A summer school kids actually want to attend | Karim Abouelnaga

翻译人员: Yali Gao 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Getting a college education

接受大学教育，

is a 20-year investment.

是一段长达二十年的投资。

When you're growing up poor,

当你在贫穷中度过青少年时期，

you're not accustomed to thinking that far ahead.

根本不会有条件去思考这件事。

Instead, you're thinking about where you're going to get your next meal

相反，你考虑的是在哪能吃到下一餐，

以及你的家庭如何支付那个月的租金。

and how your family is going to pay rent that month.

Besides, my parents and my friends' parents

此外，我的父母和我朋友的父母

seemed to be doing just fine driving taxis and working as janitors.

似乎生活得还不错， 开着出租车，或者当个看门人。

It wasn't until I was a teenager

直到步入青春期，

when I realized I didn't want to do those things.

我才意识到自己不想做那些事情。

By then, I was two-thirds of the way through my education,

那时，我已在受教育的路上 走了三分之二的旅程，

and it was almost too late to turn things around.

差点就来不及扭转这一切了。

When you grow up poor, you want to be rich.

当你在贫困的环境中长大， 你想要变得富有。

I was no different.

我也一样。

I'm the second-oldest of seven,

我是七个孩子中的老二，

and was raised by a single mother on government aid

在纽约皇后区由单亲母亲一手靠着

in Queens, New York.

政府救济养活。

By virtue of growing up low-income,

由于成长在低收入的家庭中，

my siblings and I went to some of New York City's

我和兄弟姐妹只能去纽约一些

most struggling public schools.

水平较差的公立学校。

I had over 60 absences when I was in seventh grade,

在七年级时， 我有60多次的旷课记录，

because I didn't feel like going to class.

因为那时我不想去上课。

My high school had a 55 percent graduation rate,

我上的高中毕业率为55%，

and even worse,

更糟糕的是，

only 20 percent of the kids graduating

只有20%的毕业生

were college-ready.

做好了考大学的准备。

When I actually did make it to college,

当我真的成功考上大学时，

I told my friend Brennan

我告诉了朋友布伦南，

how our teachers would always ask us to raise our hands

我们的老师一直以来 是如何要求我们举手发言的，

if we were going to college.

如果我们想上大学的话。

I was taken aback when Brennan said,

我吃了一惊，布伦南说的是，

"Karim, I've never been asked that question before."

“卡里姆，我之前从未被问过那个问题。”

It was always, "What college are you going to?"

我们被问的问题一直是， “你要去哪所大学？”

Just the way that question is phrased

就是那个问题的表达方式，

made it unacceptable for him not to have gone to college.

使得不能上大学 对他来说简直不可想象。

Nowadays I get asked a different question.

如今，我被问到一个不同的问题。

"How were you able to make it out?"

“你是怎么做到的？”

For years I said I was lucky,

多年来我总是回答说我是幸运的，

but it's not just luck.

但那并不只是运气。

When my older brother and I graduated from high school

当我哥哥和我在同一时间

at the very same time

从高中毕业，

and he later dropped out of a two-year college,

并且之后他从两年制的大学退学时，

I wanted to understand why he dropped out

我想搞清楚为什么他退学了，

and I kept studying.

而我还在继续学习。

It wasn't until I got to Cornell as a Presidential Research Scholar

直到我作为总统研究学者 进入康内尔大学时，

that I started to learn about the very real educational consequences

我才开始了解真正的教育结果，

of being raised by a single mother on government aid

即使是被单亲妈妈 靠着政府救济抚养长大，

和去了我以前那样的学校上学。

and attending the schools that I did.

That's when my older brother's trajectory began to make complete sense to me.

就是那时，我完全理解了哥哥的 人生轨迹为何如此。

I also learned that our most admirable education reformers,

我也了解到我们最可敬的 教育改革家们，

people like Arne Duncan, the former US Secretary of Education,

像阿恩 · 邓肯，美国前教育部长，

or Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach For America,

或温蒂 · 科普， “为美国而教”组织的创始人，

had never attended an inner city public school like I had.

从未像我那样参加内城的公立学校。

So much of our education reform is driven by a sympathetic approach,

我们如此多的教育改革 是由同情的方式驱动的，

where people are saying,

人们会说，

"Let's go and help these poor inner city kids,

“我们去帮助这些可怜的内城孩子，

or these poor black and Latino kids,"

或可怜的黑人和拉丁裔孩子们吧。”

instead of an empathetic approach,

抛开同情的方式，

where someone like me, who had grown up in this environment, could say,

像我一样成长在这种 环境里的人会说：

"I know the adversities that you're facing

“我明白你正在面临的困境，

and I want to help you overcome them."

我想帮助你克服它们。”

Today when I get questions about how I made it out,

现在，当我被问到 曾经如何做到的时候，

I share that one of the biggest reasons

我会分享最重要的原因之一,

is that I wasn't ashamed to ask for help.

就是我不会为 寻求帮助而感到难为情。

In a typical middle class or affluent household,

在典型的中产阶级或富裕的家庭里，

if a kid is struggling,

如果一个孩子求学艰难，

there's a good chance that a parent or a teacher will come to their rescue

很有可能父母或老师 会前来为他们解围，

尽管孩子们并没有寻求帮助。

even if they don't ask for help.

