Making Cultural Connections
Making Cultural Connections
Faculty Fulbright Experiences in Morocco
Two Middle School faculty members have had enriching and enlightening experiences through Fulbright Scholarships in Morocco—Library Department Chair and Middle School Librarian Alicia Blowers through the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) Program and Middle School History Teacher Katherine Bryant through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching (DA) Program.
The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) Program selects approximately 60-80 teachers each year. This program is highly competitive, and it provides U.S. K-12 educators with an opportunity to participate in professional development to enhance their teaching of global competencies. Participants engage in an intensive virtual course, attend an in-person symposium in Washington, D.C., and then travel internationally to experience different education systems firsthand.
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching (DA) is a program that recognizes and encourages teaching excellence through professional development opportunities abroad, promoting mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries. The program is administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. This program sends U.S. primary and secondary educators abroad for a period of three to six months to conduct research and engage in professional learning, as well as bringing international teachers to the U.S. for a semester to participate in a professional development program at an American university. Around 400 educators from over 80 countries participate in Fulbright Teacher Exchanges each year. When they return home, they teach a total of 75,000 students annually. The Fulbright Program is funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Alicia and Katherine share their experiences in their own words.
From Local to Global The Impact of a Fulbright Experience
BY ALICIA BLOWERS
On the car ride from Casablanca, my host teacher, Abderahman, asked, “Did you know that Morocco was the first country to recognize the sovereignty of the United States?” Little did I know, this question would become a common refrain during my two weeks in the country. It is something every Moroccan learns and shares with visiting Americans, eager to express the kinship they feel with their neighbors across the Atlantic and to emphasize their forward-thinking nature. Honestly, I didn’t know too much about Morocco when I arrived in early March of 2023, despite my best efforts to do a crash course on its history and culture in the weeks leading up to my international field experience as a fellow with the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) program. That would all change as I embedded myself for a week within the school community at Groupe Pedagogique Alpha in Kenitra, followed by another week spent exploring cultural and historic sites and visiting a myriad of educational institutions in Casablanca and Rabat with the American teachers in my TGC cohort.
TGC is a year-long program for American K-12 educators that combines a rigorous graduate-level global education course and professional development workshop, with a short-term international field experience. I was inspired to apply because of my desire to learn from and with other educators who are passionate about experiential learning and connecting across disciplines and geographies. After learning of my acceptance in August, I spent the fall semester of 2022 engaging in coursework designed for practical application and immediate integration into the curriculum.
Each week focused on a different aspect of global education and included readings, participation in virtual discussion boards, reflection assignments, and spotlight challenges to put learning into immediate practice, in addition to ongoing work to create or reinvent a curricular unit of study to develop and reinforce global competencies.
The reciprocal feedback and advice offered by cohort members throughout the course created a space in which we exchanged ideas, revised lesson plans, and implemented best practices into our classrooms in real time. I saw tangible evidence of the improvement in how students responded with greater engagement and visible evidence of their learning. The 12-week course was the most intense and invigorating professional learning experience of my life. That is, until the international field experience!
“The reciprocal feedback and advice offered by cohort members throughout the course created a space in which we exchanged ideas, revised lesson plans, and implemented best practices into our classrooms in real time.”
Upon completion of the coursework, I learned that I would join 10 other members of my TGC cohort in traveling to Morocco, one of the world’s greatest crossroads of culture and history. With a whirlwind schedule, our focus was to learn and experience as much as possible during our brief time in the country. For the first week we were partnered with a Moroccan teacher who had previously participated in a Fulbright exchange program to America. We shadowed our host teacher, visited classrooms, met with teachers, taught classes, and attended school events.
The students I met delighted in sharing their culture, while also enthusiastically learning to play Wordle and asking questions about school and life in America. The middle school boys were avid readers of Japanese manga (the very same series our Saints love!) —and I bonded with high school girls who were reading popular American YA author Tahereh Mafi’s “Shatter Me” series, which they learned about from TikTok and were reading in English.
The second week was spent traveling together as a cohort to tour cultural and historic sites, conducting additional school visits, and meeting with NGOs and researchers to better understand the landscape of Moroccan education. After the first week on our own at host sites, the cohort eagerly used time together to unpack all that had happened that previous week: comparing and contrasting different host school experiences, filling in gaps of understanding, and contextualizing everything with our Moroccan trip leaders. Those smaller moments of connection and reflection with others really helped to cement all that we had done in our coursework and opened the door to new possibilities for collaboration and ideas on how to further global education upon our return home.
