Three Cups of Tea

[Guest]

.

[Jan & John]

Thanks Charmaine, for that link http://bit.ly/4UbIno
that was a very worthwhile 1/2 hour listening to Greg and feeling his hope and optimism...
it's a shame there are no loans up right now for Afghanistan or Pakistan, I would be funding them all
-jan-

[Mona]

A friend of mine provided me with the link to the latest volume of "Journey of Hope" - 44 pages packed with photos and great articles about 3 Cups of Tea. 

https://www.ikat.org/publications/2009JOH.pdf

[Jan & John]

Greg Mortenson just posted on Twitter
 
Philadelphia Inquirer syndicated columnist Trudy Rubin: A Surge In Schools
www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/81907472.html

Mortenson says if they did sit down with shuras, they would understand that what Afghans want most is training, whether in regular schools, or vocational or agricultural courses. Rather than use big contractors, he says, we must teach the Afghans themselves to do the job.

"We need to believe, to take the risk, that people themselves can run their country. We need to change our mind-set," says Mortenson.

-jan-

[cjp1973]

Mona is taking her antibiotics and following Drs. orders today, while surfing DonorsChoose    Here are 2 new Three cups of Tea projects.

Three Cups of Tea to Teach Peace, One Classroom at a Time
First my students were faceless names on a roster, then they became the beings who livened up my days in the classroom, and now, each class of students has become like a family unit, a place where they feel safe to express their opinions and their dreams. I teach 9th and 10th grade English in a critical needs school district in Mississippi. My students struggle with basic skills like reading and writing; in fact, the majority read well below grade level. Sadly, violence and drugs dominate many of their lives, as poverty is rampant across the district.

In Three Cups of Tea Young Reader's Edition, Mortenson writes of his quest "to change the world... one child at a time". Like Mortenson, I too am on a quest to bring hope and peace into my English classroom. Just as the people of Pakistan became family to Mortenson, my students have become family to me. I want to show them the world, expand their horizons, and equip them with the necessary skills to succeed in today's society; however, the resources within my district are limited.

Mortenson's story shows the power of one person with one dream and the desire to turn the dream into reality. Three Cups of Tea Young Reader's Edition would give my students the opportunity to improve their reading and writing skills and experience a world far away from the state of Mississippi. Through the use of this book in my classroom, I can better prepare my students for college, as the difficult level of the Young Reader's Edition is enough to challenge even my best students. Critical thinking skills will be expanded as we examine the current situation in Pakistan and compare it to the lives of my own students who too know the despair that comes from living in a world of poverty and violence. This book will empower my students to dream big and prepare them for the future by improving their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills

Your help will make it possible for me to equip my students with the necessary reading, writing, and critical thinking skills for college. Just as people believed in Mortenson's dreams, your help will show my students that someone else beyond the school walls believes in them.  $176 needed, a Double your Impact project with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Three Cups of Tea and 40 Cups of Change
Yawn! English is sooo boring!" This is what I hear at least once a week. I have tried everything, but my students are not motivated with the school's current reading list.

I am currently teaching 9th grade English in Southern California, and I have found it very challenging to get students excited about reading. Most of my students are unmotivated and a majority are English Language Learners. When I took a survey at the beginning of the school year only about 20% of the students had read a complete novel. I have provided students with plenty of books to read on their own, but they need some guidance on independent reading.

The biggest problem that my students have is that they have no aspirations for the future. The students think in the here and now; I want my students to make goals and understand that sacrifices and bumps in the road occur in the process. I want students to feel empowered and to feel that if a single man can build over 20 schools, then they can reach any goal.

"Three Cups of Tea One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time"

by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is a wonderful and empowering memoir of a man with a mission. This book is filled with adventure, struggles, and happiness. I would like to share this incredible story with my students. While I have tried silent reading with my students, I feel that if we all had the same novel, I could better aid their comprehension. I know that once students have read this incredible story they will better appreciate their education and the struggles that life is all about.

With your help, you will ensure that students improve their reading abilities. In addition, students will feel empowered, and for many it will be their first novel. Finally this novel will also help motivate students to read other novels.

**Eli, I know, not a novel, have already emailed Donors Choose.

You can find all the projects here[/b] including one for A Long Way Gone:  A Boy Soldiers Memoir.

[cjp1973]

I discovered today an organization here in California called "3 Cups of Tea Santa Cruz", which began with a fundraising auction for CAI (Central Asia Institute) last year and is continuing with a second one in February 2010.  Their statement of purpose would resonate with most of us here:
Their method is unique, and made me smile: local artists (clay workers, painters, metal workers, photographers, and others) have donated artworks themed to "Three Cups of Tea" or sets of three tea cups for auction.  There will be both an Internet auction and a live auction and talk in February; you can see this year's donated items here as they are received, and on January 25 that page will include a link to their online auction.  Last year their event raised just over $9500, and included only sets of three tea cups.  (There are some wonderful sets of cups from last year if you want to take a look.)

An innovative approach to fundraising and awareness-raising, I like it.


--Diane.

(EDIT: Gosh, look at this amazing weathervane!
http://www.3-cups-of-tea-santacruz.com/weathervane-popup.htm)

The auction has now started!  Some amazing pieces.  For those of you liking the weathervane, current bid is $600!  Wonderful for CAI.

[Kathy]

The auction has now started!  Some amazing pieces.  For those of you liking the weathervane, current bid is $600!  Wonderful for CAI.

Thanks for this and the previous post about it. Don't know if my bid will win or not. They were interested in knowing how I heard about their auction. Really lovely pieces.

