stones into schools

I just finished my book o' the month for October: Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson. The book was a Christmas gift from my precious aunt that I just got around to reading and really enjoying.

Stones Into Schools is a sort of sequel to his previously popular, Three Cups of Tea, and chronicles his experiences and obstacles building schools particularly for girls in the most rural parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The parts of the book that I found most fascinating were the brief summaries of the history of the area. While I knew a lot of what Mortenson wrote about from documentaries and the news, it seemed like the horrors and complexities of the Middle East became real for the first time. On top of that, the destruction of thirty years of war and some of the most rugged terrain in the world has made the country a very isolated and difficult place.

Mortenson and his crew work extremely hard in an effort to rebuild Afghanistan and Pakistan through offering education to the people, especially the women who were prohibited from schools under Taliban rule. Mortenson's philosophy for focusing on female education is simple: "If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate a community." The sheer logistical gymnastics that Mortenson and his team have to face building schools in the most remote areas of the world surrounded by the most treacherous political and geographical landscapes is staggering--from transporting construction supplies on yaks to building relationships with communities that have not welcomes foreigners in generations. I found the practical aspects of these stories fascinating. In one instance, Mortenson and team were struggling with building the trust of a community whose school had just been demolished in the earthquake in 2005. Children were anxious to attend the temporary tent school, but when teh permanent structure was finished, they had trouble with attendance. After speaking with a girl in the community, they discovered that students were wary to attend because the building did not have desks. Desks would not only provide a sense of seriousness and structure to the academics, but also offered structural safety in case of another earthquake. Also, the personal struggles of the Afghan people were inspiring. The obstacles that these students face are harrowing. In what particularly stomach turning episode, Mortenson writes about extremists would harass female students by squirting battery acid from water guns into girls' faces. The only complaint I have is that Mortenson goes on at times about the popularity of his first book, Three Cups of Tea, talking about all of his speaking engagements, etc. leaving me with a little of an "Alright already" feeling.

Overall, I am left with a few thoughts. First, I am very thankful for my beautiful beautiful classroom and my teaching job which now seems quite cushy. Also, I am very thankful that America was willing to step into such an impossible situation and at least attempt to make things better for a people that have suffered tremendously. Certainly things were not handled perfectly, but at least they made an effort.

If you are at all interested in these civilian efforts to rebuild Afghanistan from the inside out, I would recommend this book.

All of this begs the questions: What will I read for the rest of October? That, my friends, is an easy one--Jane Austen's Persuasion. Starting it tonight and really looking forward to it.