So, I want to talk to you about the forgotten middle. To me, they are the students, coworkers and plain old regular folks who are often overlooked because they're seen as neither exceptional nor problematic. They're the kids we think we can ignore because their needs for support don't seem particularly urgent. They're the coworkers who actually keep the engines of our organizations running, but who aren't seen as the innovators who drive excellence. In many ways, we overlook the folks in the middle because they don't keep us up awake at night wondering what crazy thing they're going to come up with next.
Htela bih da razgovaramo o zaboravljenom proseku. To su za mene učenici, kolege i obični ljudi na koje se često ne obraća pažnja jer se ne smatraju ni izuzetnim ni problematičnim. To su deca koju mislimo da možemo da ignorišemo jer se njihova potreba za podrškom ne čini naročito hitnom. To su kolege koji su pokretačka snaga naših organizacija, ali ih ne smatraju inovatorima koji podstiču izuzetnost. Na mnoge načine zaobilazimo ljude u sredini jer se zbog njih ne mučimo da zaspimo dok razmišljamo koju ludost će sledeću da smisle.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
And the truth is that we've come to rely on their complacency and sense of disconnection because it makes our work easier.
Istina je da je došlo do toga da se oslanjamo na njihovu uljuljkanost i osećaj nepovezanosti jer to olakšava naš posao.
You see, I know a little bit about the forgotten middle. As a junior high school student, I hung out in the middle. For a long time, I had been a good student. But seventh grade was a game changer. I spent my days gossiping, passing notes, generally goofing off with my friends. I spent my homework time on the phone, reviewing each day's events. And in many ways, although I was a typical 12-year-old girl, my ambivalence about my education led to pretty average grades.
Vidite, ja znam ponešto o zaboravljenom proseku. U prvim razredima srednje škole držala sam se sredine. Dugo sam bila dobra učenica, ali sve se promenilo u sedmom razredu. Provodila sam dane u tračarenju, dodavanju ceduljica, i uopšte glupirajući se sa prijateljima. Vreme kada je trebalo pisati domaći provodila sam na telefonu, u raspredanju o svakodnevnim dešavanjima. Umnogome, iako sam bila tipična 12-godišnja devojčica, moja ambivalentnost prema obrazovanju dovela je do prilično prosečnih ocena.
Luckily for me, my mother understood something important, and that was that my location was not my destination. As a former research librarian and an educator, my mother knew that I was capable of accomplishing a lot more. But she also understood that because I was a young black woman in America, I might not have opportunities out of the middle if she wasn't intentional about creating them.
Srećom po mene, moja majka je shvatila nešto važno, da moj trenutni položaj nije moje konačno odredište. Kao bivši istraživački bibliotekar i pedagog, moja majka je znala da sam sposobna da postignem mnogo više. Ali je takođe znala da, pošto sam mlada crnkinja u Americi, možda ne bih imala prilike da izađem iz proseka ako ih ona ne stvori namerno.
So she moved me to a different school. She signed me up for leadership activities in my neighborhood. And she began to talk to me more seriously about college and career options I could aspire to. My mother's formula for getting me out of the middle was pretty simple. She started with high expectations. She made it her business to figure out how to set me up for success. She held me accountable and, along the way, she convinced me that I had the power to create my own story. That formula didn't just help me get out of my seventh grade slump -- I used it later on in New York City, when I was working with kids who had a lot of potential, but not a lot of opportunities to go to and complete college.
Zato me je prebacila u drugu školu. Prijavila me je na aktivnosti u mom naselju vezane za liderstvo. Počela je i da ozbiljnije razgovara sa mnom o fakultetu i mogućnostima za karijere ka kojima bih mogla da težim. Formula moje majke da me izvuče iz sredine bila je prilično jednostavna. Počela je velikim očekivanjima. Potrudila se da pronađe način da me pripremi za uspeh. Pozivala me je na odgovornost i usput me je ubedila da imam moć da stvorim svoju priču. Ta formula ne samo da je pomogla meni da se izvučem iz nazadovanja u sedmom razredu, već sam je koristila i kasnije u Njujorku, kada sam radila sa decom koja su imala mnogo potencijala, ali ne i mnogo prilika da idu na fakultet i završe ga.
