Pearl Arredondo: My story, from gangland daughter to star teacher

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Bi Chen 校对人员: Louise LIANG

So I grew up in East Los Angeles,

我在洛杉矶东区长大。

not even realizing I was poor.

从来没意识到我很穷。

My dad was a high-ranking gang member who ran the streets.

我老爸是街头黑帮头目之一。

Everyone knew who I was,

大家都知道我是谁，

so I thought I was a pretty big deal, and I was protected,

所以，还真把自己当回事了，我还受到保护，

and even though my dad spent most of my life

尽管我老爸

in and out of jail,

常进班房。

I had an amazing mom who was just fiercely independent.

但我有一个非常了不起的母亲，一名非常独立的女性。

She worked at the local high school

她在本地的一间中学工作

as a secretary in the dean's office,

是学校主任室的一名秘书。

so she got to see all the kids that got thrown out of class,

所以，她要面对很多因为各种原因

for whatever reason, who were waiting to be disciplined.

被赶出课堂，准备接受处罚的孩子们。

Man, her office was packed.

她的办公室总是人满为患的。

So, see, kids like us, we have a lot of things to deal with

象我们这类孩子，要处理许多

outside of school,

校外的问题，

and sometimes we're just not ready to focus.

有时我们只是还没准备好集中精神学习而已。

But that doesn't mean that we can't.

但这并不意味着我们做不到。

It just takes a little bit more.

只不过我们要比别人多付出一些罢了。

Like, I remember one day I found my dad

比如说，我记得有一天，我发现我老爸

convulsing, foaming at the mouth,

抽搐、口吐白沫、

OD-ing on the bathroom floor.

因为过量吸毒昏死在浴室的地板上。

Really, do you think that doing my homework that night

说真的，你认为在这样一个晚上

was at the top of my priority list?

做作业会是我要处理的最重要的事吗？

Not so much.

当然不是。

But I really needed a support network,

但我确实又很需要一个支持网络，

a group of people who were going to help me

-------一群能帮得了我的人

make sure that I wasn't going to be

他们可以保证我不会成为

a victim of my own circumstance,

我生活环境的牺牲品，

that they were going to push me

他们会鞭策我

beyond what I even thought I could do.

超越我对自己的期望

I needed teachers, in the classroom, every day,

我需要老师，在教室里，每一天

who were going to say, "You can move beyond that."

他们会对我说：”你能比现在做得更好的“

And unfortunately, the local junior high

但不幸的是，本地的初中

was not going to offer that.

无法满足我的需要

It was gang-infested, huge teacher turnover rate.

当地帮派林立，老师的更换非常频繁。

So my mom said, "You're going on a bus

所以，我妈妈说：“你要每天坐一个半小时的公交车”

an hour and a half away from where we live every day."

到另外一间学校去读书。

So for the next two years, that's what I did.

所以，在随后的两年里，我就这样去那里读书了。

I took a school bus to the fancy side of town.

我每天乘坐校车到镇上富裕繁华的地方

And eventually, I ended up at a school

最后我来到这间

where there was a mixture.

学生成分很多样化的学校。

There were some people who were really gang-affiliated,

学生当中有些人是帮派成员，

and then there were those of us

而其他的是我们这些

really trying to make it to high school.

十分努力完成中学课程的人。

Well, trying to stay out of trouble was a little unavoidable.

其实，尝试从麻烦当中脱身是在所难免的

You had to survive.

因为你要活下来

You just had to do things sometimes.

有时候，就免不了做些身不由己的事。

So there were a lot of teachers who were like,

所以，也有不少老师曾说：

"She's never going to make it.

“她是读不到毕业的。”

She has an issue with authority.

她不接受管教

She's not going to go anywhere."

她不会有任何出路的。

Some teachers completely wrote me off as a lost cause.

有些老师甚至认定我已经不可救药。

But then, they were very surprised

所以，当我高中毕业时

when I graduated from high school.

他们全都惊呆了。

I was accepted to Pepperdine University,

后来我被Pepperdine大学录取了，

and I came back to the same school that I attended

毕业后，我回到我高中时的母校

to be a special ed assistant.

当了一名特别教育助理。

And then I told them, "I want to be a teacher."

后来，我告诉他们：“我要做一名老师。”

And boy, they were like, "What? Why?

他们听到后都很惊讶地问我：“什么？”“为什么？”

Why would you want to do that?"

“你怎么会想到要当老师呢？”

So I began my teaching career

可我就这样开始了我的教学生涯

at the exact same middle school that I attended,

任教于我的高中母校。

and I really wanted to try to save more kids

我真的想要挽救更多的

who were just like me.

有过和我一样经历的孩子。

And so every year, I share my background with my kids,

所以，每年，我都和我的学生分享我的故事，

because they need to know that everyone has a story,

因为他们有必要知道每个人都有自己的故事，

everyone has a struggle,

每个人都有过挣扎，

and everyone needs help along the way.

而每个人在自己前进的道路上都需要别人拉一把、 护一下。

And I am going to be their help along the way.

而我正是那个他们人生旅途上需要找的人。

So as a rookie teacher, I created opportunity.

所以，作为一个菜鸟老师, 我为他们创造了机会。

I had a kid one day come into my class

一天，一名学生走入我的课堂

having been stabbed the night before.

他在前一天晚上被人刺伤了。

I was like, "You need to go to a hospital,

我对他说：“你得去医院”

the school nurse, something."

“或者找学校的护士什么的处理一下你的伤”

He's like, "No, Miss, I'm not going.

可他说：“我不去，老师，我不会去的。”

I need to be in class because I need to graduate."

“我得来上课，因为我一定要毕业”

So he knew that I was not going to let him be a victim

他知道我不会让他

of his circumstance,

因为自己的生活环境而被拖累，

but we were going to push forward and keep moving on.

