It was November 1, 2002, my first day as a principal, but hardly my first day in the school district of Philadelphia.
2002年11月1日, 是我当校长的第一天。 而我在费城的学区已经呆了很多年了。
I graduated from Philadelphia public schools, and I went on to teach special education for 20 years in a low-income, low-performing school in North Philadelphia, where crime is rampant and deep poverty is among the highest in the nation.
我毕业于费城的公立学校, 然后花了20年在特殊教育上, 在一所低收入、低绩效的学校任教, 学校在费城北部地区, 那里的犯罪率很高, 那里也是全国最贫困的地区之一。
Shortly after I walked into my new school, a huge fight broke out among the girls. After things were quickly under control, I immediately called a meeting in the school's auditorium to introduce myself as the school's new principal. (Applause)
我走进这校园不久后 女生们之间就出现了一次冲突。 事情很快就得到控制, 我立马在学校的礼堂里 召开一场会议 自我介绍我这位新的校长。 (掌声)
I walked in angry, a little nervous -- (Laughter) -- but I was determined to set the tone for my new students. I started listing as forcefully as I could my expectations for their behavior and my expectations for what they would learn in school. When, all of a sudden, a girl way in the back of the auditorium, she stood up and she said, "Miss! Miss!" When our eyes locked, she said, "Why do you keep calling this a school? This is not a school."
我走进礼堂,怒气很足, 也有点紧张—— (笑声)—— 但我下定决心 给我的新学生定下规矩。 我底气十足地开始列举 我期望他们有怎样的行为表现, 以及我期望他们能在学校里学到什么。 然后突然, 礼堂最后面的一个女生 她站了起来 然后说:“老师!” “老师!” 当我们四目相触时,她说: “为什么你一直管这叫学校?” “这不是一所学校。”
In one outburst, Ashley had expressed what I felt and never quite was able to articulate about my own experience when I attended a low-performing school in the same neighborhood, many, many, many years earlier. That school was definitely not a school.
霎那间, Ashley就表达了很多很多年前 在同一个生活区内 我上一所低绩效的学校时 我一直都感受到 但从未能用言语表达的感受。 那所学校绝不是学校。
Fast forwarding a decade later to 2012, I was entering my third low-performing school as principal. I was to be Strawberry Mansion's fourth principal in four years. It was labeled "low-performing and persistently dangerous" due to its low test scores and high number of weapons, drugs, assaults and arrests. Shortly as I approached the door of my new school and attempted to enter, and found the door locked with chains, I could hear Ashley's voice in my ears going, "Miss! Miss! This is not a school." The halls were dim and dark from poor lighting. There were tons of piles of broken old furniture and desks in the classrooms, and there were thousands of unused materials and resources. This was not a school. As the year progressed, I noticed that the classrooms were nearly empty. The students were just scared: scared to sit in rows in fear that something would happen; scared because they were often teased in the cafeteria for eating free food. They were scared from all the fighting and all the bullying. This was not a school.
快进到10年后的2012年, 我进入了我第三所低绩效的学校 做校长。 我要在草莓大厦高中做四年校长。 那学校一直被标为 “低绩效且持续危险” 原因是学生考试成绩低, 并且武器数量多, 毒品、袭击和被拘捕次数多。 我走近这所校园的校门, 尝试进入, 却发现门被链条锁住了, 我马上就想起Ashley的话: “老师!老师!” “这不是一所学校。” 走廊里又黑又暗, 照明相当不济。 教室里到处都堆满了 坏了的旧摆设和旧桌椅, 未用过的材料资源数不胜数。 这不是一所学校。 任教的这一年里, 我注意到学校的教室几乎是空的。 学生就是恐惧: 恐惧排坐在教室里, 生怕有事情会发生; 恐惧,因为他们经常被嘲笑 在饭堂里吃免费的食物。 他们被所有的打闹、欺凌吓怕了。 这不是一所学校。
And then, there were the teachers, who were incredibly afraid for their own safety, so they had low expectations for the students and themselves, and they were totally unaware of their role in the destruction of the school's culture. This was the most troubling of all. You see, Ashley was right, and not just about her school. For far too many schools, for kids who live in poverty, their schools are really not schools at all. But this can change. Let me tell you how it's being done at Strawberry Mansion High School. Anybody who's ever worked with me will tell you I am known for my slogans. (Laughter) So today, I am going to use three that have been paramount in our quest for change.
