How to escape education's death valley | Sir Ken Robinson | TED

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Borja Rey Seoane Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

Thank you very much.

Moitas grazas.

Mudeime aos EE. UU. hai 12 anos coa miña muller Terry e os nosos dous cativos.

I moved to America 12 years ago with my wife Terry and our two kids.

Actually, truthfully, we moved to Los Angeles --

En realidade, sinceiramente, mudámonos a Los Ángeles...

(Laughter)

(Risas)

thinking we were moving to America, but anyway --

pensando que nos iamos aos EE. UU., pero vaia...

(Risas)

(Laughter)

It's a short plane ride from Los Angeles to America.

É un voo curto dende Los Ángeles aos EE. UU.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

I got here 12 years ago,

Cheguei aquí hai 12 anos,

e cando cheguei, dixéronme varias cousas,

and when I got here, I was told various things,

like, "Americans don't get irony."

como, "os americanos non collen a ironía."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Have you come across this idea?

Cadrouvos de escoitar isto?

Isto non é certo.

It's not true.

I've traveled the whole length and breadth of this country.

Teño viaxado ao largo e longo deste país.

Non atopei probas de que os americanos non collan a ironía.

I have found no evidence that Americans don't get irony.

It's one of those cultural myths,

É un deses mitos culturais,

like, "The British are reserved."

como, "os británicos son reservados."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I don't know why people think this.

Non sei por que a xente pensa iso.

We've invaded every country we've encountered.

Temos invadido cada país que atopamos.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

But it's not true Americans don't get irony,

Pero non é certo cos americanos non collen a ironía,

pero eu só quero que saibades que a xente

but I just want you to know that that's what people

are saying about you behind your back.

anda a dicir iso ás vosas costas.

You know, so when you leave living rooms in Europe,

Así que cando saídes das salas de estar en Europa,

people say, thankfully, nobody was ironic in your presence.

a xente di, menos mal que ninguén foi irónico diante deles.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Pero eu sabía que os americanos collían a ironía

But I knew that Americans get irony

when I came across that legislation, "No Child Left Behind."

cando souben daquela lei, "Ningún Neno Deixado de Lado"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Porque quen pensou nese título colle a ironía.

Because whoever thought of that title gets irony.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Don't they?

Ou non?

(Aplausos)

(Applause)

Because it's leaving millions of children behind.

Porque se están a deixar millóns de nenos de lado.

Now I can see that's not a very attractive name for legislation:

Ben vexo que non é un nome moi atractivo para unha lei:

"Millions of Children Left Behind."

"Millóns de Nenos Deixados de Lado".

I can see that.

Ben o vexo.

What's the plan?

Cal é o plan?

We propose to leave millions of children behind,

Propoñemos deixar millóns de nenos de lado,

and here's how it's going to work.

e así é como isto vai funcionar.

E está a funcionar de marabilla.

And it's working beautifully.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

In some parts of the country,

Nalgunhas partes do país,

60 percent of kids drop out of high school.

o 60 por cento dos rapaces abandonan o instituto.

In the Native American communities,

Nas comunidades de nativos americanos,

it's 80 percent of kids.

son o 80 por cento.

If we halved that number,

Se reduciramos ese número á metade,

one estimate is it would create a net gain to the U.S. economy

estímase que, nuns 10 anos, crearíase unha ganancia neta

para a economía dos EE. UU. de preto dun billón de dólares.

over 10 years, of nearly a trillion dollars.

From an economic point of view,

Dende un punto de vista económico,

this is good math, isn't it, that we should do this?

isto son boas contas, non si? e deberiámolas aplicar?

It actually costs an enormous amount

Realmente costa unha enorme cantidade

arranxar os danos causados pola crise do abandono.

to mop up the damage from the dropout crisis.

But the dropout crisis is just the tip of an iceberg.

Pero a crise do abandono é só a punta do iceberg.

Porque non se contan todos os rapaces que están na escola

What it doesn't count are all the kids who are in school

but being disengaged from it, who don't enjoy it,

pero sen implicarse nela, sen desfrutala,

who don't get any real benefit from it.

sen tirar dela beneficio ningún.

