Violence at schools
I think I would like to be a teacher.
It is usually a pleasure to talk to schools kids. They are smart, funny and honest….this statement comes as a result of the workshop I was asked to give about violence in schools. The whole thing was organized by one of the workers that support us in the project “Citizen in my City“. A gem of a worker really… he is seriously the most useful person.
It is seldom that I pass a nuit blanche, but the night before the workshop, it seemed like settling world’s troubles was easier than coming up with a creative idea that would keep my 50 young ladies engaged. I realize that the best-equipped adult mind in the world, can’t cope with the peculiar class of questions that originate in a thirteen-year girl’s brain.
The workshop was great. The girls were divided into five groups. Each representing a category in the educational process…. girls, boys, teachers, parents and ministry of education. I read them some of the typical opinions that average citizens in Jordan have, and asked them to comment on them within their groups…. they surprised me… I thought about “the worker”, who was panicking before the session and told me
If you want we can tell them what to say….
I was amused, and asked him to have faith in the brains of 13 year old girls…
Before the workshop, family protection unit gave the girls a lecture, and even though the person who spoke was very charming and smooth… her ideas were scary… highly moral, conservative and self righteous….
Among the things she said is that there is no rape in this country, no harassment, this happens abroad… in our country women are willing participants in the crimes against them… this made me think of the 10+ girls that I work with, and who suffer severe depression because close male kin harass them repeatedly and they have nowhere to go or no one to tell. I thought of the 100+ women I know and who are so used to being abused; they no longer recognize it as abuse…
I am shocked at how conservative the public opinion is… lately I have been slapped time after time with the morality… Jordanians simply hold each other to higher standards… we are expected to be angels… even though we are all simply humans… it is scary!
On the positive side…. She gave a lot of information, which was wonderful, as the girls hammered her with all kinds of weird scenarios revolving around sexual abuse… funny, eh?
Anyway… I realize this is a charming topic for Eid… so I will leave you with the video… I think it is cute… by the way, this is my first official video… I loved editing it… it is so amateurish… but I still love it J
nice
horrifying facts you got there mariam but the scariest of all is the fact that you want to be a teacher lol 
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ma ala2amek.. i will make a great teacher… kids will think i am their age!!!
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Pretty interesting. It’s awesome to see the new generation come up with wonderful and progressive ideas on their own.
What’s disturbing in that video is that 90% of the 13 year olds are veiled, what happened!! I don’t recall 13 year olds looking like that before I left Jordan
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Madas Reply:
December 8th, 2008 at 23:03
Ya qwaider, thank you for your comment… there is nothing wrong with veiled women… it is tradition, customs, belief…
In so many cases, i meet young women and i wish to God that they are veiled in order not to get taken advantage of… i honestly think in so many cases, veiling give a certain class of women protection. in other cases it gives them more freedom… so i am sorry, i will have to disagree with you.
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I didn’t say anything. I am just wondering what happened
Things were different almost 10 years ago.
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Madas Reply:
December 9th, 2008 at 09:59
What happened is two extremes… people are either becoming too liberal (for the wrong reasons) or are becoming too religious (also for the wrong reasons)… yeah i guess things changed.. you are right.
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last time a singer,and now a teacher? you’re all over professions madas!
I look at that vid and all I see are girls with high potentials and raw material glowing in their eyes, I hope a better understanding and development of that would take place.
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Madas Reply:
December 11th, 2008 at 18:58
Do you remember a TV program called the chameleon?
Some genius kids who grow up in a hidden facility, which belongs to some secret government project… these kids are so smart, they pretend to be anything they want.
So every episode there are two threads, one in which the protagonist has a new identity and solves someone’s problem and the other one is to solve the mystery of their own lives…
I was in that facility
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Led Zeppelin Reply:
December 12th, 2008 at 13:38
Hi
I have no idea what you are on about..
nice weather today
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Are you telling me you don’t know what the pretender (chameleon) is !!! ohh horror… you don’t know what have you missed…!
if you know about it, you would know why i am a singer one week and a teacher the next
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Led Zeppelin Reply:
December 17th, 2008 at 20:41
ok…well today you get to be the…what do they call? dayeh?
check out laraz blog.
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