How to fix a broken education system ... without any more money | Seema Bansal

翻译人员: Wei Wu 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

So we all have our own biases.

我们对很多事情都有自己的偏见。

For example, some of us tend to think

例如, 我们可能会认为

that it's very difficult to transform failing government systems.

要改革腐朽的政府机构是很难的。

When we think of government systems,

当我们聊到政府机构时，

we tend to think that they're archaic, set in their ways,

我们会觉得肯定是腐朽的、顽固的，

and perhaps, the leadership is just too bureaucratic

而且领导层都非常的官僚主义，

to be able to change things.

拒绝可能的革新。

Well, today, I want to challenge that theory.

那么，今天，我会尝试挑战下这个观点。

I want to tell you a story of a very large government system

我的故事是关于一个非常大的政府机构，

that has not only put itself on the path of reform

这个机构不仅积极的进行改革，

but has also shown fairly spectacular results

而且改革仅仅三年时间就已经取得了

in less than three years.

非常不错的效果。

This is what a classroom in a public school in India looks like.

这是印度的公立小学的常见景象。

There are 1 million such schools in India.

印度有一百万公立学校。

And even for me, who's lived in India all her life,

即使像我这样在印度土生土长的人，

走进这样的学校依然会让我觉得心碎。

walking into one of these schools is fairly heartbreaking.

By the time kids are 11,

这些孩子在11岁的时候，

50 percent of them have fallen so far behind in their education

有差不多一半的人在学习上掉队严重，

that they have no hope to recover.

严重到很难赶上。

11-year-olds cannot do simple addition,

到了十一岁还无法做简单的加法，

they cannot construct a grammatically correct sentence.

无法拼写出语法正确的句子。

These are things that you and I would expect an 8-year-old

而这些都是你我会预期一个八岁的孩子

to be able to do.

就应该会的。

By the time kids are 13 or 14,

在他们13或14岁的时候,

they tend to drop out of schools.

他们很可能会退学。

In India, public schools not only offer free education --

在印度，公立学校不仅提供免费教育——

they offer free textbooks, free workbooks, free meals,

还提供免费教材，免费作业本，免费午餐，

sometimes even cash scholarships.

有时候甚至提供奖学金。

And yet, 40 percent of the parents today

即便如此，如今多达四成的家长

are choosing to pull their children out of public schools

依然选择将他们的孩子从公立学校

and pay out of their pockets to put them in private schools.

转去需要自掏腰包的私立学校。

As a comparison, in a far richer country, the US,

而比印度富裕得多的美国，

that number is only 10 percent.

这个比例只有一成而已。

That's a huge statement on how broken the Indian public education system is.

这个数字印证了印度的 公共教育系统现在有多糟糕。

So it was with that background that I got a call in the summer of 2013

正是在这样的大环境下，2013年的夏天，

from an absolutely brilliant lady called Surina Rajan.

我接到了一位非常睿智的女士的电话， 她叫 Surina Rajan。

She was, at that time, the head of the Department of School Education

她当时是印度 Haryana 省(邦)

in a state called Haryana in India.

基础教育厅的厅长。 (译注：全文按大陆行政体系翻译)

So she said to us, "Look, I've been heading this department

她告诉我，"你看，我已经领导这个部门

for the last two years.

有两年时间了。

I've tried a number of things, and nothing seems to work.

我尝试了很多方法，都没有效果。

你看看能否帮上忙？”

Can you possibly help?"

Let me describe Haryana a little bit to you.

让我先简单介绍下 Haryana 省的情况。

Haryana is a state which has 30 million people.

Haryana 省有约三千万人口，

It has 15,000 public schools

有一万五千所公立学校，

and 2 million plus children in those public schools.

为超过两百万孩子提供教育。

So basically, with that phone call,

简单地说，在那通电话里，

I promised to help a state and system

我答应要帮助这个省的教育系统进行改革，

改革的规模跟 整个秘鲁或加拿大的差不多。

which was as large as that of Peru or Canada transform itself.

As I started this project, I was very painfully aware of two things.

当我开始着手干的时候， 我很快发现两间让人沮丧的事实。

One, that I had never done anything like this before.

首先，我从来没有处理这类问题的经验。

And two, many others had, perhaps without too much success.

其次, 其他人的尝试也大多以失败告终。

As my colleagues and I looked across the country

我和同事把印度全国调研了个遍，

然后放眼全球，

and across the world,

we couldn't find another example

也没有找到任何样板

that we could just pick up and replicate in Haryana.

能够直接拿过来套用在 Haryana 省上。

We knew that we had to craft our own journey.