And the reason is not that we're not spending enough money.

E a razón non é que non esteamos a gastar cartos abondos.

America spends more money on education than most other countries.

Os EE. UU. gastan máis cartos en educación ca a maioría de países.

Os tamaños das clases son menores ca en moitos países.

Class sizes are smaller than in many countries.

And there are hundreds of initiatives every year

E hai centos de iniciativas cada ano

to try and improve education.

para tentar mellorar a educación.

The trouble is, it's all going in the wrong direction.

O problema é que todo vai na dirección equivocada.

There are three principles on which human life flourishes,

Hai tres principios sobre os que a vida humana florece,

and they are contradicted by the culture of education

e que están en contradición coa cultura educativa

baixo que a maioría do profesorado ten que traballar

under which most teachers have to labor

and most students have to endure.

e a maioría do estudantado ten que soportar.

The first is this, that human beings are naturally different and diverse.

O primeiro é que os seres humanos son naturalmente distintos e diversos.

Can I ask you, how many of you have got children of your own?

Pódovos preguntar, cantos de vós tedes fillos?

Okay. Or grandchildren.

OK, ou netos.

How about two children or more? Right.

E cantos tedes dous fillos ou máis? Ben.

And the rest of you have seen such children.

E os outros, tedes visto algún neno.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Small people wandering about.

Xente cativa vagando por aí.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

I will make you a bet,

Vouvos facer unha aposta,

and I am confident that I will win the bet.

e estou seguro de gañala.

If you've got two children or more,

Se tendes dous fillos ou máis,

I bet you they are completely different from each other.

apóstovos a que son completamente distintos un do outro.

Aren't they?

A que si?

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

You would never confuse them, would you?

Nunca os confundiriades, verdade?

Like, "Which one are you? Remind me."

En plan, "Ti quen viñas sendo? Lémbramo."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

"Your mother and I need some color-coding system

"A túa nai e máis eu precisamos cun código de cores

so we don't get confused."

para non confundirnos."

A educación baixo "Ningún Neno Deixado de Lado"

Education under "No Child Left Behind"

is based on not diversity but conformity.

baséase na conformidade no canto de na diversidade.

What schools are encouraged to do is to find out

Anímase ás escolas a que descubran

what kids can do across a very narrow spectrum of achievement.

que nenos son quen de pasar a través dun moi estreito espectro de logros.

One of the effects of "No Child Left Behind"

Un dos efectos de "Ningún Neno Deixado de Lado"

has been to narrow the focus onto the so-called STEM disciplines.

foi poñer o foco nas chamadas disciplinas STEM.

They're very important.

Son moi importantes.

I'm not here to argue against science and math.

Non estou aquí para discutir a ciencia e as matemáticas.

On the contrary, they're necessary but they're not sufficient.

Ao revés, son precisas pero non abondan.

A educación real ten que dar igual importancia

A real education has to give equal weight

to the arts, the humanities, to physical education.

ás artes, ás humanidades, ou á educación física.

Montóns de nenos, perdón, grazas...

An awful lot of kids, sorry, thank you --

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

One estimate in America currently is that something like 10 percent of kids,

Calcúlase que actualmente nos EE. UU. un 10 por cento dos rapaces,

getting on that way,

dese xeito,

están a ser diagnosticados de diversas patoloxías

are being diagnosed with various conditions

under the broad title of attention deficit disorder.

baixo o nome xenéricio de "trastorno por déficit de atención".

ADHD.

TDAH.

I'm not saying there's no such thing.

Non digo que iso non exista.

I just don't believe it's an epidemic like this.

Simplemente non creo que haxa unha epidemia tal.

Se sentas a cativos, hora tras hora,

If you sit kids down, hour after hour,

doing low-grade clerical work,

facendo aburridos traballos repetitivos

don't be surprised if they start to fidget, you know?

non te estrañes se dan en bulir, non si?

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

A maioría dos nenos non están sufrindo ningunha patoloxía psicolóxica.

Children are not, for the most part, suffering from a psychological condition.

They're suffering from childhood.

