Jarrett J. Krosoczka: Why lunch ladies are heroes

Translator: Dewi Barnas Reviewer: Gita Arimanda

When my first children's book was published

Ketika buku cerita anak-anak saya

in 2001,

pertama kali diterbitkan pada 2001,

I returned to my old elementary school

saya mengunjungi SD saya dulu untuk

to talk to the students about being an author

berbicara pada murid-murid tentang

and an illustrator,

profesi penulis dan ilustrator,

and when I was setting up my slide projector

dan ketika saya mempersiapkan proyektor

in the cafetorium,

di aula kafetaria sekolah,

I looked across the room,

saya melihat ke seberang ruangan,

and there she was:

dan dia ada disana:

my old lunch lady.

ibu kantin saya dulu.

She was still there at the school

Dia masih bekerja di sana

and she was busily preparing lunches for the day.

dan dia sedang menyiapkan makan siang untuk hari itu.

So I approached her to say hello,

Saya mendekat dan menyapanya,

and I said, "Hi, Jeannie! How are you?"

Halo Jeannie! Apa kabar?

And she looked at me, and I could tell

Dia melihat saya,

that she recognized me,

saya cukup yakin dia mengenali saya

but she couldn't quite place me, and she looked at me and she said,

tapi dia tidak yakin siapa saya. Dia menatap saya dan berkata,

"Stephen Krosoczka?"

"Stephen Krosoczka?"

Saya terkejut dia tahu bahwa saya dari keluarga Krosoczka,

And I was amazed that she knew I was a Krosoczka,

but Stephen is my uncle who is 20 years older than I am,

tapi Stephen adalah paman saya yang 20 tahun lebih tua dari saya,

and she had been his lunch lady when he was a kid.

dan dia adalah ibu kantin ketika paman saya masih kecil.

And she started telling me about her grandkids,

Kemudian dia mulai bercerita tentang cucu-cucunya,

and that blew my mind.

saya cukup terkejut.

My lunch lady had grandkids,

Ibu kantin saya punya cucu-cucu,

and therefore kids,

punya anak-anak,

and therefore left school at the end of the day?

dan karena itu dia harus pulang ketika jam sekolah usai?

I thought she lived in the cafeteria

Saya kira dia tinggal di kantin dengan sendok saji

with the serving spoons.

I had never thought about any of that before.

Saya tidak pernah menyangka sebelumnya.

Well, that chance encounter inspired my imagination,

Pertemuan itu menginspirasi saya,

and I created the Lunch Lady graphic novel series,

sehingga saya menciptakan serial komik "Lunch Lady" [Ibu Kantin],

a series of comics about a lunch lady

serial komik tentang ibu kantin

who uses her fish stick nunchucks

yang menggunakan nunchaku ikan

to fight off evil cyborg substitutes,

untuk melawan robot jahat,

a school bus monster, and mutant mathletes,

monster bus sekolah, ahli matematika mutan,

and the end of every book,

dan di setiap akhir seri,

they get the bad guy with their hairnet,

mereka meringkus penjahat dengan jaring sanggulnya,

and they proclaim, "Justice is served!"

kemudian berseru, "Keadilan telah disajikan!"

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Tertawa) (Tepuk tangan)

And it's been amazing, because the series

Dan serial ini sangat menakjubkan,

was so welcomed into the reading lives of children,

karena diterima secara luas oleh anak-anak

and they sent me the most amazing letters

dan mereka mengirimkan surat-surat,

and cards and artwork.

kartu, dan hasil karya yang hebat.

And I would notice as I would visit schools,

Ketika saya berkunjung ke sekolah, saya mengamati

the lunch staff would be involved in the programming

staf kantin terlibat dalam program

in a very meaningful way.

dalam berbagai cara yang berarti.

And coast to coast,

Di seluruh Amerika,

all of the lunch ladies told me the same thing:

semua ibu-ibu kantin mengatakan hal yang sama pada saya:

"Thank you for making a superhero in our likeness."

"Terima kasih karena telah membuat kami menjadi tokoh pahlawan super."

Because the lunch lady has not been treated

Ibu-ibu kantin selama ini tidak dicerminkan

very kindly in popular culture over time.

dengan baik dalam karya populer.

But it meant the most to Jeannie.

Tapi serial ini sangat berarti bagi Jeannie.

When the books were first published,

Ketika seri buku ini dirilis,

I invited her to the book launch party,

saya mengundangnya ke acara peluncuran buku,

and in front of everyone there,

dan di hadapan semua hadirin

everyone she had fed over the years,

yang dilayaninya selama bertahun-tahun,

I gave her a piece of artwork and some books.

saya memberikan satu karya seni dan beberapa buku.

And two years after this photo was taken,

Dua tahun setelah foto ini diambil,

she passed away,

beliau meninggal dunia,

dan saya menghadiri pemakamannya,

and I attended her wake,

and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there,

dan saya tidak dapat percaya apa yang saya lihat di sana,

because next to her casket was this painting,

di samping peti jenazah, ada gambar ini,

and her husband told me it meant so much to her

dan suami beliau berkata bahwa ini sangat berarti bagi beliau

that I had acknowledged her hard work,

bahwa saya mengapresiasi kerja kerasnya,

I had validated what she did.

dan mengakui yang telah beliau lakukan.

