What adults can learn from kids | Adora Svitak

Translator: Fanny Skriver Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

Now, I want to start with a question:

Jeg vil stille jer et spørgsmål:

When was the last time you were called "childish"?

Hvornår blev I sidst kaldt "barnlig"?

For kids like me,

For børn, som mig selv,

being called childish can be a frequent occurrence.

sker det ret ofte, at vi bliver kaldt barnlige.

Every time we make irrational demands,

Hver gang vi stiller irrationelle krav,

exhibit irresponsible behavior,

opfører os uansvarligt

or display any other signs of being normal American citizens,

eller udviser tegn på at være en normal amerikansk borger,

we are called childish.

bliver vi kaldt barnlige.

Which really bothers me.

Og det går mig virkelig på.

After all, take a look at these events:

Prøv og tag et kig på disse begivenheder:

Imperialism and colonization,

Imperialisme og kolonisering,

world wars, George W. Bush.

verdenskrige,

George W. Bush.

Ask yourself, who's responsible? Adults.

Spørg dig selv: Hvem er ansvarlig?

Voksne.

Now, what have kids done?

Hvad har børn gjort?

Well, Anne Frank touched millions

Anne Frank rørte millioner af mennesker

with her powerful account of the Holocaust.

med sin stærke fortælling om Holocaust.

Ruby Bridges helped to end segregation in the United States.

Ruby Bridges var med til at ende raceadskillelse i USA.

And, most recently,

Og for nylig

Charlie Simpson helped to raise 120,000 pounds for Haiti,

var Charlie Simpson med til at indsamle 120.000 pund til Haiti

on his little bike.

på sin lille cykel.

So as you can see evidenced by such examples,

Som i kan se ud fra disse eksempler,

age has absolutely nothing to do with it.

så har alder intet med det at gøre.

The traits the word "childish" addresses are seen so often in adults,

De egenskaber som ordet "barnlig" adresserer ses ligeså ofte hos voksne,

that we should abolish this age-discriminatory word,

at vi burde afskaffe dette aldersdiskriminerende ord,

when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility

når vi kritiserer en adfærd, der associeres med uansvarlighed

and irrational thinking.

og en irrationel tankegang.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you.

Tak.

Then again, who's to say that certain types of irrational thinking

Og dog, hvem siger at vi ikke har brug for visse former

aren't exactly what the world needs?

for irrationel tankegang i verden?

Maybe you've had grand plans before,

Måske har du haft store planer,

but stopped yourself, thinking,

men stoppet op og tænkt:

"That's impossible," or "That costs too much,"

"Det er umuligt," eller "Det er for dyrt,"

or "That won't benefit me."

eller "Det vil ikke gavne mig."

For better or worse, we kids aren't hampered as much

På godt og ondt er vi børn ikke hæmmet lige så meget

when it comes to thinking about reasons why not to do things.

når det kommer til at finde på grunde til ikke at gøre ting.

Kids can be full of inspiring aspirations and hopeful thinking,

Børn kan være fulde af inspirerende ambitioner og håbefulde tanker,

like my wish that no one went hungry,

ligesom mit ønske om at ingen sulter,

or that everything were free, a kind of utopia.

eller at alt er gratis, et slags Utopia.

How many of you still dream like that, and believe in the possibilities?

Hvor mange af jer drømmer stadig om det og tror på mulighederne for det?

Sometimes a knowledge of history and the past failures of Utopian ideals

Nogen gange kan viden om historien og tidligere utopiske fiaskoer

can be a burden,

være en byrde,

because you know that if everything were free,

fordi du ved, at hvis alt var gratis,

then the food stocks would become depleted and scarce and lead to chaos.

så ville fødevare markedet blive udtømt, og det ville føre til kaos.

On the other hand, we kids still dream about perfection.

På den anden side, så drømmer vi børn stadig om perfektion.

And that's a good thing, because in order to make anything a reality,

Og det er godt, fordi før man kan gøre noget virkeligt,

you have to dream about it first.

bliver man nødt til at drømme om det først.

In many ways, our audacity to imagine

På mange måder skubber vores dristighed til at drømme

helps push the boundaries of possibility.

til grænserne for, hvad der er muligt.

For instance, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington,

For eksempel har the Museum of Glass i Tacoma, Washington,

my home state -- yoohoo, Washington!

min hjemstat - juhu, Washington!

(Applause)

(Bifald)

has a program called Kids Design Glass,

De har et program, der hedder "Kids Design Glass,"

and kids draw their own ideas for glass art.

hvor børn designer deres egen glaskunst.

