Linda Cliatt-Wayman: How to fix a broken school? Lead fearlessly, love hard

Translator: Vicky Lara Labaila Reviewer: Glòria Coll

It was November 1, 2002,

Fou l'1 de novembre de 2002

my first day as a principal,

el meu primer dia com a directora,

but hardly my first day in the school district of Philadelphia.

però tot just el meu primer dia al districte escolar de Filadèlfia.

I graduated from Philadelphia public schools,

Em vaig graduar en centres públics a Filadèlfia,

and I went on to teach special education for 20 years

i vaig seguir ensenyant educació especial durant 20 anys

in a low-income, low-performing school

en un institut amb baix rendiment i baixos ingressos

al nord de Filadèlfia,

in North Philadelphia,

where crime is rampant

on la taxa de criminalitat

and deep poverty is among the highest in the nation.

i la pobresa extrema estan entre les més altes del país.

Shortly after I walked into my new school,

Poc després d'entrar al meu nou centre,

a huge fight broke out among the girls.

una baralla descomunal va esclatar entre les noies.

Després que tot estigués sota control,

After things were quickly under control,

I immediately called a meeting

vaig convocar immediatament una reunió

in the school's auditorium

a l'auditori de l'institut

to introduce myself as the school's new principal.

per a presentar-me com la nova directora del centre.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiment)

I walked in angry,

Vaig entrar enfadada,

una mica nerviosa

a little nervous --

(Laughter) --

(Rialles)

but I was determined

però estava decidida

to set the tone for my new students.

a deixar clares les regles als meus nous alumnes.

Vaig començar enumerant tan enèrgicament com vaig poder

I started listing as forcefully as I could

my expectations for their behavior

les meves expectatives sobre el seu comportament

i les meves expectatives sobre el que aprendrien a l'institut.

and my expectations for what they would learn in school.

When, all of a sudden,

Quan, tot d'una,

una noia al final de tot de l'auditori

a girl way in the back of the auditorium,

she stood up

es va posar dempeus

and she said, "Miss!

i em va dir: "Senyora!

Miss!"

Senyora!"

When our eyes locked, she said,

Quan les nostres mirades es van trobar, digué:

"Why do you keep calling this a school?

"Per què continua dient que això és un institut?

This is not a school."

Això no és un institut."

In one outburst,

En un arravatament,

l'Ashley havia expressat el que jo mateixa havia sentit

Ashley had expressed what I felt

però mai havia sabut articular

and never quite was able to articulate

about my own experience when I attended a low-performing school

sobre la meva pròpia experiència com a estudiant en un centre de baix rendiment

in the same neighborhood, many, many, many years earlier.

en aquell mateix barri, molts i molts anys abans.

That school was definitely not a school.

Aquell institut clarament no era un institut.

Avancem una dècada fins el 2012,

Fast forwarding a decade later to 2012,

jo anava a entrar al meu tercer centre de baix rendiment com a directora.

I was entering my third low-performing school as principal.

I was to be Strawberry Mansion's fourth principal in four years.

Estava a punt de ser la quarta directora en quatre anys de l'Strawberry Mansion.

It was labeled "low-performing and persistently dangerous"

Estava qualificat com "de baix rendiment i persistentment perillós"

due to its low test scores

degut a les baixes qualificacions

and high number of weapons,

i a l'alt nombre d'armes,

drugs, assaults and arrests.

drogues, assalts i arrests.

Shortly as I approached the door of my new school

Tan aviat com em vaig apropar a la porta del meu nou institut

and attempted to enter,

i hi vaig intentar entrar,

and found the door locked with chains,

i em vaig adonar que estava tancada amb cadenes,

I could hear Ashley's voice in my ears

vaig sentir la veu de l'Ashley

going, "Miss! Miss!

que em deia: "Senyora! Senyora!

This is not a school."

Això no és un institut."

The halls were dim and dark from poor lighting.

Els passadissos estaven a la penombra per l'escassa il·luminació.

There were tons of piles of broken old furniture

Hi havia muntanyes i muntanyes de mobiliari vell i trencat

i pupitres a les aules,

and desks in the classrooms,

and there were thousands of unused materials and resources.

i hi havia milers de materials i recursos per estrenar.

