a quarter of our children leave primary school illiterate

[Ghazala]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comme...418713,00.html

[Andalousi]

Salaam,

On the topic of education I was wondering why Moroccans under achieve at school, of course not all but from what I see alot of Moroccans let themselves down when it come to school education. Many just don't take it seriously enough? I'm not talking about Moroccans who have only recently arrived and don't know english well I'm talking about Moroccans who were born and brought up in the UK and don't take advantage of the facilities we have here?

Just wondering what your thoughts are about this?

[Ghazala]

I think it comes down to parental imput. Many parents who came over, certainly in the 60s & 70s, were and remain illiterate. From the villages or small Shameli towns straight to the Golden Streets of London. How can you help your children learn to read or complete their homework if you cannot read yourself? That is said with no disrespect; it is simply stating a common fact. In addition, even if they were capable of helping, many worked two jobs in order to build 'palaces' in lbled. As a final point, with families such as these, it was enough for their children to gain the odd o'level or gcse. College was a rarity even among my age group - university well, who went? Most girls were married in their late teens. I didn't encounter any Moroccans at uni

Al hamdulilah, later arrivals were more educated and I think that is the main reason why you see more Moroccans going to university now. Admittedly, many are still undertaking 'newer' subjects rather than 'traditional' academic degrees but it nonetheless pleasing to see. Hopefully, with time, we will have more Moroccan professionals over in the UK. We could learn from the Asians & Jews on this point actually. Education is an investment dont you think?

[Andalousi]

A lot of what you say is true. Parents are important no doubt but I believe the responsibility ultimately lies with the individual. They themselves have to want to learn and that’s my worry as I don’t see that thirst for knowledge in a lot of Moroccans. All I see is Moroccans showing off with their nice car in Morocco pretending they’re some millionaire when in fact they’re working in MacDonald’s or some Hotel washing dishes. No offence to Moroccans who work in places like these but you get my point, they need to sort out there priorities in life.

Education is more than an investment it’s obligatory as a Muslim to study throughout your life. Moroccan parents and their kids need to set high standards, and its more than just talk, if you’re a parent take your kids to nursery, converse with your kids, teach them at a young age so you can give them that head start, use your monies to pay for weekend classes etc. Kids out there, throw away your Play Stations, even better just give them to me! We should all make better use of public libraries, it seems libraries are a no go area for a lot of Moroccans? Did I hear someone say libraries are not cool??? Are you serious? What could be more cool than coming out of the exam room after acing that exam?!

Of course it’s not as easy as that as obstacles like peer pressure, racism etc but hey that’s life you need to tackle them, just don’t make it your excuse for not trying.

Peace.

[Ghazala]

Until & unless people realise that education is more important than money, we will continue to see what you've described.

If you have a flash car, why study? If people think you have money, what more do you want in life? We Moroccans in Europe, as a collective group, place a lot of emphasis on outside appearances. Scratch the surface & you may not find anything of interest. Many people miss the point that the more you learn, the stronger your thirst for knowledge becomes as you realise that there are so many things you know nothing about. Personally, almost every time I do another course people say; why are you wasting your time, why don't you get married & have some children? I'm not talking about my family. I am referring to many people you encounter in the UK. Worryingly, these comments are not only from older people. You get them from women my age whose children are now entering secondary school

I still think that the early 'pushes' are down to the parents. Only when we get older can we take full responsibility for our own actions. You're right, throw out the playstations. Take your children to the many free museums around London. If the playstation MUST stay, limit the hours. It is up to the parents of today to ensure that the children of tomorrow are successful. We have enough dole bludgers, drug addicts (not to mention some downright criminals ). If more community groups are formed - or the existing groups become more active - we can perhaps move the Moroccan community in the right direction.

[HOUDA-K]

Hmm, I think improving the quality of education in Morocco will be the biggest challenge our country will have to face.

[Ghazala]

Houda,
What do you think about the community here? I mean improving their access (or interest ) in education?

What exactly do you mean about quality in Maroc? Several members of my family are in the teaching profession and they constantly complain about the downward spiral. However, they mean the attitudes of their students usually What were you referring to?