I have come to the conclusion that Nepalis in general struggle to empathize with fellow Nepalis who are, for example, suffering for whatever reason. The reason behind that is their low power of imagination.
Why are their power of imagination low? Caste system induced attitude, lack of travel experience, poor quality of both formal and informal education, and lack of reading culture.
A blog post about my 7th grade English teacher Bro. Joe Sheehan. The amazing storyteller that he was, he fired my imagination and contributed to my "escape" from Kathmandu to see -- and learn about -- the amazing people and world beyond the borders of Nepal. He had a role to play in who I am today.
I read English books and novel voraciously as a child because, firstly, I loved it and, secondly, I knew it would help me improve my English. Looking back, I think it benefited me in many other ways, ways that I didn't know and anticipate.
So now, back in Nepal, one of the many things I am trying to do is impress upon schools, teachers, and students the value and importance of reading. This blog post reproduces a presentation I made about that to a group of students at Kopila Valley School.
One of the ways many private schools in Nepal try to mask the poor quality of education they provide: say that the education their school provide is better than other private schools. So, they require transfer students to take an admissions test and -- lo and behold! -- the child is found lacking in some academic areas and suggested to repeat the year (grade)!
On February 12, 2013, feeling ready to return to Nepal, I turned down a job offer. All through my student life in Nepal as well as when studying, working, and traveling abroad, I had been doing a number of things in preparation for that eventuality to really fulfill a dream.
Reading makes a huge different in people's lives. Reading to babies and toddlers makes a huge impact on their academic achievements later on as well as in the their adult life. Children who read, on average, lead children who don't academically. Adults who read, for example, on average have been found to live longer than those who don't etc.