It's a popular story that both the young and old know: A man, who has just failed to climb K2, wanders into an impoverished village in Pakistan, where children have such a strong desire to learn that they use sticks to write their school work in dirt. The man, touched by their will to learn, promises to build a school in the village. And, several years later, he does.

A foundation dubbed the Central Asia Institute was eventually formed. The man, Greg Mortenson, headed the institute, while building schools and publishing books — most notably the bestseller Three Cups of Tea. Early this year, however, John Krakauer, acclaimed author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, published the digital book, Three Cups of Deceit, where he calls Mortenson a liar.

There's no denying that Mortenson is a philanthropist for building schools in some of the least accessible places on Earth. There's also no denying that the story has helped him raise funds for the institution and sell books. However, the fact of the matter, according to Krakauer, is that the story told in Three Cups of Tea of how Mortenson ended up in Korphe, the village where he built his first school, is mostly false.

In fact, a letter that Mortenson wrote himself backs the notion that he didn't even know the village existed. On that count, yes, Mortenson (or David Oliver Relin, author of Three Cups of Tea) fabricated most of the "creation myth," as Krakauer calls it.

At the same time, it has surfaced that Mortenson — who isn't the best bookkeeper — routinely travels on the institute's dime and doesn't turn in required receipts or expense reports. And, while the institute does not receive any profits from Mortenson's book sales, it has paid Mortenson large sums of money so he can make public appearances to sell his book. Moreover, there is no way of knowing whether the schools Mortenson has claimed to have built are functioning or if they are "ghost schools," devoid of students and teachers.

Indeed, it's difficult for the public to know whether or not Mortenson has built all of the schools he says he has — Krakauer points to Mortenson's claim that there are 11 schools in one of Afghanistan's most war-torn regions, when in fact there are only four.

Aside from unsavory business practices and Mortenson's flexible morals, the exposure of the lies in Three Cups of Tea also questions Mortenson's character.

On the one hand, Mortenson and Central Asia Institute have erected schools in two of the most often heard about but overlooked countries in the world. On the other, he has embellished the actual number of schools built and created false accounts of his journeys in the same countries.

The fact remains that Mortenson has done amazing things for education in developing countries, but the way he runs his institute will repel donors — it repelled Krakauer and most of the institute's employees. The way I see it, Mortenson is neither all good nor all bad.

Yes, he is dishonest; yes, he misuses funds raised to help educate kids. But, at the same time, he's building schools and trying to educate kids that are nearly always overlooked. Eventually, however, the people he is trying to help will suffer as a result of his carelessness.

David J. Salazar is a senior at Santa Fe High School. You can reach him at davidjsalazar@gmail.com.