A summer school kids actually want to attend | Karim Abouelnaga

譯者: Debra Liu

Getting a college education

獲得一個學士學位

is a 20-year investment.

需要 20 年的投資

When you're growing up poor,

如果你生長在窮困的家庭

you're not accustomed to thinking that far ahead.

你不會想到那麼遠的事

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

相反地，你想的是下一餐在哪裡

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

那個月家裡的房租要從哪裡來

Besides, my parents and my friends' parents

此外，我的父母和朋友們的父母

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

只靠開計程車和當清潔工 好像也過得不錯

It wasn't until I was a teenager

直到我十幾歲

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

我瞭解了我不想做這些事

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

那時候，我在教育這條路上 已經走到了三分之二

and it was almost too late to turn things around.

回頭幾乎已經太晚了

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

我生長在窮困家庭 也渴望成為有錢人

I was no different.

我跟大家都一樣

I'm the second-oldest of seven,

我在七個小孩中排行老二

and was raised by a single mother on government aid

我們住在紐約皇后區

in Queens, New York.

母親一個人靠著政府津貼 扶養我們長大

By virtue of growing up low-income,

因為在低收入的環境下長大

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

我和兄弟姐妹在紐約

most struggling public schools.

只能去上一些公立的爛學校

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

我七年級時，缺席超過 60 次

because I didn't feel like going to class.

因為我不想上學

My high school had a 55 percent graduation rate,

我的高中只有 55% 的畢業率

and even worse,

更糟的是

only 20 percent of the kids graduating

畢業生中只有 20% 的孩子

were college-ready.

準備好要上大學

When I actually did make it to college,

等我真的上大學後

I told my friend Brennan

有一次我告訴我的朋友小布

how our teachers would always ask us to raise our hands

我之前的老師老是在問我們

if we were going to college.

是不是要上大學

I was taken aback when Brennan said,

小布說的話讓我嚇到了，他說

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

「克林，我以前 從來沒被問過這個問題。」

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

「老師只會問你， 你打算上哪個大學？」

Just the way that question is phrased

這個問題的措詞問法

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

讓他無法接受沒上大學這件事

Nowadays I get asked a different question.

現在，我被問不一樣的問題

"How were you able to make it out?"

「你大學怎麼畢業的？」

For years I said I was lucky,

多年來，我只說我很幸運

but it's not just luck.

但這不只是幸運

When my older brother and I graduated from high school

我哥和我同時從中學畢業

at the very same time

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

他唸了兩年大學就輟學了

I wanted to understand why he dropped out

我想要瞭解他為什麼輟學

and I kept studying.

我一直在唸書

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

一直到我獲得康乃爾大學的 總統研究獎學金

that I started to learn about the very real educational consequences

我才開始真正瞭解到教育的重要性

of being raised by a single mother on government aid

對於那些接受政府補助 單親媽媽扶養長大

and attending the schools that I did.

像我一樣念爛學校的孩子有多重要

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

我哥哥走過的教育之路 讓我真正瞭解教育的重要性

I also learned that our most admirable education reformers,

我也瞭解到我們所崇敬的教育改革者

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

像美國前教育部長阿恩·鄧肯

or Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach For America,

或「為美國而教」的 創辦人溫蒂· 克普

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

跟我不一樣 從沒讀過內城裡公立學校

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

大多數的教育改革 是以同情的方式驅動的

where people are saying,

人們常說

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

「讓我們一起幫助 那些貧窮的內城孩子，

or these poor black and Latino kids,"

或那些貧窮的黑人或拉丁裔孩子。」

instead of an empathetic approach,

而不是用同理的方式

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

像我一樣在這種環境長大的人 可以理直氣壯地說

"I know the adversities that you're facing

「我知道你們所面臨的逆境，

and I want to help you overcome them."

我想幫助你們克服這些困境。」

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

今天我被問到我如何獲得這樣的成就

I share that one of the biggest reasons

在這裡和大家分享一個最主要的原因

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

就是我勇於請求別人幫助

In a typical middle class or affluent household,

典型的中產階層，或富裕的家庭裡

if a kid is struggling,

如果孩子有困難

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

父母和師長一定會幫助他們

even if they don't ask for help.

即使他們沒有尋求協助

However, if that same kid is growing up poor

但是，如果同樣的孩子 生長在貧窮的家庭

and doesn't ask for help,

遇到困難沒有尋求協助

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

根本不會有人去幫助他們

There are virtually no social safety nets available.