然后还有老师, 他们都相当担心他们自身的安全, 结果他们对学生和自己的期望都很低, 他们完全没意识到 在学校文化的败坏中 他们所起的作用。 这是最让人不安的困扰。 大家看,Ashley是对的, 而且不仅是她的学校。 有太多太多的学校, 生活贫穷的孩子们, 他们的学校不是真正的学校。 但这可以改变。 让我来说说,草莓大厦高中 是如何进行蜕变的。 与我共事过的人都会说 我的口号就是招牌。 (笑声) 所以今天我要分享 我们蜕变路程上 最为重要的三条口号。
My first slogan is: if you're going to lead, lead. I always believed that what happens in a school and what does not happen in a school is up to the principal. I am the principal, and having that title required me to lead. I was not going to stay in my office, I was not going to delegate my work, and I was not going to be afraid to address anything that was not good for children, whether that made me liked or not. I am a leader, so I know I cannot do anything alone. So, I assembled a top-notch leadership team who believed in the possibility of all the children, and together, we tackled the small things, like resetting every single locker combination by hand so that every student could have a secure locker. We decorated every bulletin board in that building with bright, colorful, and positive messages. We took the chains off the front doors of the school. We got the lightbulbs replaced, and we cleaned every classroom to its core, recycling every, every textbook that was not needed, and discarded thousands of old materials and furniture. We used two dumpsters per day.
第一条口号是: 如果你要去领导,就切实领导。 我一直相信 学校里发生什么、不发生什么 是由校长决定的。 我是校长, 顶着这头衔我必须要领导。 我不要坐在办公室, 我不会把自己的工作委任给别人, 我也不会害怕 指出对孩子不利的东西, 无论那会不会让我讨人喜欢。 我是领导, 因此我知道我无法独自成事。 因此在相信孩子潜能的人当中, 我召集了一支顶尖的领导队伍, 联手解决细微的问题, 譬如手动重设每个储物柜的密码 让每个学生都可以 有一个安全的储物柜。 我们重新设计校园里的每个公告栏 添加了鲜明多彩的正面信息。 我们把校门的链条拿走了。 我们也把灯泡换了, 我们把每个教室都清理妥当, 回收了所有没有用过的教科书, 扔掉了一堆堆的旧材料和摆设。 每天我们都得用两个垃圾箱。
And, of course, of course, we tackled the big stuff, like rehauling the entire school budget so that we can reallocate funds to have more teachers and support staff. We rebuilt the entire school day schedule from scratch to add a variety of start and end times, remediation, honors courses, extracurricular activities, and counseling, all during the school day. All during the school day. We created a deployment plan that specified where every single support person and police officer would be every minute of the day, and we monitored at every second of the day, and, our best invention ever, we devised a schoolwide discipline program titled "Non-negotiables." It was a behavior system -- designed to promote positive behavior at all times.
当然,当然, 我们也处理大问题, 譬如重新调整整个学校的预算, 让我们可以重新分配资金 雇佣更多的老师和协助员工。 我们重建了 整个学校的日程安排, 添加了不同的上下课时间、 整治安排、荣誉课程、 课外活动和咨询服务, 所有都安排在课程时间内。 所有都安排在课程时间内。 我们制定了一个部署计划, 详细写明 每个协助人员和警务人员 每天每刻的位置安排, 我们监控每天每秒的情况, 我们有一个发明最棒: 我们设计了一个校园纪律项目, 名为“没商量计划”。 这是一个行为系统—— 专门设计来鼓励持续正面行为。
The results? Strawberry Mansion was removed from the Persistently Dangerous List our first year after being -- (Applause) -- after being on the Persistently Dangerous List for five consecutive years. Leaders make the impossible possible.
结果呢? 一年后,草莓大厦高中 就在“持续危险”名单中除名了, (掌声) 在“持续危险”名单上 待了连续五年后,除名了。 领导者让不可能变成可能。
That brings me to my second slogan: So what? Now what? (Laughter) (Applause)
那将我带到第二条口号: 那又怎样?现在怎办? (笑声) (掌声)
When we looked at the data, and we met with the staff, there were many excuses for why Strawberry Mansion was low-performing and persistently dangerous. They said that only 68 percent of the kids come to school on a regular basis, 100 percent of them live in poverty, only one percent of the parents participate, many of the children come from incarceration and single-parent homes, 39 percent of the students have special needs, and the state data revealed that six percent of the students were proficient in algebra, and 10 were proficient in literature.
