Teaching at the Atlas Cultural Foundation

3/13/19

by Charlotte

During our morning Moroccan Arabic lesson our group shared many laughs as we struggled with the throaty sounds of the rich language. We learned so many beautiful words such as “mzien” which means good work, which we found so helpful later on when teaching our lessons.

Starting around 9am we worked with 6th graders at the community center in the village. We were divided into 4 groups to teach different subjects, including language, science, art, and games. Jack and I taught art to the four rotations of children that came to our classroom. Our lesson plan consisted of using flash cards to play different games to teach the children different animal names. First, we had them repeat the words and draw the animals. Next, we said one of the animals and had them point at whichever animal on the flash card that was said. This was a bit difficult to explain because they don’t speak English but we overcame this obstacle by modeling it with each other. They picked up on it quickly and soon many dry hands raced to slap the correct card first. Next, we showed the kids only the picture of the animal on the flash card and had them say the name of the animal, or should I say scream the name of the animal. They were eager to learn and please us, but also frankly to beat their friends. The last exercise we did with them was for them to spell the animal names from a pile of letters. They would always begin this by frantically grabbing every letter until we showed them that they needed to work together. With the fourth, and last, group of kids we had some extra time before we ended and so I asked (through body language) if they could write out their names for me to see. After I tried to pronounce some of their names, it turned into them trying to teach me other things in the 3 languages they already speak or are learning to speak. One boy grabbed my paper and wrote down the numbers 1-10 in French, Arabic, and Amazir. Both their enthusiasm and ability to soak up knowledge facilitated my passion for teaching them. Seeing them learn and grow in response to my teaching was incredibly inspiring.

After the last group of kids, we walked back to the guest house and had a delicious lunch. Then we prepared for the walk to the service site (see tomorrow’s blog about the construction work!). On our way there we walked on dirt paths overlooking the endless Atlas Mountains, weaving through the backs of the many houses. We saw sheep, goats, donkeys, and children. I saw the same boy who was trying to teach me numbers. He was sitting on a rock, relaxing in the shade outside of his house. We also passed by more familiar faces playing soccer on a dirt field. Now the children I see in the village of Zawiya Ahansal are no longer strangers. I recognize each familiar face, and I can tell by their smile and greeting of “ssalam” that they recognize me and remember our time together too.

Thanks for reading.

(PS mom please talk to dad about my bed sheets and email blog link to griffin)