I believe the Internet is an excellent medium to help people across the globe. In my past entries, I talked about how I am using the Internet to teach English as a Second Language to people from different countries. I also mentioned that I'm seriously considering creating a 501c, a non-profit, for this goal.
The book that changed my life, that inspired me towards this goal was,
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, by John Wood. This book tells the story of John Wood, a Microsoft executive who left Microsoft to create
Room to Read, an organization that builds schools and libraries in southeast Asia.
I'm on vacation from my day job (I mange a technology startup) and teach ESL evenings to adult immigrants so I have time to read. I just bought some education-themed books and I thought it would be fun to share them with you. As I read, I'll post some entries about the books.
Three Cups of Tea, One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver-Relin, is the right way to begin my vacation reading. From the back cover,
"In 1993 a mountaineer named Greg Mortenson drifted into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains after a failed attempt to climb K2. Moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. Three Cups of Tea is the story of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. Over the next decade Mortenson built not just one but fifty-five schools - especially for girls - in forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit."
I'll post some entries and share my thoughts as I read this book. I look forward to sharing them with you and hope we engage in conversation.
Sincerely,
Alan