Research Question Reflection
The initial research question I had centered around personal finance. I wanted to know if the students I would be working with in Morocco had financial goals and how they would reach a level of financial security in their lives. At the time, I was teaching an economics class to a group of seniors. My students here at ITHS were a diverse group reflecting the neighborhoods of western Queens and New York City in general. We had many animated discussions on what constitutes being wealthy, how to save and invest, and the ethics of capitalism. We took field trips to the American Museum of Finance and Wall Street. We played the stock market game. Many students were enthused on the idea of saving when we learned about compound interest and the amount of money one could accumulate if they started saving early. Several class sessions were spent on creating financial goals that realistically correlated to the career fields they were interested in. Upon speaking and working with students in Morocco however, I realized that their experiences with money were very different and based on the different educational models they had been raised in.
My time spent in Agadir, Morocco was split between two schools. One was private. It cost $800 a year. While this is not a large sum of money for private school in the United States, it is prohibitively expensive for most families in Morocco. The class size was less than 20 students per class. Classrooms themselves had some access to technology and the rooms were generally well-lit and reasonably comfortable. The students who attended private school had a much better grasp of English and had "bigger" and more defined professional goals. Shockingly, every single one of these students hoped to leave Morocco to attend college in Europe or the United States. Some wanted to pursue careers as doctors or lawyers. The female students also expressed these desires. By and large, most of the students did not have part-time jobs. This was not the different from their American counterparts. If they did it was working at a family member's restaurant or shop.
The story in the public school was much different. The school itself was crumbling and there was not a computer in sight. Classes were bursting with over 40 students. These students came from rural, outlying areas and were of low socio-economic status according to my co-teacher. He mentioned many of these students followed a stricter version of Islam than his private school students did. The students' English proficiency was much lower than the private school students. Several students worked but contributed whatever they earned to their family. When I asked the female students what they wanted to do after high school, they all mentioned starting families The few students that mentioned potential careers mentioned teaching. All of them followed up by saying they would quit whatever job they had upon marriage to focus on raising a family. Again, many expressed a desire to leave Morocco because they did not see opportunity there.
Reflecting upon this disparity upon my return home made me think of the difference amongst the public schools of New York City. There is a wide degree of educational quality in NYC public schools but it stills provides a pathway to success and financial independence for many. Students in Morocco didn't really think about financial literacy at all in this stage of their lives. While many American students are more concerned with getting money to satisfy their immediate wants and desires, there was an understanding that investing could reap a greater reward in the future. I wondered how Moroccan students could adopt this point of view. Perhaps focusing on ones' own personal financial goals is not as prevalent in their culture. It is a more collectivist society with a predominately homogenous religious identity. In the United States, we are taught from an early age to save money early and prepare for the future. Are young Moroccan students taught similar things? What is considered "wealthy" in Moroccan society? Is it different for the families of public school students versus private school students? These are lingering questions that remain.
NOTE: This TGC Capstone Project is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.
My time spent in Agadir, Morocco was split between two schools. One was private. It cost $800 a year. While this is not a large sum of money for private school in the United States, it is prohibitively expensive for most families in Morocco. The class size was less than 20 students per class. Classrooms themselves had some access to technology and the rooms were generally well-lit and reasonably comfortable. The students who attended private school had a much better grasp of English and had "bigger" and more defined professional goals. Shockingly, every single one of these students hoped to leave Morocco to attend college in Europe or the United States. Some wanted to pursue careers as doctors or lawyers. The female students also expressed these desires. By and large, most of the students did not have part-time jobs. This was not the different from their American counterparts. If they did it was working at a family member's restaurant or shop.
The story in the public school was much different. The school itself was crumbling and there was not a computer in sight. Classes were bursting with over 40 students. These students came from rural, outlying areas and were of low socio-economic status according to my co-teacher. He mentioned many of these students followed a stricter version of Islam than his private school students did. The students' English proficiency was much lower than the private school students. Several students worked but contributed whatever they earned to their family. When I asked the female students what they wanted to do after high school, they all mentioned starting families The few students that mentioned potential careers mentioned teaching. All of them followed up by saying they would quit whatever job they had upon marriage to focus on raising a family. Again, many expressed a desire to leave Morocco because they did not see opportunity there.
Reflecting upon this disparity upon my return home made me think of the difference amongst the public schools of New York City. There is a wide degree of educational quality in NYC public schools but it stills provides a pathway to success and financial independence for many. Students in Morocco didn't really think about financial literacy at all in this stage of their lives. While many American students are more concerned with getting money to satisfy their immediate wants and desires, there was an understanding that investing could reap a greater reward in the future. I wondered how Moroccan students could adopt this point of view. Perhaps focusing on ones' own personal financial goals is not as prevalent in their culture. It is a more collectivist society with a predominately homogenous religious identity. In the United States, we are taught from an early age to save money early and prepare for the future. Are young Moroccan students taught similar things? What is considered "wealthy" in Moroccan society? Is it different for the families of public school students versus private school students? These are lingering questions that remain.
NOTE: This TGC Capstone Project is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.