Sofren de infancia.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And I know this because I spent my early life as a child.

E sei disto porque pasei a primeira parte da miña vida como neno.

I went through the whole thing.

Pasei por todo este asunto.

Kids prosper best with a broad curriculum that celebrates their various talents,

Os nenos medran mellor cun currículo amplo que salienta os seus variados talentos,

not just a small range of them.

e non só un pequeno grupo deles.

And by the way, the arts aren't just important

E, xa de paso, as artes non son só importantes

because they improve math scores.

porque melloren as notas en matemáticas.

They're important because they speak to parts of children's being

Sono porque comunican con partes do ser do neno

which are otherwise untouched.

que senón non se tocarían.

The second, thank you --

O segundo, grazas...

(Aplausos)

(Applause)

The second principle that drives human life flourishing

O segundo principio que dirixe o florecemento da vida humana

is curiosity.

é a curiosidade.

If you can light the spark of curiosity in a child,

Se podes acender a faísca da curiosidade nun neno,

they will learn without any further assistance, very often.

moi a miúdo, eles aprenderán sen máis axuda.

Children are natural learners.

Os nenos son aprendices por natureza.

It's a real achievement to put that particular ability out,

É un verdadeiro logro apagar esa capacidade,

or to stifle it.

ou contela.

A curiosidade é o motor do logro.

Curiosity is the engine of achievement.

Now the reason I say this

A razón pola que digo isto

is because one of the effects of the current culture here,

é porque un dos efectos da cultura actual,

if I can say so,

se podo dicir tal cousa,

has been to de-professionalize teachers.

foi desprofesionalizar aos profesores.

There is no system in the world or any school in the country

Non hai un sistema no mundo nin ningunha escola no país

that is better than its teachers.

que sexa mellor ca os seus profesores.

Os profesores son a alma do éxito nas escolas.

Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.

But teaching is a creative profession.

Pero ensinar é unha profesión creativa.

Teaching, properly conceived, is not a delivery system.

O ensino, ben entendido, non é un sistema de mensaxería.

Ti non estás aí só para pasar a información que recibiches.

You know, you're not there just to pass on received information.

Great teachers do that,

Os grandes profesores fan iso,

but what great teachers also do is mentor,

pero o que tamén fan os grandes profesores é guiar,

stimulate, provoke, engage.

estimular, provocar, implicar.

You see, in the end, education is about learning.

Vedes, ao final, a educación vai de aprender.

If there's no learning going on, there's no education going on.

Se non está habendo aprendizaxe, non está habendo educación.

And people can spend an awful lot of time

E a xente pode pasar unha chea de tempo

discussing education without ever discussing learning.

discutindo de educación sen discutir xamais de aprendizaxe.

The whole point of education is to get people to learn.

O obxectivo da educación é que a xente aprenda.

An old friend of mine -- actually very old, he's dead.

Un vello amigo meu... tan vello que xa está morto.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

That's as old as it gets, I'm afraid.

Non chegas a máis vello, témome.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

But a wonderful guy he was, wonderful philosopher.

Pero el era un tipo marabilloso, un marabilloso filósofo.

He used to talk about the difference

Adoitaba falar sobre a diferenza

entre os significados de tarefa e logro dos verbos.

between the task and achievement senses of verbs.

You can be engaged in the activity of something,

Podes estar involucrado nunha tarefa calquera,

pero non lograla, como con "facer dieta".

but not really be achieving it, like dieting.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

É un exemplo moi bo.

It's a very good example.

There he is. He's dieting.

Velaí. El está a facer dieta.

Is he losing any weight? Not really.

Está a perder algo de peso? En realidade non.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Teaching is a word like that.

Ensinar é unha palabra igual.

You can say, "There's Deborah, she's in room 34, she's teaching."

Podes dicir, "Esta é Deborah, está na aula 34, está a ensinar."

But if nobody's learning anything,

Pero se ninguén está a aprender nada,

she may be engaged in the task of teaching but not actually fulfilling it.

por moi implicada que estea na tarefa de ensinar non está a cumprir con ela.

The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning.

O rol dun profesor é facilitar a aprendizaxe.

