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.
我想要和各位談談 被遺忘的中間人物。 對我來說,他們是學生、同事, 以及通常會被忽視的一般人, 因為他們既不特別, 又不會惹麻煩。 中間人物包括我們認為 可以忽視的孩子, 因為他們對支持的需求 似乎沒有特別迫切。 中間人物還包括一種同事, 組織的引擎能持續運作 其實要仰賴他們, 但他們並不被視為 是讓組織更傑出的創新者。 在許多層面上, 我們會忽視中間地帶的人, 是因為他們不會讓我們難以入眠, 擔心著他們接下來 會想出什麼瘋狂點子。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And the truth is that we've come to rely on their complacency and sense of disconnection because it makes our work easier.
事實是,我們已經漸漸 依靠起他們的自我滿足 和疏離感, 因為這樣讓我們比較容易做事。
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.
對於被遺忘的中間人物, 我略有所知。 讀高中時,我就混在中間地帶。 我過去一直是個好學生。 但七年級時發生了轉變。 我把時間花在聊八卦、傳紙條, 一般來說都是和我朋友 在遊手好閒。 我把做功課的時間拿來講電話, 回顧一整天發生的事。 在許多層面上, 雖然我是個典型的十二歲女孩, 我對於我的教育有著很矛盾的 心理,導致我的成績非常普通。
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.
我很幸運,我媽媽 了解一件很重要的事, 那就是:我所在的位置 並不是我最終會達到的位置。 身為前研究圖書館館員和教育家, 我媽媽知道我有能力 達到更高的成就。 但她也了解, 因為我是身在美國的 年輕黑人女性, 待在中間地帶, 我可能不會有機會, 除非她刻意去創造機會。
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.
所以,她把我送到另一所學校。 她幫我報名參加我們 鄰里中的領導力活動。 她開始更嚴肅地跟我談 我可以追求的大學和職涯選擇。 我媽媽用來把我帶離 中間地帶的公式相當簡單。 她從高期望開始。 她認為,想辦法讓我為成功 做好準備是她的責任。 她協助我放手去做, 在過程中,她讓我相信, 我有能力可以開創我自己的故事。 這公式不僅協助我脫離了 我七年級的萎靡—— 後來我還把這公式用在紐約市, 那時我要服務的是很有潛力 卻沒有很多機會 可以上大學、完成大學學業的孩子。
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.
要知道,表現好的學生 通常比較能取得額外的資源, 比如暑期成長營隊、 實習機會, 以及廣泛的課程, 讓他們能夠離開教室 到世界上去見識學習, 且把這些活動寫在大學 申請表上很有加分作用。 但我們並沒有把那些機會 提供給每一個人。 結果並不只是 某些孩子損失了機會。 我認為,我們整個社會 也損失了機會。
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.
關於這些中間地帶的人, 我有個很瘋狂的理論。 我認為在中間地帶 有一些無主的中獎彩券。 我認為,癌症的解藥 以及通往世界和平的路 可能都存在於這個地帶。 身為前中學老師, 我的意思並不是說人人都會 很神奇地突然變成優等生。 但我也相信,大部分的中間人物 都有能力可以做更好。 我認為,中間人物會待在中間, 是因為我們把他們歸在那裡, 有時,他們只是 在中間地帶冷靜一下, 讓他們能想通一些事。
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.
我們所有人的旅程, 都是由一連串暫停、 加速、失敗,和獲勝所組成。 我們有責任要確保 一個人的種族、性別、 文化,和社經身分 絕對不是你沒有辦法 離開中間地帶的理由。
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 --
所以,就像我媽媽幫我的方式, 我也在一開始就對 我接觸的年輕人採用高期望。 我用一個問題當開端。 我不再問孩子: 「嘿,你想要上大學嗎?」 我開始問他們: 「你想要上哪一所大學?」 要知道,第一個問題——
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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.
第一個問題還留下很多開放空間, 有許多模糊的可能性。 但第二個問題 傳達的是我認為這些 年輕人們能夠做到什麼。 基本上, 這個問題就假設了 他們會順利從高中畢業。 它也假設了 他們會有夠好的學業成績 讓他們能進入大專院校。 我能很驕傲地說, 高期望是有用的。 雖然全國的黑人和拉丁裔學生 通常在六年以內就從大學畢業的 比例是 38%, 但美國大學理事會認可我們 不僅有能力可以幫助孩子上大學, 同時也能幫助他們讀完大學。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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.
