Helping build a school
When Bellows Falls Central School fourth-grade teacher Judy Durand decided to have her reading group take on the young adult version of “Three Cups of Tea,” she figured the story would hit a nerve with her students.
Greg Mortenson’s book is part adventure tale, set in an exotic location that tells the story of school children who are the same age as those at Central School.
The reading group, which met in her classroom during lunch period, loved the book and grasped the lessons even beyond what Durand had hoped.
But when the book was finished and the group was ready to move on, the students wanted to do more.
And now they are leading a schoolwide effort to help raise money for the foundation Mortenson set up to build other schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“It’s sad that some kids don’t have books and stuff when they need to learn to be successful,” said Dakoda Carter, 10. “We wanted to do something to help them.”
“Three Cups of Tea” was published in 2006 and it tells the story of a trip Mortenson took to Pakistan.
He set out to climb a mountain but ended up in a small village, and after meeting the people there, he promised to return to help them build a school.
He has since started a nonprofit organization and has helped build more than 75 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Pennies For Peace program has been started in schools all over the world to help raise money for the Central Asia Institute, which also trains teachers, establishes libraries and develops educational programs along with building schools.
Durand did not plan to have her students take on the fundraising efforts.
She said it was clear when they were in the middle of reading the book that the story was affecting them on a deeper level.
“It’s amazed me. They have been explaining things in the book that I forgot,” she said. “The difference between what we have and what (the village) has really resonated with them.”
When Durand first suggested that the reading club meet during lunch period, Fallon Vancor didn’t think it was the kind of book she was willing to give up her lunch period for.
“At first I wasn’t sure if I would read it or not,” said Fallon, 9. “But then you think about these kids who are less fortunate than us and I got interested.”
And Jonathan Skrocki, 10, said Mortenson’s journey across Asia, which started out as a mountain climbing expedition and ended up as a struggle to build a school, taught him about more than service to those less fortunate.
“Greg was determined,” he said. “He did not always know how it would turn out. You can’t always predict what will happen next.”
The students made posters that are going up around the school and they plan to make presentations in front of the other classes to raise awareness about their campaign.
“These kids were sitting on the ground in the freezing mountain and their teacher was only coming twice a week,” Tylor Nass, 10, said. “We want to help.”
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reform-er.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279.
(c) Vermont Observer 2009
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