然而，如果同样的 孩子生长在贫穷的环境中

However, if that same kid is growing up poor

and doesn't ask for help,

且没有寻求帮助，

there's a good chance that no one will help them.

就很有可能没人去帮他们。

There are virtually no social safety nets available.

实际上我们并没有建立起 社会安全感的联系。

So seven years ago,

所以七年前，

I started to reform our public education system

我开始改革我们的公共教育制度，

shaped by my firsthand perspective.

根据我自己的经历所建立。

And I started with summer school.

我从暑期班开始着手。

Research tells us that two-thirds of the achievement gap,

调查告诉我们， 三分之二的成就差距，

which is the disparity in educational attainment

富裕孩子和贫穷孩子在

between rich kids and poor kids

教育成果上的差距，

or black kids and white kids,

或者黑人孩子和白人孩子的差距，

could be directly attributed to the summer learning loss.

可能直接归因于暑期班学习的缺失。

In low-income neighborhoods, kids forget almost three months

在贫穷的社区里， 孩子们一个夏天就几乎忘光了

of what they learned during the school year

他们在一学年里所学的

over the summer.

三个月的内容。

They return to school in the fall,

他们在秋季返校，

and their teachers spend another two months

老师还要另外花费两个月

reteaching them old material.

重新教授他们旧知识。

That's five months.

算下来就是五个月。

The school year in the United States is only 10 months.

在美国一学年只有十个月。

如果孩子们每一学年 失去五个月的学习时间，

If kids lose five months of learning every single year,

that's half of their education.

他们只受到一半的教育。

Half.

只有一半。

If kids were in school over the summer, then they couldn't regress,

如果孩子们在学校度过夏天， 那么他们的知识不会退步，

but traditional summer school is poorly designed.

但是传统的暑期班效果差强人意。

For kids it feels like punishment,

它让孩子们感到备受煎熬，

and for teachers it feels like babysitting.

对老师们来说，感觉像当临时保姆。

But how can we expect principals to execute an effective summer program

我们如何期望校长们能 执行一个有效的暑期项目呢？

when the school year ends the last week of June

一学年结束于六月的最后一周，

and then summer school starts just one week later?

而暑期班仅在从那一周之后就开始，

There just isn't enough time to find the right people,

并没有足够的时间找到合适的人，

sort out the logistics,

安排后勤，

and design an engaging curriculum that excites kids and teachers.

并设计一个能同时动员 孩子和老师的有吸引力的课程。

But what if we created a program over the summer

但是如果我们在夏天创建一个方案，

that empowered teachers as teaching coaches

赋予老师们教学督导的权利，

to develop aspiring educators?

去培养有抱负的教育者，那会怎样？

What if we empowered college-educated role models

如果我们赋予大学教育模范

as teaching fellows

当教员的权利，

to help kids realize their college ambitions?

去帮助孩子们实现 他们的大学志向，那会怎样？

What if empowered high-achieving kids

如果成就高的孩子被赋予

as mentors to tutor their younger peers

导师的权利去辅导年轻的同辈人，

and inspire them to invest in their education?

并激励他们投资自身的教育，会怎样？

What if we empowered all kids as scholars,

如果我们赋予所有孩子学者般的权利，

asked them what colleges they were going to,

询问他们想去哪一所大学，

designed a summer school they want to attend

设计一个他们想要参与的暑期学校，

to completely eliminate the summer learning loss

彻底消除暑期在知识上的损失，

and close two-thirds of the achievement gap?

和近三分之二的成就差距， 又会怎样？

By this summer, my team will have served over 4,000 low-income children,

截止到这个夏天，我的团队已经服务了 4000多位低收入家庭的儿童，

trained over 300 aspiring teachers

培训了300多位有志向的教师，

and created more than 1,000 seasonal jobs

并在纽约城一些最弱势的社区中

创建了1000多个季节性岗位。

across some of New York City's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

And our kids are succeeding.

我们的孩子们正迈向成功。

两年的独立评估

Two years of independent evaluations

告诉我们，我们的孩子们 消除了暑期中的知识损失

tell us that our kids eliminate the summer learning loss

and make growth of one month in math

并在数学方面有一个月知识的长进，

and two months in reading.

而在阅读方面有两个月的成果。

So instead of returning to school in the fall three months behind,

所以，对比秋季返校后 三个月的进度损失，

they now go back four months ahead in math

他们的数学有了超过四个月的提升，

and five months ahead in reading.

在阅读上有了五个月的进步。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Ten years ago, if you would have told me

十年前，如果你告诉我

that I'd graduate in the top 10 percent of my class from an Ivy League institution

我会以全班前10%的成绩 从一所常青藤高校毕业，

and have an opportunity to make a dent on our public education system

并有机会在我们的 公共教育制度上取得初步进展，

just by tackling two months of the calendar year,

一切仅通过抓住一年中的两个月，

I would have said,

我可能会说，

"Nah. No way."

“算了，不可能。”

What's even more exciting

更令人激动的是，

is that if we can prevent five months of lost time

如果我们能终止五个月的时间损失，

just by redesigning two months,

仅仅通过把握那两个月的时间，

imagine the possibilities that we can unlock

想象一些我们能开启的可能性，

by tackling the rest of the calendar year.

仅通过抓住每年的空余时间。

Thank you.

（谢谢）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）