Help for kids the education system ignores | Victor Rios

Translator: Ivana Setiadi Reviewer: Yolanda Raintina

For over a decade,

Selama lebih dari sepuluh tahun,

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

saya mempelajari anak-anak yang dikeluarkan dari sekolah,

so called "dropouts."

atau "dropout."

As they end up failed by the education system,

Saat mereka dikecewakan oleh sistem edukasi,

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

mereka menjadi anak jalanan yang hidup dengan kekerasan,

police harassment,

pelecehan, brutalitas, dan penahanan oleh polisi.

police brutality

and incarceration.

I follow these young people for years at a time,

Selama bertahun-tahun saya mengikuti anak-anak ini,

across institutional settings,

dari berbagai latar belakang institusi,

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

untuk memahami orang yang disebut "alur sekolah ke penjara."

When you look at a picture like this,

Saat Anda melihat gambar ini, gambar anak-anak yang saya teliti ...

of young people who are in my study ...

you might see trouble.

Anda melihat ada yang salah.

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

Anak ini memegang botol minuman keras di tangannya,

he's 14 years old

ia berumur 14 tahun dan hari itu bukan hari libur.

and it's a school day.

Other people, when they see this picture,

Ketika orang melihat gambar ini, mereka kira itu geng,

might see gangs,

thugs, delinquents --

preman, berandalan, atau kriminalis.

criminals.

But I see it different.

Berbeda dengan apa yang saya lihat.

I see these young people through a perspective

Saya melihat mereka dari perspektif

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

aset yang ada pada mereka dalam sistem edukasi.

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

Maukah Anda turut serta untuk mengubah label anak muda

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

dari yang "berisiko" menjadi "berpotensi?"

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)

How do I know that these young people

Bagaimana saya tahu jika anak muda ini

have the potential and the promise to change?

punya potensi dan kesempatan untuk berubah?

I know this because I am one of them.

Saya tahu karena saya dulu salah satu dari mereka.

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

Saya dulu hidup dalam kemiskinan di kota, tanpa seorang ayah

without a father --

he abandoned me before I was even born.

ia pergi sebelum saya lahir.

We were on welfare,

Kami hidup aman, kadang tunawisma, dan sering kelaparan.

sometimes homeless,

many times hungry.

By the time I was 15 years old,

Saat saya berusia 15 tahun,

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

saya ditahan di penjara 3 kali karena melakukan 3 kejahatan.

My best friend had already been killed.

Sahabat saya terbunuh.

And soon after,

Dan sesaat setelah itu,

while I'm standing next to my uncle,

saat saya berdiri di samping paman saya, ia tertembak.

he gets shot.

And as I'm waiting for the ambulance to arrive

Saya menunggu ambulan lebih dari sejam, dan ia meninggal kehabisan darah di jalan.

for over an hour ...

he bleeds to death on the street.

I had lost faith and hope in the world,

Saya kehilangan iman dan harapan di dunia,

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

dan saya menyerah pada sistem karena sistem mengecewakan saya.

I had nothing to offer

Saya tidak dapat menawarkan apa pun

and no one had anything to offer me.

dan tak ada yang bisa ditawarkan pada saya.

I was fatalistic.

Saya sangat putus asa.

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

Bahkan saya merasa tidak akan hidup sampai berusia 18 tahun.

The reason I'm here today

Alasan saya di sini hari ini karena sosok guru yang mempedulikan saya

is because a teacher that cared reached out

and managed to tap into my soul.

dan berhasil menyentuh jiwa saya.

This teacher,

Guru ini adalah Ibu Russ

Ms. Russ ...

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

ia adalah guru yang selalu mencampuri urusan orang lain.

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

She was the kind of teacher that was like,

Ia adalah guru yang selalu berkata, "Victor, saya selalu siap untuk kamu."

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

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

I wasn't ready.

Dan saya tidak siap.

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

Tapi ia paham satu prinsip dasar tentang anak muda seperti saya.

We're like oysters.

Kami seperti kerang.

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

Kami akan terbuka ketika kami siap,

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

dan jika Anda tidak ada saat kami siap, kami akan menutup diri lagi.

we're going to clam back up.

Ms. Russ was there for me.

Ibu Russ ada untuk saya.

She was culturally relevant,

Beliau menghargai budaya, komunitas, orang seperti saya, dan keluarga saya

she respected my community, my people, my family.

I told her a story about my Uncle Ruben.

Saya menceritakan padanya tentang Paman Ruben.

