Now, I want to start with a question: When was the last time you were called "childish"? For kids like me, being called childish can be a frequent occurrence. Every time we make irrational demands, exhibit irresponsible behavior, or display any other signs of being normal American citizens, we are called childish. Which really bothers me. After all, take a look at these events: Imperialism and colonization, world wars, George W. Bush. Ask yourself, who's responsible? Adults.
Torej, želim začeti z vprašanjem: Kdaj so vam nazadnje rekli, da ste otročji? Za otroke, kot sem jaz, je takšna oznaka lahko pogost pojav. Vsakič, ko imamo nerazumne zahteve, se neodgovorno vedemo, ali pokažemo kakšen drug znak, da smo normalni ameriški državljani, nas označijo za otročje, kar me resnično moti. Navsezadnje, poglejte te dogodke: imperializem in kolonizacija, svetovne vojne, George W. Bush. Vprašajte se: Kdo je odgovoren? Odrasli.
Now, what have kids done? Well, Anne Frank touched millions with her powerful account of the Holocaust. Ruby Bridges helped to end segregation in the United States. And, most recently, Charlie Simpson helped to raise 120,000 pounds for Haiti, on his little bike. So as you can see evidenced by such examples, age has absolutely nothing to do with it. The traits the word "childish" addresses are seen so often in adults, that we should abolish this age-discriminatory word, when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking.
Kaj so torej naredili otroci? No, Anne Frank je ganila milijone s svojo mogočno pripovedjo o holokavstu, Ruby Bridges je pomagala končati segregacijo v Združenih državah, in pred kratkim je Charlie Simpson pomagal zbrati 120.000 funtov (140.000 €) za Haiti na svojem malem kolesu. Torej, kot lahko vidite, takšna dejanja dokazujejo, da leta nimajo popolnoma ničesar s tem. Lastnosti, ki jih beseda otročje naslavlja, se tako pogosto opazijo pri odraslih, da bi morali ukiniti to starostno-diskriminatorno besedo, ko kritiziramo obnašanje povezano z neodgovornostjo
(Applause)
in nerazumnim mišljenjem. (aplavz)
Thank you.
Hvala.
Then again, who's to say that certain types of irrational thinking aren't exactly what the world needs? Maybe you've had grand plans before, but stopped yourself, thinking, "That's impossible," or "That costs too much," or "That won't benefit me." For better or worse, we kids aren't hampered as much when it comes to thinking about reasons why not to do things. Kids can be full of inspiring aspirations and hopeful thinking, like my wish that no one went hungry, or that everything were free, a kind of utopia. How many of you still dream like that, and believe in the possibilities? Sometimes a knowledge of history and the past failures of Utopian ideals can be a burden, because you know that if everything were free, then the food stocks would become depleted and scarce and lead to chaos. On the other hand, we kids still dream about perfection. And that's a good thing, because in order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first.
Sploh pa, kdo pravi, da določene vrste nerazumnega mišljenja niso ravno to, kar svet potrebuje? Mogoče ste že imeli sijajne načrte, a ste se ustavili, misleč: to je nemogoče, to preveč stane, ali pa, to mi ne bo koristilo. Ne glede na posledice nas, otrok, ne ovira tako zelo razmišljanje o razlogih, zakaj česa ne narediti. Otroci so lahko polni zanosnih teženj in mišljenja, polnega upanja, kot je moja želja, da nihče ne bi bil lačen, ali utopija, kjer bi bilo vse zastonj. Koliko vas še vedno tako sanja in verjame v možnosti? Včasih je védenje o zgodovini in preteklih neuspehih utopističnih idealov lahko breme, ker veste, da če bi bilo vse zastonj, bi se zaloge hrane porabile in postale redke, to pa bi vodilo v kaos. Po drugi strani pa mi, otroci, še vedno sanjamo o popolnosti. To je dobro; da bi karkoli naredili za resnično, moramo o tem najprej sanjati.
In many ways, our audacity to imagine helps push the boundaries of possibility. For instance, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington, my home state -- yoohoo, Washington!
To, da si upamo predstavljati, na mnogo načinov pomaga premikati meje mogočega. Na primer, muzej stekla v Tacomi v Washingtonu, moji državi -- juhu, Washington --
(Applause)
(aplavz)
has a program called Kids Design Glass, and kids draw their own ideas for glass art. The resident artist said they got some of their best ideas from the program, because kids don't think about the limitations of how hard it can be to blow glass into certain shapes, they just think of good ideas. Now, when you think of glass, you might think of colorful Chihuly designs, or maybe Italian vases, but kids challenge glass artists to go beyond that, into the realm of brokenhearted snakes and bacon boys, who you can see has meat vision.