這簡直沒有社會安全網可言

So seven years ago,

所以 7 年前

I started to reform our public education system

我開始著手改革公立教育制度

shaped by my firsthand perspective.

從第一手的觀點開始進行

And I started with summer school.

我從暑期學校開始

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

研究顯示，導致成就差距 有三分之二的原因

which is the disparity in educational attainment

是因為教育程度的差距

between rich kids and poor kids

無論是在貧富之間

or black kids and white kids,

或是在黑人白人的種族之間

could be directly attributed to the summer learning loss.

都可以直接歸因於暑期學習的落差

In low-income neighborhoods, kids forget almost three months

在低收入社區，孩子們幾乎 忘了整個學年裡

of what they learned during the school year

三個月所學到的教材

over the summer.

在暑假這一段時間

They return to school in the fall,

當他們秋天開學回到學校

and their teachers spend another two months

老師要多花兩個月的時間

reteaching them old material.

再重新教一次他們所忘記的那些教材

That's five months.

加起來就是五個月

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

美國一學年只有 10 個月

如果孩子每年都要花五個月重新學習

If kids lose five months of learning every single year,

that's half of their education.

在整個教育學程上就佔了一半

Half.

一半

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

如果孩子們在學校上暑期課程 他們就不會退步

but traditional summer school is poorly designed.

但是傳統的暑期課程都缺乏計畫

For kids it feels like punishment,

對孩子而言只覺得是懲罰

and for teachers it feels like babysitting.

對老師而言就像當保姆

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

但是我們如何期待校長 能執行一個有效的暑期計畫

when the school year ends the last week of June

如果學年在 6 月最後一週結束

and then summer school starts just one week later?

暑期課程卻馬上在一週後開始？

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

就是沒有足夠的時間找到對的人

sort out the logistics,

整理物資

and design an engaging curriculum that excites kids and teachers.

並且設計一個有吸引力的課程 來激勵老師和孩子

But what if we created a program over the summer

但是如果我們創建一個暑期的計畫

that empowered teachers as teaching coaches

讓老師們像教練一樣

to develop aspiring educators?

培養有抱負的教育者？

What if we empowered college-educated role models

如果我們讓受過大學教育的模範榜樣

as teaching fellows

來當教學人員

to help kids realize their college ambitions?

幫忙孩子們實現他們 成為大學生的抱負？

What if empowered high-achieving kids

如果讓擁有高成就的孩子們擔任導師

as mentors to tutor their younger peers

來教導比他們年輕一些的同儕

and inspire them to invest in their education?

並激勵他們投資在教育上？

What if we empowered all kids as scholars,

如果我們讓所有的孩童都成為學者

asked them what colleges they were going to,

問他們想上哪所大學

designed a summer school they want to attend

設計一個他們想參加的暑期課程

to completely eliminate the summer learning loss

以利降低暑期學習的差距

and close two-thirds of the achievement gap?

來彌補那近三分之二的成就差距？

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

這個暑假，我的團隊已經幫助 超過 4,000 名低收入的孩子

trained over 300 aspiring teachers

訓練超過 300 名有抱負的老師

and created more than 1,000 seasonal jobs

並且創造超過 1,000 個 季節性的工作機會

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

遍及了一些紐約市最弱勢的地區

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And our kids are succeeding.

我們的孩子正邁向成功

Two years of independent evaluations

兩年來的獨立評估告訴我們

tell us that our kids eliminate the summer learning loss

這些孩子的暑期差距降低了

and make growth of one month in math

在數學上進步了一個月

and two months in reading.

在閱讀上進步了兩個月

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

之前秋天開學回到學校 課業會落後三個月

they now go back four months ahead in math

現在開學後 他們在數學上的表現超前四個月

and five months ahead in reading.

在閱讀的表現超前五個月

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Ten years ago, if you would have told me

十年前，如果你們告訴我

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

我會畢業於常春藤聯盟大學 並排行班級前百分之十

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

只要對付每年二個月的時間 就有機會解決公共教育體系上的問題

just by tackling two months of the calendar year,

I would have said,

我會說

"Nah. No way."

「不，怎麼可能。」

What's even more exciting

更令人興奮的是

is that if we can prevent five months of lost time

如果我們能避免損失五個月的時間

just by redesigning two months,

只需要重新調整二個月的學程

imagine the possibilities that we can unlock

就想像一下我們能解決

by tackling the rest of the calendar year.

剩下學年問題的可能性

Thank you.

謝謝大家

(Applause)

（掌聲）