WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I just finished reading a book called "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson (about a mission to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan), and another called "The Power of Play" by David Elkind. I read a lot, but most of my reading is connected in some way to the school or to girls.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT THESE BOOKS?

Elkind is very adamant that we are scheduling our children too tightly, that they just need time to be spontaneous and do the things they want to do, and not to be scheduled in sports and all sorts of after-school activities by their families. ... I agree with this because I think too many of our children are going from early morning until late in the evening, with no time of their own. "Three Cups of Tea" adds a humanistic perspective to the war and one of the most impoverished areas in the world. And when I was reading it — at the present time Sacred Hearts is building a $10 million building here on campus, and sometimes we get discouraged with fundraising and whatever else we have to accomplish. When I read what Greg Mortenson went through to build a $12,000 school for girls, it really inspires us to keep going.

ARE YOU ALSO MOVED BY MORTENSON'S STORY BECAUSE YOU VIEW SUCH POWERFUL EXAMPLES AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TEACHING METHODS?

Yes, I think that the story that Greg Mortenson tells would be a beautiful example to bring to any classroom, where a fellow is so inspired to help others that he risks his life and goes across the country to raise money, staying away from his family for months at a time, in order for young girls to have a chance at an education in the world.