This was not a school.

Allò no era un institut.

As the year progressed,

Tal com anava avançant el curs,

I noticed that the classrooms were nearly empty.

em vaig adonar que les aules estaven gairebé buides.

The students were just scared:

Els estudiants estaven espantats:

scared to sit in rows in fear that something would happen;

espantats d'asseure's en files per la por que alguna cosa passaria;

scared because they were often teased in the cafeteria for eating free food.

espantats perquè sovint algú se'ls en reia a la cafeteria per menjar-hi gratis.

They were scared from all the fighting and all the bullying.

Estaven espantats de tantes baralles i tant d'assetjament.

This was not a school.

Allò no era un institut.

And then, there were the teachers,

I llavors, hi havia els professors,

que estaven increïblement preocupats per la seva pròpia seguretat,

who were incredibly afraid for their own safety,

so they had low expectations for the students and themselves,

així que tenien baixes expectatives envers els estudiants i ells mateixos,

and they were totally unaware of their role

i eren totalment inconscients del seu paper

in the destruction of the school's culture.

en la destrucció dels principis del centre.

This was the most troubling of all.

Això era el més alarmant de tot.

You see, Ashley was right,

Ja ho veuen, l'Ashley tenia raó,

and not just about her school.

i no només sobre el seu centre.

For far too many schools,

En massa centres,

for kids who live in poverty,

per a nois en condicions de pobresa,

their schools are really not schools at all.

els seus centres escolars realment no ho són en absolut.

But this can change.

Però això pot canviar.

Let me tell you how it's being done at Strawberry Mansion High School.

Deixin-me explicar-los com ho estem fent a l'institut Strawberry Mansion.

Qualsevol que hagi treballat algun cop amb mi els dirà

Anybody who's ever worked with me will tell you

I am known for my slogans.

que sóc coneguda pels meus eslògans.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

Així que avui n'usaré tres

So today, I am going to use three

that have been paramount in our quest for change.

que han estat primordials en la nostra recerca pel canvi.

My first slogan is:

El meu primer eslògan és:

if you're going to lead, lead.

si has de liderar, lidera.

I always believed

Sempre he pensat

that what happens in a school and what does not happen in a school

que el que passa en un centre i el que no hi passa

is up to the principal.

depèn del director.

I am the principal,

Jo sóc la directora,

and having that title required me to lead.

i tenir aquest càrrec m'obligava a liderar.

Jo no pensava quedar-me a la meva oficina,

I was not going to stay in my office,

I was not going to delegate my work,

jo no pensava delegar la meva feina,

and I was not going to be afraid to address anything

i no pensava tenir por a abordar res

que no fos bo per la canalla,

that was not good for children,

tant si allò em feia ser estimada, com si no.

whether that made me liked or not.

I am a leader,

Jo sóc una líder,

so I know I cannot do anything alone.

així que sé que no puc fer res tota sola.

So, I assembled a top-notch leadership team

De forma que vaig muntar un equip de direcció de primera

who believed in the possibility of all the children,

que creia en les possibilitats de tota la canalla,

and together, we tackled the small things,

i junts, ens hem ocupat de les menudeses:

like resetting every single locker combination by hand

com ara restablir la combinació de cadascuna de les taquilles a mà

de manera que cada estudiant tingui una taquilla segura.

so that every student could have a secure locker.

We decorated every bulletin board in that building

Hem decorat cadascun dels taulells d'anuncis d'aquell edifici

amb missatges brillants, colorits i positius.

with bright, colorful, and positive messages.

We took the chains off the front doors of the school.

Vam treure les cadenes de la porta principal de l'institut.

We got the lightbulbs replaced,

Vam canviar les bombetes,

and we cleaned every classroom to its core,

i vam netejar a fons cadascuna de les aules,

recycling every, every textbook that was not needed,

reciclant tots i cadascuns dels llibres de text que no calguessin,

and discarded thousands of old materials and furniture.

i desfent-nos de milers de materials i mobles vells.