[Mona]

Another really wonderful Three Cups of Tea project was posted yesterday. I love especially the image of children holding hands around the world. 

Three Cups of Tea for the Pepsi Generation
"Children holding hands around the world." That is my vision for peace through out the world. I teach third graders in a rural school in NC. One focus of study is communities around the world and what better way than to compare how different but also how we are alike in so many ways. For peace to happen children like my students will learn to appreciate and to respect other cultures

These third graders are transitional readers in that many are transitioning from picture books to chapter books. The young readers edition would provide the resource for them as well as enriching their knowledge of a different culture. At this point I do not have any other books that will work as well as I think these will.

I need 15 copies of Three Cups of Tea, young readers edition, to use as a resource to teach my third graders about another community in a different place which is part of the curriculum. I do not have multiple copies of a book such as this to have for my class.By allowing each student to have a copy each one can focus more on the content of the book. I want my students to have knowledge of the culture of Afghanistan and how important education is to the tribes of that country. By each student having a personal copy I believe that this is possible.

By donating these books you will provide my students a glimpse of how children in another part of the world (Afghanistan) live, work, and play just like we do. After reading this book my students will hopefully realize that although we live and go to school in different places our needs are all the same. You will also make it possible for my students in a small rural area become acquainted with and appreciate another culture on the other side of the world.

Also still fund raising:
Boy in the Striped Pajamas / Three Cups of Tea
Three Cups of Tea--Fostering Cultural Understanding

[cjp1973]

2 new Three Cups of Tea projects are listed on Donors Choose.... 

Books, Books, Books
I teach 5th grade in an inner-city school setting. We have a poverty rate of over 94% in our school. Also, we have four homeless shelters feeding into our school.

My students struggle with expanding their brain outside of their culture. I need to open their eyes to different cultures around the world.

My students love to read and what better way to expand their cultural knowledge with the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World... One Child at a Time. I also plan to include this book across the curriculum in social studies, language arts, and math.

You will make it possible to allow each student a copy of the book to read and allow them to take their thinking to another level!
$136 still needed

Level Up! Pushing Students To A True 6th Grade Reading Level
The key to reading success: high-interest, challenging books that captivate the imagination and drive students to learn.

I teach 6th grade at a K-6 Elementary School in California. Our school is made up of 98% students with free or reduced lunches. Over one-third of our students are English Language Learners, and many struggle significantly with reading. More than 80% of my class came in reading below grade level. Since the beginning of the year, I have worked in a guided reading model to build their reading levels together. Our class has made over 3/4 of a years growth in 4 months of school.

My students are expected to be a level Y reader (in the guided reading program) by the end of the school year. This year, however, is the first year my school has had a sixth grade, and as a result, we have a severe lack of high-level books above a fifth grade level (which ends at level V). While we have plenty of high level books, we do not have sets that can be read in literature circles and guided reading. For high-level readers, being able to discuss a book in a group is an essential part of reading growth and development. Yet, we have only 7 group sets of books that are above a fifth grade reading level - and most of my students have already gone through 5 of them!

We need 9 more literature circle sets of books so that my students can continually improve their reading level and challenge themselves. I have selected high-interest books that are both fiction and nonfiction so that students can expand their reading opportunities and also have a degree of choice in their literature circles. The books include classics like "Night" and "Skin I'm In". I have also included modern non-fiction including the young reader's editions of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Three Cups of Tea."

My students are college-bound scholars who love to read. If they are to continue their path, they need challenging reading that continues to promote their advanced growth. Falling behind in reading is NOT an option for my students - they are invested and have the goal of achievement. These books will give my students the tools for them to self-advocate and improve their reading level toward the 7th grade and beyond. Please donate to help my students reach their fullest reading potential!

[A Nonny Mouse]

I had to smile at this teacher's thank-you note, posted today, for another 3COT project funded by KivaFriends:

Empowering Students to Change the World

"As an English teacher, I am usually confronted with surly glares and complaints when I hand out a new novel. In fact, much of the time, students don't even complete the assigned reading and try to fake their way through class. With this novel, though, even three chapters in, I had senior boys coming up to me to tell me how much they were enjoying the book.

Three Cups of Tea has been the inspiration I had hoped it would be for my students. My students were captivated by the photographs I showed of K2's impressive heights. They argued about how fair it was for Western mountain climbers to have "all the fun" while men like Mouzafer had to carry all of the equipment. They were outraged at Changazi's betrayal and could not understand how someone could cheat a man who was trying to build a school. I had students write about how lucky they felt and how they probably took their own education for granted.

This novel has really changed the way my students see not only the world, but also English class. They are energized. They are actually reading. They are fervently discussing the powerful lessons Greg learned and applying them to their own lives. I have students now coming into class to tell me about their latest volunteer adventures. Just last weekend, five of my students spent a Saturday night serving dinner at the local homeless shelter. The senior class has also been raising money for relief efforts in Haiti, and they are even more empowered to affect change than they were before we started reading this novel.

Thank you so very much for giving me the opportunity to share this story with my students. I think it is safe to say that we have all been changed by this experience. You have my gratitude and my appreciation.

With gratitude,
Ms. H."


Nonny  who shot more than a few surly glares at teachers in her time   

[David2051]

Today on my way home from lunch I noticed this show on the radio.  I thought you might be interested to listen to Travel with Rick Steves.

February 13: Greg Mortenson, author of the bestselling "Three Cups of Tea" tells us how he's able to build schools in the heart of Taliban country.

http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/streaming/program196.asx