School of Distinction

This morning we visited one of he best high schools in the capital city. Moulay Youssef High School was founded in 1916 during the French Colonial era and attracts some of the strongest students in the region. Many of the students are enrolled in post high school preparatory program that operates like a post-graduate (PG) two years before they enroll in competitive medical and engineering programs.

We visited three classes: an advanced calculus class for the preparatory students, a 10th grade biology class, and a small class that was working on translating science textbooks from French to Arabic.  Students were enthusiastic to see us and were quite open and friendly. Almost all spoke English very well.  One of the students spoke with me about going to college in the United States. Her mother had died recently, and her sister had lost her ambition. She feels that she needs to reach further as a result. I suggested some options for her to consider when applying to American university. 

The class in the photo below is the sophomore biology class. I talked with the girl in the lower right. She was charming and exceedingly polite. The boy in the grey sweatshirt asked the first question, "what do you think of your Donald Trump?" The class got quite animated with his abrupt query. I was expecting this question from Moroccan students but did not expect it to be the first question asked. Fairly quickly the headmaster shut down the line of inquiry since it is against school rules to discuss politics.