theft

Theft in the classroom

1. The teacher's accusation to the cruelest students. 

He checked all his pockets and desk. He did not find anything. He went to and fro between the tables like he was crazy. Nobody knew what had happened to him. He gazed at me. “I’m sure that you’ve stolen my phone” he accused me. I thought he accused me directly in that I was the cruelest and the stupidest student in the class. His accusation against me was really wrong since he had no evidence. Yes, it is very easy to accuse someone, but it is very hard to find true proofs. “What phone I’ve stolen? It’s not me. You can check me if you don’t believe” I defended my self. But, he did not believe me “it’s you…it’s you…it’s you” he assured.
It was really very hard to convince him since he had some prejudgments about me. I wondered why he did not check all my class mates before to accuse me. That really proved he only hated me. Even though I was the cruelest and the stupidest student, I liked  him so much since he was my teacher. "To be cruel or stupid or to be both of them, it does not mean to be a thief. It is really a wrong equation. I do not judge someone before to know about him. I really do not accuse anyone when I do not have true proofs. Accusing someone without true evidences is really a true crime".
All my class mates were silent and they were only observing what was going on between me and the teacher. He checked me. He only found some dates in my pocket and bread with cheese in my book bag. He was disappointed and his face became reddish. “Where have you put my phone?” he asked me with a very strong voice. “You’ve just checked me. How dare you accuse me in this way? It’s not fair and I won’t accept this” I complained. He gazed at me aggressively and he said “there is only one way by which I can get back my phone. It’s punishment”. Then, he went out towards the principal’s office. Everybody was extremely eager to know what sort of punishment would be inflicted on me. It was really a good moment of suspense to all the students.

2. The Teacher, the principle, and the cruelest Student

On their way towards the class, the teacher and the principal were discussing the matter. Some students were afraid like they had stolen the teacher’s phone. Unlike them, I was confident since I had not stolen it and the teacher could not prove his accusation against me. It was only a deliberate accusation. “Why have you stolen the phone of your teacher?” the principal asked me “please, give it back to him” he added politely. “I’m innocent. I’ve never stolen in my life. I wonder why I’ve been charged among forty five students in the class” I proved to him. “Yes, you’re right. There are really forty five students in the class” he confirmed. “Have you checked all the students?” he asked the teacher. “Not yet” the teacher replied in a very low vice. “It’s not fair to accuse Ali before to check all the students. You have really done a big mistake. Check them now” the principal blamed and ordered the teacher.

3. The Teacher, the best Student, and the principle.

While the teacher was checking all the students one by one, I saw a student who sat in front of the teacher’s desk was shivering and sweating. It seemed that it was him who had stolen the phone. I was only waiting for the moment when the teacher would check him. But, I couldn’t wait. The suspense was really killing me. His turn came then. The teacher checked him and found the phone in the bottom of his book bag wrapping it in a handkerchief. “Why have you done this? And how have you done this?” the teacher asked that student. But, this latter did not answer. The teacher could not believe that his beloved student was a thief. All the students were surprised too to see the most polite and the best student became a thief.
“You’ve really done a big mistake. You should have checked all the students before to accuse Ali” the principal blamed the teacher again. The teacher was shivering like he was the thief. He was confused and did not know what to say to the principal. “Ali, come here” the principal ordered me and I obeyed him. “You should know that all people make mistakes. Human being in general isn’t angel. It’s now clear that you aren’t a thief, and I want you to forgive your teacher. I’m sure that he’ll love you after that” he persuaded me. I obeyed him again and I forgave my teacher. Everybody was happy that moment except that one who had stolen the phone. The principal looked at him sorrowfully. “I know that you’re a good student, but what you only need is to apologize to your teacher. I want you to do now” the principal ordered him. He really apologized to the teacher, and this latter forgave him. Everybody was happy again, but without exception.

BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY
26/06/2005

conversation exchange

Conversation exchange:   Female to Male conversation

1.Introduction

It is claimed that when men and women attempt to interact,they do not play the same role in interaction. This article is not meant to establish the differences of male and female speech in cross-conversation, but it rather aims to show how the component of gender manipulate some techniques of conversation and how in general a conversation undergoes between the sexes.