相反，我们要促使他们迈出第一步和继续向前进。

And this idea of creating a safe haven for our kids

所以，我很想为这帮孩子营造一个安全的学习环境

and getting to know exactly what they're going through,

想了解他们所经历的一切

getting to know their families -- I wanted that,

想了解他们的家庭 我希望能这样做

but I couldn't do it in a school with 1,600 kids,

但是， 在一间有1600名学生的学校里我没法关注到他们每个人。

and teachers turning over year after year after year.

而且，年复一年，还有大量的老师离职，

How do you get to build those relationships?

你又怎么能建立师生关系呢？

So we created a new school.

所以，我们创办了一所新学校。

And we created

我们的新校名字是

the San Fernando Institute for Applied Media.

圣费尔南多应用媒体研究所。

And we made sure that we were still attached

尽管我们仍然要挂靠在我们的学区以获得

to our school district for funding, for support.

资金和支持。

But with that, we were going to gain freedom:

但是，我们享有很大的办学自主权：

freedom to hire the teachers

如聘请教师的自由

that we knew were going to be effective;

我们只聘那些高效的老师；

freedom to control the curriculum

同时，我们还拥有课程安排的自由

so that we're not doing lesson 1.2 on page five, no;

这样子我们就不会受教材的束缚,不会;

and freedom to control a budget,

我们还可以控制我们的预算，

to spend money where it matters,

将资金花在重要的事情方面，

not how a district or a state says you have to do it.

而不是花在学区或州的教育部门规定的事情上。

We wanted those freedoms.

我们需要这些自主权。

But now, shifting an entire paradigm,

但此时，我们已经做到了办学模式的彻底转变，

it hasn't been an easy journey, nor is it even complete.

其中的过程是艰辛的，这一革新目前也并非完善。

But we had to do it.

但我们必须要做好这件事。

Our community deserved a new way of doing things.

我们的社区需要一种新的办法来做好这些孩子的教育工作。

And as the very first pilot middle school

作为洛杉矶联合学区内的

in all of Los Angeles Unified School District,

第一间试点中学，

you better believe there was some opposition.

自然有人对我们的办学方式提出反对的意见

And it was out of fear --

反对是出于某种担心-----

fear of, well, what if they get it wrong?

担心万一办不好怎么办？

Yeah, what if we get it wrong?

对，如果我们办不好会怎么样呢？

But what if we get it right?

但问题是，如果我们办好了呢？

And we did.

后来，我们的确办得很成功。

So even though teachers were against it

所以，尽管老师们反对

because we employ one-year contracts --

因为我们只和老师签定一年期的工作合同----

you can't teach, or you don't want to teach,

如果你教不好，或者你不想教，

you don't get to be at my school with my kids.

你就不能在我们的学校混下去。

(Applause)

（掌声）

So in our third year, how did we do it?

到了我们办学的第三年，我们的学校是什么样子的呢？

Well, we're making school worth coming to every day.

我们已经使学校成为了学生每天都想去的地方了。

We make our kids feel like they matter to us.

我们已经让我们的学生感觉到我们在乎他们。

We make our curriculum rigorous and relevant to them,

我们为他们量身定制课程标准，

and they use all the technology that they're used to.

他们可以使用他们习惯使用的各种电子产品。

Laptops, computers, tablets -- you name it, they have it.

手提电脑、台式机，平板电脑----你能想得到的，他们都有。

Animation, software, moviemaking software, they have it all.

动画、软件、电影制作软件这些东西他们全都有。

And because we connect it to what they're doing —

我们把这些东西和他们的学习、生活联系在一起----

For example, they made public service announcements

比如说，他们会为癌症协会

for the Cancer Society.

做一些公益广告。

These were played in the local trolley system.

这些广告在有轨电车系统上播放。

Teaching elements of persuasion,

有说复力的教学当中

it doesn't get any more real than that.

没有什么是比这更真更成功的实践了。

Our state test scores have gone up

我们的州考成绩在不断上升

more than 80 points since we've become our own school.

目前已经比我们学校创办初期提升了80分。

But it's taken all stakeholders, working together --

但这是各利益相关者共同努力的结果---

teachers and principals on one-year contracts,

如一年工作合同期的老师和校长，

working over and above and beyond their contract hours

他们的工作时长远远超出了比合同中规定的时间

without compensation.

而没有得到任何额外的补偿。

And it takes a school board member

而且，这还多亏有一名校董

who is going to lobby for you and say,

在游说过程中提出一下的表达，

"Know, the district is trying to impose this,

“要知道，学区正准备推行这个，

but you have the freedom to do otherwise."

但是你们有另辟蹊径的自由“

And it takes an active parent center

同时，也受益于一个活跃的家长中心

who is not only there, showing a presence every day,

他们并不仅仅是每天露个脸而已

but who is part of our governance,

而且积极地参与了学校的治理，

making decisions for their kids, our kids.

帮他们的孩子-----我们的学生做决策。

Because why should our students have to go

为什么我们的学生非得

so far away from where they live?

到离家这么远的地方上学呢？

They deserve a quality school in their neighborhood,

他们应该拥有一间在自己的社区里的资质好的学校

a school that they can be proud to say they attend,

一间他们能引以为豪的学校

and a school that the community can be proud of as well,

一间社区为之骄傲的学校，

and they need teachers to fight for them every day

而他们也需要每天都在为学生争取权利的老师

and empower them to move beyond their circumstances.

鼓励他们摆脱目前的困境的老师。

Because it's time that kids like me

因为，是时候，让像我这样的孩子

stop being the exception, and we become the norm.

不再是非主流，而成为主流了。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）