The resident artist said they got some of their best ideas

Den faste kunstner sagde, at de fik deres bedste ideer

from the program, because kids don't think about the limitations

fra programmet, fordi børn ikke tænker på begrænsningerne

of how hard it can be to blow glass into certain shapes,

for hvor svært det er at puste glas i bestemte former,

they just think of good ideas.

de kommer bare på gode ideer.

Now, when you think of glass, you might think of colorful Chihuly designs,

Når man tænker på glas, tænker man måske på farverigt glaskunst af Chihuly

or maybe Italian vases,

eller på italienske vaser,

but kids challenge glass artists to go beyond that,

men børn udfordrer glaskunstnere til at gå skridtet videre

into the realm of brokenhearted snakes

ind i en verden af sønderknuste slanger,

and bacon boys, who you can see has meat vision.

og bacon drenge, som i kan se har et kød syn.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Now, our inherent wisdom doesn't have to be insider's knowledge.

Vores iboende visdom er ikke en insider viden.

Kids already do a lot of learning from adults,

Børn lærer allerede en masse fra voksne

and we have a lot to share.

og vi har en masse, vi kan dele.

I think that adults should start learning from kids.

Jeg synes, at voksne skal til at lære af børn.

Now, I do most of my speaking

Jeg taler for det meste

in front of an education crowd -- teachers and students,

foran et publikum inden for uddannelse -- lærere og studerende,

and I like this analogy:

og jeg kan godt lide denne analogi:

It shouldn't be a teacher at the head of the class,

Det burde ikke være en lærer, der siger til klassen:

telling students, "Do this, do that."

"Gør dit, gør dat."

The students should teach their teachers.

Eleverne burde undervise læreren.

Learning between grown-ups and kids should be reciprocal.

Undervisning mellem voksne og børn burde være gensidig.

The reality, unfortunately, is a little different,

Virkeligheden er desværre lidt anderledes,

and it has a lot to do with trust, or a lack of it.

og det hænger sammen med tillid eller manglen på det.

Now, if you don't trust someone, you place restrictions on them, right?

For hvis du ikke stoler på nogen, lægger du restriktioner på dem, ikke?

If I doubt my older sister's ability to pay back the 10 percent interest

Hvis jeg tvivler på, at min storesøster tilbagebetaler de ti procent i rente,

I established on her last loan,

som jeg pålagde hendes sidste lån,

I'm going to withhold her ability to get more money from me,

vil jeg nægte at låne hende flere penge

until she pays it back.

indtil hun betaler dem tilbage.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

True story, by the way.

Det er forresten en sand historie.

Now, adults seem to have

Voksne lader til at have

a prevalently restrictive attitude towards kids,

en generel, begrænsende holdning til børn

from every "Don't do that, don't do this" in the school handbook,

fra "Gør ikke dit, gør ikke dat" i skolehåndbogen

to restrictions on school Internet use.

til begrænsninger på internetbrug i skolen.

As history points out, regimes become oppressive

Som historien har vist, bliver regimer undertrykkende,

when they're fearful about keeping control.

når de bliver bange for at miste kontrol.

And although adults may not be quite at the level

Og selvom voksne måske ikke når op på højde med

of totalitarian regimes,

totalitære regimer,

kids have no or very little say in making the rules,

så har børn meget lidt at sige i forhold til at lave regler,

when really, the attitude should be reciprocal,

selvom holdningen burde være gensidig,

meaning that the adult population should learn

sådan at den voksne befolkning burde lære fra

and take into account the wishes of the younger population.

og inkludere den yngre befolknings ønsker.

Now, what's even worse than restriction,

Men værre end begrænsninger er det,

is that adults often underestimate kids' abilities.

at voksne ofte undervurderer børns evner.

We love challenges, but when expectations are low,

Vi elsker udfordringer, men hvis forventningerne er lave,

trust me, we will sink to them.

så vil vi falde til det niveau.

My own parents had anything but low expectations

Mine forældre havde alt andet end lave forventninger

for me and my sister.

til mig og min søster.

Okay, so they didn't tell us to become doctors or lawyers or anything like that,

Okay, de tvang os ikke til at blive læger eller advokater,

but my dad did read to us about Aristotle and pioneer germ-fighters,

men min far læste højt for os om Aristoteles

og "Banebrydende bakteriebekæmpelse",

when lots of other kids were hearing

mens andre børn hørte

"The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round."

"Hjulene på bussen drejer rundt, rundt, rundt."

Well, we heard that one too, but "Pioneer Germ Fighters" totally rules.