我们意识到需要自己走出一条路。

But anyway, we jumped right in and as we jumped in,

不管怎样，我们决定开始动手干，

all sorts of ideas started flying at us.

一下子我们就想到了很多点子。

People said, "Let's change the way we recruit teachers,

有人说，"我们对聘请教师进行改革，

let's hire new principals and train them

应该聘请新校长并且训练他们，

and send them on international learning tours,

把他们都送到国外进行培训，

let's put technology inside classrooms."

还要引入现代化的教学设备。"

By the end of week one, we had 50 ideas on the table,

一个星期下来我们就收集了超过五十个想法，

all amazing, all sounded right.

看起来都非常不错, 都应该立刻着手实施。

但是我们显然不可能同时做50件事情。

There was no way we were going to be able to implement 50 things.

So I said, "Hang on, stop.

所以我说，"等下，先等下。

Let's first at least decide what is it we're trying to achieve."

至少让我们先定一个目标再说。"

So with a lot of push and pull and debate,

经过来来回回的讨论和争辩，

Haryana set itself a goal which said: by 2020,

Haryana 省的教育改革目标定了下来：

we want 80 percent of our children to be at grade-level knowledge.

到2020年超过80%的学生 能按时升入下一年级。

Now the specifics of the goal don't matter here,

这个目标的具体内容并不是重点，

but what matters is how specific the goal is.

重点是这个目标为我们指明了方向。

Because it really allowed us to take all those ideas

现在这个目标为我们确定了一个标准，

which were being thrown at us

让我们在面对各种新点子的时候

and say which ones we were going to implement.

有了一个明确的筛选标准。

Does this idea support this goal? If yes, let's keep it.

这个点子对于我们的目标有帮助吗？ 如果有，我们就继续往下做。

But if it doesn't or we're not sure, then let's put it aside.

如果不能或者我们不确定， 就先把这个想法放到一边。

As simple as it sounds, having a very specific goal right up front

这个听起来非常简单的做法， 让我们能够目标明确，

has really allowed us to be very sharp and focused

在教育改革的道路上

in our transformation journey.

保持专注和敏捷。

And looking back over the last two and a half years,

两年半之后回头看当时的决定，

that has been a huge positive for us.

对我们帮助是巨大的。

So we had the goal,

有了目标之后，

and now we needed to figure out what are the issues, what is broken.

现在就需要找到问题所在，追本溯源。

Before we went into schools, a lot of people told us

在我们去学校实地考察之前， 很多人告诉我们

that education quality is poor

基础教育之所以糟糕，

because either the teachers are lazy, they don't come into schools,

要么是因为教师们的懒惰， 他们时常缺勤不来学校，

or they're incapable, they actually don't know how to teach.

要么是教师无能， 不具备授课的技能。

Well, when we went inside schools, we found something completely different.

但是当我们在学校实地调研的时候， 发现完全不是这样。

On most days, most teachers were actually inside schools.

绝大多数老师在上班时间都是出勤的。

And when you spoke with them,

我们通过与老师们的交谈，

you realized they were perfectly capable of teaching elementary classes.

发现他们完全有能力教小学课程。

But they were not teaching.

问题是他们的时间没花在上课上。

I went to a school

我去的一所学校，

where the teachers were getting the construction of a classroom

里面的老师在忙着监督盖教室

and a toilet supervised.

和厕所设施。

I went to another school

我去的另一所学校，

where two of the teachers had gone to a nearby bank branch

两个老师需要跑到附近的银行柜台

to deposit scholarship money into kids' accounts.

一个一个的把奖学金存到学生的账户里去。

At lunchtime, most teachers were spending all of their time

午饭的时候, 基本上所有的老师都动员起来

getting the midday meal cooking, supervised and served to the students.

参与或监督午饭的准备和分发，为学生服务。

So we asked the teachers,

于是我们问这些老师，

"What's going on, why are you not teaching?"

"这是怎么了, 为什么你们都不去教课?"

And they said, "This is what's expected of us.

他们回答, "因为这就是我们被要求做的呀。

When a supervisor comes to visit us,

当教委领导来我们这里视察的时候，

these are exactly the things that he checks.

这些就是他们检查的内容。

Has the toilet been made, has the meal been served.

厕所有没有建好，午饭供应是否正常。

When my principal goes to a meeting at headquarters,

当我们的校长去首都开会的时候，

these are exactly the things which are discussed."

