Help for kids the education system ignores | Victor Rios

Translator: Vicky Lara Labaila Reviewer: Manel Guitart

For over a decade,

Durant més d'una dècada,

I have studied young people that have been pushed out of school,

he estudiat els joves que han estat expulsats de l'escola,

so called "dropouts."

als que anomenem "desertors escolars".

As they end up failed by the education system,

Com que el sistema educatiu els ha fallat

they're on the streets where they're vulnerable to violence,

acaben als carrers, on són vulnerables a la violència,

police harassment,

l'assetjament policial,

police brutality

la brutalitat policial

and incarceration.

i l'empresonament.

I follow these young people for years at a time,

He seguit aquests joves de vegades durant anys,

across institutional settings,

en el seu pas per les institucions,

to try to understand what some of us call the "school-to-prison pipeline."

per provar d'entendre el que s'anomena "el camí de l'escola a la presó"

When you look at a picture like this,

Si mireu una imatge com aquesta,

of young people who are in my study ...

de joves del meu estudi,

you might see trouble.

hi podeu veure problemes.

I mean one of the boys has a bottle of liquor in his hand,

Un té una botella de licor a la mà,

he's 14 years old

té 14 anys

and it's a school day.

i és un dia de classe.

Other people, when they see this picture,

Altres, quan veuen aquesta imatge,

might see gangs,

pensen en bandes,

thugs, delinquents --

mafiosos, delinqüents,

criminals.

criminals.

But I see it different.

Però jo ho veig de forma diferent.

I see these young people through a perspective

Jo veig aquests joves des d'una perspectiva

that looks at the assets that they bring to the education system.

que es fixa en el que aporten al sistema educatiu.

So will you join me in changing the way we label young people

M'ajudaran vostès a canviar la manera en què etiquetem els joves

from "at-risk" to "at-promise?"

de "en risc" a "prometedors"?

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

How do I know that these young people

Com sé jo que aquests joves

have the potential and the promise to change?

tenen el potencial i la promesa de canviar?

I know this because I am one of them.

Ho sé perquè sóc un d'ells.

You see, I grew up in dire poverty in the inner city,

Jo em vaig criar en una zona marginal, en la pobresa absoluta,

without a father --

sense pare

he abandoned me before I was even born.

−em va abandonar abans de néixer.

We were on welfare,

Depeníem de l'assistència social,

sometimes homeless,

a vegades sense llar,

many times hungry.

i molts cops passant gana.

By the time I was 15 years old,

Quan tenia 15 anys,

I had been incarcerated in juvy three times for three felonies.

ja havia estat en un reformatori tres vegades per tres delictes diferents.

My best friend had already been killed.

El meu amic ja havia estat assassinat.

And soon after,

I poc després,

while I'm standing next to my uncle,

mentre estava just al costat del meu oncle,

he gets shot.

li van clavar un tret.

And as I'm waiting for the ambulance to arrive

I mentre esperava que arribés l'ambulància

for over an hour ...

durant una hora...

he bleeds to death on the street.

es va dessagnar al mig del carrer.

I had lost faith and hope in the world,

Jo havia perdut la fe i l'esperança,

and I had given up on the system because the system had failed me.

i ja havia llençat la tovallola, perquè el sistema m'havia fallat.

I had nothing to offer

No tenia res a oferir

and no one had anything to offer me.

i ningú tenia res a oferir-me.

I was fatalistic.

Estava resignat.

I didn't even think I could make it to my 18th birthday.

Ni tan sols pensava que pogués arribar a fer-ne 18.

The reason I'm here today

La raó per la qual sóc avui aquí

is because a teacher that cared reached out

és perquè una professora a qui li importava, se'm va apropar

and managed to tap into my soul.

i se les manegà per arribar-me a l'ànima.

This teacher,

Aquesta professora,

Ms. Russ ...

la Sra. Russ...

she was the kind of teacher that was always in your business.

era d'aquells profes que sempre posava el nas en els teus assumptes.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

She was the kind of teacher that was like,

Era d'aquell tipus de profe que et diu:

"Victor, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."

"Victor, sóc aquí per ajudar-te quan estiguis a punt."

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

I wasn't ready.

Jo no estava a punt.

But she understood one basic principle about young people like me.

Però ella va entendre una regla bàsica sobre joves com jo:

We're like oysters.

som com ostres.

We're only going to open up when we're ready,

Només ens obrim quan estem a punt,

and if you're not there when we're ready,

i si no hi ets quan estem a punt,

we're going to clam back up.

ens tornem a tancar.

Ms. Russ was there for me.

La Sra. Russ hi era per mi.

She was culturally relevant,

Era culturalment rellevant,

she respected my community, my people, my family.

respectava la meva comunitat, la meva gent, la meva família.

I told her a story about my Uncle Ruben.

Li vaig explicar la història del meu oncle Ruben.

He would take me to work with him because I was broke,

Em solia dur a la feina amb ell perquè jo estava pelat,

and he knew I needed some money.

i ell sabia que jo necessitava diners.