ima program, ki se mu reče "Otroci oblikujejo steklo" in otroci rišejo svoje zamisli za umetnine iz stekla. Umetnik, zaposlen v muzeju, je rekel, da so s programom dobili nekaj najboljših idej, ker otroci ne razmišljajo o omejitvah, da je morda težko pihati steklo v določene oblike. Mislijo samo o dobrih idejah. Če pomislite na steklo, lahko pomislite na barvite izdelke Chihuly ali mogoče na italijanske vaze, vendar otroci izzovejo umetnike, da gredo dlje v kraljestvo kač z zlomljenimi srci in fantov iz slanine, ki ima, kot lahko vidite,
(Laughter)
mesno vizijo. (smeh)
Now, our inherent wisdom doesn't have to be insider's knowledge. Kids already do a lot of learning from adults, and we have a lot to share. I think that adults should start learning from kids. Now, I do most of my speaking in front of an education crowd -- teachers and students, and I like this analogy: It shouldn't be a teacher at the head of the class, telling students, "Do this, do that." The students should teach their teachers. Learning between grown-ups and kids should be reciprocal. The reality, unfortunately, is a little different, and it has a lot to do with trust, or a lack of it.
Naša prirojena modrost ne rabi biti interno znanje. Otroci se veliko naučimo od odraslih in veliko lahko delimo. Mislim, da bi se odrasli morali začeti učiti od otrok. Večino govorov imam pred publiko iz izobraževalne sfere, učitelji in učenci, in všeč mi je ta analogija. Ne bi smel biti samo učitelj na čelu razreda govoreč učencem, naredite to, naredite tisto. Učenci bi morali učiti svoje učitelje. Učenje med odraslimi in otroci bi moralo biti vzajemno. Resničnost je, žal, rahlo drugačna in ima veliko opraviti z zaupanjem, ali pomanjkanjem le-tega.
Now, if you don't trust someone, you place restrictions on them, right? If I doubt my older sister's ability to pay back the 10 percent interest I established on her last loan, I'm going to withhold her ability to get more money from me, until she pays it back.
Če nekomu ne zaupate, mu postavite omejitve, kajne? Če dvomim v sposobnost sestre, da mi vrne 10-odstotne obresti, ki sem jih postavila na njeno zadnje posojilo, ji bom odrekla možnost, da dobi več denarja od mene, dokler ga ne vrne. (smeh)
(Laughter)
Mimogrede, to je resnična zgodba.
True story, by the way. Now, adults seem to have a prevalently restrictive attitude towards kids, from every "Don't do that, don't do this" in the school handbook, to restrictions on school Internet use. As history points out, regimes become oppressive when they're fearful about keeping control. And although adults may not be quite at the level of totalitarian regimes, kids have no or very little say in making the rules, when really, the attitude should be reciprocal, meaning that the adult population should learn and take into account the wishes of the younger population.
Zdi se, da je med odraslimi razširjen omejujoč odnos do otrok, od vsakega "ne smeš tistega", "ne smeš tega" v šolskem učbeniku, do omejitev glede uporabe interneta v šoli. Kot kaže zgodovina, režimi postanejo zatiralni, ko se bojijo, da bodo izgubili nadzor. Čeprav starši morda niso ravno na stopnji totalitarnih režimov, otroci nimajo besede, ali pa je imajo zelo malo, pri postavljanju pravil, v resnici pa bi moral biti odnos vzajemen, kar pomeni, da bi se odrasli morali učiti in upoštevati želje
Now, what's even worse than restriction, is that adults often underestimate kids' abilities. We love challenges, but when expectations are low, trust me, we will sink to them. My own parents had anything but low expectations for me and my sister. Okay, so they didn't tell us to become doctors or lawyers or anything like that, but my dad did read to us about Aristotle and pioneer germ-fighters, when lots of other kids were hearing "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round." Well, we heard that one too, but "Pioneer Germ Fighters" totally rules.
mlajše populacije. Kar pa je še huje od omejevanja, je to, da odrasli pogosto podcenjujejo otrokove sposobnosti. Radi imamo izzive, vendar ko so pričakovanja nizka, mi verjemite, da se bomo spustili do njih. Moji starši resnično niso imeli nizkih pričakovanj glede moje sestre in mene. Ok, nista nama rekla, naj postaneva zdravnici ali odvetnici ali kaj podobnega, ampak moj oče nama je bral o Aristotlu in o pionirjih boja z mikrobi, ko je veliko ostalih otrok poslušalo "Gosenica je lezla, visoko na drevo". No, saj sva jo tudi midve slišali, vendar "Pionirski borci z mikrobi" so zakon.