You see, high-performing students tend to have access to additional resources, like summer enrichment activities, internships and an expansive curriculum that takes them out of the classroom and into the world in ways that look great on college applications. But we're not providing those kinds of opportunities for everyone. And the result isn't just that some kids miss out. I think we, as a society, miss out too.
Vidite, učenici sa odličnim uspehom obično imaju pristup dodatnim sredstvima, kao što su letnje aktivnosti za razvoj, stažiranja i ekspanzivan nastavni program koji ih vodi iz učionice u svet na načine koji odlično izgledaju na prijavama za fakultete. Ali, ne pružamo takve mogućnosti svima. Rezultat nije samo to da neka deca propuštaju stvari. Mislim da ih i mi, kao društvo, propuštamo.
You see, I've got a crazy theory about the folks in the middle. I think there are some unclaimed winning lottery tickets in the middle. I think the cure for cancer and the path to world peace might very well reside there. Now, as a former middle school teacher, I'm not saying that magically everyone is suddenly going to become an A student. But I also believe that most folks in the middle are capable of a lot more. And I think people stay in the middle because that's where we relegated them to and, sometimes, that's just where they're kind of chilling while they figure things out.
Vidite, imam ludu teoriju o ljudima u sredini. Mislim da u sredini ima nekih neunovčenih dobitnih srećki. Mislim da se lek za rak i put do mira u svetu možda tu kriju. E, sad, kao bivša nastavnica, ne kažem da će svi čudesno postati učenici sa svim peticama. Ali takođe verujem da je većina ljudi u sredini sposobna za mnogo više. Mislim da ljudi ostaju u sredini zato što smo ih tamo potisnuli, a ponekad samo tamo kuliraju dok ne vide šta će dalje.
All of our journeys are made up of a series of rest stops, accelerations, losses and wins. We have a responsibility to make sure that one's racial, gender, cultural and socioeconomic identity is never the reason you didn't have access out of the middle.
Sva naša putovanja sastoje se od niza odmora, ubrzanja, gubitaka i pobeda. Imamo obavezu da se postaramo da rasni, rodni, kulturološki i socioekonomski identitet nikada ne bude razlog zbog kojeg niste imali kuda iz sredine.
So, just as my mother did with me, I began with high expectations with my young people. And I started with a question. I stopped asking kids, "Hey, do you want to go to college?" I started asking them, "What college would you like to attend?" You see, the first question --
Tako, kao što je i moja majka radila sa mnom, počela sam sa velikim očekivanjima od mladih sa kojima sam radila. Počela sam pitanjem. Prestala sam da pitam decu: „Hej, da li želiš da ideš na fakultet?“ Počela sam da ih pitam: „Koji fakultet želiš da pohađaš?“ Vidite, prvo pitanje -
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
The first question leaves a lot of vague possibilities open. But the second question says something about what I thought my young people were capable of. On a basic level, it assumes that they're going to graduate from high school successfully. It also assumed that they would have the kinds of academic records that could get them college and university admissions. And I'm proud to say that the high expectations worked. While black and Latinx students nationally tend to graduate from college in six years or less, at a percent of 38, we were recognized by the College Board for our ability not to just get kids into college but to get them through college.
Prvo pitanje ostavlja mnoge nejasne mogućnosti otvorenim, dok drugo pitanje govori nešto o tome za šta ja mislim da su moji mladi sposobni. Na osnovnom nivou, pretpostavlja da će uspešno završiti srednju školu. Takođe pretpostavlja da će imati takva akademska svedočanstva koja će im omogućiti prijem na fakultet i univerzitet. Sa ponosom mogu reći da su visoka očekivanja delovala. Mada studenata crne rase i latinoameričkog porekla koji na nacionalnom nivou diplomiraju na fakultetu za šest ili manje godina ima 38 procenata, dobili smo priznanje Odbora za fakultete ne samo za našu sposobnost da upišemo decu na fakultet, već i da im pomognemo da ga završe.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
But I also understand that high expectations are great, but it takes a little bit more than that. You wouldn't ask a pastry chef to bake a cake without an oven. And we should not be asking the folks in the middle to make the leap without providing them with the tools, strategies and support they deserve to make progress in their lives.
