These are gifts and letters Houria's students gave to me. Today was our last day with them and there was a closing ceremony . I am overwhelmed with their generosity because these students are very poor. I am also overwhelmed with the love these students have shown us. They are all so kind and welcoming.
Mohammed explained that the tile that decorates the interior of his home is new but that the traditional Moroccan style was a intricate process using very small tiles. The tiles would be fit together like puzzle pieces. To show me he reached into a ancient ruin that is just part of his neighborhood and picked up a few pieces of tiles that have been there for centuries.
Mohammed sitting room. I love Moroccan sofas, they're so comfortable. Traditional Moroccan homes have an open-air courtyard in the middle. This is a fountain in the middle of Mohammed house. This is the view looking up from the fountain. In the summer there is no roof. The rooms of the 2nd and 3rd stories open out onto the courtyard.
One of the administrators took us to his home in the Kasba. The Kasba is the 10th century fortress, but people still have their ancestral homes there. You may have seen pictures of these incredibly narrow streets and wondered what the houses are like inside. This is Mohammed sister and mother who welcomed us into their home (his wife was teaching this afternoon and couldn't get away). They served us delicious cookies and tea.
Remember the text books you used to study a foreign language? "Donde esta la biblioteca" Check out the themes of the units in the text these Moroccan students are using to learn English. These students are gaining Global Perspective. These students are engaged in critical thinking. A group of students gave a Power Point presentation on Brain Drain - the issue of poor countries losing their well-educated innovators to wealthy countries. Here's a perfect example of how, through technology, the world is getting smaller. I was so impressed with a video that the students included in their presentation that I asked where on the Internet I could find it. I'm hoping to use it in my own presentations. The student said "Bluetooth," and I tried to play it off like I knew what she was talking about. Luckily for me, she is a tech-savvy, global citizen- she took my phone, placed next to hers, did some hocus-pocus and, voila, the video she used is now downloaded on my phone.
These students also asked me to sign their lab coats. In my other posts I explain the difference between "Common Core" students and "Bac" students and their energy levels. Can you guess which these guys are?
This student is in every class room all over the world. He is full admirable enthusiasm and exhaustive energy. He liked the idea of making himself known but just couldn't sit still long enough to put pen to paper. Instead he kept calling me over and speaking to me in rapid, excited Arabic caring little that I wasn't getting what he was saying. But he came up with a creative solution to successfully interact with me. He asked me to sign his lab coat.
Students everywhere just want to be acknowledged. My own students were excited to write these letters and kept asking me, "Will they really read it?" These 10th graders were super excited to read and have they're pictures taken with these letters. Here 10th graders are called "Common Core" because their focus is on developing a common core of skills and knowledge rather than preparing to pass the "Bac." These kids have a higher energy level and are more excited than the "Bacs."
Today I shared letters my students at Sequoyah had written with two of Houria's classes. In this picture you see 12th graders. They are called "Bac" students, short for Baccalaureate. They devote their last year in school to studying to pass their final exams - so they don't have a lot of fun. However, they enjoyed reading these and were motivated to write good response letters.
In high school students specialize in either humanities or math / science. Math / science students wear white lab coats as a way to distinguish themselves. Houria's students are math / science.
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