{"id":343,"date":"2010-08-27T08:49:26","date_gmt":"2010-08-27T08:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/changing-the-world-through-education.html"},"modified":"2010-08-27T08:49:26","modified_gmt":"2010-08-27T08:49:26","slug":"changing-the-world-through-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/changing-the-world-through-education.html","title":{"rendered":"Changing the World Through Education"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"threecups.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It’s easy to understand why Three Cups of Tea<\/a><\/i> has been on the bestseller list for years, and even easier
\nto understand why schools assign it as summer reading. It would be simple to
\nstart a discussion with the question: What did you learn from reading it? <\/p>\n

And I could imagine someone saying they learned about the
\nhistory and culture of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Or another that they learned
\nabout the way education can make a greater difference in the stability of a
\nnation than any other investment. Or another that they learned how much
\nAmericans have in common with people in the middle East, with Muslims, with
\npeople who have been called our enemies in recent years. And I could imagine
\nsomeone saying that they learned that individuals, with vision and passion and
\ncourage, can change the world.<\/p>\n

Three Cups of Tea<\/i>
\nis the true story of Greg Mortenson, son of missionary parents, mountain
\nclimber, and founder of the Central Asia Institute, an organization devoted to
\npromoting peace throughout the regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, mostly by
\nequipping locals to build schools. This story begins in the 1990’s before
\nPakistan and Afghanistan made daily news in the United States. After failing to
\nsummit K2, Greg Mortenson made a promise to build a school (for $12,000) in a
\nvillage in Pakistan. He kept his promise. And as the years went on, he found
\nhis calling. This calling–to support and provide for schools throughout the
\nregion–coincided with 9\/11 and the subsequent war against the Taliban in
\nAfghanistan. <\/p>\n

I’m afraid I can’t do justice to the impact of this story–to
\nthe compelling portrait of a people who long to be educated and the evidence
\nthat education will provide sustained change and bring with it peace. Mortenson
\nand Relin, co-authors, relate a story of students sitting outside, tracing
\nmultiplication problems in the dirt, with no teacher, because they so want to
\nlearn. Or the story of a young boy sent away to get an education. In order to
\nget to the city, the young boy had to ford a river. His father “inflated six
\ngoat bladders and lashed them together into a zaks<\/i>, or raft… ‘Now hold on tight,’ he said. His son couldn’t
\nswim.” Greg Mortenson goes to comparable lengths to see to it that these
\nchildren receive an education without having to endure these types of hardship.\n<\/p>\n

I’m equally afraid I can’t do justice to the tenacity of
\nGreg Mortenson. To the sacrifices he and his family have made as he travels
\nacross the globe and risks his life on behalf of these children and families he
\nloves, as he works for a minimal salary. To the love he develops for the people
\nof these foreign lands, love for their customs, love for their patience, love
\nthat crosses religious barriers and becomes friendship. <\/p>\n

I highly recommend Three
\nCups of Tea<\/i>. It weaves together a history of American-Pakistan-Afghanistan
\nrelations for the past two decades. It argues for education and economic
\ndevelopment rather than force. And it tells a story of the way reciprocal
\nrelationships of mutual trust and respect can change the world.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s easy to understand why Three Cups of Tea has been on the bestseller list for years, and even easier to understand why schools assign it as summer reading. It would be simple to start a discussion with the question: What did you learn from reading it? 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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}