2.Opinions about Female and male Interaction

According to Wardhaugh (1986 : 314-5), women are sometimes required to be silent in situations in which men may speak. Wardhaugh supports his view by an example. Among Araucanians of Chile, men are encouraged to talk on occasions, while ideal women are supposed to remain silent in the presence of their husbands or in gatherings where men are present.
More important, Zimmer and west (cited in Gumpers 1982 : 197-8) notice that men tend to ignore the comment for their conversational partner. That is they offer no responses or acknowledgement. In contrast, they are more inclined to use more mechanisms for controlling the flow of conversation, including both topic development and the introduction of new topics. In addition to this, Zimmer and west (cited in Wardhangh 1986 : 317) claim that, in cross-sex conversation women ask more questions than men to encourage others to continue speaking. This view converges with that of Hirschman( Cited in Gumpers 1982: 198) which says,
“ Several of the female male conversation fall in to question answer pattern with the females asking the males questions”.
The reason for this, according to Hirschman, is to maintain the routine social interaction and do more to facilitate the flow of conversation.
From what is mentioned above, we notice that all these discussions from silent position through topic controlling to question asking have focused on single aspects and have no regards to the contextual and normative demands in which the interaction takes place. The point upon which Smith (1985 :135-6) builds his view point.
In his approach to male female conversation, Smith distinguishes between the control dimension and the affiliation dimension. The former, mostly associated with male, orders people, situations and episodes in terms of the extent to which they provide the opportunity for exerting active controls over the interaction. Whereas the latter, the affiliation dimension, is associated with female and has a tendency to prompt people situations and episodes to elicit warmth.
What is meant by this is that women in conversation are concerned with the communicative goal of affiliation, and men preoccupied with the aspect of control.

3.Conclusion

To sum up, these studies on male-femal conversation reveal that both sexes contribute to the process of conversation. However, it is worth mentioning that women are less quantitatively contributing and less controlling in the conversation. Hence, the difference between males and females lies in proportions.

 BY: MUSTAPHA KOURBANE

conversation

Conversation: Female to female conversation

1.Introduction

It is claimed that females do not converse with each other in the same pattern they do in cross-sex conversation. In female-female interaction, women tend to reveal different manipulations of the thematic and technical aspect of conversation.

2. Opinions about Female to Female Interaction

According to Chesler (cited in Thorne and Henley 1975 : 251) women, in female –female conversation , feel more comfortable and secure when they are talking to each other than in the presence of men. In a dialogue, Chesler notices that women seem mindless and senseless. They talk like reciting monologues to each other, with nobody listening or judging what the other is saying. But, throughout this process, they achieve a common kind of emotional resolution and comfort.
Stressing on the techniques, Hirschman (ibid 254) claims that, in a conversation together, women tend to interrupt and overlap each other more than the case of men or mixed sex pairs. This fact contradicts with female’s position in mixed-sex conversations where women have a hard time to get the floor. Zimmer and West (cited in Gumpers 1982 : 197: 8) sums up that women, in cross-sex conversation, are more likely to adopt the strategy of “silent position”.
Within the same context, Warhaugh (1986 : 316) remarks that when women talk to women. The talk focuses on events such as the self, feelings, affiliation with others, home and family.

3.Conclusion

Relying on these discussions, one notices that women’s contribution to conversation shows some differences between female-female conversation and cross-sex conversation. In other words, some techniques like “silence” which dominate women’s position in cross-sex conversation disappears in female-female interaction.

BY: MUSTAPHA KOURBANE

What is Anthropology?

definition of Anthropology:

1.What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is “the study of human Being, in particular, the study of their physical character, evolution history, racial classification, historical and present-day geographic distribution, group relationships, and cultural history. Anthropology can be characterized as the naturalistic description and interpretation of diverse peoples of the world ” (Britannica 1998: 446 vol.1). It is clear from this definition that the anthropological study is interested in all things produced and related to the human beings. In this sense it can be said that anthropology reflects human’s behaviors in terms of giving more descriptive details. This idea is demonstrated by Kluchan who considers anthropology as “a great mirror to men” (Hoebel.1966:22). Indeed, it is a mirror since it exposes the real image of all activities performed by the people in their every-day life. That is to say, the function of this mirror is to help people to know more and more about themselves.

2.Subdivisions of Anthropology

According to Hoebel (1966:7), the anthropological discipline is divided into two major subdivisions:
1. Physical anthropology.
2. Cultural anthropology.

2.1.Physical anthropology

Physical anthropology is defined as “the study of human physical character, in both the past and the present.” (Britannica 1998:446 vol.1). According to this definition, the task of physical anthropology is to offer
information concerning changes and developments of human beings in all the times, that is, the present and the past.

2.2.Cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology, unlike physical one, is interested in study of human’s culture in relation to all his activities. That is to say, culture is studied in terms of analyzing language, religion, politic, magic, law of society, and other things (Britannica 1998:782 vol.10). According to Hoebel (1966:8), cultural anthropology, as a subdivision of anthropological discipline, is divided into five small subdivisions: Ethnography, Ethnology, Social anthropology, Anthropological linguistic, and Archeology.