No, takođe razumem da su velika očekivanja super, ali potrebno je malo više od toga. Ne biste tražili od poslastičara da ispeče kolač bez rerne. I ne treba da tražimo od ljudi u sredini da prosto uskoče, a da im ne obezbedimo sredstva, strategije i podršku koju zaslužuju da bi ostvarili napredak u životu.
A young woman I had been mentoring for a long time, Nicole, came to my office one day, after her guidance counselor looked at her pretty strong transcript and expressed utter shock and amazement that she was even interested in going to college. What the guidance counselor didn't know was that through her community, Nicole had had access to college prep work, SAT prep and international travel programs. Not only was college in her future, but I'm proud to say that Nicole went on to earn two master's degrees after graduating from Purdue University.
Jedna devojka kojoj sam dugo bila mentor, Nikol, došla je u moju kancelariju jednog dana, nakon što je njen savetnik pogledao njena prilično ubedljiva svedočanstva i izrazio krajnji šok i čuđenje što je uopšte zainteresovana da ide na fakultet. Ono što savetnik za usmeravanje nije znao je da je, kroz svoju zajednicu, Nikol već imala pristup pripremama za fakultet, pripremama za prijemni ispit i međunarodnim programima putovanja. Ne samo da je fakultet bio deo njene budućnosti, već mogu sa ponosom reći da je Nikol stekla dve master diplome nakon što je diplomirala na Univerzitetu Perdu.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
We also made it our business to hold our young people accountable, but also to instill a sense of accountability in those young people to themselves, to each other, to their families and their communities. We doubled down on asset-based youth development. We went on leadership retreats and did high ropes courses and low ropes courses and tackled life's biggest questions together. The result was that the kids really bought into the notion that they were accountable for achieving these college degrees. It was so gratifying to see the kids calling each other and texting each other to say, "Hey, why are you late for SAT prep?" And, "What are you packing for the college tour tomorrow?"
Takođe smo se potrudili da pozivamo mlade na odgovornost, ali i da u njima usadimo osećanje odgovornosti prema samima sebi, jednih prema drugima, prema svojoj porodici i zajednici. Udvostručili smo napore u cilju razvoja mladih na osnovu njihovih sposobnosti. Išli smo na radionice liderstva, na izazove sa preprekama u vazduhu i na zemlji, i zajedno smo se bavili najvećim životnim pitanjima. Kao rezultat, deca su zaista usvojila tu ideju da su odgovorna da steknu fakultetsku diplomu. Bilo je tako prijatno videti decu kako zovu jedni druge i šalju poruke da bi pitali: „Hej, zašto kasniš na pripreme za prijemni?“ I: „Šta ćeš da spakuješ za obilazak fakulteta sutra?“
We really worked to kind of make college the thing to do. We began to create programs on college campuses and events that allow young people to really visualize themselves as college students and college graduates. Me and my staff rocked our own college gear and had lots of fun, healthy competition about whose school was better than whose. The kids really bought into it, and they began to see that something more was possible for their lives. Not only that -- they could look around at that college-going community and see kids who came from the same backgrounds and the same neighborhoods and who were aspiring to the same things.
Stvarno smo radili na tome da fakultet postane bitna stvar. Počeli smo da stvaramo programe u studentskim domovima i događaje koji bi omogućili mladima da zaista zamisle sebe kao studente i diplomce. Moji zaposleni i ja nosili smo svoju odeću sa fakulteta i nadmetali se na zabavan i zdrav način oko toga čija je škola bila bolja. Deca su se zaista primila i počela su da vide da je nešto više moguće u njihovim životima. Ne samo to, već su i mogli da pogledaju oko sebe, tu zajednicu studenata, i da vide decu sa istim poreklom iz istih naselja koja su imala iste ambicije.