他们讨论的也都是这些事情。"

You see, what had happened was, over the last two decades,

你看，实际上在过去二十年间，

India had been fighting the challenge of access, having enough schools,

印度为了让学生入学做了很多， 建立了足够的学校，

and enrollment, bringing children into the schools.

并且努力地让适龄儿童进入学校读书。

So the government launched a whole host of programs

政府发起了一系列项目

to address these challenges,

来保证中小学入学率，

and the teachers became the implicit executors of these programs.

而老师们变成了这些项目 实际上的执行人员。

Not explicitly, but implicitly.

虽然没有明确要求，但是 他们就是实际的执行者。

And now, what was actually needed was not to actually train teachers further

现在我们真正需要的， 不是培训这些老师，

or to monitor their attendance

也不是监督他们出勤，

but to tell them that what is most important

而是告诉他们，相比刚才说的那些事情，

is for them to go back inside classrooms and teach.

回到教室上课才是他们最重要的任务。

They needed to be monitored and measured and awarded

我们应该以课堂教学的质量

来跟踪、评价和奖励老师，

on the quality of teaching

and not on all sorts of other things.

而不是用别的事情来考核他们。

So as we went through the education system,

当我们对教育体系有了 更深入的了解之后，

as we delved into it deeper, we found a few such core root causes

我们找到了一些问题的根源所在，

which were determining, which were shaping how people behaved in the system.

这些根源决定着教育系统中 老师和其他人的行为。

And we realized that unless we change those specific things,

我们意识到除非我们解决了 这些根源上的问题，

we could do a number of other things.

否则我们可以做的其它的改革措施，

We could train, we could put technology into schools,

例如教师培训、引入新技术，

but the system wouldn't change.

都不会起到真正的改善作用。

And addressing these non-obvious core issues

于是处理这些隐藏在背后的核心问题

became a key part of the program.

称为改革项目的重中之重。

So, we had the goal and we had the issues,

现在我们已经设定好了目标， 也找到了问题根源，

and now we needed to figure out what the solutions were.

现在就差解决方案了。

We obviously did not want to recreate the wheel,

我们不希望闭门造车，

so we said, "Let's look around and see what we can find."

相反地，我们决定 "尽量从他人现有的经验中学习。"

And we found these beautiful, small pilot experiments

我们也确实在印度和世界范围内 找到了一些成功案例，

all over the country and all over the world.

规模不大，但效果非常好。

Small things being done by NGOs, being done by foundations.

这些成功案例一般由NGO（非政府组织） 或者基金会参与完成。

But what was also interesting was that none of them actually scaled.

但是这些成功案例都有一个问题， 就是他们的规模有严重的局限性。

All of them were limited to 50, 100 or 500 schools.

所有的案例规模都只有50所， 100所或者最多500所学校。

And here, we were looking for a solution for 15,000 schools.

我们要找的是能适用于 15000所学校的方案。

So we looked into why,

我们仔细分析了原因，

if these things actually work, why don't they actually scale?

如果这些项目效果显著， 为什么不能扩大规模？

What happens is that when a typical NGO comes in,

我们发现, 当NGO参与进来时，

they not only bring in their expertise

他们不仅投入了他们的专业经验，

but they also bring in additional resources.

还能够投入额外的资源。

So they might bring in money,

NGO可能投入额外的资金,

they might bring in people,

可能投入额外的人力，

they might bring in technology.

也有可能投入新的技术。

And in the 50 or 100 schools that they actually operate in,

当NGO主持的项目的规模限制在 50所或者100所学校的时候，

those additional resources actually create a difference.

这些额外投入的资源产生了很好的效果。

But now imagine that the head of this NGO

但是想象一下，

这些NGO的负责人跑到省教育厅，说：

goes to the head of the School Education Department

and says, "Hey, now let's do this for 15,000 schools."

“让我们在15000所学校推广吧！”

Where is that guy or girl going to find the money

问题是到哪儿去募集到足够多的资金

to actually scale this up to 15,000 schools?

能同时支持15000所学校呢?

He doesn't have the additional money,

他们没有这么多额外的资金，

也没有这么多额外的资源。

he doesn't have the resources.

And hence, innovations don't scale.

所以这样的创新项目没办法大范围推广。

So right at the beginning of the project, what we said was,

所以在项目开始的时候我们就明确了，

"Whatever we have to do has to be scalable,

"不管我们做什么都要能够大规模推广，

一定要能够同时支持15000所学校。"

it has to work in all 15,000 schools."

And hence, it has to work within the existing budgets

因此，我们必须在现有的政府预算内

and resources that the state actually has.

利用省内现有的资源达成目标。

Much easier said than done.