Den hørte vi også, men "Banebrydende bakteriebekæmpelse" styrer for vildt.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I loved to write from the age of four, and when I was six,

Jeg elskede at skrive, fra jeg var fire år gammel,

og da jeg var seks år, købte min mor en bærbar til mig med Microsoft Word.

my mom bought me my own laptop equipped with Microsoft Word.

Thank you, Bill Gates, and thank you, Ma.

Tak, Bill Gates, og tak, mor.

I wrote over 300 short stories on that little laptop,

Jeg skrev over 300 noveller på den bærbar,

and I wanted to get published.

og jeg ville udgive dem.

Instead of just scoffing at this heresy that a kid wanted to get published,

I stedet for at grine af at et barn ville udgives

or saying wait until you're older,

eller sagt jeg måtte vente, til jeg blev ældre,

my parents were really supportive.

støttede mine forældre mig.

Many publishers were not quite so encouraging.

Mange forlæggere var ikke lige så opmuntrende.

One large children's publisher ironically said

Et stort børnebogsforlag sagde ironisk nok,

that they didn't work with children.

at de ikke arbejdede med børn.

Children's publisher not working with children?

Et børnebogsforlag, der ikke arbejder med børn?

I don't know, you're kind of alienating a large client there.

Det er lidt som om, de støder en stor kunde fra sig.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

One publisher, Action Publishing, was willing to take that leap and trust me,

Et forlag, Action Publishing, var villig til at tage chancen,

and to listen to what I had to say.

og høre hvad jeg havde at sige.

They published my first book, "Flying Fingers," you see it here.

De udgav min første bog, "Flying Fingers."

And from there on, it's gone to speaking at hundreds of schools,

Og derfra er jeg gået til at snakke på hundredvis af skoler,

keynoting to thousands of educators,

foran tusindvis af undervisere

and finally, today, speaking to you.

og endelig snakke foran jer i dag.

I appreciate your attention today,

Jeg sætter pris på jeres opmærksomhed,

because to show that you truly care, you listen.

fordi i ved at lytte viser, at det betyder noget.

But there's a problem with this rosy picture

Men der er et problem med denne rosenrøde ide om,

of kids being so much better than adults.

at børn er bedre end voksne.

Kids grow up and become adults just like you.

Børn vokser op og bliver voksne ligesom jer.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Or just like you? Really?

Eller ligesom jer? Virkelig?

The goal is not to turn kids into your kind of adult,

Målet er ikke at gøre børn til jeres form for voksen,

but rather, better adults than you have been,

men i stedet, til bedre voksne end i har været,

which may be a little challenging, considering your guys' credentials.

hvilket kan blive udfordrende, når man ser på jeres kompetencer.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But the way progress happens,

Fremgang sker, ved at nye generationer og nye tider

is because new generations and new eras

grow and develop and become better than the previous ones.

vokser frem og bliver bedre end de tidligere tider.

It's the reason we're not in the Dark Ages anymore.

Det er derfor, vi ikke længere er i Den Mørke Middelalder.

No matter your position or place in life,

Uanset hvad din holdning er,

it is imperative to create opportunities for children,

er det nødvendigt at skabe muligheder for børn,

so that we can grow up to blow you away.

så vi kan vokse op og skubbe jer væk.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Adults and fellow TEDsters,

Voksne og andre TEDstere

you need to listen and learn from kids,

i bliver nødt til at lytte til og lære af børn,

and trust us and expect more from us.

og stole på og forvente mere af os.

You must lend an ear today,

I må låne os et øre i dag,

because we are the leaders of tomorrow, which means

for vi er morgendagens ledere, hvilket betyder,

we're going to take care of you when you're old and senile.

at vi skal tage os af jer, når i er gamle og senile.

No, just kidding.

Nej, jeg laver sjov.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

No, really, we are going to be the next generation,

Men vi er den næste generation,

the ones who will bring this world forward.

dem, som vil bringe denne verden fremad.

And in case you don't think that this really has meaning for you,

Og hvis du tror, at dette ikke har nogen betydning for dig,

remember that cloning is possible,

så husk at kloning er muligt,

and that involves going through childhood again,

og det betyder, at man skal gennem barndommen igen,

in which case you'll want to be heard, just like my generation.

og derfor vil du ønske at blive hørt, ligesom min generation.

Now, the world needs opportunities for new leaders and new ideas.

Verden har brug for muligheder for nye ledere og nye ideer.

Kids need opportunities to lead and succeed.

Børn har brug for muligheder for at lede og dermed lykkes.

Are you ready to make the match?

Er du klar til at tage kampen?

Because the world's problems shouldn't be the human family's heirloom.

For problemerne i verden burde ikke være menneskehedens arvestykke.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Bifald)

(Applause)

Thank you. Thank you.

Tak.

Tak.