#9 How much do you love school?

Photos courtesy Chen Jie

How much do you love school?  What if you had to climb (بالا رفتن) 1 hour down (پایین)  a cliff (صخره) to go to school?  Would you do it?  


That is how the children of Atuleer village in China go to school.  They live on a tall (بلند) mountain (کوه).  There are 72 families in their village. But their school is at the bottom of the mountain. The children live (زندگی کردن) at school. They come home 2 times each month (هر ماه). They climb (بالا رفتن) the 2,600 foot (800 meter) cliff to get home. With book bags (کوله پشتی) on their backs, it takes 2 hours. When there is heavy (بسیار) rain or snow they cannot go to school.

On the cliff there are 17 ladders (نردبان) made of wood (چوب).  Some ladders are made of vines (تاک). The youngest (جوانترین) students are 6 years old.  Three parents (والدین) help the children. One parent walks in front (---|). One parent walks in the middle (--- | ---) and one at the end(| ---).

The parents do not like the children climbing the cliff. But they believe (ایمان داشتن) that school is important. They want their children to have better lives than they have.  So they try (سعی کردن) to be stronger (قوی تر) than their fear (ترس)

The people who live in the village are very poor (فقیر)Their homes do not have furniture (مبلمان). They grow (کاشتن) walnuts (گردو) and peppercorns (دانه فلفل). They take them down the mountain to sell (فروختن). They also (همچنین) have cows, sheep and pigs.

Here is a video of the children coming home from school:


• What did you learn (اموختن) from this story?
• Do you think the children should go to school this way?
• Can you think of better ways to help the children get an education?