2.2.1 Ethnography:

Ethnography is defined as “a descriptive study of human society” (Britannica 1998:582 vol.4). The clearest support to this definition consists in Hoebel (1966:8) who argues that ethnography is a descriptive study of human society since it is concerned with “writing about people”.

2.2.2 Ethnology:

Ethnology is concerned with “the analytical and comparative study of culture in general” (Britannica 1998:582 vol.4). In this sense, the task of ethnology lies in the fact that to compare various cultures so as to show their characteristics and similarities. On the other hand, Kroeber defines ethnology as the “science of peoples, their culture and life histories as groups” (Hoebel.1966:8). That is to say, in addition to the concern of ethnology with comparing cultures, it is also interested in studying relations among people themselves as the members of society, and between them and their culture.
Sometimes we can find the term ethnology replaced by cultural anthropology or social anthropology, that is, in American usage it is replaced by the term cultural anthropology, and in British usage it is called social anthropology (Britannica 1998:582 vol.4).

2.2.3 Social anthropology:

Social anthropology is interested in the study of social relations generally. This idea is advocated by Hoebel (1966:8) who argues that the ethnologist who focuses his study on relations of the members of society in terms of various social organizations such as, family and kinship “prefer to be called social anthropologist”.

2.2.4 Anthropological linguistic:

Anthropological linguistic is defined as the “study of relationship between language and culture, it usually refers to work on languages that have no written records” (Britannica 1998:446 vol.1). This means that the task of anthropological linguistic is to study modern languages and ancient ones so as to show their origins, their sound and grammatical systems, and their relation with culture generally.

2.2.5 Archaeology:

Archaeology is "the scientific study of material remains of past human life and activities " (Britannica.1998:525.vol 1) in this definition the emphasis is on the remains of human beings .The aim of archaeology behind dealing with these remains (bones, tools …) is to discover and to know more and more about forgotten history of the people, and to revive their extinct culture.

  BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY

dialogue

Dialogue:  Male to Male dialogue

It is said that when men interact among themselves, their dialogue adopts certain characteristics and strategies. Many studies in this domain have shown that men, interacting each other, talk differently from female –female interaction and cross- sex dialogue.
For instance, Faris (incited in Gumpers 1982 : 212) notices that loud and aggressive argument is a common feature of male- male interaction . These arguments sometimes may include showing, wagering, names calling and verbal threats.

To take an other example, Hannerz (cited in ibid) describes men’s talk among themselves as debates over minor questions of little direct importance to any one. These debates include practical jokes, challenges, put downs, insults and other forms of verbal aggression, but they are not taken as signs of real conflict.
In addition to this, Head (cited in Smith 1979 :118) states that much talk among men in Brazil is about profanity and obscenity which they tend to attenuate in the presence of women.
In contrast to what is mentioned so far, Maher (cited ibid) says that in Morocco the use of exaggerated and formal speech is more characteristic of men among themselves than among women.

BY: MUSTAPHA KOURBANE

Anthropological Studies

History of Anthropological Studies

1.Introduction

The real birth of anthropology was in the sixties of the nineteenth century, but its roots traced back to the previous centuries, in particular, the eighteenth century. Then, anthropology grew and developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

2.Anthropology in the Eighteenth Century

Concerning the eighteenth century, it was characterized by two preeminent figures: Lafitou and William Robertson.
Lafitou, J.E. (1681-1746) dealt with comparative ethnology. In this domain he wrote two volumes comparing the customs of "American savages” with the previous and ancient nations (hoebel.1966; 508)
William Roberston (1721-1793), a Scottish historian and ethnological evolutionist, defined the three stages of evolution: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. He published a book in 1777 entitled “history of America" (hoebel 1966:509).

3.Anthropology in the Nineteenth Century

If the eighteenth century was the beginning of anthropology, the nineteenth century was the period in which anthropology developed because of effective contributions of some figures like, Tylor, Maine, Morgan and Franzer.
Sir Edward Tylor, an English anthropologist, was the founder of American cultural anthropology. His duty was to study and to examine various types of animism among different primitive societies. His major work consisted in publishing two volumes on “the development of religion and culture”. He also published “the primitive culture” in 1871, and “History of culture” in 1876 (Hoebel 1966: 519).
Henry Maine, a specialized legal historian, published his first book “Ancient law” in 1861. In this book he criticized some hypotheses concerning the development of ancient law. He wrote also three books which explained the ancient law (Stocking, J.r 1987: 121-27).
Lewis Morgan (1818-1881), an American social evolutionist, specialized in the study and analysis of Kinship systems and social organizations. He developed the basic stages of evolution (savagery, barbarism and civilization) which were defined by Robertson. In 1871 he published “systems of consanguinity” (Hoebel 1966:512). In favor of his major work in the field of anthropology, he was described as the founder of British social anthropology (Stocking, J.r 1987:301).
J.G. Franzer, a religious evolutionist like, E.B Tylor. His major work consisted in writing two volumes on the subject of the development of magic and religion (Hoebel 1966:515).