(Laughter)
(smeh)
I loved to write from the age of four, and when I was six, my mom bought me my own laptop equipped with Microsoft Word. Thank you, Bill Gates, and thank you, Ma. I wrote over 300 short stories on that little laptop, and I wanted to get published. Instead of just scoffing at this heresy that a kid wanted to get published, or saying wait until you're older, my parents were really supportive. Many publishers were not quite so encouraging. One large children's publisher ironically said that they didn't work with children. Children's publisher not working with children? I don't know, you're kind of alienating a large client there.
Rada sem pisala vse od svojega četrtega leta. Ko sem imela šest let, mi je mama kupila prenosni računalnik z nameščenim Microsoft Word. Hvala, Bill Gates in hvala, mami. Napisala sem preko 300 kratkih zgodbic na tistem majhnem prenosniku in želela sem, da mi jih objavijo. Namesto da bi se norčevala iz tega krivoverstva, da je otrok hotel objaviti knjigo, ali da bi mi rekla, naj počakam, da bom starejša, so me starši resnično podpirali. Veliko založnikov pa ni bilo tako vzpodbujajočih. En velik otroški založnik je ironično rekel, da ne poslujejo z otroki. Otroški založnik, ki ne posluje z otroki? Ne vem, s tem nekako odbijaš pomembne stranke.
(Laughter)
(smeh)
One publisher, Action Publishing, was willing to take that leap and trust me, and to listen to what I had to say. They published my first book, "Flying Fingers," you see it here. And from there on, it's gone to speaking at hundreds of schools, keynoting to thousands of educators, and finally, today, speaking to you.
No, en založnik, Action Publishing, je bil pripravljen tvegati, mi zaupati in poslušati, kaj imam za povedati. Izdali so mojo prvo knjigo, "Leteči prsti" -- tukaj jo lahko vidite -- in od takrat naprej sem govorila na stotinah šol, bila ključni govornik tisočim šolnikom, in končno, danes, govorim vam.
I appreciate your attention today, because to show that you truly care, you listen. But there's a problem with this rosy picture of kids being so much better than adults. Kids grow up and become adults just like you.
Cenim vašo današnjo pozornost. Da bi pokazali, da vam je res mar, me poslušate. Vendar je težava s to rožnato sliko, da so otroci toliko boljši od odraslih. Otroci zrastejo in postanejo odrasli, tako kot vi.
(Laughter)
(smeh)
Or just like you? Really? The goal is not to turn kids into your kind of adult, but rather, better adults than you have been, which may be a little challenging, considering your guys' credentials.
Ali resnično tako kot vi? Cilj ni spremeniti otroke v odrasle, kot ste vi, ampak v boljše odrasle, kot ste bili vi, kar je lahko rahlo zahtevno,
(Laughter)
glede na vaša priporočila,
But the way progress happens, is because new generations and new eras grow and develop and become better than the previous ones. It's the reason we're not in the Dark Ages anymore. No matter your position or place in life, it is imperative to create opportunities for children, so that we can grow up to blow you away.
vendar se napredek udejanja na način, da nove generacije in nove dobe rastejo in se razvijajo in postanejo boljše od prejšnjih. To je razlog, da nismo več v temnem veku. Ne glede na vaš položaj v življenju, nujno je, da ustvarjate priložnosti za otroke, da lahko odrastemo in vas odpihnemo.
(Laughter)
(smeh)
Adults and fellow TEDsters, you need to listen and learn from kids, and trust us and expect more from us. You must lend an ear today, because we are the leaders of tomorrow, which means we're going to take care of you when you're old and senile. No, just kidding.
Odrasli in kolegi TEDerji, otroke morate poslušati, se od nas učiti, zaupajte nam, od nas pričakujte več. "Prisluhnite nam danes, kajti mi smo jutrišnji vodje", kar pomeni, da bomo skrbeli za vas, ko boste stari in senilni. Ne, samo hecam se.
(Laughter)
Ne, res, mi bomo naslednja generacija,
No, really, we are going to be the next generation, the ones who will bring this world forward. And in case you don't think that this really has meaning for you, remember that cloning is possible, and that involves going through childhood again, in which case you'll want to be heard, just like my generation. Now, the world needs opportunities for new leaders and new ideas. Kids need opportunities to lead and succeed. Are you ready to make the match? Because the world's problems shouldn't be the human family's heirloom.
tisti, ki bomo peljali ta svet naprej. Če slučajno mislite, da to nima nobenega pomena za vas, se spomnite, da je kloniranje mogoče in da to vključuje ponovni prehod skozi otroštvo, in v tem primeru boste tudi vi želeli biti slišani, tako kot moja generacija. Svet potrebuje priložnosti za nove voditelje in nove ideje. Otroci potrebujejo priložnosti, da vodijo in uspejo. Ste pripravljeni narediti povezavo? Ker težave sveta ne bi smele biti dediščina človeštva.
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(aplavz)
Thank you. Thank you.
Hvala.