That's it.

Simplemente.

And part of the problem is, I think,

E unha parte do problema é, creo eu,

that the dominant culture of education has come to focus

que a cultura educativa dominante deu en se centrar

non en ensinar e aprender, senón en examinar.

on not teaching and learning, but testing.

Now, testing is important.

Ben, examinar é importante

Standardized tests have a place.

As probas estandarizadas teñen o seu lugar.

But they should not be the dominant culture of education.

Pero non deberían ser a cultura educativa dominante.

They should be diagnostic. They should help.

Deberían ser diagnósticas. Deberían axudar.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

If I go for a medical examination, I want some standardized tests.

Se eu vou facer unha revisión médica, quero certas probas estandarizadas.

Abofé.

I do.

I want to know what my cholesterol level is

Quero saber o meu nivel de colesterol

compared to everybody else's on a standard scale.

comparado co dos demais nunha escala estándar.

I don't want to be told on some scale my doctor invented in the car.

E non quero que mo digan nunha escala que o médico inventou no coche.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

"O teu colesterol está no que eu chamo 'nivel laranxa'."

"Your cholesterol is what I call Level Orange."

"Really?"

"En serio?"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

"Is that good?" "We don't know."

"Iso é bó?" "Non o sabemos."

(Risas)

(Laughter)

But all that should support learning.

Pero todo iso debería apoiar á aprendizaxe.

It shouldn't obstruct it, which of course it often does.

Non debería obstruíla, que é o que fai a miúdo.

So in place of curiosity, what we have is a culture of compliance.

E así, en vez dunha cultura da curiosidade temos unha da conformidade.

Our children and teachers are encouraged to follow routine algorithms

Anímase aos nosos nenos e profesores a seguir algoritmos rutineiros

rather than to excite that power of imagination and curiosity.

no canto de espertar ese poder da imaxinación e a curiosidade.

E o terceiro principio é este: a vida humana é inherentemente creativa.

And the third principle is this: that human life is inherently creative.

Por iso todos temos distintos currículos.

It's why we all have different résumés.

We create our lives,

Creamos as nosas vidas,

e podemos recrealas ao pasarmos por elas.

and we can recreate them as we go through them.

It's the common currency of being a human being.

É a moeda común de ser un ser humano.

It's why human culture is so interesting and diverse and dynamic.

Por iso a cultura humana é tan interesante e diversa e dinámica.

I mean, other animals may well have imaginations and creativity,

É probable que outros animais teñan imaxinación e creatividade,

but it's not so much in evidence, is it, as ours?

pero non hai moitas probas, non si, como con nós?

É dicir, ti podes ter un can.

I mean, you may have a dog.

And your dog may get depressed.

E o teu can pode deprimirse.

You know, but it doesn't listen to Radiohead, does it?

Vale, pero non escoita Radiohead, a que non?

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Nin senta a ollar pola xanela cunha botella de Jack Daniels.

And sit staring out the window with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

"Queres saír dar un paseo?"

"Would you like to come for a walk?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Non, estou ben."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

"You go. I'll wait. But take pictures."

"Vai ti. Eu quedo. Pero saca fotos."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

We all create our own lives through this restless process

Todos creamos as nosas vidas mediante este proceso sen pausa

of imagining alternatives and possibilities,

de imaxinar alternativas e posibilidades,

and one of the roles of education

e un dos roles da educación

é o de espertar e desenvolver eses poderes da creatividade.

is to awaken and develop these powers of creativity.

Instead, what we have is a culture of standardization.

Pola contra, o que temos é unha cultura da estandarización.

Now, it doesn't have to be that way.

Pero non ten por que ser dese xeito.

It really doesn't.

De verdade que non ten por que.

Finland regularly comes out on top in math, science and reading.

Finlandia acada a miúdo o liderado en matemáticas, ciencias e lectura.

Now, we only know that's what they do well at,

Pero nós só sabemos que iso é o que eles fan ben,

because that's all that's being tested.

porque é o que se está poñendo a proba.

That's one of the problems of the test.

Ese é un dos problemas das probas.