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

Paman mengajak saya untuk bekerja karena ia tahu saya memerlukan uang,

and he knew I needed some money.

He collected glass bottles for a living.

Ia memungut botol kaca untuk bertahan hidup.

Four in the morning on a school day,

Pukul 4 pagi di hari sekolah,

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

kami melempar botol kaca ke belakang mobil van-nya,

and the bottles would break.

dan botol itu akan pecah.

And my hands and arms would start to bleed

Lalu tangan dan lengan saya berdarah, dan mengenai sepatu dan celana saya.

and my tennis shoes and pants would get all bloody.

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

Saya panik dan kesakitan, dan saya ingin berhenti bekerja.

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

Dan paman saya menatap mata saya dan berkata

"Mijo,

"Mijo, estamos buscando vida."

estamos buscando vida."

"We're searching for a better life,

"Kita mencari kehidupan yang lebih baik,

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

kita mengubah yang tidak ada menjadi ada."

Ms. Russ listened to my story,

Ibu Russ mendengarkan kisah saya, menyambutnya dan berkata,

welcomed it into the classroom and said,

"Victor, this is your power.

"Victor, inilah kekuatanmu. Inilah potensimu.

This is your potential.

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

Keluarga, budaya, komunitas telah mengajari kamu hidup bekerja keras

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

dan kamu akan memakainya untuk menginspirasi diri di dunia pendidikan

so you can come back and empower your community."

agar kamu dapat kembali dan menginspirasi komunitasmu."

With Ms. Russ's help,

Dengan bantuan Ibu Russ, akhirnya saya kembali bersekolah.

I ended up returning to school.

I even finished my credits on time

Saya menyelesaikan kelas-kelas dengan tepat waktu

and graduated with my class.

dan lulus bersama angkatan saya.

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)

But Ms. Russ said to me right before graduation,

Namun sebelum kelulusan, Ibu Russ berkata,

"Victor, I'm so proud of you.

"Victor, saya sangat bangga padamu. Saya tahu kamu bisa melakukannya.

I knew you could do it.

Now it's time to go to college."

Sekarang kamu bisa lanjut ke perguruan tinggi."

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

College, me?

Saya ke perguruan tinggi?

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

Wow, apa yang guru saya hisap sampai ia berpikir saya akan berkuliah?

I applied with the mentors and support she provided,

Saya mendaftar dengan dukungannya, lalu mendapat surat penerimaan,

got a letter of acceptance,

and one of the paragraphs read,

dan salah satu paragrafnya menyatakan, "Anda diterima dalam status percobaan."

"You've been admitted under probationary status."

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

Saya berkata, "Masa percobaan? Saya pernah alami itu,apa itu tidak salah?

that don't matter?"

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

It was academic probation, not criminal probation.

Ini masa percobaan akademis, bukan masa percobaan kriminal.

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

Apa yang guru lakukan seperti Ibu Russ untuk menghadapi anak muda seperti saya?

like the ones I study?

I propose three strategies.

Akan saya sampaikan tiga cara.

The first:

Pertama, singkirkan pikiran buruk tentang pendidikan.

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

"These people come from a culture of violence,

"Orang-orang ini hidup dalam kekerasan, kemiskinan.

a culture of poverty.

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

Mereka akan sering bolos.

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

Mereka adalah wadah kosong yang perlu kita isi dengan ilmu.

They have the problems,

Mereka punya masalah, kita punya solusi."

we have the solutions."

Number two.

Kedua, hargai setiap cerita yang mereka bawa ke sekolah.

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

Their stories of overcoming insurmountable odds are so powerful.

Cerita mereka dalam mengatasi rintangan yang begitu sulit.

And I know you know some of these stories.

Dan Anda mengetahui beberapa kisah seperti ini.

These very same stories and experiences

Kisah dan pengalaman ini memiliki kekuatan, karakter, dan ketahanan.

already have grit, character and resilience in them.

So let's help young people refine those stories.

Mari kita bantu mereka untuk memperbaiki cerita ini.

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

Menolong mereka agar lebih percaya diri,

because our education system welcomes their families, their cultures,

karena sistem pendidikan kita menerima keluarga, budaya, komunitas mereka,

their communities

and the skill set they've learned to survive.

dan keahlian mereka untuk bertahan hidup.

And of course the third strategy being the most important:

Strategi ketiga dan yang terpenting adalah dukungan.

resources.

We have to provide adequate resources to young people.

Kita harus memberi dukungan untuk anak-anak muda.

Grit alone isn't going to cut it.