We used two dumpsters per day.

Vàrem utilitzar dos contenidors al dia.

And, of course, of course,

I, per descomptat, és clar,

we tackled the big stuff,

ens ocupàrem dels assumptes importants:

like rehauling the entire school budget

com ara reestructurar per complet el pressupost del centre

so that we can reallocate funds to have more teachers and support staff.

per poder redistribuir-ne partides i tenir més professorat i personal de suport.

We rebuilt the entire school day schedule from scratch

Vam refer tot l'horari escolar des de zero.

to add a variety of start and end times,

per a incloure-hi un ventall d'hores d'entrada i sortida,

remediation, honors courses,

classes de reforç, cursos avançats,

extracurricular activities, and counseling,

activitats extracurriculars i assessorament,

all during the school day.

tot, durant la jornada escolar.

All during the school day.

Tot, durant la jornada escolar.

We created a deployment plan

Creàrem un pla d'implementació

that specified where every single support person and police officer would be

que especificava on seria cada persona de suport i cada policia

cada minut del dia,

every minute of the day,

and we monitored at every second of the day,

i vàrem monitoritzar cada segon del dia,

and, our best invention ever,

i, la millor pensada de totes,

we devised a schoolwide discipline program

vàrem idear un programa de disciplina escolar

titled "Non-negotiables."

anomenat "No negociables".

Era un sistema de comportament

It was a behavior system --

designed to promote positive behavior at all times.

dissenyat per a promoure el comportament positiu en tot moment.

Els resultats?

The results?

L'Strawberry Mansion fou eliminat de la llista de persistentment perillosos

Strawberry Mansion was removed from the Persistently Dangerous List

our first year after being --

en el nostre primer any després d'haver

(Applause) --

(Aplaudiments)

after being on the Persistently Dangerous List for five consecutive years.

després d'haver estat en aquella llista durant cinc cursos consecutius.

Leaders make the impossible possible.

Els líders fan possibles els impossibles.

That brings me to my second slogan:

I això em duu al meu segon eslògan:

So what? Now what?

I què? Ara què?

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

When we looked at the data,

Quan vam mirar les dades

and we met with the staff,

i ens vam trobar amb el personal,

there were many excuses

hi havia moltes excuses

for why Strawberry Mansion was low-performing and persistently dangerous.

de per què l'Strawberry Mansion era de baix rendiment i persistentment perillós.

Ens van dir que només el 68% dels nois venien a l'institut regularment,

They said that only 68 percent of the kids come to school on a regular basis,

que el 100% vivia en la pobresa,

100 percent of them live in poverty,

only one percent of the parents participate,

que només un 1% dels pares participava,

que molta de la canalla

many of the children

come from incarceration and single-parent homes,

venia de famílies monoparentals o amb presos entre els seus membres,

39 percent of the students have special needs,

que el 39% dels estudiants tenia necessitats especials,

and the state data revealed

i les dades estatals revelaren

that six percent of the students were proficient in algebra,

que el 6% dels estudiants era competent en àlgebra,

i el 10% ho era en literatura.

and 10 were proficient in literature.

After they got through telling us all the stories

Després que ens expliquessin totes les històries

of how awful the conditions and the children were,

de com de terribles eren les condicions i la canalla,

I looked at them,

me'ls vaig mirar

i els vaig dir: "I què? Ara què?

and I said, "So what. Now what?

Què hi farem al respecte?"

What are we gonna do about it?"

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

Eliminating excuses at every turn became my primary responsibility.

Desfer-me d'excuses a cada pas fou la meva primera responsabilitat.

We addressed every one of those excuses

Vam abordar cadascuna d'aquelles excuses

through a mandatory professional development,

a través d'un desenvolupament professional obligatori,

paving the way for intense focus on teaching and learning.

preparant el camí per a un enfocament seriós en l'ensenyament i l'aprenentatge.

Després de diverses observacions,

After many observations,

what we determined was that teachers knew what to teach

el que vam determinar fou que els professors sabien què ensenyar

but they did not know how to teach

però no sabien com ensenyar-ho

so many children with so many vast abilities.

a tanta canalla amb tantes i tan grans habilitats.