4.Anthropology in the Twentieth Century

As to twentieth century, it was the period in which anthropological studies developed to some extent in comparison with the previous centuries because of effective efforts of some preeminent anthropologist, like, Boas and Malinoski.
Frank Boas, a historical deconstructionist, was the first one to produce recording method. In this respect, he was concerned with recording beliefs, ceremonies, and myths of primitive societies and analyzing them according to their historical context (Hoebel 1966:517). His aim behind dealing with recordings was to reconstruct the history of cultures (Stocking J.r 1987:318).
Bronislow Malinoski (1884-1942), a polish-born British anthropologist and a pure functionalist, considered culture as social systems. He was against the reconstruction of Boas which depended on recording. He insisted that anthropological studies must be on living societies and not on societies of the forgotten past (Hoebel 1966:519-20)..

5.Conclusion

To conclude, due to the major works of these preeminent figures in the field of anthropology, it can be said that anthropology emerged and developed really through the three centuries. The anthropologists of the eighteenth century were the founders of anthropology, and the anthropologists of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries were the developers of it. Due to the effective efforts of these anthropologists, anthropology gave and still gives its real fruits which consist in the emergence of some anthropologists who focus their studies either on modern or ancient societies

BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY

Gender Differences

1.Introduction

It is claimed that men and women in different parts of the world use language differently. In some places, pronunciation and vocabulary show a discrepancy between men and women in the use of language. Many researches on language unfold some differences between males and females in pronouncing words and in naming things.

2.Differences in terms of Pronunciation

To begin with, pronunciation is a concept which has interested researchers for a long time. It concerns the way one sex pronounces certain words with a remarkable difference in comparison to the other sex. To take one example, Chambers (1995 : 113) states that gender differences, in inner Detroit, are evident representing the variables /r/. The /r/ may be pronounce in postconsonantal position as in “bird” and final position as in “mother”. The differentiation at this point is striking with women consistently more /r/. Full than men.
Far from inner Detroit, Chambers (1995 : 140) mentions an other example of pronunciation in Middle Eastern nations, where the variable /q/ is studied. The sound /q/ has three variants : the standard uvular stop /q/, the glottal stop /?/ and the velar stop /g/. The study carried out in this context shows that women tend to use the uvular stop /q/ more than men.
Alongside the notion of pronunciation, in Norwich, according to Preston (1989: 65-66), the variable (ng) under the study reveals that men use mostly the variant (ng) while women present a frequency of the prestige velar variant /j/.
From these examples, taken from geographically different parts, we notice that there is gender differences at the level of pronunciation with women much more inclined to use the standard form than men.

3.Differences in terms of Vocabulary

Concerning the notion of vocabulary, Lakoff (cited in ward hangh 1986 : 312) claims that men and women tend to show some differences as far as the repertoire of color is concerned. Women use color words like mauve, beige, aquamarine and magenta while most men do not. She also adds that adjectives such as adorable, charming, lovely and sweetly are commonly used by women and rarely by men.
Lakoff’s claim is advocated by Firstone (cited in Thorne and Hanley 1973: 51) Firstone relates that the cursing vocabulary is restricted to men. He says
“A man is allowed to blaspheme the world because it belongs to him to damn, but the same curse out of the mouth of a woman is considered presumptuous, and thus an impropriety and worse”.

BY: MUSTAPHA KOURBANE

Politeness

Gender and Politeness

1. Introduction

The fact that men and women, to some extent, speak different “languages” may lead to think that they express opinions, preferences in various linguistic terms. The purpose in this section is to shed light on how men and women manipulate in politeness phenomenon.