Keberanian saja tidaklah cukup.

You can sit there and tell me all you want,

Anda duduk dan beritahu apa yang Anda mau,

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

"Eh kamu, tarik tali sepatumu dan berdirilah sendiri."

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

Tapi bagaimana jika saya lahir tanpa tali di sepatu saya --

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

How am I supposed to pick myself up?

Bagaimana saya dapat bangkit?

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)

Job training,

Pelatihan kerja, bimbingan, konseling

mentoring,

counseling ...

Teaching young people to learn from their mistakes

Itu mengajar anak muda untuk belajar dari kesalahan mereka

instead of criminalizing them,

bukan malah kriminalisasi mereka,

and dragging them out of their classrooms like animals.

dan mengeluarkan mereka dari kelas seperti binatang.

How about this?

Bagaimana jika begini?

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

Saya usulkan setiap SMA di Amerika menerapkan keadilan restoratif .

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)

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

Kami menguji ide ini di sebuah komunitas di Watts, LA

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

pada 40 anak muda yang dikeluarkan dari sekolah.

William was one of them.

Salah satunya bernama William.

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

William adalah anak yang dicap dengan berbagai label.

He had dropped out, he was a gang member,

Dia putus sekolah, anggota geng, dan penjahat.

a criminal.

And when we met him he was very resistant.

Ketika kami bertemu dengannya dia sangat berontak.

But I remember what Ms. Russ used to say.

Namun saya ingat apa yang Ibu Russ pernah katakan.

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

"Hei, saya di sini kapan pun kamu siap."

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

So over time --

Seiring berjalannya waktu, ia mulai terbuka

over time he began to open up.

And I remember the day that he made the switch.

Saya ingat saat dia berubah.

We were in a large group

Kami berada dalam kelompok besar dan seorang wanita menangis

and a young lady in our program was crying

because she told us her powerful story

dia menceritakan kisahnya tentang ayahnya yang dibunuh

of her dad being killed

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

dan keesokan harinya tubuh ayahnya muncul di koran.

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

Dia menangis, saya bingung harus berbuat apa,

so I give her her space,

jadi saya membiarkannya, dan William hilang kesabaran.

and William had enough.

He slammed his hands on the desk and he said,

Dia membanting tangannya ke meja dan berkata,

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

"Semuanya! Berpelukan! Berpelukan!"

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)

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

Air mata dan rasa sakit wanita ini berubah menjadi sukacita dan tawa

knowing that her community had her back,

karena ia tahu komunitasnya mendukungnya,

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

dan William telah mengetahui bahwa ia memiliki tujuan hidup :

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

untuk membantu menyembuhkan jiwa orang-orang di komunitasnya.

He told us his story.

Ia menceritakan kisahnya.

We refined his story

Kami menyempurnakan kisahnya

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

kisah dari seorang korban menjadi pejuang dan telah mengalahkan kesulitan.

that has overcome adversity.

We placed high value on it.

Kami sangat menghargainya.

William went on to finish high school,

William menyelesaikan studi SMA,

get his security guard certificate to become a security guard,

mendapatkan sertifikat dam menjadi penjaga keamanan,

and is now working at a local school district.

dan sekarang bekerja di sebuah sekolah lokal.

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)

Ms. Russ's mantra --

Mantra Ibu Russ selalu,

her mantra was always,

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

"Ketika kamu mengajari hati, pikiran akan mengikuti."

The great writer Khalil Gibran says,

Penulis hebat, Khalil Gibran, berkata:

"Out of suffering have emerged the greatest souls.

"Dari kesengsaraan muncul jiwa-jiwa paling hebat.

The massive characters are seared with scars."

Karakter luar biasa dibakar oleh luka."

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

Saya percaya bahwa revolusi pendidikan yang kita bicarakan

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

kita perlu mengundang jiwa-jiwa anak muda

and once they're able to refine --

dan setelah mereka memperbaikinya,

identify their grit, resilience and character

mengenali kekuatan, ketahanan, dan karakter yang mereka miliki

that they've already developed --

their academic performance will improve.

prestasi akademik mereka akan meningkat.

Let's believe in young people.

Mari kita percaya pada anak-anak muda ini.

Let's provide them the right kinds of resources.

Berikan mereka dukungan yang tepat.

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

Ini yang guru saya lalukan untuk saya.

She believed in me so much

Beliau sangat percaya pada saya

that she tricked me into believing in myself.

hingga beliau menipu saya agar saya percaya pada diri saya sendiri.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)