Day Two of School Visits

Day two of school visits here in the capital went well.  We started at a private school that was preschool through 12th grade.  I finally met some 6th graders and they reminded me of my students at Spring Mills Middle School.  When I asked them their favorite subject, it was French.  The students sit for up to two hours with one teacher, then have a 10 minute break outside.  Then the next teacher comes into the room, etc. That means they stay in the same room all day at this school. They said their attention span is about 1 1/2 hours before they get bored, and guess what?  There is no technology in the classrooms!  My favorite visit was to the preschool and kindergarten rooms.  One girl sang us a song in English and was so proud.  When we visited the high schoolers, they reinforced the fact that they spend a lot of time studying, and many even have private tutors after school.  When asked their favorite band, the girls yelled out "One Direction"!

Middle schoolers horsing around on their 10 minute break...

6th grade classroom!

School bus 

Preschool classroom door 

After our visit at the school, we went to an academy that prepares students to become teachers after 3 years of college.   When you are done "student teaching", the government in Morocco places you in a school anywhere in the country- you get no choice.  The student teachers told me the worse you do on the final exam, the farther out into the "country" they send you.  That is one reason the teachers at this academy study hard; they don't want to get sent the the more rural parts of Morocco.


After we returned from our visits, we ventured out into a nearby medina to shop.  The fabrics, pottery, and leather goods are beautiful here in Morocco.

The internet here at the hotel in Rabat has been up and down every minute.  It has taken me at least 2 hours every night to load these few pictures and post them.  Tomorrow morning I move to a more rural area, so we will see if the internet connection gets better or worse...if it is better I will post more pictures and answer more of your questions.

Question of the Day:  What is a medina?