So, we developed a lesson delivery model for instruction

Així que vam desenvolupar un model de com impartir classes

that focused on small group instruction,

que se centrava en l'ensenyament a grups reduïts,

making it possible for all the students to get their individual needs met

fent així possible per a tot l'estudiantat que les seves necessitats individuals

in the classroom.

fossin cobertes a l'aula.

Els resultats?

The results?

Després d'un any, les dades estatals revelaren

After one year, state data revealed

that our scores have grown by 171 percent in Algebra

que els nostres resultats havien crescut un 171% en àlgebra

i un 107% en literatura.

and 107 percent in literature.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

We have a very long way to go,

Tenim encara un llarg camí a recórrer,

un llarg camí a recórrer,

a very long way to go,

but we now approach every obstacle with a "So What. Now What?" attitude.

però ara fem front a cada obstacle amb una actitud d' "I què? Ara què?"

And that brings me to my third and final slogan.

I això em duu al meu tercer i darrer eslògan:

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

Si ningú us ha dit avui que us estima,

If nobody told you they loved you today,

you remember I do, and I always will.

penseu que jo us estimo i sempre ho faré.

Els meus estudiants tenen problemes:

My students have problems:

social, emotional and economic problems

problemes socials, emocionals i econòmics

you could never imagine.

que vostès ni s'imaginen.

Alguns d'ells ja són pares,

Some of them are parents themselves,

and some are completely alone.

i alguns estan totalment sols.

If someone asked me my real secret

Si algú em preguntés quin és el meu secret

for how I truly keep Strawberry Mansion moving forward,

per a tirar endavant l'Strawberry Mansion,

I would have to say that I love my students

hauria de dir que m'estimo els meus estudiants

and I believe in their possibilities

i crec en les seves possibilitats

unconditionally.

de forma incondicional.

Quan me'ls miro,

When I look at them,

I can only see what they can become,

només hi veig el que poden arribar a ser,

and that is because I am one of them.

i això és perquè jo sóc una d'ells.

I grew up poor in North Philadelphia too.

Jo també vaig créixer en la pobresa al nord de Filadèlfia.

I know what it feels like to go to a school that's not a school.

Jo sé el que se sent quan vas a un centre que no és un centre.

I know what it feels like to wonder

Jo sé el que se sent quan et preguntes

if there's ever going to be any way out of poverty.

si mai hi haurà una forma de sortir de la pobresa.

Però gràcies a la meva increïble mare,

But because of my amazing mother,

I got the ability to dream

vaig tenir l'habilitat de somniar

despite the poverty that surrounded me.

malgrat la pobresa que em rodejava.

De manera que,

So --

(Applause) --

(Aplaudiments)

if I'm going to push my students

si he d'empènyer els meus estudiants

toward their dream and their purpose in life,

cap als seus somnis i el seu propòsit a la vida,

I've got to get to know who they are.

he de poder saber qui són.

Així que he de passar temps amb ells,

So I have to spend time with them,

so I manage the lunchroom every day.

i m'ho manego per anar al menjador cada dia.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

And while I'm there,

I mentre hi sóc,

I talk to them about deeply personal things,

parlo amb ells sobre temes profundament personals,

and when it's their birthday,

i quan és el seu aniversari,

I sing "Happy Birthday"

els canto "Moltes felicitats!"

even though I cannot sing at all.

encara que no canto gens de bé.

(Rialles)

(Laughter)

Sovint els pregunto:

I often ask them,

"Why do you want me to sing when I cannot sing at all?"

"Per què voleu que canti, si no ho faig gens de bé?"

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

And they respond by saying,

I ells em responen:

"Because we like feeling special."

"Perquè ens agrada sentir-nos especials."

We hold monthly town hall meetings

Duem a terme reunions mensuals a la sala de juntes

to listen to their concerns,

per a escoltar les seves preocupacions,

to find out what is on their minds.

per a esbrinar què els passa pel cap.

They ask us questions like, "Why do we have to follow rules?"

Ens pregunten coses com ara: "Per què hem de seguir les regles?"