The SSSAS school mission charges us with preparing students for a “complex and changing world.” In my role as the Middle School librarian, I collaborate with teachers across the curriculum to facilitate the inquiry process and create connections between people and ideas. It is so vital for our students to see themselves as global citizens for whom the world is their classroom. The more that our students can engage with ideas and experiences different from their own and grapple with complex issues, the more empathetic they become and the more they develop skills and mindsets necessary to respond to change and lead innovation. By thinking and learning about the world outside the classroom door and the varied experiences present even within our own community, we can thoughtfully interweave global education practices into every interaction and space within the school experience.
“Participation in Fulbright TGC has revolutionized the way that I approach teaching and learning. I now have a powerful toolbox and the skills to implement a library program that centers on building global competencies with students.”
Along the way, I sought opportunities to bring students with me, and share the experience. Before leaving for my international field experience, students in the Middle School were invited to write a postcard to a student in Morocco. I shared these postcards with students at my host school, who wrote back. Upon my return from Morocco, I hosted a gathering in the library where students received their responses, wrote back again, and sampled Moroccan tea and a variety of snacks.
Participation in Fulbright TGC has revolutionized the way that I approach teaching and learning. I now have a powerful toolbox and the skills to implement a library program that centers on building global competencies with students. The unit plan created during my coursework was a revamp of the seventh grade history Changemakers project for which students research an instrumental individual from the American Progressive Era and create a short documentary. I tweaked the project to emphasize the explicit development of global competencies, introducing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) as a framework for understanding how the American Progressive Era fits into the larger global narrative of individuals, organizations, and communities working to create positive change. I’ve also redoubled efforts to make the library a more explicitly inclusive and welcoming space for all learners, amping up our collection of titles with global connections, hanging the flags of 224 countries around the room, and rewriting many lessons to include thinking routines and other changes to enhance student engagement and globalize their impact.
I have also leveraged my experience to include others from both the SSSAS and Alexandria community. Last spring, in partnership with librarian Michelle Biwer of the Alexandria Library, I began a facilitated exchange between Middle School French Teacher Laura Walker’s students and students in Guinea. This year, Middle School DEIB Coordinator Rebecca Cooper and I are partnering to offer a monthly lunchtime library activity to honor federally recognized heritage and history months.
For anyone considering applying to a Fulbright program, I would encourage them to do so. All students benefit from learning with a global perspective and all teachers can incorporate global education into their classrooms and curriculum. Now, when anyone mentions Morocco, I’m sure to inform them that Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States as a sovereign country. I’m also sure to tell them about my experience with Fulbright TGC and the welcoming hospitality, the bounty of delicious foods, the mesmerizing landscapes, and how the people of the country make efforts each day to promote a peaceful and forward-thinking global society.
The Gift of Lifelong Learning
BY KATHERINE BRYANT
Truly my father’s daughter, I’m humming Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Marrakesh Express,” as I leap from the train by the same name to the platform, into the welcoming arms of yet another stranger. What began as a formal email exchange quickly transitioned to a Whatsapp thread. Faster still was the shift from the opportunity for participant observation with a local NGO to me leading a full-day workshop with an aspiring group of young female leaders from the far corners of Morocco. And, just as each dropped pin has led to an actual prodigious, young adult eager to share their story with me, I’m met exactly on time by a driver who will deliver me to this resident-based program near Marrakesh.
The landscape changes quickly as we transition from the beautifully chaotic medina to the outskirts of the city. This brief ride is further evidence of the diverse geography of this country that I have marveled at for months. The outline of the distant High Atlas Mountains becomes more lucid, the stark desert terrain softens to green pastures. We pass through one small village, and then it’s nothing but olive trees, date palms, and the occasional cypress. Already, I am calmer.
The gated entrance with a gravel drive opens to an oasis of fruit trees and a garden plot in progress. There are a dozen matching yellow chairs surrounding a table that stretches half the length of the patio. On the opposite side is a circle of brightly colored bean bags chairs.
I enter the expansive living room that has been transformed into a learning space. More than a dozen women are already circled around a large table with a projector screen at one end. The walls bear witness to thinking and learning and team-building exercises, peppered with neatly organized posters, diagrams, sticky notes, and even a wall of envelopes meant to write comments of gratitude to peers.