2. Opinions about Gender and Politeness

According to Jaouhari (2004), it is claimed that both men and women are polite but women tend to be more flexible, in politeness than men. This claim is confirmed by Brend (Cited in smith 1985 :70) who says that female speakers use a polite pattern of assertive intonation while men use deliberate pattern.
On the expressionistic grounds, women are shown to be more polite via frequent use of some strategies to express themselves .Turner (cited in Gumpers 1982 : 222) notices that women use more indirect expressions than men. The notion of indirectness or off-record for Goody (1978 : 216) is a motivation for politeness. Indirectness in Speech according to Goody is used to avoid certain cultural taboos or touchy areas and certain terms which are inappropriate to face redress. In other words, the fact of making face threatening acts shrinking from responsibility of doing it.
Also, explaining male-female difference in speech, Deuhar (cited in Chambers 1995 : 130-1) says that the strategy known as “face” is the mechanism that determines women’s greater use of standard speech. Deuhar’s view point coincides with the properties of interact ant in the field of politeness cited in Yull (1997 : 134) and Goody (1978 : 66) . For Goody,
“ Face the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself consisting of two related aspects :
a-Negative face : The basic claim to territories, personal preserve, rights to non distraction. I.e. To freedom of action and freedom from imposition.
b- Positive face : the positive consistent self image or personality (crucially including the desire that this self-image be appreciated and approved of) claimed by interrtants”.
In the confluence of Deuhar and Goody point of views, one notices that women are more aware of strategies of politeness than men.
Within the same context, Roger (cited in Thorne and Henley1975 :250)says that women possess the ability to talk sweet with their infants and peers, but talk smart with anyone who might threaten their self images.
What is meant by this is that women show a great tendency to shift in response to shifting situations. The fact which may implicitly bring about women’s flexibility with the circumstances or variables of politeness cited in Goody (1978: 79):

BY: MUSTAPHA KOURBANE

Stereotypes

Gender and Stereotypes

1.Introduction

The study of stereotypes in relation to gender is important. This importance lies in the fact that it can establish the sort of relationship that survives between the component of gender. For stereotypes in general may lead to loss or mis- communication.

2.Opinions about Gender and Stereotypes

Sherer and Giles (1979 : 130) claim that the results of studies on the perception and evaluation of speaker’s personality reveal that female speakers are evaluated differently, and on the basis of different speech clues.
For example, Kramer (cited in Thone and Hanley 1975 : 254) states that women speech is emotional, vague, euphemistic, sweetly proper, endless. In general, it is supposed to be weaker, less effective and more restricted. Kramer (cited in Smith 1985 : 151) adds that female speech can be summarized as friendly, gentle, enthusiastic, kind but unimportant and containing jibberish on trivial topics. While male speech, he says , is characterized as attention–seeking, dominating, authoritarian, aggressive and frank.
According to Zimmer and West (cited in Gumpers 1982 : 210) men make more direct declarations of factor opinion including suggestion and statement. But in contrast to this study, Jesperson (cited in Thorne and Henley –1975: 51) assures that women exercise a great and universal influence on linguistic development via their instinctive shrinking from course and gross expressions and their preference for refined, veiled and indirect expressions.
In addition to this, Zimmerman and West (cited in ward haugh 1986 : 317) notices that women in conversation ask more questions and use more instances of “you” and “we”, and do not protest as much as men when they are interrupted.
On another level, dealing with politeness, Lakiff (cited in Thorne and Henley 1975 : 17) describes women's language as more polite than males.

By: MUSTAPHA KOURBANE

Cheating

Cheating in schools: Moroccan schools as a sample

1.Introduction

Cheating has recently spread among students in Moroccan schools. Within this essay, we are going to discuss some of the main causes of this serious problem, and the measures that have taken and should be taken to eradicate it from Moroccan schools.

2.Cheating Causes

Cheating is the most serious problems that threatens the quality and reputation of Moroccan educational system. It has spread among students of all levels in primary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities to the extent that it is very hard to control it. The rate of cheats in exams is increasing day by day because there are no effective sanctions that can prevent it. The absence of some effective sanctions encourages some students to cheat and have the courage to use force against anyone who tries to prevent them from doing that. In this regard, many teachers in high schools and universities are always threaten and attacked either inside or outside schools by some cheats who see that cheating is one of their basic rights and no one has the right to prevent them from cheating. The absence of a real punishment also inspires cheats to look for some new effective means and ways to cheat. Moreover, it inspires them to talk bravely about their successful cheating experience as heroes on social media and everywhere, and those who do not or can not cheat are considered as cowards.