He collected glass bottles for a living.

Recollia ampolles de vidre buides.

Four in the morning on a school day,

A les 4 del matí d'un dia de classe,

we'd throw the glass bottles in the back of his van,

llençàvem les ampolles al darrere de la seva furgo,

and the bottles would break.

i les ampolles es trencaven.

And my hands and arms would start to bleed

Les meves mans i braços començaven a sagnar

and my tennis shoes and pants would get all bloody.

i les meves sabatilles i pantalons s'omplien de sang.

And I was terrified and in pain, and I would stop working.

I jo estava aterrat i adolorit, i volia deixar la feina.

And my uncle, he would look me in the eyes and he would say to me,

Però el meu oncle em mirava als ulls i em deia:

"Mijo,

"Fill meu,

estamos buscando vida."

ens estem buscant la vida."

"We're searching for a better life,

"Estem buscant una vida millor,

we're trying to make something out of nothing."

estem intentant fer alguna cosa del no-res."

Ms. Russ listened to my story,

La Sra. Russ va escoltar la meva història,

welcomed it into the classroom and said,

em va convidar a explicar-ho a classe i em va dir:

"Victor, this is your power.

"Victor, aquest és el teu poder.

This is your potential.

Aquest és el teu potencial.

Your family, your culture, your community have taught you a hard-work ethic

La teva família, cultura i comunitat t'han ensenyat una ètica del treball

and you will use it to empower yourself in the academic world

que faràs servir per empoderar-te al món acadèmic,

so you can come back and empower your community."

de forma que podràs tornar i empoderar la teva comunitat."

With Ms. Russ's help,

Amb l'ajuda de la Sra. Russ,

I ended up returning to school.

vaig acabar tornant a l'institut.

I even finished my credits on time

Fins i tot vaig acabar les meves assignatures a temps

and graduated with my class.

i em vaig graduar amb la meva classe.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

But Ms. Russ said to me right before graduation,

Però la Sra. Russ em va dir just abans de graduar-me:

"Victor, I'm so proud of you.

"Victor, estic tan orgullosa de tu.

I knew you could do it.

Sabia que podies fer-ho.

Now it's time to go to college."

Ara és hora d'anar a la universitat."

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

College, me?

A la universitat, jo?

Man, what is this teacher smoking thinking I'm going to college?

Què coi s'ha fumat aquesta profe per pensar que aniré a la uni?

I applied with the mentors and support she provided,

Vaig fer la sol·licitud amb els mentors i el suport que em va donar,

got a letter of acceptance,

vaig rebre una carta d'admissió,

and one of the paragraphs read,

i en un dels paràgrafs hi deia:

"You've been admitted under probationary status."

"Vostè ha estat admès de forma provisional."

I said, "Probation? I'm already on probation,

I em vaig dir: "Provisional? Ja tinc la condicional,

that don't matter?"

això no compta?".

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

It was academic probation, not criminal probation.

Parlaven de quelcom acadèmic, no criminal.

But what do teachers like Ms. Russ do to succeed with young people

Què fan els profes com la Sra. Russ per manegar-se-les amb joves

like the ones I study?

com als que jo estudio?

I propose three strategies.

Jo proposo tres estratègies.

The first:

La primera:

let's get rid of our deficit perspective in education.

desfem-nos de la nostra perspectiva de mancances en l'educació.

"These people come from a culture of violence,

"Aquesta gent vénen d'una cultura violenta,

a culture of poverty.

una cultura pobra.

These people are at-risk; these people are truant.

Estan en risc, no van a classe.

These people are empty containers for us to fill with knowledge.

Són com envasos buits que hem d'omplir de coneixements.

They have the problems,

Ells tenen problemes,

we have the solutions."

nosaltres tenim solucions.".

Number two.

Número 2:

Let's value the stories that young people bring to the schoolhouse.

Valorem les històries que aquests joves aporten a l'escola.

Their stories of overcoming insurmountable odds are so powerful.

Les seves històries de superació de l'impossible són molt poderoses.

And I know you know some of these stories.

I sé que coneixen algunes d'aquestes històries.

These very same stories and experiences

Aquestes mateixes històries i experiències

already have grit, character and resilience in them.

ja contenen coratge, caràcter i resiliència en si mateixes.

So let's help young people refine those stories.

Així que, ajudem els joves a polir aquestes històries.

Let's help them be proud of who they are,

Fem-los sentir orgullosos de si mateixos,

because our education system welcomes their families, their cultures,

perquè el nostre sistema educatiu acull les seves famílies, cultures,

their communities

comunitats

and the skill set they've learned to survive.

i les habilitats que han après per sobreviure.

And of course the third strategy being the most important:

I per descomptat, la tercera estratègia és la més important:

resources.

recursos.

We have to provide adequate resources to young people.

Hem de proporcionar els recursos adequats pels joves.

Grit alone isn't going to cut it.

El coratge per si mateix no serveix de res.

