April 8, 2008
Peace and Kindness
I have loved reading about the various projects and work that is going on around the state with Three Cups of Tea. From the Kindness Project to the vocabulary lists to book clubs...Mr. Mortenson's message of peace is being shared with hundreds of New Hampshire high school students! Recently, Palm Beach County (FL) has begun a similar project--how exciting for us all! I look forward to hearing how students are reacting to the book and other projects that may have begun. Happy Spring, and thank you for taking part in this amazing project!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Laura Stowell and myself are using the book in our Senior Humanities course during the Love Unit. The students have been really fascinated and hopefully inspired by the life of Greg Mortenson - someone who is really making a difference. Recently we had a discussion based on student submitted questions covering up to page 170. Below are a few of the questions:
1. I don't understand it - how can people live like Greg Mortenson live so selflessly?
2. Does this story have more of an impact because it is non-fiction?
3. Do you think a small town in America would be as open to taking in a "lost foreigner"?
4. Is their a moral dilemma presented with Greg Mortenson's obligation to his family and his commitment to his work in developing countries?
5.Do you think the definition of love is different in the West than it is in Pakistan?
6. It is often times easy to be initially enthusiastic about your "vision" - what keeps Greg Mortenson focused and committed?
Sandra...
This is great stuff. Kudos to your students and thanks so much for sharing!
Paige Oristano
My seniors who read Three Cups of Tea were asked to complete a short essay on their final answering the question: why is it so important to study world literature and other cultures? What do these experiences allow us to know?
An excerpt from one of their essays reads: "We have studied literature from all around the world so we can become more well-rounded individuals...Three Cups of Tea showed us that not everyone from the Middle East wants to blow us up...Greg Mortenson was able to look past the popular belief that all...are terror seeking murders. He helped them build schools...before schools were built , some families resorted to floating [their children] downstream. It is hard for us to understand why they did that until we look at how desperate they were."
Another student wrote: "When I read Three Cups of Tea and Mortenson's experiences with the Muslim communities there, I did begin to better understand the reasoning behind their lives. It did a good job of providing a logical but relatively unknown strategy to peacefully end the tension that has plagued the Middle East. This is just one example of how reading literature from around the world can provide one with the knowledge to better understand and possibly accept other people."
I am a first year high school teacher from Indiana. I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea and I have already began to create lesson plans for a unit on the book. I stumbled upon this site and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or resources I could access? I am excited to get started and I hope I can get books and get this unit going with the start of the school year.
for the Indiana teacher....
How terrific that you will be using 3 Cups with your students this fall! Can you send me your email address......(blogsite is difficult right now for me to access)....and we will try to get something out to you
pls send to: paige.oristano@gmail.com
Post a Comment