3.Some suggested Measures to Solve the Problem

Cheating is really one of the problems that worries the Moroccan ministry of education. Therefore, it has recently launched a campaign that sensitizes students to seriousness of cheating in exams. Also, it has established a law that makes it possible to trial cheats as criminals and prevent them from the exams for a limited time or forever according to the situation of the cheat.
Personally speaking, all the measures that have been taken by the ministry of education are not enough. More efforts should be made to restore the educational system to the one that will provide students with good principles: The principle of respecting themselves and the others, the principle of being honest and depending on themselves, especially in difficult situations like exams. Moreover, special care should be given to the primary school students because the problem of cheating starts there if they are neglected. A student who starts cheating in primary school will become without doubt a professional cheat when he is in the middle school, high school, and university. Without doubt, professional cheats will become doctors, teacher, engineers, and ministers who cheat in their work in the future as a result. Students of primary schools will not be professional cheats if we do our best to make them aware of the seriousness and the negative effects of cheating. If we are able to control cheating in primary schools, we will be able to eradicate it totally in all Moroccan schools and society.

 BY: ABDELMAJID  YAQOUBY

Eating Habits

Eating Habits: Some Moroccan Eating Habits

1.Introduction

The eating patterns of social conduct are governed by some norms which may be social or religious. For this reason, they differ from one community to another. If we take, for instance, the eating habits of Hart Elmourabitine, Tinghir in Morocco, we will find that they are controlled and directed by the norms mentioned above. To demonstrate this, their eating habits will be exposed in what follows.

2. Some Eating Rules

At the beginning of every meal, the first thing which must be done is to clean the hands, and to name Allah when start eating the food. The right hand is used to eat the food because it is believe that the left one is only used by the devil, and all bad things are performed by it. If the left hand is used, God’s blessings (lbaraka) will not exist in the food eaten by it. While the food is being eaten, every one must eat what exists in front of him, and laughing must be avoided so as not to dirt the food. If some pieces of the food fall down, they must be taken in order not to be eaten by the devil. A person who finishes eating the food before others must say “allah yaqbal” which means this food will be accepted as charity (sadaqa) by Allah, and it will be blessed. But, the others reply to him using this expression: “akinfa3”, which means this food, will be beneficial and healthful to you. In addition to this, they eat all the meals together because they believe that there is no God’s blessing (lbaraka) in the food eaten alone.

3. dos and don'ts in a meal of Couscous

If a meal is couscous, they prefer to eat it using the hand instead of using the spoon because they think that this latter is the hand of the devil, and God’s blessings will not exist in the food eaten by it. They also believe that if a person eats only five morsels (lәqmat) using the hand, he will be full. When they finish eating couscous, no piece must be left in the dish, and the hand by which couscous is eaten must be licked because God’s blessings may exist in remains of this food.
In addition, there is a kind of couscous eaten every year on the first Muharam, which is the first day of the new lunar year. This couscous is called “sbaa khdayr” because it consists of all the vegetables and the fruits eaten through the year. A date kernel is put inside it. A person who finds this date kernel while eating is believed to be blessed person (ambark) for the year, because there is God’s blessing in it.

BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY

Culture

Culture: Macro and Micro Culture

1.Macro Culture

Culture is defined as “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior. Culture thus defined, consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies and other related components” (Britannica 1998:784 vol.3). In another point of view, Hunt and Horton (1964:52) consider culture as a “system of behavior shared by the members of society”, that is to say, culture is the basic element which fortifies and unifies the relations among the members of society. In other words, the culture is the constructor of society since the unity of this latter bases on a set of shared beliefs, customs, values and other activities. So, the absence of a shared culture entails the absence of society absolutely.
If culture is defined as the common and unified pattern of the system of human’s behaviors, culture, in the viewpoint of Ralph Linton, is a means which controls and determines thinking and behaving of the people. That is, people are not free to behave and to think as they want (Haralambos and Holborn .1991:3). To support this argument, Thomas Michel S.J argues that culture is the first teacher of the people since it guides and directs all their actions (religion, culture and tolerance: past and present .1990:108). Similarly, Hunt and Horton (1964:77) describe culture as the real prison for human being since all of his actions relate to it “from before he is born until he is dead”.

2.Micro Culture

Sub-culture (micro-culture) is a part of the dominant culture which all the members of society share. This idea is advocated by Horton and Hunt (1964:64) who argue that all societies do not have a "single culture", but they have a "universal culture" and a complex set of subcultures which reflect some cultural values which characterize one group from another within one society. The clearest support to this argument consists in Broom and Selznick (1977:74) who say that "every group has some pattern of its own".

BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY

Dropping out of Schools

Causes and Consequences of Dropping out of Schools in Morocco

1.Introduction

Moroccan schools suffer from many serious problems that stand as an obstacle for achieving some planned educational goals. Dropping out is considered to be one of those serious problems. In recent decades, many students are forced to leave school at early age because of various reasons in Morocco every year. So, what are the causes that force those students to drop out? What are the outcomes of this serious problem?