我们看着数据, 跟员工谈话, 会听到很多借口, 来解释为什么草莓大厦高中 一直低绩效又持续危险。 他们说只有68%的孩子 会定期来上课, 100%的孩子生活贫困, 只有1%的父母参与教育, 许多孩子 都来自有监禁背景的和单亲家庭, 39%的学生是特殊儿童, 而且州政府的数据显示 只有6%的学生熟练掌握代数, 10%的学生擅长文学。
After they got through telling us all the stories of how awful the conditions and the children were, I looked at them, and I said, "So what. Now what? What are we gonna do about it?" (Applause)
当他们终于说完状况有多糟, 孩子们有多坏之后, 我看着他们, 然后我说:“那又怎样。现在怎办?” “我们接下来要做什么?” (掌声)
Eliminating excuses at every turn became my primary responsibility. We addressed every one of those excuses through a mandatory professional development, paving the way for intense focus on teaching and learning. After many observations, what we determined was that teachers knew what to teach but they did not know how to teach so many children with so many vast abilities. So, we developed a lesson delivery model for instruction that focused on small group instruction, making it possible for all the students to get their individual needs met in the classroom.
每时每刻地消除借口 成了我的首要任务。 我们不放过任何一个借口, 通过强制性的专业发展计划, 我们致力让重点转向教学。 经过多次观察后, 我们发现 教师知道教学的内容, 但却不知道如何去教 有那么多不同才能的那么多学生。 所以我们为教师们设计了 一个课堂教学模式, 专门侧重于小组教学, 让所有学生在课堂内 都可以满足他们自身的需要。
The results? After one year, state data revealed that our scores have grown by 171 percent in Algebra and 107 percent in literature. (Applause) We have a very long way to go, a very long way to go, but we now approach every obstacle with a "So What. Now What?" attitude.
结果呢? 一年后,州政府数据显示 我们学生的代数成绩上升了171%, 文学成绩上升了107%。 (掌声) 我们还有很长的路要走, 非常非常长的路要走, 但我们现在处理每个问题,都抱着 “那又怎样。现在怎办?”的态度。
And that brings me to my third and final slogan. (Laughter) If nobody told you they loved you today, you remember I do, and I always will.
这就带出了我的第三个, 也是最后一个口号。 (笑声) 如果今天尚未有人跟你说他们爱你, 你记住我爱你,而且会一直爱你。
My students have problems: social, emotional and economic problems you could never imagine. Some of them are parents themselves, and some are completely alone. If someone asked me my real secret for how I truly keep Strawberry Mansion moving forward, I would have to say that I love my students and I believe in their possibilities unconditionally. When I look at them, I can only see what they can become, and that is because I am one of them. I grew up poor in North Philadelphia too. I know what it feels like to go to a school that's not a school. I know what it feels like to wonder if there's ever going to be any way out of poverty. But because of my amazing mother, I got the ability to dream despite the poverty that surrounded me.
我的学生有各种状况: 社会上、情绪上、经济上的状况, 各种你不可想象的状况。 他们有些已经为人父母, 有些却完全孤独。 如果有人问我 我让草莓大厦高中进步的真正秘密, 我会说:我爱我的学生, 而且我相信他们的潜能, 无条件的信任。 当我看着他们, 我只看得见 他们可以创造的未来, 因为我是他们其中一员。 我也是在费城北部的贫穷家庭长大。 我知道在一所不是学校的学校上课 是什么样的滋味。 我知道当你在想 贫穷究竟有没有出路时 到底是什么滋味。 但是感谢我了不起的母亲, 让我能够梦想, 尽管贫穷总在我左右。
So -- (Applause) -- if I'm going to push my students toward their dream and their purpose in life, I've got to get to know who they are. So I have to spend time with them, so I manage the lunchroom every day. (Laughter) And while I'm there, I talk to them about deeply personal things, and when it's their birthday, I sing "Happy Birthday" even though I cannot sing at all. (Laughter) I often ask them, "Why do you want me to sing when I cannot sing at all?" (Laughter) And they respond by saying, "Because we like feeling special."