They don't look for other things that matter just as much.

Non buscan outras cousas que sexan importantes.

The thing about work in Finland is this:

O importante de como se traballa en Finlandia é isto:

non se obsesionan con esas disciplinas.

they don't obsess about those disciplines.

They have a very broad approach to education,

Fan unha aproximación integral á educación,

which includes humanities, physical education, the arts.

o que inclúe as humanidades, a educación física, as artes.

En segundo lugar, en Finlandia non hai probas estandarizadas.

Second, there is no standardized testing in Finland.

I mean, there's a bit,

Quero dicir, hai algunhas,

pero a xente non se ergue polas mañás por elas,

but it's not what gets people up in the morning,

what keeps them at their desks.

nin aguanta nos seus pupitres.

The third thing -- and I was at a meeting recently

En terceiro lugar... Hai pouco estaba nunha reunión

with some people from Finland, actual Finnish people,

con algunhas persoas de Finlandia, verdadeiros fineses,

and somebody from the American system was saying to the people in Finland,

e alguén d sistema americano estaba preguntándolle aos finlandeses,

"What do you do about the drop-out rate in Finland?"

"En Finlandia, que facedes coa taxa de abandono?"

And they all looked a bit bemused, and said,

E eles miráronse un chisco abraiados, e dixeron,

"Well, we don't have one.

"A ver, e que non temos.

Why would you drop out?

Por que vai abandonar ninguén?

If people are in trouble, we get to them quite quickly

Se a xente ten problemas, chegamos a eles axiña

e axudámoslles e apoiámolos."

and we help and support them."

Now people always say,

Agora a xente sempre di,

"Well, you know, you can't compare Finland to America."

"Xa sabes, non se pode comparar Finlandia cos EE. UU."

No. I think there's a population of around five million in Finland.

Non. Creo que Finlandia ten unha poboación duns 5 millóns.

But you can compare it to a state in America.

Pero podedes comparala cun estado dos EE. UU.

Many states in America have fewer people in them than that.

Moitos estados americanos teñen menos poboación.

I mean, I've been to some states in America

Teño estado nalgúns estados americanos

and I was the only person there.

e eu era a única persoa alí.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Really. Really.

En serio. En serio.

I was asked to lock up when I left.

Dixéronme que pechara ao saír.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

But what all the high-performing systems in the world do

Pero o que todos os sistemas de alto rendemento do mundo fan é

is currently what is not evident, sadly,

o que por desgraza non é evidente neste momento

across the systems in America --

nos sistemas dos EE. UU....

I mean, as a whole.

Quero dicir, en conxunto.

One is this:

Unha é:

individualizan o ensino e a aprendizaxe.

they individualize teaching and learning.

They recognize that it's students who are learning

Recoñecen que quen está aprendendo son os estudantes

and the system has to engage them,

e o sistema ten que enganchalos,

their curiosity, their individuality, and their creativity.

a súa curiosidade, a súa individualidade e a súa creatividade.

That's how you get them to learn.

Así se consegue que aprendan.

The second is that they attribute a very high status

O segundo elemento é que lle atribúen un status moi alto

to the teaching profession.

á profesión de docente.

They recognize that you can't improve education

Recoñecen que non podes mellorar a educación

se non colles boa xente para ensinar e continúas a lles dar

if you don't pick great people to teach and keep giving them

apoio constante e desenvolvemento profesional.

constant support and professional development.

Investing in professional development is not a cost.

Investir en desenvolvemento profesional non é un gasto.

It's an investment,

É un investimento,

and every other country that's succeeding well knows that,

todos os países que están tendo éxito sábeno,

whether it's Australia, Canada,

ben sexa Australia, Canadá,

Corea do Sur, Singapur, Hong Kong ou Shanghai.

South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong or Shanghai.

They know that to be the case.

Saben que esa é a clave.

And the third is,

E o terceiro elemento é

they devolve responsibility to the school level

que delegan ao nivel de escola a responsabilidade

de que se faga o traballo.

for getting the job done.

You see, there's a big difference here

Vedes, hai unha grande diferenza

between going into a mode of command and control in education --

entre empregar un modelo de orde e control na educación...

