Ability or Social Status - Reagan Baldree

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    There are various identities that one identifies with or that can be placed on different groups of people. When it comes to ability or social status, there can be a mix that all relate to an individual. Thinking specifically about students at the school in Meknes, their intellectual ability is as high as you can get in Morocco, their social status on campus can vary, and their overall social identity can be in so many groups. 

    Going to a school that made me average after high school was a large adjustment, but for the students at Meknes, they went to college knowing that in order to attend that college they had to be the highest in their classes and the country. This is now a part of their identity that also acknowledges their ability. They have more ability and less ability than me in more ways than one. They are smarter than I could dream of being, but for us in the US, there are ranges of grad and PHD schools to be accepted to, but for them it is a smaller number. 

    Measuring ability is a funny thing. When judging others ability, the perspective you take is what makes their ability greater or less than yours. Being culturally, personally, and differentially aware is the main goal. Understanding that their ability does not define their outcome as well. One article says, "Morocco's Minister of Education, Mohammed Hassad, has revealed statistics related to university dropout rate, showing that more than half of students enrolled do not graduate"(mwn). Their ability to get in does not define their ability to finish. That is the one commonality, but there are various differences in our ability to get in and to attend including age, home life, drive, and country norms/circumstances. 


https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/05/99317/moroccan-students-enrolled-universities-graduate/ 

Comments

  1. Clara ForehandMay 22, 2025 at 1:22 AM

    Thanks for sharing this! I did not have a chance to visit the school in Meknes because I was sick that day, so I really enjoyed reading about your experience. I had no idea that dropout rates were so high in Morocco or that there are very few PhD programs here. Additionally, there are other barriers to education for PhD students in Morocco, including a lack of access to high income countries and their research conferences, as well as language barriers (Bedraoui, 2024). However, there is a lot of investment into scientific research in Morocco, so hopefully progress continues.
    Reference:
    Anas Bedraoui (2024) Point of View: Being a PhD student in Morocco today eLife 13:e104070 https://doi.org/

    ReplyDelete

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