You can sit there and tell me all you want,

Us podeu asseure i dir-me tot el que vulgueu:

"Hey man, pick yourself up by the bootstraps."

"Ei, tu, és la teva vida: agafa el toro per les banyes.".

But if I was born without any straps on my boots --

Però i si no hi ha banyes on agafar-me...

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

How am I supposed to pick myself up?

Com se suposa que ho he de fer?

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

Job training,

Formació professional,

mentoring,

assessorament,

counseling ...

orientació...

Teaching young people to learn from their mistakes

Ensenyar els joves a aprendre dels seus errors

instead of criminalizing them,

en comptes de criminalitzar-los,

and dragging them out of their classrooms like animals.

i d'arrossegar-los fora de les aules com si fossin animals.

How about this?

Què els sembla això?

I propose that we implement restorative justice in every high school in America.

Proposo implantar la justícia rehabilitadora als instituts dels EUA.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

So we went out to test these ideas in the community of Watts in LA

Vam posar a prova aquestes idees a la comunitat de Watts a Los Angeles

with 40 young people that had been pushed out of school.

amb 40 joves que havien estat expulsats del sistema escolar.

William was one of them.

En William era un d'ells.

William was the kind of kid that had been given every label.

En William era un d'aquells nois a qui li havien posat totes les etiquetes.

He had dropped out, he was a gang member,

Era desertor escolar, membre d'una banda,

a criminal.

un criminal.

And when we met him he was very resistant.

I quan ens vam trobar, es mostrà reticent.

But I remember what Ms. Russ used to say.

Però vaig recordar el que la Sra. Russ solia dir:

"Hey, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."

"Ei, sóc aquí per quan estigui a punt.".

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

So over time --

Així que, amb el temps,

over time he began to open up.

amb el temps, es començà a obrir.

And I remember the day that he made the switch.

I me'n recordo del dia que va fer el clic.

We were in a large group

Estàvem en un grup gran

and a young lady in our program was crying

i una noia del programa estava plorant

because she told us her powerful story

mentre explicava la seva història poderosa:

of her dad being killed

la de l'assassinat del seu pare

and then his body being shown in the newspaper the next day.

i l'exposició del seu cadàver als diaris l'endemà.

And as she's crying, I don't know what to do,

I mentre ella plorava, jo no sabia què fer,

so I give her her space,

així que li vaig donar el seu temps,

and William had enough.

i en William no es pogué aguantar.

He slammed his hands on the desk and he said,

Va donar un cop a la taula i va dir:

"Hey, everybody! Group hug! Group hug!"

"Ei, tots! Una abraçada en grup! Una abraçada en grup!".

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

This young lady's tears and pain turned into joy and laughter

Les llàgrimes i dolor d'aquella noia es convertiren en alegria i rialles,

knowing that her community had her back,

sabent que la seva comunitat l'havia ajudat,

and William had now learned that he did have a purpose in life:

i en William va aprendre que tenia un objectiu a la vida:

to help to heal the souls of people in his own community.

ajudar a curar les ànimes de la gent de la seva comunitat.

He told us his story.

Ell ens explicà la seva història.

We refined his story

La vam polir

to go from being the story of a victim to being the story of a survivor

perquè deixés de ser la història d'una víctima, per ser la d'un supervivent

that has overcome adversity.

que havia superat l'adversitat.

We placed high value on it.

Li vam donar un gran valor.

William went on to finish high school,

En William va continuar fins a acabar a l'institut,

get his security guard certificate to become a security guard,

va obtenir la seva llicència de guarda de seguretat

and is now working at a local school district.

i avui dia treballa en una escola de barri.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

Ms. Russ's mantra --

El mantra de la Sra. Russ,

her mantra was always,

el seu mantra sempre fou:

"when you teach to the heart, the mind will follow."

"Quan ensenyes el cor, la ment el seguirà."

The great writer Khalil Gibran says,

El gran escriptor Khalil Gibran diu:

"Out of suffering have emerged the greatest souls.

"Del sofriment han sorgit les grans ànimes.

The massive characters are seared with scars."

els caràcters més sòlids estan farcits de cicatrius."

I believe that in this education revolution that we're talking about

Crec que en aquesta revolució educativa de què estem parlant,

we need to invite the souls of the young people that we work with,

hem de convidar les ànimes dels joves amb què treballem,

and once they're able to refine --

i un cop són capaços de refinar,

identify their grit, resilience and character

identificar el seu coratge, resiliència i caràcter

that they've already developed --

que ja han desenvolupat,

their academic performance will improve.

el seu rendiment acadèmic millorarà.

Let's believe in young people.

Hem de creure en els joves.

Let's provide them the right kinds of resources.

Hem de proporcionar-los els recursos adequats.

I'll tell you what my teacher did for me.

Els diré què va fer la meva professora per mi.

She believed in me so much

Va creure en mi de tal forma

that she tricked me into believing in myself.

que em va enganyar perquè cregués en mi mateix.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)