Essential Questions and Reflection
My "Essential Question" relates to my international field experience in Morocco:
How do different cultural definitions about the meaning of success influence the life choices that young people make?
Assumptions:
*Young people are influenced by cultural values.
*Young people have control over their life direction.
*Cultural values differ based on geography.
Supporting Questions:
*What impact does socio-economic status have on life choices?
*How does geography influence life choice?
*Is success measured differently based on gender?
*To what degree do religious values play a role in life choices?
Tools for Research:
*Personal interviews
*Online research
*In country cultural organizations
*Observation
Personal Reflection
I’ve been back from my amazing journey to Morocco for one full month now, and it seems like Morocco may as well have been a dream, having been so vastly different an experience from my everyday reality. The physical clues, ranging from my hallway painting of a man on donkey passing through the gate at Fez, to the silver engraved Moroccan dagger resting on top of my bedroom TV, and the orange teapot serving as a centerpiece on my dining room table, serve as reminders that I have journeyed to north Africa and back again.
Though I embraced this opportunity whole-heartedly and met the adventure with the spirit of a female Indiana Jones, it left me exhausted on both physical and emotional levels. Beyond time changes and a busy daily schedule in Morocco, the cultural and economic differences were dramatic. Scenes of both beauty and darkness remain with me, along with a nagging feeling of something left unresolved.
The poverty disturbed me. That the luxurious riad (inn) I stayed in was staffed by a maid held at knife point outside the securely locked doors shocked me, along with the knowledge that the wealthy owners had done nothing after the incident to better ensure the safety of that staff.
That students in the public schools were left with so few options after graduation and classrooms so overcrowded that they did not receive the level of individual attention they deserved saddened me.
The vision of a mother with three small children resting their heads on her lap and a scrap of blanket as they laid in the street tore at my heart strings and haunts me still...
Similarly, the woman crying out for small change, holding her beggar’s cup in one arm and cradling her club-footed husband with the other, tugs at the corners of my consciousness, demanding some sort of response.
I feel a strong motivation to do something, but what? A book drive to assist with the building of a school library might be a starting point. The clothes I left for the victimized maid at the riad (hotel) are another small gesture. The daily Facebook chat messages to my new Moroccan student friends to encourage them in their studies are meaningful to me, but systemic change is what is really necessary: something which is out of my power to give.
Looking at my assumptions, I’d say that the young people in Morocco are indeed limited in their ability to influence their own situation. Even those who study hard and do well on national exams are limited by factors beyond their control. Some are also heavily influenced by religious and family values to stay close to home to look after family members. Those privileged enough to attend private schools often feel torn between family care taking needs and better opportunity abroad. Religious values also influence choices. I spoke with several female students who chose not to attend universities in France due to the current ban there on headscarves.
When I asked students in the public schools about their dreams, answers ranged from "helping my family," to "policeman” (high status, local profession), to soldier or merchant. It seems their dreams were aligned realistically with their opportunities. Is that good or bad? One could debate the answer. I was pleased to hear one student comment that she “just wanted to be happy.”
Students in the private schools had more opportunity but were extremely stressed out due to the competitive nature of the exam system and the college entrance barriers (limited opportunity in Morocco).
I met many students who were tremendously artistically talented, yet had little or no opportunity to develop their artistic skills due to the undervaluing of arts and arts education. I consider this no less than a tragedy.
Yet, in spite of all the barriers, the majority of young people I met remained hopeful about their future. They felt that they had the power to change those things that they did not love about their country, from pollution to poverty, and that they had reason to celebrate the nation of their birth. I agree with them.
Morocco is a country full of contradictions and contrasts in terms of ethnic variety, geography, language, economics, culture, history, politics and so much more. I experienced happy moments, quiet moments, lively moments, silly moments, ecstatic moments, moments of exhaustion, moments of revelation, moments of wonder... I met beautiful people, generous people; people who smiled and laughed with each other in spite of great challenges in their lives. I met rich people, poor people, givers and swindlers. I met monkeys and snakes. I met dancers, singers, maids, diplomats, teachers, politicians and beggars. I would not have traded any of these encounters, even those that pushed me beyond my comfort zone, for "all of the tea in China." (note to self: next stop, China?)
