Before spring break, our class began a new read-aloud book. It's not a children's book, and before we began it I told the kids that I thought this was a book they would enjoy, but that it might be difficult for them. We talked about it, and agreed that we would try the first chapter, and then take a vote as a class on whether we wanted to continue reading. The book is Three Cups of Tea, the true story of Greg Mortenson's efforts to build schools in the farthest reaches of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and at the end of the first chapter, the children voted strongly to continue reading. It's an inspiring and exciting story (but if you've read it, please don't tell the kids what's going to happen!). If you haven't read it, I recommend it highly. The young Balti students with whom Greg Mortenson began his work provide a challenging example for anyone to live up to: before their schools were built, many of them conducted classes on their own, on the four days a week when they had no teacher.
Our reading is connected to a whole-school project: Summers-Knoll is joining the Pennies for Peace program. Over the next couple of months, there will be jars set out in each classroom, collecting pennies to contribute to the education of children in central Asia. The program accepts only pennies—no quarters, dimes or nickels—and everyone is encouraged to bring in whatever they can contribute. I've been saving up my pennies for this! The jars will be set out after the whole school meets to talk about the program today, and everyone can start bringing in pennies next week. This is a wonderful way for the Summers-Knoll kids to connect their love of learning to a broader understanding of the different situations of other children's lives.
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