Teaching Today: A little about Wyoming and National Parks

Thrilled to be teaching today. Tom's lesson turned out great on Saturday, but both of us (who have longer class periods) realized how quick an hour goes by. I adjusted my lesson, so we'll see how it goes.

Also, Hassan is going to teach us how to make a tagine during for lunch today!

3:00 p.m. I love that this program is authentic and allows for the real classroom experience. Today there were kids off task, just like in America. Imagine that! Kids are kids wherever you go. Some of them had not done their homework. Shocking :-)

Overall, the lesson went well. I showed them a piece of elk antler and an elk tooth and asked them what they thought is was. No one knew, other than that it came from an animal. I showed them a photo on the overhead of a large bull elk bugling, and they were very impressed. They were extremely attentive, as I talked about how people hunt them where I come from and provide a part of our economy, as hunters come from all over to hunt and the opportunities that bring. I told them I grew up eating elk, and they were fascinated by that and what it tastes like.

Then I went into a discussion about Yellowstone Park and showed them some photos, asking them if something rare like that in the world should be protected. They agreed that it should, and I showed them a short video clip from the series "National Parks: America's Best Idea." It was a clip about how FDR wanted to put many places and historic sites under the National Park service to protect them. We talked about how many places, from homes, to traditional work places, to battlefields and cemeteries need protection.

I then assigned them to work in small groups to come up with a place in their region that they think could be designated as a park, monument or historic site. They had to explain what it was to Tom and I, tell us why it was important, including the people who are part of it (present and past), and then for homework, write a brief letter to an administrator in their local or national level to persuade them to consider protection for the place.

The students were doing this all in English, and considering the difficulties, did a great job. They came up with ideas like protecting the tannery that Tom and I visited, to a giant house in the city that some consider haunted, to the Argan tree region, and so on. We were impressed with how they communicated with us and expressed their ideas about places important to them.

Hassan took us to his apartment where he taught us to cook with a tagine. We also made a fresh Moroccan style salad, and both were as good or better than anything we have had in a restaurant. I wish I had room to buy a tagine from here to take home, but I am afraid I will break it. I will pick one up at the World Market in Salt Lake, perhaps, on the way back to Afton.

We are now going with Hassan to teach at the University here in Taroudant, which he does on Monday afternoons.

Hassan makes a mean tagine for a bachelor.

Ta Da!

A view from the second floor of the school toward the courtyard. Our cold Wyoming weather could never allow for a design like this, so it was really neat to experience.

Helping students decide what types of places they would like to protect in their region in or around Taroudant.