Happy Birthday Canada!

Ninety-nine & nine tenths of my students know absolutely nothing about the country from which I hail (clue on far left) in spite of the fact that more than a hefty handful would give their eye teeth for the opportunity to study or immigrate there. Now this isn't an indictment against Moroccans (see how paranoid hyper-sensitive you've all made me?) but a fact. For the most part, my students don't seem to know a whole lot about any country outside Morocco, let alone the dar al-islam.

Allow me this little digression by way of illustration: last summer, during a summer programme which explored the contributions of several ancient cultures, I had planned a class which discussed, among other things, China's Four Great Inventions: paper, block & movable printing, the magnetic compass, and gunpowder. Teacher, my students tried to reason with me (in a tone that clearly indicated that they thought I was a retard), Muslims invented all of those things. Suffice to say the class was a resounding flop.

How does Canada fare? I once had to draw a moose on the whiteboard in Mr. Cat in Rabat's classroom because his attempts at miming (hands atop his head as antlers) and explaining what the largest extant member of the deer family was to his students were clearly failing. But a dozen Moroccans can be forgiven for not knowing what a moose is. And when a student tells me that Montreal is the capital of Canada, I am no longer particularly surprised nor in the least way offended. After all, how many Americans could answer the question correctly? Or that French is Canada's official language ... or that the second largest country in the world is the U.S.A. not Canada (Teacher, my students try to reason with me in a tone that clearly indicates that they think I am a retard ...) - well, truth is, that one gets under my skin. I've even brought a globe (albeit an inflatable one) into the classroom and pointed maniacally at it screeching : Look! look how big it is!!

So on the off-chance that any of my students are reading my blog today, let me set the record straight:

* Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world by total area
* Canada is officially bilingual (French & English) although only one province is officially bilingual and that is New Brunswick, not Quebec.
* Canada has a Prime Minister not a president.
* Canada maintains a parliamentary democracy but is also a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state head
* Canada did not send forces to Iraq (this for my students who tell me the contrary)
* Toronto is the country's biggest city, not Montreal.
* It is not -14° celcius year-round.

And finally, July 1st is Canada Day - and today, Canada is 140 years old.
Happy Birthday! Bonne fête!