and were equally impressed with each group’s natural curiosity about everything, as well as their academic acumen. We met a Scientist (science teacher) with a PhD in Avocado growth (or something like that). He had planted most trees on their campus including edible and non-edible fruit. He has created a compost area, grows a school garden, etc. They even have a water recycling station where the water used to wash hands is routed to other plants and the garden area. The students learn by doing all things hands-on! There was a beautiful little symphony going on with the WHOLE plant life cycle (pollination and ALL) happening right before our eyes! I was so tired of being impressed by how much can be done with so little, and how some people do it naturally and do it well.

Panel Discussion & Presentation: Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS) Teacher Training Institute. This was a discussion with teachers, teacher trainers, and students on teacher training in Morocco.

Cultural Visit: Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Hassan Tower – a 12 Century minaret that was never finished and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site