7th-graders learn of education, friendship, and peace

“Education is a privilege that we take for granted; some kids in Pakistan—especially girls—don’t have the same chance that I do,” says Darienne Maust, a seventh grader at Bethany Christian Schools, Goshen, Ind.

In fact, she and her classmates learned, while reading Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea (Young Adult Version, Puffin 2009), that around the world 110 million children between the ages of 5 and 15 do not have the chance to go to school.

These Bethany seventh-graders are studying Three Cups of Tea as part of a joint language arts and social studies unit. Through this book, which tells of life in Pakistan from the viewpoint of children and one lost American mountain climber’s mission to promote peace—one school at a time—, students are learning to read and analyze their reading while learning about Pakistan’s geography and culture.

Language Arts teacher Evie Nafziger finds Three Cups of Tea particularly helpful in extending students’ thinking. In addition to studying the content (what happened in the story), they are discussing how they can apply ideas in real-life situations. For example, while they are learning about the lack of educational opportunities for girls in Pakistan, she hopes that at the end of the unit they could not only recount facts, but write an essay on why educating girls is important.

Education, though, is just one the themes of study. Through reading the book, students are also learning the effect of war on people’s lives, stories of Muslims who are doing good—in contrast to the negative images often portrayed in the U.S.—and the geography of the region.

In one class session, social studies teacher Tim Lehman asked students to think about how the geography of where people live—in this case Pakistan—can affect their culture and daily life. For example, people living in the high altitude regions of the Himalaya Mountains must adapt their lives to deal with the dangers of extreme cold, less oxygen, and traversing treacherous landscapes. To help students understand some of these dangers, he created a mountain climbing simulation in which some students climbed a 20-foot snow pile—the result of the early February storm that hit much of the nation. But not everyone was able to complete the climb—during class at least—since not all who attempt to assault Mt. Everest or other high mountains are successful: some are turned back because of weather conditions, inability to adapt to the conditions, injury, illness, or death—for every 4 people who have reached the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the Himalayas and one of the toughest to climb, one has died trying.

Cultural awareness and sensitivity are also a key part of the students’ study. As they read, students keep a running list of what is similar to our culture and what is different. Nafziger says, “I hope they gain a better appreciation for why we do certain things one way and why another culture may do something another way. It’s not about right and wrong, or better or worse, but understanding why each does what it does.”

One difference that the class has studied is the importance of tea in Pakistani culture. When people get together, they drink tea before they do business. So students are learning the importance Pakistanis place on building personal relationships. And they have learned about the symbolic importance of drinking three cups of tea with another person: the first time you are a stranger; the second time, a friend; the third time, family.