Independent thought

Today was interesting as it gave me the opportunity to experience up front the teaching methods applied in Moroccan education. It all happened when I was in my market town, 5 KM from where I live, in order to meet up with one of my friends. This friend happens to work at the local hospital and helps teach nurses-in-training, a group of which happened to be visiting that day in order learn to test well water and invited me to tag along! So there we were, standing around the huge well in the blistering heat listening to these two doctors go on (in Arabic) about water treatment (I could actually understand the gist of what was being said, which gave me a little smile). Being a bit restless I begin to glance around and notice that no one was asking any questions (nor being solicited for their thoughts either) and decide to give it a shot myslef. My question was about chlorine evaporating from water, which I said it does and the two teachers said it does not, started a constructive little argument. The rest of the students just seemed shocked and were laughing a bit and exchanging smiles as this foreigner was going about arguing with their professors! It was a nice situation which revealed the teaching and learning dynamics in Morocco in which the teacher talks down to the students and they are expected to sit and listen. It was fun for me and I think for them as well, and by the way, I still think I was right about the chlorine thing.