That's what happens in some systems.

Iso é o que ocorre nalgúns sistemas.

Os gobernos central e estatais deciden,

Central or state governments decide,

they know best and they're going to tell you what to do.

eles saben máis ca ti e vanche dicir qué tes que facer.

The trouble is that education doesn't go on

O problema é que a educación non acontece

in the committee rooms of our legislative buildings.

nas salas de reunión dos nosos edificios lexislativos.

It happens in classrooms and schools,

Ocorre nas aulas e nas escolas,

and the people who do it are the teachers and the students,

e a xente que a fai son os docentes e os estudantes,

and if you remove their discretion, it stops working.

e se eliminas o seu criterio, para de funcionar.

Hai que lla devolver á xente.

You have to put it back to the people.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

There is wonderful work happening in this country.

Estanse facendo iniciativas marabillosas neste país.

But I have to say it's happening

Pero teño que dicir que se están facendo

in spite of the dominant culture of education,

a pesar da cultura educativa dominante,

non grazas a ela.

not because of it.

It's like people are sailing into a headwind all the time.

É como estar navegando todo o tempo con vento de proa.

E a razón pola que o penso é a seguinte:

And the reason I think is this:

that many of the current policies

moitas das políticas actuais

are based on mechanistic conceptions of education.

están baseadas en concepcións mecanicistas da educación.

It's like education is an industrial process

Como se a educación fose un proceso industrial

that can be improved just by having better data,

que pode ser mellorado só con ter mellores datos;

and somewhere in the back of the mind of some policy makers

e nalgún lugar do fondo da mente dalgúns lexisladores

is this idea that if we fine-tune it well enough, if we just get it right,

está esta idea de que se a afinamos ben abondo, se conseguimos que vaia ben,

it will all hum along perfectly into the future.

tamén vai zunir á perfección no futuro.

It won't, and it never did.

E non o fará nin nunca o fixo.

The point is that education is not a mechanical system.

O asunto é que a educación non é un sistema mecánico.

It's a human system.

É un sistema humano.

It's about people,

Vai de persoas,

people who either do want to learn or don't want to learn.

persoas que ou van aprender ou non van facelo.

Every student who drops out of school has a reason for it

Cada estudante que abandona a escola ten unha razón para facelo

which is rooted in their own biography.

arraigada na súa propia biografía.

They may find it boring.

Pode parecerlles aburrida.

They may find it irrelevant.

Pode parecerlles irrelevante.

Mesmo poden pensar que non cadra coa vida que están a vivir fóra da escola.

They may find that it's at odds with the life they're living outside of school.

There are trends, but the stories are always unique.

Hai tendencias, pero as historias son sempre únicas.

Hai pouco estiven en Los Ángeles nunha reunión de...

I was at a meeting recently in Los Angeles of --

they're called alternative education programs.

chámanlles "programas educativos alternativos".

These are programs designed to get kids back into education.

Son programas deseñados para reinsertar aos nenos na educación.

They have certain common features.

Teñen certas características comúns.

They're very personalized.

Están moi personalizados.

They have strong support for the teachers,

Teñen un forte apoio para o profesorado,

close links with the community and a broad and diverse curriculum,

vínculos estreitos coa comunidade e un currículo amplo e variado,

and often programs which involve students outside school as well as inside school.

e tamén por veces, programas que implican aos estudantes dentro e fóra da escola.

And they work.

E funcionan.

What's interesting to me is, these are called "alternative education."

O que me parece interesante é, que se lles chame "educación alternativa".

(Laughter)

(Risas)

You know?

Entendedes?

And all the evidence from around the world is,

E todas as probas polo mundo adiante

if we all did that, there'd be no need for the alternative.

din que se todos fixeramos iso, non cumprirían alternativas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

(Fin dos aplausos)

(Applause ends)

Penso que temos que asumir unha metáfora distinta.

So I think we have to embrace a different metaphor.

We have to recognize that it's a human system,

Temos que recoñecer que este é un sistema humano

and there are conditions under which people thrive,

e que hai condicións baixo as cales a xente prospera,

e condicións baixo as que non.

and conditions under which they don't.

