Three Cups of Tea

While reading this remarkable book and discussing it in depth, I have come to some realizations of my own. One of these being the wealth in which we live, and the privilege our children have to such a well-funded, non-biased education. In small villages in Pakistan, the children have been forgotten by the government. While many of the larger towns and cities have government sustained schools, the funds allotted to these towns are ciphoned off before they reach them. Greg Mortenson saw this need for schools and created the Central Asia Institute to fund and build schools across rural Pakistan.

This need for schools was also met by another means, the Taliban-funded Madrassas. These "schools" were instilling Islamic Extremist values into the students of the small towns, who were desperate for any opportunity to learn. Greg Mortenson counteracted this by building secular schools, combatting the militant curriculum and hate bred by the Madrassas.

I am so thankful for the education I have had, and the one I hope to provide my students. I feel, as Mr. Mortenson does, the only way to fight terror and hatred is through education. We as teachers need to understand the situations in which some schools around the globe operate, how children endure such poverty and misdirection, and teach our students to be compassionate and thankful humans.

Miss Gabbert

"Chalk"

The one word I can find to describe the teachers of chalk is "dysfunctional." Each one was blessed with his or her giant flaw conveniently manufactured by the writers, of course. I could tolerate most of the shortcomings, finding them mildly humorous; the high-strung AP, the gym teacher and her obsession for rules, the history teacher with zero classroom management. The one that I could not laugh at, however, was the Social Studies teacher. He had his sights set on the Teacher of the Year award, and could focus on little else but himself. His students learned little to nothing in his class, and at one point he even told off a student for knowing more about history than he did. "Act a little bit dumber, please. You are making me look bad."

That holds little humor to me. The fact that children are not learning is not a laughing matter, but rather one of real and serious consequence. I am unaware of how many teachers actually forgo learning for superficial relationships with students, to be perceived as a "cool" or popular teacher. There is nothing of substance, no real learning happening in that classroom. Children are reading the subtle hints that knowledge isn't actually important. It is more important to be liked. It is more important to have fun.

Superficially, I enjoyed the movie. But the things it hints at make me wary.

Miss Gabbert