说起来比做起来容易多了。

(Laughter)

(笑声)

I think this was definitely the point in time

我想正是从这个时间点开始

when my team hated me.

我的同事开始"恨"我了。

We spent a lot of long hours in office, in cafés,

我们花了很多的时间，无论是在办公室， 咖啡馆，

甚至在酒吧，

sometimes even in bars,

scratching out heads and saying,

想破了脑袋,

"Where are the solutions, how are we going to solve this problem?"

"到底应该怎么办， 怎样才能解决这些问题？"

In the end, I think we did find solutions to many of the issues.

最终, 我觉得大部分的问题 都找到了比较好的解决方法。

I'll give you an example.

我来举个例子。

In the context of effective learning,

在"如何更有效率地学习"这个问题上，

one of the things people talk about is hands-on learning.

人们常说要通过动手操作来加深印象。

Children shouldn't memorize things from books,

学生不应该死记硬背，

they should do activities,

而是应该做些课堂活动，

and that's a more effective way to learn.

这样学习的效果更好。

Which basically means giving students things

这个想法实现起来就是要给学生一些教具，

like beads, learning rods, abacuses.

例如（算术用的）小珠子、小棒子、 算盘之类。

But we did not have the budgets to give that

但是我们没有那么多预算

to 15,000 schools, 2 million children.

提供给15000所学校的两百万学生。

We needed another solution.

我们要想别的方法。

We couldn't think of anything.

但是始终没有想到解决方法。

One day, one of our team members went to a school

有一天，我们一个同事在一所学校里

and saw a teacher pick up sticks and stones from the garden outside

看到一个老师，从学校周围的花丛里 捡了点小树枝和小石子

and take them into the classroom

拿到了教室里

and give them to the students.

分给了学生(用于教学)。

That was a huge eureka moment for us.

这一幕让我们灵光一闪。

So what happens now in the textbooks in Haryana

于是现在在 Haryana 省的课本里，

is that after every concept, we have a little box

每一个新知识点的旁边都有一段注解，

which are instructions for the teachers which say,

为老师提供了一个操作清单，

"To teach this concept, here's an activity that you can do.

"教授这个知识点的时候你可以 通过以下活动来促进学生理解。

And by the way, in order to actually do this activity,

活动需要一些辅助的教具，

here are things that you can use from your immediate environment,

而你可以在你周边环境中找到，

whether it be the garden outside or the classroom inside,

无论是在室外还是教室内都可以就地取材，

which can be used as learning aids for kids."

用于课堂教学。"

And we see teachers all over Haryana

我们后来看到 Haryana 省的老师们

using lots of innovative things to be able to teach students.

想出了各种创新的方法来教育学生。

So in this way, whatever we designed,

从这个角度看，我们的方法虽然简陋，

we were actually able to implement it

但是起到了实实在在的效果，

across all 15,000 schools from day one.

并且从第一天起就能推广到全省15000所学校。

Now, this brings me to my last point.

现在，让我阐述下最后一个观点。

How do you implement something across 15,000 schools

你怎么样让一件事情贯彻到15000所学校，

and 100,000 teachers?

贯彻到十万名老师身上呢？

The department used to have a process

教育部门之前有一套流程，

which is very interesting.

我觉得非常有意思。

I like to call it "The Chain of Hope."

我喜欢叫这个过程“希望的链条”。

They would write a letter from the headquarters

从教育厅开始，写一封信件，

and send it to the next level,

然后投递给下一集教育部门，

which was the district offices.

一般是市县级教委办公室。

They would hope that in each of these district offices,

教育厅希望每个下级部门的

an officer would get the letter, would open it, read it

部门领导都能够阅读这封信件，

and then forward it to the next level,

然后再将信件转发给他们的下一级，

which was the block offices.

一般是区级教委。

接下来你需要指望这些区级教委，

And then you would hope that at the block office,

somebody else got the letter,

有人能够收到邮件，

opened it, read it and forwarded it eventually to the 15,000 principals.

阅读完信件，并最终将信件送到 15000所学校的校长手里。

And then one would hope that the principals

最后，我们还要指望所有的校长

能够顺利收到邮件，阅读并理解其中的意思，

got the letter, received it, understood it

and started implementing it.

并开始实施。

It was a little bit ridiculous.

这个过程有点夸张。

Now, we knew technology was the answer,

现在，我们知道正确的方式是借助科技。

but we also knew that most of these schools

但是我们也知道大部分的学校

don't have a computer or email.

连个电脑或者电邮地址都没有。

However, what the teachers do have are smartphones.