One day our school will be in a situation like the one in the photo below if we do not try to find some effective solutions for dropping out of schools

2.Causes of dropping out of school:

There are a lot of reasons that force some students to leave school before the age of fifteen. One of the main causes that push some students to leave school is poverty. Families of these students are poor; therefore most of them leave school to work in order to help their poor families. Besides, some schools are far from where students live.This discourages them to continue their studies. Moreover, most students believe that going to school is only a waste of time and money since they will be jobless after their graduation.

3.Consequences of dropping out of school:

Some of dropping out serious results are represented in the high rate of illiteracy, theft, and crimes among young people. Our society has become unsafe, and unstable because of all this.
The phenomenon of dropping out is not new in Morocco. It is a deeply rooted problem that is handed down from generation to another. It becomes complex and more complex year after year because the Moroccan government does consider it as a serious problem that affect negatively the other vital domains. The sector of education is really neglected by the all Moroccan governments in comparison with the other sectors because it is considered as non-productive one.

4.Solutions of dropping out of school:

What we should bear in our minds is that dropping out is really one of the most serious phenomena that endanger the future of our country. In this respect, the government and the ministry of national education must do their best to find some effective solutions that will enable us to overcome this serious phenomenon definitely. They should build some boarding schools in rural areas and make school transportation available for all students. In addition, a scholarship must be given to all poor students to encourage them to love love school and continue their studies.

 BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY

English as a Foreign Language

Obstacles of Learning English as a Foreign Language in Morocco

1. Introduction

Morocco is an Arabic-Amazigh speaking country. For, daily communication, Moroccans use informal forms of Arabic and Tamazight, and they use the formal form of Arabic in administrations, schools, and mass media. In addition to the two mother tongues of Moroccans, French is used as a second language, while English is used as a  foreign language. Many Moroccan students find learning English difficult because of the following reasons:

• The mother language as an obstacle.
  
• The lack of real interaction.
  
• Moroccan job markets does not require English.
  

2. The mother language as an obstacle

The two mother languages of Moroccans stand as a real obstacle for some students to learn English effectively. This difficulty consists in the fact that the two languages are different from English in terms of the structure and vocabulary. This means that the first language does not help the students to learn a second or a foreign language. In what follows some examples will be given to clarify this matter as can as possible:
In English language, the sentence is formed according to the following structure:

• Subject + verb + object/ complement
• Tom eats an apple

In Arabic language the sentence has the following form:

• Verb + subject + object

Beginner learners of English will form sentences using the Arabic structure, and the result will be as follows:

• Eats Tom an apple
• Verb + subject + object

This sentence is incorrect in English structurally, and it is meaningless as a result. So, we can say that the mother tongue misleads the learners when it is different from a foreign or second language structurally.

3. The lack of real interaction in English

The absence of real communication in English in Moroccan society makes it very difficult for the students to learn. The only place where the learners can use English is the classroom with their teacher and classmates. When they are out, they find that there is nothing to be done with this language. This is one of the obstacles that discourage the learners to learn English.

4. Moroccan job market does not require English

The most of jobs in Morocco only require Arabic and French languages proficiency, and the English is ignored even though it is a language that is used as lingua franca in the world. The learners are only inspired by languages that will enable them to have a good job in the future. In fact, this is one of the reasons that push them to discount the importance of learning English.

written by: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY

stereotypes

Stereotypes: the case of Morocco,

1.What is a stereotype?

Stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality, and sexual orientation .They are ,therefore, generalization about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of character .Mc.Garty defined a stereotype as : ‘’a particular set of social beliefs and understanding of outsider groups ,both culturally and socially remote from the insider groups. In the same way, Lippman defined stereotypes as: “the projection upon the world of our own value, our own position and our own rights.’’ They are “pictures in our 
minds” he added .So, what are the common wide-spread stereotypes in Morocco? And why we 
label and put stereotypes on others? Are stereotypes good or bad?