The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), a pilot program for the High Atlas Foundation and the U.S. Forestry Service intends to build environmental stewardship and leadership skills in young women from rural communities. It’s a six-month residential program with the opportunity to learn from experts and practitioners using a workshop approach. For this two-week cycle, YCC participants are learning about sustainable agriculture. I am here as both a teacher and community development practitioner. I quickly introduce myself and offer an overview for our workshop together. I will use a case-study model to discuss community-based engagement for sustainable food systems, and then we’ll use the design-thinking process to address community-based issues.
The most striking part is when we practice the first step of the design-thinking process, which is to “empathize.” One young woman finally explains that the Arabic word is not as nuanced, so we broke it down as active listening and caring deeply about someone and the issue that they are experiencing. “It’s hearing someone else’s stories and feelings,” one woman describes. Another one suggests, “It feels diagnostic. A screening, like a doctor.” It’s a delight to watch these young women attempting to solve problems in their own communities with both compassion and intellect.
Prior to this day, I’ve spent nearly three months in Morocco funded by a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching doing just this: hearing the stories and feelings of youth across the country. Through this generous grant, I’ve conducted qualitative research for an academic paper, developed a research product, and served as a cultural ambassador. The latter has included guest lectures with local high school and university students, facilitating workshops for educators, and leading youth leadership and social innovation training. For my research, I’ve traveled across the country to conduct in-depth interviews with youth ages 15-30 and ethnographic field work with community associations and organizations.
The purpose of my Fulbright research is to gain a deeper understanding of the social and economic impacts of civic engagement on youth and their societies. Using Morocco as a case study, I examined the opportunities for and motivations of youth to engage in their communities and the civil society entities who are building capacity for youth participation. While limited in scope, my qualitative research offers insight into the motivations and perceptions of youth on their impact, voice, and role within their communities. My intentions for this research are to both give voice to the experience of Moroccan youth and also offer insight to relevant stakeholders for effective integration of youth into public life.
“Participation in Fulbright TGC has revolutionized the way that I approach teaching and learning. I now have a powerful toolbox and the skills to implement a library program that centers on building global competencies with students.”
In light of global trends of the decline in youth political engagement, Morocco offers an interesting perspective and an impetus for using an expanded definition of civic engagement. Youth played a critical role in shaping the democratic vision of Morocco’s 2011 Constitution, calling for greater youth inclusion and expansion of civil society, and they are finding new ways of engaging in public life. Considering both the reported decline in civic education in U.S. schools and also what we know about the potential of high-impact practices for teaching and learning, my research underscores the critical need for schools to partner with relevant stakeholders for meaningful real-world learning and to ensure active and engaged citizenry.
While in Morocco, I was privileged to hear the stories of young people, including what for many has been a transformative experience through community involvement. I was humbled by the candid way in which youth offered their opinions and perspectives and inspired by their earnest desires to make positive impacts in their local communities and beyond.
The Fulbright DA fellowship has been an incredibly enriching experience. The pre-departure professional development, primarily focused on research methods and intercultural exchange, was robust, and the mentorship that I’ve received from my U.S.-based research advisor and Moroccan counterpart has been invaluable to my professional and personal growth. I applied for the program, imagining that it could help integrate my experiences as a classroom educator and a community-development practitioner. My interdisciplinary background in the natural sciences and humanities shaped my approach to the research topic and methods utilized.
While this fellowship has been life-shaping for me, I trust that the experience will not simply live with me. I am excited to draw from the fresh insights of Moroccan youth and practitioners to collaborate with others in our SSSAS community to nurture globally competent students whose interests and passions are leveraged to help them solve problems with compassion and intellect within their own community. The research findings inspire me to build deeper relationships with students and to work within my teaching teams to provide more opportunities for real-world context for learning.
My research project will allow for virtual collaboration with a Moroccan independent school for community-based research, professional learning, and interdisciplinary initiatives like the Model UN. Back at home, I intend to continue to partner with and learn from relevant stakeholders—students, families, teachers, community partners, supporters—who are all critical to carrying out our school’s mission of “helping students succeed in a complex and changing world.” I could not be more grateful for the opportunity provided by Fulbright and IREX and the blessing and support of our SSSAS community. It is a real testament to the priorities and mission-alignment of our school to be allowed this time to be a learner and researcher for the benefit of our students and community.
As I return to the rhythm of the SSSAS calendar, I know the routines will further instill the lessons learned in Morocco into deeper impact for me, my students, and my school community. And, that is the gift of lifelong learning.