That sense of belonging was really key, and it showed up in a remarkable, beautiful way one day when we were in the Johannesburg airport, waiting to go through customs on our way to Botswana for a service learning trip. I saw a group of kids kind of huddled in a circle. Usually, with teens, that means something's going on.
Taj osećaj pripadnosti bio je ključan i pokazao se na izuzetan, divan način jednog dana kada smo bili na aerodromu u Johanesburgu i čekali da prođemo kroz carinu da bismo išli u Bocvanu zbog volontersko-edukativnog putovanja. Videla sam grupu dece koja su se skupila u krug. Obično, kod tinejdžera, to znači da se nešto dešava.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
So I kind of walked up behind the kids to figure out what they were talking about. They were comparing passport stamps.
Prišla sam iza njih da bih otkrila o čemu govore. Upoređivali su pečate u pasošima.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
And they were dreaming out loud about all the other countries they planned to visit in the future. And seeing these young people from New York City go on to not just become college students but to participate in study abroad programs and to then take jobs around the world was incredibly gratifying.
I maštali su naglas o svim ostalim zemljama koje su planirali da posete u budućnosti. Kada sam videla te mlade ljude iz Njujorka koji su na putu ne samo da postanu studenti, već i da učestvuju u programima za učenje u inostranstvu, a zatim i obavljaju poslove širom sveta, osetila sam neverovatno zadovoljstvo.
When I think of my kids and all the doctors, lawyers, teachers, social workers, journalists and artists who came from our little nook in New York City, I hate to think of what would have happened if we hadn't invested in the middle. Just think about all that their communities and the world would have missed out on.
Kada razmišljam o svojoj deci i svim doktorima, advokatima, nastavnicima, socijalnim radnicima, novinarima i umetnicima koji su proizašli iz našeg kutka u Njujorku, ne smem ni da pomislim šta bi se dogodilo da nismo uložili u prosek. Samo pomislite na sve što bi propustile njihove zajednice i svet.
This formula for the middle doesn't just work with young people. It can transform our organizations as well. We can be more bold in coming up and articulating a mission that inspires everyone. We can authentically invite our colleagues to the table to come up with a strategy to meet the mission. We can give meaningful feedback to folks along the way, and -- and sometimes most importantly -- make sure that you're sharing credit for everyone's contributions.
Ova formula za prosek ne deluje samo kod mladih ljudi. Može preobraziti i naše organizacije. Možemo biti hrabriji da osmislimo i formulišemo misiju koja inspiriše sve. Možemo da iskreno pozovemo naše kolege za sto za kojim se odlučuje da bismo smislili strategiju da ispunimo misiju. Možemo usput ljudima davati značajne povratne informacije i, što je nekad najvažnije, postarati se da se pripišu zasluge za svačiji doprinos.
What happened when my staff aimed high for themselves is that what they were able to do for young people was pretty transformational. And it's been so wonderful to look back and see all of my former colleagues who've gone on to get doctorates and assume leadership roles in other organizations.
Kada su moji zaposleni sami za sebe postavili visoke ciljeve, bili su u stanju da u radu sa mladima ostvare velike promene. Bilo je sjajno vratiti se unazad i videti sve moje bivše kolege koji su krenuli na doktorske studije i preuzeli liderske uloge u drugim organizacijama.
We have what it takes to inspire and uplift the folks in the middle. We can extend love to the people in the middle. We can challenge our own biases about who deserves a hand-up, and how. We can structure our organizations, communities and institutions in ways that are inclusive and that uphold principles of equity. Because, in the final analysis, what is often mistaken for a period is really just a comma.
Imamo ono što je potrebno da inspirišemo i uzdignemo ljude u sredini. Možemo pružiti ljubav ljudima u sredini. Možemo osporiti sopstvene predrasude o tome ko i kako zaslužuje priliku. Možemo izgraditi organizacije, zajednice i institucije tako da budu inkluzivne i podržavaju principe jednakosti. Jer, na kraju krajeva, ono što se često pogrešno uoči kao tačka u stvari je samo zarez.
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)