但,我也了解, 雖然高期望是很棒的, 但光靠高期望還不夠。 你不會要求糕餅師傅 在沒有烤箱的情況下烘培蛋糕。 我們若要要求 中間地帶的人做出躍進, 就必須要提供他們應得的 工具、策略,和支援, 讓他們能在生活中有所進步。
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.
有一位女子叫做妮可, 我指導她好一段時間了, 有一天她到我的辦公室來, 不久前,她的指導顧問 看了她很不錯的成績單, 表示非常震驚和詫異,無法相信 她竟然對讀大學有興趣。 那位指導顧問並不知道, 妮可透過她的社區 能夠參與大學先修班、 SAT 備考班和國際參訪活動。 大學有在她的未來 計畫中,且不只如此, 我可以很驕傲地說, 妮可從普渡大學畢業後, 接著又取得了兩個碩士學位。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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?"
我們也認為我們工作的一部分 是要教導我們的年輕人負責, 還要灌輸這些年輕人一種責任感, 對他們自己負責、對彼此負責、 對他們的家人負責, 且對他們的社區負責。 我們加倍投入在 以資產為基礎的青年發展上。 我們繼續做領導能力潛修營, 也開設了高低空繩索課程, 並一起處理人生中最大的問題。 結果是,那些孩子真的買帳了, 相信他們自己有責任 完成這些大學學位。 我感到很滿足,能夠看到這些孩子 打電話、傳訊息給彼此, 說:「嘿,你怎麼沒準時來 SAT 備考班?」 還有「明天的大學巡訪, 你要帶些什麼?」
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.
我們真的很努力把大學當作目標。 我們開始在大學校園裡 創立一些計畫, 舉辦活動讓年輕人能夠真正設想自己 成為大學生和研究生的樣子。 我和我的成員用上了 我們所有的大學資源, 我們玩得很開心,有良性的辯論, 討論誰的大學比較好。 孩子們真的買帳了, 他們開始看到自己的人生 還有更多的可能性。 不僅如此——在這個 準備前往大學的團體中, 他們可以看到和自己來自 同樣背景的孩子, 來自同樣的鄰里, 也有著相同的熱望。
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.
關鍵就是那種歸屬感, 有一天,那歸屬感以一種 很了不起、很美麗的方式現形, 當時我們在約翰尼斯堡機場 等著過海關, 準備前往波紮那, 那是一趟服務學習之旅。 我看到一群孩子,圍成一個圈圈。 通常,青少年這麼做時, 就表示有事發生。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So I kind of walked up behind the kids to figure out what they were talking about. They were comparing passport stamps.
所以我走到那些孩子的身後, 想知道他們在談什麼。 他們在比較護照上的印章。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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.
他們大聲說出他們的夢想, 希望將來能造訪哪些其他國家。 看到這些來自紐約的年輕人 接下來不只成為大學生, 還參與了國外進修的方案, 接著在世界各地找到工作, 這實在讓人心滿意足。
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.
當我想到我的孩子, 所有那些醫生、律師、老師、社工、 記者和藝術家, 他們來自我們在紐約市的小角落, 我實在不願去想, 如果我們沒有投資在 這些中間人物身上, 會發生什麼事。 光是想想他們的社區和這個世界 會損失什麼就夠了。
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.
為中間人物設計的這個公式, 不只適用於年輕人。 它也能夠轉變我們的組織。 我們能夠更大膽, 想出並表達出一個 能夠鼓舞所有人的任務。 我們能夠真正邀請 我們的同事參與討論, 提出策略,來達成這個任務。 在過程中,我們可以提供 有意義的回饋意見, 還有——有時也是最重要的—— 確保你能夠分享大家的貢獻 所帶來的功勞。
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.
當我的工作人員 把自己的目標設高時, 他們能夠為年輕人所做的事情 能夠帶來很明顯的轉變。 感覺真的很棒,回頭看這些, 還有我的前同事們 繼續取得博士學位, 並在其他組織中擔任領導角色。
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.
我們可以做到鼓舞 和激勵中間地帶的人。 我們可以把愛延伸到中間地帶。 我們可以挑戰我們自己的偏見, 關於誰應該被拉一把 以及如何做的偏見。 我們在建構我們的 組織、社區,和機構時, 可以採用包容並遵守 平等原則的方式。 因為,歸根究底, 常常,我們誤以為 看到的是「句點」, 但它其實只是個「逗點」。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)