Malcolm London: "High School Training Ground"

280,075 views ・ 2013-05-08

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast
0
0
7000
00:13
At 7:45 a.m., I open the doors to a building
1
13260
6347
00:19
dedicated to building, yet only breaks me down.
2
19607
4908
00:24
I march down hallways cleaned up after me every day
3
24515
4210
00:28
by regular janitors,
4
28725
3197
00:31
but I never have the decency to honor their names.
5
31922
4172
00:36
Lockers left open like teenage boys' mouths
6
36094
3168
00:39
when teenage girls wear clothes that covers
7
39262
2551
00:41
their insecurities but exposes everything else.
8
41813
4839
00:46
Masculinity mimicked by men who grew up with no fathers,
9
46652
3818
00:50
camouflage worn by bullies who are dangerously armed
10
50470
3842
00:54
but need hugs.
11
54312
1359
00:55
Teachers paid less than what it costs them to be here.
12
55671
3268
00:58
Oceans of adolescents come here to receive lessons
13
58939
3666
01:02
but never learn to swim,
14
62605
2269
01:04
part like the Red Sea when the bell rings.
15
64874
2142
01:07
This is a training ground.
16
67016
2778
01:09
My high school is Chicago,
17
69794
2307
01:12
diverse and segregated on purpose.
18
72101
3261
01:15
Social lines are barbed wire.
19
75362
3513
01:18
Labels like "Regulars" and "Honors" resonate.
20
78875
5256
01:24
I am an Honors but go home with Regular students
21
84131
4384
01:28
who are soldiers in territory that owns them.
22
88515
3368
01:31
This is a training ground to sort out the Regulars
23
91883
3654
01:35
from the Honors, a reoccurring cycle
24
95537
2258
01:37
built to recycle the trash of this system.
25
97795
3786
01:41
Trained at a young age to capitalize,
26
101581
2994
01:44
letters taught now that capitalism raises you
27
104575
3004
01:47
but you have to step on someone else to get there.
28
107579
2849
01:50
This is a training ground where one group
29
110428
3193
01:53
is taught to lead and the other is made to follow.
30
113621
2907
01:56
No wonder so many of my people spit bars,
31
116528
2635
01:59
because the truth is hard to swallow.
32
119163
2864
02:02
The need for degrees has left so many people frozen.
33
122027
4269
02:06
Homework is stressful,
34
126296
2140
02:08
but when you go home every day and your home is work,
35
128436
2600
02:11
you don't want to pick up any assignments.
36
131036
1977
02:13
Reading textbooks is stressful,
37
133013
1974
02:14
but reading does not matter when you feel
38
134987
2256
02:17
your story is already written,
39
137243
2056
02:19
either dead or getting booked.
40
139299
2076
02:21
Taking tests is stressful,
41
141375
2825
02:24
but bubbling in a Scantron does not stop
42
144200
2588
02:26
bullets from bursting.
43
146788
2191
02:28
I hear education systems are failing,
44
148979
4585
02:33
but I believe they're succeeding at what they're built to do --
45
153564
2542
02:36
to train you, to keep you on track,
46
156106
2138
02:38
to track down an American dream that has failed
47
158244
3306
02:41
so many of us all.
48
161550
3934
02:45
(Applause)
49
165508
7262
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7