And that inspired me to create a day

Ini menginspirasi saya agar suatu saat

where we could recreate that feeling

kita bisa menghidupkan kembali perasaan itu

in cafeterias across the country:

di seluruh kantin di negara ini:

Hari Pahlawan Makan Siang

School Lunch Hero Day, a day where kids

satu hari di mana anak-anak

can make creative projects for their lunch staff.

dapat menciptakan suatu kreasi untuk staf kantin.

And I partnered with the School Nutrition Association,

Saya bekerjasama dengan

and did you know that a little over 30 million kids

Asosiasi Nutrisi Sekolah

dan tahukah Anda bahwa

lebih dari 30 juta anak turut serta

participate in school lunch programs every day.

dalam program ini tiap hari.

That equals up to a little over five billion lunches

Ini setara dengan 5 milyar

makan siang yang disajikan

made every school year.

tiap tahunnya.

And the stories of heroism go well beyond

Kisah kepahlawanan ini lebih dari sekedar

just a kid getting a few extra chicken nuggets

potongan ayam ekstra yang didapat anak

on their lunch tray.

di makan siang mereka.

There is Ms. Brenda in California,

Ini Ibu Brenda di California,

who keeps a close eye on every student that comes through her line

yang selalu memperhatikan setiap siswa yang mengantre

and then reports back to the guidance counselor

dan melapor pada guru BK jika

if anything is amiss.

ada yang tidak datang.

There are the lunch ladies in Kentucky

Ibu kantin di Kentucky

who realized that 67 percent of their students

mencatat 67% siswanya bergantung pada

relied on those meals every day,

makanan yang mereka sajikan tiap hari,

and they were going without food over the summer,

dan mereka tidak makan selama musim panas

so they retrofitted a school bus

jadi mereka merombak bus sekolah

to create a mobile feeding unit,

untuk membuat semacam kedai makanan,

and they traveled around the neighborhoods

keliling di area sekitar

feedings 500 kids a day during the summer.

memberi makan 500 anak tiap hari selama musim panas

And kids made the most amazing projects.

Anak-anak membuat karya-karya luar biasa.

I knew they would.

Saya tahu itu.

Kids made hamburger cards

Anak-anak membuat

kartu hamburger

that were made out of construction paper.

dari kertas warna-warni.

They took photos of their lunch lady's head

Mereka mengambil foto wajah ibu kantin,

and plastered it onto my cartoon lunch lady

menambalnya pada kartun karakter saya

and fixed that to a milk carton

dan menempelnya pada kotak susu

and presented them with flowers.

dan mempersembahkannya dengan bunga.

And they made their own comics,

Mereka juga membuat komik sendiri,

starring the cartoon lunch lady

dengan karakter ibu kantin saya

alongside their actual lunch ladies.

bersama dengan ibu kantin mereka.

And they made thank you pizzas,

Mereka membuat pizza terima kasih,

where every kid signed a different topping

setiap anak menulis di setiap taburan

of a construction paper pizza.

dan membentuk pizza dari kertas.

For me, I was so moved by the response

Saya sangat tersentuh dengan tanggapan

that came from the lunch ladies,

dari para ibu kantin,

because one woman said to me, she said,

seorang ibu berkata pada saya,

"Before this day, I felt like I was

"Sebelum hari ini, saya merasa

at the end of the planet at this school.

berada di planet asing di sekolah ini.

I didn't think that anyone noticed us down here."

Tidak ada orang yang menyadari kehadiran kami."

Another woman said to me,

Ada seorang ibu lain yang berkata,

"You know, what I got out of this

"Tahukah Anda, saya akhirnya menyadari

is that what I do is important."

betapa berartinya profesi saya."

And of course what she does is important.

Tentu yang ia lakukan sangat berharga

What they all do is important.

Yang mereka lakukan sangat berharga.

They're feeding our children every single day,

Mereka memberi makan anak-anak kita setiap hari

and before a child can learn,

dan sebelum seorang anak dapat belajar,

their belly needs to be full,

perut mereka tidak boleh kosong,

and these women and men

dan orang-orang inilah

are working on the front lines to create

yang bekerja di garis depan untuk

an educated society.

menciptakan komunitas berpendidikan.

So I hope that

Jadi saya harap Anda tidak menunggu sampai

you don't wait for School Lunch Hero Day

"Hari Pahlawan Makan Siang"

to say thank you to your lunch staff,

untuk berterima kasih pada staf kantin,

and I hope that you remember

dan saya harap Anda selalu ingat

how powerful a thank you can be.

betapa berharganya ucapan terima kasih.

A thank you can change a life.

Ucapan terima kasih dapat mengubah hidup

It changes the life of the person who receives it,

orang-orang yang menerimanya,

and it changes the life of the person

dan mengubah hidup orang

who expresses it.

yang mengucapkannya.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)