Education -- It's easy for Americans to take it for granted
A meditation on the book Three Cups of Tea
As we begin a new semester at the School of Communication and Information, I've been thinking about how easy it is for Americans to learn and become educated. Each village, town and city in the US not only has a school, but many have multiple schools, colleges, and libraries where we can learn from others and pursue our own interests through reading and using media. This is not true everywhere.
During the International Librarianship course this summer, we were discussing the differences among national and organizational cultures, and part of this discussion revolved around education. In almost every chapter of the book Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind by Geert and Gert Jan Hofstede, the authors discuss education and values and the different orientation cultures have toward learning and educational systems. It was helpful for all of us to think about these issues and concepts in preparation for a true learning experience, participating in the international conference in Milan (IFLA). And differences in education style were in evidence in the Fiera Milano, our conference venue. Some sessions were very formal with individuals reading presentations, and others were quite interactive with a great deal of discussion and use of media. The differences may have been accounted for by speakers from different parts of the world or presenters representing different disciplines. In any case, the various and dramtically different styles were more marked than if most of the presenters had come from one country.
Before we left the US, one of our class members Maryann had mentioned the book Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time during one of our class discussions. The book, by mountaineer Greg Mortenson and journalist David Oliver Relin, is an account of how Mortenson managed to raise money and eventually build the first schools ever available in villages in northern Pakistan that are near the Bradlu and Indus Rivers and that exist in the shadow of the Karakoram mountain range that includes the gigantic peaks of K2.The villagers, often isolated from the outside world except for the people who come to climb the high peaks, often served as cooks or porters for the climbing parties, but they had little chance to expand opportunities for themselves or their children through education. Mortenson is nursed to health by one village leader and his family after suffering injuries on the descent from one climb. In gratitude for saving his life, the American understands that the villagers would like to see their children have a chance to learn to read and write. After many futile efforts, Mortenson manages to raise the money for the first school in the village of Korphe, and he helps to procure the materials necessary and the construction of a bridge over the neighboring river, a necessity if construction materials and equipment was to be brought to the village. His struggles, deprivations, kidnapping, setbacks and many adventures on the way to establishing the Central Asia Institute, dedicated to making education available for the area's children, make a fascinating read.
Talk about cultural differences! Power plays, business deals, diplomatic protocol, religious practices, gender roles, cooking and eating, and travel on rough terrain -- they all come into play in the 3 tea book as well as extensive discussions on education and how much the people of Pakistan, remote as they might be in the mountain region near the border of western China, value the ability to learn. It makes one think about the privilege and what we in America consider a right to read and write during this time when we go "back to school."