We are after all organic creatures,

Somos, no fin de contas, criaturas orgánicas,

and the culture of the school is absolutely essential.

e a cultura da escola é absolutamente esencial.

Culture is an organic term, isn't it?

Cultura é un termo orgánico, non si?

Not far from where I live is a place called Death Valley.

Preto de onde eu vivo hai un lugar chamado Val da Morte.

Death Valley is the hottest, driest place in America,

O Val da Morte é o lugar máis cálido e seco dos EE. UU.,

and nothing grows there.

alí non crece nada.

Nothing grows there because it doesn't rain.

Alí non crece nada porque non chove.

Hence, Death Valley.

Xa que logo, Val da Morte.

In the winter of 2004, it rained in Death Valley.

No inverno de 2004, choveu no Val da Morte.

180 milímetros de chuvia nun período de tempo moi curto.

Seven inches of rain fell over a very short period.

E na primavera de 2005, ocoreu un fenómeno.

And in the spring of 2005, there was a phenomenon.

Todo o chan do Val da Morte estivo alfombrado de flores por un tempo.

The whole floor of Death Valley was carpeted in flowers for a while.

What it proved is this:

O que isto demostra é

that Death Valley isn't dead.

que o Val da Morte non está morto.

It's dormant.

Está latente.

Right beneath the surface are these seeds of possibility

Xusto baixo a superficie están estas sementes de posibilidade

agardando a que se dean as circunstancias axeitadas,

waiting for the right conditions to come about,

and with organic systems, if the conditions are right,

e con sistemas orgánicos, se as condicións son boas,

a vida é inevitable.

life is inevitable.

It happens all the time.

Ocorre acotío.

You take an area, a school, a district,

Colles unha área, unha escola, un distrito,

mudas as condicións, dáslle á xente unha sensación de posibilidades distinta,

you change the conditions, give people a different sense of possibility,

a different set of expectations, a broader range of opportunities,

outro conxunto de expectativas, un rango de oportunidades máis amplo,

you cherish and value the relationships between teachers and learners,

coidas e valoras as relacións entre profesores e estudantes,

ofréceslle á xente a posibilidade de seren creativos

you offer people the discretion to be creative

and to innovate in what they do,

e de innovar no que fan,

and schools that were once bereft spring to life.

e as escolas que estiveron inertes renacen á vida.

Great leaders know that.

Os grandes líderes sábeno.

The real role of leadership in education --

O verdadeiro rol do liderado na educación

and I think it's true at the national level,

--e creo que é certo a nivel nacional,

the state level, at the school level --

a nivel estatal, a nivel escolar--

is not and should not be command and control.

non é nin debería ser a orde e o control.

The real role of leadership is climate control,

O verdadeiro rol do liderado é o control do clima,

creating a climate of possibility.

creando un clima de posibilidade.

And if you do that, people will rise to it

E se fas iso, a xente erguerase

and achieve things that you completely did not anticipate

e acadará cousas que en absoluto preveras

and couldn't have expected.

e que nunca agardarías.

There's a wonderful quote from Benjamin Franklin.

Hai unha marabillosa cita de Benjamin Franklin.

"There are three sorts of people in the world:

"Hai tres tipos de persoas no mundo:

Those who are immovable,

Aqueles que son inamovibles,

xente que non entende,

people who don't get it,

or don't want to do anything about it;

ou non quere entender nada;

os que son movibles,

there are people who are movable,

people who see the need for change

xente que ve a necesidade de cambiar

and are prepared to listen to it;

e está preparada para escoitar;

and there are people who move,

e hai xente que se move,

people who make things happen."

xente que fai que as cousas ocorran."

And if we can encourage more people, that will be a movement.

E se podemos animar a máis xente, haberá un movemento.

And if the movement is strong enough,

E se o movemento é forte abondo,

that's, in the best sense of the word, a revolution.

iso é, no mellor sentido da palabra, unha revolución.

And that's what we need.

Iso é o que precisamos.

Thank you very much.

Moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you very much.

Moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)