所以—— (掌声) 如果我要将我的学生 推向生活的梦想和目标, 我就得去认识他们。 所以我花时间跟他们相处。 所以我每天都管理饭堂。 (笑声) 我待在饭堂时, 我跟学生聊一些非常私人的事情, 到了他们的生日, 我会给他们唱生日歌, 虽然我一点都不会唱歌。 (笑声) 我常问他们, “我一点都不会唱, 为什么你还想听我唱歌?” (笑声) 然后他们回答说: “因为我们喜欢被特别关注感觉。”
We hold monthly town hall meetings to listen to their concerns, to find out what is on their minds. They ask us questions like, "Why do we have to follow rules?" "Why are there so many consequences?" "Why can't we just do what we want to do?" (Laughter) They ask, and I answer each question honestly, and this exchange in listening helps to clear up any misconceptions. Every moment is a teachable moment.
我们每个月都举行学生全员大会, 去聆听他们的担忧, 去找出他们的想法。 他们问我们各种问题: “为什么我们得守规矩?” “为什么会有那么多惩罚?” “为什么我们不能想做什么就做什么?” (笑声) 他们问着,然后 我诚实回答每个问题, 这样的聆听交流 帮助我扫清所有的误区想法。 每个时刻都是有教育意义的时刻。
My reward, my reward for being non-negotiable in my rules and consequences is their earned respect. I insist on it, and because of this, we can accomplish things together. They are clear about my expectations for them, and I repeat those expectations every day over the P.A. system. I remind them -- (Laughter) I remind them of those core values of focus, tradition, excellence, integrity and perseverance, and I remind them every day how education can truly change their lives. And I end every announcement the same: "If nobody told you they loved you today, you remember I do, and I always will."
我的回报, 我的回报 得益于对规矩和相应后果的不让步, 回报就是我赢得了他们的尊重。 我坚持这一点, 而正因如此, 我们可以共同取得一些成果。 他们清楚知道我对他们的期望, 我每天都在学校广播里重复那些期望。 我提醒他们—— (笑声) 我提醒他们这些核心价值: 专注、传统、优秀、 正直、毅力, 我每天都提醒他们 教育可以如何 真正改变他们的生活。 每次广播结束时我都会告诉他们: “如果今天尚未有人跟你说他们爱你, 要记住我爱你, 而且我会一直爱你。”
Ashley's words of "Miss, Miss, this is not a school," is forever etched in my mind. If we are truly going to make real progress in addressing poverty, then we have to make sure that every school that serves children in poverty is a real school, a school, a school -- (Applause) -- a school that provides them with knowledge and mental training to navigate the world around them.
Ashley的话—— “老师!老师! 这不是一所学校。”—— 永远地刻在我的心头。 如果我们要真正地 在解决贫穷问题上取得实质性的进展, 那么我们必须确保 每所有贫困孩子的学校 都是一所真正的学校, 是一所学校,一所学校—— (掌声)—— 一所为他们提供知识的学校, 给他们提供心理训练, 让他们来探索周围的世界。
I do not know all the answers, but what I do know is for those of us who are privileged and have the responsibility of leading a school that serves children in poverty, we must truly lead, and when we are faced with unbelievable challenges, we must stop and ask ourselves, "So what. Now what? What are we going to do about it?" And as we lead, we must never forget that every single one of our students is just a child, often scared by what the world tells them they should be, and no matter what the rest of the world tells them they should be, we should always provide them with hope, our undivided attention, unwavering belief in their potential, consistent expectations, and we must tell them often, if nobody told them they loved them today, remember we do, and we always will.
我不能解决所有问题, 但我知道,我们当中 有机会而且有责任领导 有贫困学生的学校的每个人, 都必须真正地领导, 当我们面对难以置信的挑战时, 我们必须停下来问问自己, “那又怎样。现在怎办?” “我们接下来要做什么?” 当我们领导时, 我们决不能忘记 我们的每一个学生 都不过是个孩子, 世界要他们成为这样那样的人 但他们往往被吓怕, 无论这个世界告诉他们要做什么, 我们要永远给他们希望, 给他们给予一心一意的关注, 始终坚信他们的潜能, 一直给予他们期望, 并且必须时常告诉他们: 如果今日尚未有人跟你们说爱你, 记住我们爱你,而且会一直爱你。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Thank you, Jesus.
谢谢,耶稣。