Three Cups of Tea Personal Reflection

I believe that positive changes in the educational system have the power to transform an entire nation. This theory is brought up several times in the book Three Cups of Tea. In places where terrorism rates are high, such as in the Middle East, education can transform our whole world. Most people decide to become a terrorist or become involved in activities that help no one because they had no other options. Those people didn't receive an education, so they couldn't become a doctor or lawyer or have any sort of career. Terrorism was the only option they had in their life, so they were forced to choose it.

Giving children the gift of education changes their lives. If you are educated, you can do anything. For example, Jahan feels like she could be a "Superlady" after she receives the Central Asia Institute (CAI) money to attend medical school in Skardu, Pakistan. Greg Mortenson gives children and teenagers opportunities through education that they wouldn't have without him. He builds schools in small villages for children, then if they work hard he (the CAI) will pay for them to attend college. From there, the possibilities are endless.

I also thought about what happens when those children who went to a school that Greg Mortenson built, graduate college. They might learn from example and built schools for children that one day could grow up to be like them. It might work like a drop of water in a stream and then ripple out. In this case, Greg Mortenson is the drop of water and everyone who follows him are the ripples. If it gets to the point where every village in the world has a school, all of our problems could be solved. We could figure out how to end world hunger and poverty. There would be enough doctors to find cures for every disease and enough teachers to teach every child on the planet.