"Why are there so many consequences?"

"Per què hi ha tantes conseqüències?"

"Per què no podem fer simplement el que vulguem?"

"Why can't we just do what we want to do?"

(Rialles)

(Laughter)

They ask, and I answer each question honestly,

Em pregunten i jo els responc a cada pregunta honestament,

and this exchange in listening helps to clear up any misconceptions.

i aquest intercanvi consistent a escoltar permet aclarir qualsevol malentès.

Every moment is a teachable moment.

Cada moment és un moment pedagògicament aprofitable.

My reward,

La meva recompensa,

my reward

la meva recompensa

for being non-negotiable in my rules and consequences

per no negociar les meves regles i les seves conseqüències

is their earned respect.

és haver-me guanyat el seu respecte.

I insist on it,

Hi insisteixo,

and because of this, we can accomplish things together.

i per això, podem aconseguir coses plegats.

They are clear about my expectations for them,

Ells tenen clares quines són les meves expectatives envers ells,

i els repetixo aquestes expectatives cada dia pels altaveus.

and I repeat those expectations every day over the P.A. system.

I remind them --

Els recordo

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

I remind them of those core values

Els recordo els valors fonamentals,

of focus, tradition, excellence,

que són la concentració, la tradició, l'excel·lència,

la integritat i la perseverança,

integrity and perseverance,

i els recordo cada dia

and I remind them every day

how education can truly change their lives.

que l'educació pot canviar de veritat les seves vides.

And I end every announcement the same:

I acabo cada anunci de la mateixa forma:

"If nobody told you they loved you today,

"Si ningú us ha dit avui que us estima,

you remember I do,

recordeu que jo us estimo

i sempre ho faré."

and I always will."

Aquelles paraules de l'Ashley

Ashley's words

of "Miss, Miss,

−"Senyora, senyora,

this is not a school,"

això no és un institut"−,

estan gravades per sempre al meu cap.

is forever etched in my mind.

If we are truly going to make real progress

Si de debò volem fer progressos reals

in addressing poverty,

enfrontant la pobresa,

then we have to make sure

ens hem d'assegurar

that every school that serves children in poverty

que cada centre que atengui canalla en situació de pobresa

is a real school,

és un centre escolar de debò

a school, a school --

un centre escolar, un centre escolar

(Applause) --

(Aplaudiments)

a school that provides them with knowledge

un centre escolar que els proporcioni el coneixement

and mental training to navigate the world around them.

i l'entrenament mental per a obrir-se camí al món que els envolta.

Jo no conec totes les respostes,

I do not know all the answers,

but what I do know is for those of us who are privileged

però el que sí que sé és que els que tenim el privilegi

and have the responsibility of leading a school that serves children in poverty,

i la responsabilitat de liderar un centre que atén canalla en situació de pobresa,

hem de liderar de debò,

we must truly lead,

and when we are faced with unbelievable challenges,

i quan ens topem amb reptes insòlits,

we must stop and ask ourselves, "So what. Now what?

ens hem d'aturar i preguntar-nos: "I què? Ara què?

What are we going to do about it?"

Què hi farem al respecte?"

I mentre liderem,

And as we lead,

no podem oblidar mai

we must never forget

that every single one of our students

que cadascun dels nostres alumnes

is just a child,

no és més que un nen,

often scared by what the world tells them they should be,

sovint aterrat per allò que el món els diu que haurien de ser,

and no matter what the rest of the world tells them they should be,

i independentment d'allò que la resta del món els digui que haurien de ser,

els hauríem de donar sempre esperança,

we should always provide them with hope,

our undivided attention,

la nostra total atenció,

unwavering belief in their potential,

la nostra fe cega en el seu potencial,

consistent expectations,

unes expectatives consistents,

and we must tell them often,

i els hauríem de dir sovint que,

si ningú els ha dit avui que els estima,

if nobody told them they loved them today,

remember we do, and we always will.

que recordin que nosaltres els estimem i sempre ho farem.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Aplaudiments)

(Applause)

Gràcies, Jesucrist.

Thank you, Jesus.