Three Cups of Tea Response

Three Cups of Tea Response By Kaitlynn Pfannschmidt

What was the author’s purpose in recounting his story? I believe that the author’s purpose in recounting his story is to both inform us about his journey to help build a better future for many children and to persuade us to help him continue to build schools all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. While I don’t agree with some of the things that he wrote about in
Three Cups of Tea,
I think that it has most certainly informed me of some major troubles in places all over. To me, one of the most persuading things that Greg Mortenson has ever said is,“If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before
9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs(Pages 142­143).” I honestly believe that education is key for peace.

What lesson can somebody learn from reading this story? Make sure to explain your answer completely. There are many different things that somebody could learn from reading this book. They could learn about a new culture, a great man, and the start of a greater future for everyone. At the same time, they could also learn about the hardships that people face in Pakistan. For example, they don’t always have warm water or electricity like we do. While they are missing some important components of
Americans’ everyday life, I think that they could teach us a few things, like patience. At the end of the day, this book will always teach us things, and hopefully, it will reach and teach enough people to actually make a difference.

Do you consider Mortenson a hero? Why or why not?

I believe that while Greg Mortenson has made many heroic efforts, he shouldn’t be considered a hero. The definition for hero is," A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities," and I don’t think that he fits these requirements. All throughout the book, he's constantly talking about the praise given to him, and the praise he gives himself. Besides that, he steals money from his charity for personal uses such as charter flights, family vacations, clothes and internet downloads. This makes me believe that he is a greedy person at heart, whether he wants to be or not. I believe that the true hero in this book is Jean Hoerni for plenty of reasons. First of all, he gave

Greg $17,000 upfront and only wanted a picture of Korphe’s school when it was finished. Secondly, he gave Greg $20,000 to just live off of while he was making a name for himself. Finally(and most importantly), he gave him $1,000,000 to start off the Central Asia Institute(CAI) right before he died.
In conclusion, words and feelings are just as big as actions when somebody is trying to accomplish heroism. What evidence is revealed that demonstrates that the schools are improving the lives of the students who attend them? In the chapter “The First Educated Woman in Korphe”, Jahan tells Greg that she’d like to go to medical school. She’s got all of the courses and the description of the school written in English, which is truly amazing. Before Greg came along, she couldn’t even write in her first language! Also, she did end up going to medical school, which I think is kind of a big deal.
She wasn’t even supposed to go to school, but now she is going to be a doctor of Korphe!
She took the small education that Greg Mortenson gave her and she ran with it. While there were many good examples, this one was by far my favorite because it is a wonderful example of following your dreams. I think that we should all follow her example and never give up.

How has reading this book affected the way you look at your own education? Discuss/explain. By reading this book, I realized that I need to start valuing my education. I mean, here’s all of these Pakistani children who wish that they could go to school like we do, and it just makes you think.
Before I read this book, I would’ve wished to have a school situation like theirs, no teachers, no desks, and no school to go to, but after reading this book, my mindset totally changed. I now want to go to school every day(even on some weekends), and suck every ounce of education I could possibly get from my teachers. My bus driver once told me that school is only what you make of it, and I never tried to follow that, but now try to think like that when I’m bored to death learning about something that I don’t want to learn about. I’m thankful that we read this book, because without it, I’m not sure if
I would ever have liked school the way I do now.