2.Examples of stereotypes in our society (Morocco)

Stereotypes are a big problem in our modern society. It puts labels about how a person should act or live according to their sex ,race ,personality ,and other facts .In morocco ,for example, racial groups are linked to stereotypes such as being good at math and physics. People of Errachidia and its surroundings is a case in point. But are all people of Errachidia good at math? It’s a generalization because we can find people there bad at these subjects. A person can make a generalization about an ethnic group that hasn’t been integrated in society. It is largely said in Morocco that people who come from Sahara are good, gentle, and hospitable .whereas, we can find good people as well as bad ones .Similarly, we hear broadly that saharian people are attracted to fat woman than to slim one when coupling .This is an overgeneralization because we may find men attracted to slim and fit girl in contrast of what is stereotyped. It is well known that when boys talk to girls whom they believed to be physically attractive, they communicate in a more positive and friendlier manner than boys who believed that they were talking to unattractive girls.  People of Rabat are accused of being untrustworthy .It is widely said in Morocco that Rbati people tend to show the wrong direction when asked for a place. In fact, I went there many times and I experienced such behaviour but the second time I asked an elderly and I was shown the good direction .so, we shouldn’t take this prejudgment as a fixed truth .Besides, all men like sports, listening to news and women are not as strong as men are common stereotypes not only in our society but in other societies as well .Moreover, there are stereotypes related to gender, that is, those which are said in favour of woman and those in favour of man. Among this, all men are all the same “rjal kolhoum bhal bhal” .in other words all men are wolves. This is a label that many women adopt because of a faild experience they had with their ex- man. Youth people, by their turn, have a wide spread prejudgment, namely, “bnt nass” doesn’t exist anymore. They said that when they are asked why didn’t you get married yet?

3.Why do we label and put stereotypes on others?

The commonsense answer to this question is captured in social learning theory. Simply put, we learn stereotypes from our parents who are our first and most influential teachers throughout socialization and upbringing .Sociologists suggest that stereotypes are the result of conflict, poor parenting and inadequate mental and emotional development. They are shared because they are the result of a common environment. Some psychologists say that stereotypes are usually acquired in early childhood under the influence of parents, teachers, peers and the media. A number of studies have found that stereotypes are activated automatically. Patricia Devine, for example, suggested that stereotypes are automatically activated in the presence of a member of a stereotyped group .Besides, we stereotype people when we are unable or unwilling to obtain all of the information we need to make a fair judgment about people or situations. That is to say, we just fill in the missing pieces of information as we don’t have a total picture. Labeling is due to carelessness and bad habits and lack of critical thinking skills. In short, stereotypes remain part of the “in” crowd whether we agree with them or not. We are obsessed with labels. We should, however, focus on what have in common like our common values and beliefs.

4.Are stereotypes good or bad?

According to Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braly, stereotyping leads to racial prejudice when people emotionally react to the name of group. When people judge people and groups based on our prejudices and stereotypes and treat them differently, we are discriminating them based on no fact. Therefore, stereotypes lead automatically to racism. The negatives of stereotypes lie on the fact that people become aggressive after they have faced prejudice in a given situation. In addition, prejudgments are bad because they make people have trouble making good rational decisions. It is said that women have lower mathematical ability. This stereotype, therefore, affects women’s and men’s evaluations of their abilities. Simply put, stereotyping is the responsible for depression when people, for instance, have self-stereotypes about themselves.

In contrast, stereotypes can be healthy and useful .Lippman argues that stereotypes are necessary for our orientation to the world. They are the way of simplifying and economizing .Without them,”our perception of the world would be like a baby’s one.”He added. In the same way Oakes shows that stereotyping, therefore,”has been characterized at best to make reality manageable and at worst, a pathological vehicle for prejudice and ill-treatment .What is more, stereotypes serve the function of cognitive maps, assisting in organizing and categorizing the large volume of information that individuals receive and process in social interaction .Simply, stereotypes build a sense of belonging and a degree of distinction between inside and outside groups. However, even good stereotypes do harm. For example, a child belongs to a racial group known for being highly intelligent .This particular child ,however, suffers from a learning disability and struggles to keep up with his classmates in school because his teacher has the stereotype that this child is supposed to excel in class for his people are highly intelligent.

This is in brief an overview on stereotypes widely spread all over Morocco. Stereotypes  that could be prolonged to other societies because of globalization. We have seen also in this article the reason why people labeling each other in terms of both psychological and socio-cultural sides. In the end we come up with the idea that even good stereotypes are bad ones thinks to their negative impact on people stereotyped.

                                                                            Written by: JAMAL DAHASSOU

comedy films

Advantages of watching  comedy films

Many people say that comedy films do not have any advantages and watching this kind of films is just a waste of time. However, it is my contention that comedy films have numerous advantages. 

The benefits of watching comedy films:

To begin with, we know that daily work can be sometimes boring and 
stressful. So, watching comedy films helps us to get rid of boredom and stress. Furthermore, watching comedy films with our family and our friends is an opportunity to have fun and amusement together. Consequently, we improve communication among us and break up all the conflicts and tensions. In addition, watching comedy films has many advantages for our health, thanks to laughter and humour. 
All in all, people should watch comedy films to make their life better than before. 

Written By: H.Ait Mo