但是每个老师现在都有智能手机了。

They're constantly on SMS, on Facebook and on WhatsApp.

老师们都可以收发短信， 挂在Facebook和WhatsApp上。

So what now happens in Haryana is,

现在在 Haryana 省我们是这么做的，

all principals and teachers are divided into hundreds of WhatsApp groups

我们建立了几百个 WhatsApp 群， 把所有的校长和老师都加到里面，

and anytime something needs to be communicated,

这样当我们需要传达一些信息的时候，

it's just posted across all WhatsApp groups.

我们就直接通过WhatsApp群发就行了。

It spreads like wildfire.

"嗖"的一下就全省都通知到了。

You can immediately check who has received it,

你还能随时知道哪些人收到了消息，

who has read it.

哪些人已经阅读了。

Teachers can ask clarification questions instantaneously.

老师们如果有不明白的地方可以立刻提出。

And what's interesting is,

有趣的是，

it's not just the headquarters who are answering these questions.

不仅是教育厅会有人回答老师的问题，

Another teacher from a completely different part of the state

有时候别的市县的老师

will stand up and answer the question.

也会主动提供答案。

Everybody's acting as everybody's peer group,

大家在群组中更像是互助的关系，

and things are getting implemented.

很多事情就这么推动起来了。

So today, when you go to a school in Haryana,

所以现在你去Haryana省的任何一所学校，

things look different.

情况都跟过去大不相同了。

The teachers are back inside classrooms,

老师们回到了课堂，

they're teaching.

重新走上了讲台。

Often with innovative techniques.

新的技术不断被引入到课堂中。

When a supervisor comes to visit the classroom,

当教委领导视察学校时，

he or she not only checks the construction of the toilet

不仅会检查是否修了厕所，

but also what is the quality of teaching.

也会检查教学质量。

Once a quarter, all students across the state

每个季度，全省的学生

are assessed on their learning outcomes

都要做一次全省的摸底考试，

and schools which are doing well are rewarded.

考得好的学校会被奖励。

And schools which are not doing so well

表现的不好的学校，

find themselves having difficult conversations.

教委会找校长谈话。

Of course, they also get additional support

当然，这些学校会得到更多扶持，

to be able to do better in the future.

并努力在未来表现得更好。

In the context of education,

在教育领域，

it's very difficult to see results quickly.

很难看到立竿见影的成果。

When people talk about systemic, large-scale change,

当人们谈论大规模的、系统性的改革时，

they talk about periods of 7 years and 10 years.

一般说的是7到10年为一个周期。

But not in Haryana.

但是Haryana要快得多。

In the last one year, there have been three independent studies,

去年，三个相互独立的研究在Haryana进行，

all measuring student learning outcomes,

都是研究学生的学习效果的，

which indicate that something fundamental,

它们都表明在Haryana省，

something unique is happening in Haryana.

一些根本性的东西正在变化。

Learning levels of children have stopped declining,

学生的平均学习成绩不再下滑，

and they have started going up.

甚至开始有所上升。

Haryana is one of the few states in the country

Haryana是全印度为数不多的

which is showing an improvement,

总体学生成绩在改善的省份，

and certainly the one that is showing the fastest rate of improvement.

而且当之无愧是改善速度最快的省份。

These are still early signs,

这些还只是起步阶段，

there's a long way to go,

还有很长路要走，

but this gives us a lot of hope for the future.

但是我们从中看到了很大的希望。

I recently went to a school,

我最近去一所学校，

and as I was leaving,

准备离开的时候，

I ran into a lady,

遇到了一位女士，

her name was Parvati,

她叫Parvati，

she was the mother of a child,

她的孩子在这里上学，

and she was smiling.

她正微笑着。

And I said, "Why are you smiling, what's going on?"

我问她，"你在笑什么？有什么好玩的事情吗？"

And she said, "I don't know what's going on,

她说，"我也不知道发生了什么，

but what I do know is that my children are learning,

但是我知道我的孩子们开始学习了，

they're having fun,

学得还挺开心。

and for the time being, I'll stop my search for a private school

现在我已经决定不再找私立学校

to send them to."

让他们转校了。"

So I go back to where I started:

最后让我们回到开始的问题：

Can government systems transform?

政府机构能够改革吗？

I certainly believe so.

我很确信可以。

I think if you give them the right levers,

我相信如果你提供了合适的着力点，

they can move mountains.

他们就能够带来翻天覆地的变化。 (意译：阿基米德"给我一个支点, 我能翘起地球")

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

(掌声)