"The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes 'sight-seeing.' "~Daniel J. Boorstin
How do different cultural definitions about the meaning of success influence the life choices that young people make?
Assumptions:
*Young people are influenced by cultural values.
*Young people have control over their life direction.
*Cultural values differ based on geography.
Supporting Questions:
*What impact does socio-economic status have on life choices?
*How does geography influence life choice?
*Is success measured differently based on gender?
*To what degree do religious values play a role in life choices?
Tools for Research:
*Personal interviews
*Online research
*In country cultural organizations
*Observation
Personal Reflection
I’ve been back from my amazing journey to Morocco for one full month now, and it seems like Morocco may as well have been a dream, having been so vastly different an experience from my everyday reality. The physical clues, ranging from my hallway painting of a man on donkey passing through the gate at Fez, to the silver engraved Moroccan dagger resting on top of my bedroom TV, and the orange teapot serving as a centerpiece on my dining room table, serve as reminders that I have journeyed to north Africa and back again.
Though I embraced this opportunity whole-heartedly and met the adventure with the spirit of a female Indiana Jones, it left me exhausted on both physical and emotional levels. Beyond time changes and a busy daily schedule in Morocco, the cultural and economic differences were dramatic. Scenes of both beauty and darkness remain with me, along with a nagging feeling of something left unresolved.
The poverty disturbed me. That the luxurious riad (inn) I stayed in was staffed by a maid held at knife point outside the securely locked doors shocked me, along with the knowledge that the wealthy owners had done nothing after the incident to better ensure the safety of that staff.
That students in the public schools were left with so few options after graduation and classrooms so overcrowded that they did not receive the level of individual attention they deserved saddened me.
The vision of a mother with three small children resting their heads on her lap and a scrap of blanket as they laid in the street tore at my heart strings and haunts me still...
Similarly, the woman crying out for small change, holding her beggar’s cup in one arm and cradling her club-footed husband with the other, tugs at the corners of my consciousness, demanding some sort of response.
I feel a strong motivation to do something, but what? A book drive to assist with the building of a school library might be a starting point. The clothes I left for the victimized maid at the riad (hotel) are another small gesture. The daily Facebook chat messages to my new Moroccan student friends to encourage them in their studies are meaningful to me, but systemic change is what is really necessary: something which is out of my power to give.
Looking at my assumptions, I’d say that the young people in Morocco are indeed limited in their ability to influence their own situation. Even those who study hard and do well on national exams are limited by factors beyond their control. Some are also heavily influenced by religious and family values to stay close to home to look after family members. Those privileged enough to attend private schools often feel torn between family care taking needs and better opportunity abroad. Religious values also influence choices. I spoke with several female students who chose not to attend universities in France due to the current ban there on headscarves.
When I asked students in the public schools about their dreams, answers ranged from "helping my family," to "policeman” (high status, local profession), to soldier or merchant. It seems their dreams were aligned realistically with their opportunities. Is that good or bad? One could debate the answer. I was pleased to hear one student comment that she “just wanted to be happy.”
Students in the private schools had more opportunity but were extremely stressed out due to the competitive nature of the exam system and the college entrance barriers (limited opportunity in Morocco).
I met many students who were tremendously artistically talented, yet had little or no opportunity to develop their artistic skills due to the undervaluing of arts and arts education. I consider this no less than a tragedy.
Yet, in spite of all the barriers, the majority of young people I met remained hopeful about their future. They felt that they had the power to change those things that they did not love about their country, from pollution to poverty, and that they had reason to celebrate the nation of their birth. I agree with them.
Morocco is a country full of contradictions and contrasts in terms of ethnic variety, geography, language, economics, culture, history, politics and so much more. I experienced happy moments, quiet moments, lively moments, silly moments, ecstatic moments, moments of exhaustion, moments of revelation, moments of wonder... I met beautiful people, generous people; people who smiled and laughed with each other in spite of great challenges in their lives. I met rich people, poor people, givers and swindlers. I met monkeys and snakes. I met dancers, singers, maids, diplomats, teachers, politicians and beggars. I would not have traded any of these encounters, even those that pushed me beyond my comfort zone, for "all of the tea in China." (note to self: next stop, China?)
"The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes 'sight-seeing.' "~Daniel J. Boorstin