I have spent my entire life either at the schoolhouse, on the way to the schoolhouse, or talking about what happens in the schoolhouse.
Ceo život sam provela ili u školi ili na putu ka školi ili prepričavajući događaje iz škole.
(Laughter)
Oba moja roditelja su bila prosvetni radnici,
Both my parents were educators, my maternal grandparents were educators, and for the past 40 years, I've done the same thing. And so, needless to say, over those years I've had a chance to look at education reform from a lot of perspectives. Some of those reforms have been good. Some of them have been not so good. And we know why kids drop out. We know why kids don't learn. It's either poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences... We know why. But one of the things that we never discuss or we rarely discuss is the value and importance of human connection. Relationships.
moji baba i deda s majčine strane su bili prosvetni radnici, a proteklih 40 godina i sama radim taj isti posao. Suvišno je reći da sam tokom godina imala priliku da posmatram reformu obrazovanja iz više uglova. Neke od reformi su bile dobre. Neke i nisu bile tako dobre. I znamo zašto deca napuštaju školu. Znamo zašto deca ne uče. Zbog siromaštva, slabog pohađanje nastave, negativnog uticaja vršnjaka. Znamo zašto. Ali jedna od stvari o kojima nikada ne diskutujemo ili retko diskutujemo jeste vrednost i značaj međuljudske povezanosti, veza.
James Comer says that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. George Washington Carver says all learning is understanding relationships. Everyone in this room has been affected by a teacher or an adult. For years, I have watched people teach. I have looked at the best and I've looked at some of the worst.
Džejms Komer kaže da se nikakvo značajnije učenje ne može odvijati bez značajne veze. Džordž Vašington Karver kaže da je svako učenje razumevanje odnosa. Na svakog u ovoj prostoriji je uticao neki nastavnik ili odrasla osoba. Godinama posmatram ljude kako podučavaju. Posmatrala sam one najbolje, a i neke od najgorih.
A colleague said to me one time, "They don't pay me to like the kids. They pay me to teach a lesson. The kids should learn it. I should teach it, they should learn it, Case closed."
Jedna koleginica mi je jednom rekla: "Ne plaćaju me da volim decu. Plaćaju me da ispredajem lekciju. Deca bi trebalo da je nauče. Ja treba da predajem. Oni treba da nauče. Kraj priče."
Well, I said to her, "You know, kids don't learn from people they don't like."
Rekla sam joj: "Znaš, deca ne uče od ljudi koje ne vole."
(Laughter)
(Smeh) (Aplauz)
(Applause)
She said, "That's just a bunch of hooey."
Ona mi kaže: "To su gluposti."
And I said to her,
A ja joj kažem: "Vidi, pred tobom je duga
"Well, your year is going to be long and arduous, dear."
i teška godina, dušo."
Needless to say, it was. Some people think that you can either have it in you to build a relationship, or you don't. I think Stephen Covey had the right idea. He said you ought to just throw in a few simple things, like seeking first to understand, as opposed to being understood. Simple things, like apologizing. You ever thought about that? Tell a kid you're sorry, they're in shock.
Suvišno je reći da je tako i bilo. Ima mišljenja da čovek ili ume ili ne ume da izgradi vezu sa nekim drugim. Mislim da je Stiven Kavi bio u pravu. Rekao je da treba samo ubaciti par jednostavnih stvari, kao potrebu da razumete, nasuprot potrebi da vas razumeju, i jednostavne stvari poput izvinjenja. Da li ste se ikada setili toga? Izvinite se detetu i ono će se šokirati.
(Laughter)
I taught a lesson once on ratios. I'm not real good with math, but I was working on it.
Jednom sam predavala lekciju o razlomcima. Nisam nešto dobra iz matematike, ali sam radila na tome.
(Laughter)
Kada sam pogledala udžbenik, shvatila sam da sam
And I got back and looked at that teacher edition. I'd taught the whole lesson wrong.
kompletnu lekciju ispredavala pogrešno. (Smeh)
(Laughter)
So I came back to class the next day and I said, "Look, guys, I need to apologize. I taught the whole lesson wrong. I'm so sorry."
I tako, dođem na čas sledeći dan i kažem: "Ljudi, dugujem vam izvinjenje." Celu lekciju sam ispredavala pogrešno. Mnogo mi je žao."
They said, "That's okay, Ms. Pierson. You were so excited, we just let you go."
Oni su mi rekli: "U redu je, g-đice Pirson. Toliko ste se zaneli da nismo hteli da vas prekidamo."
I have had classes that were so low,
(Smeh) (Aplauz)
so academically deficient, that I cried. I wondered, "How am I going to take this group, in nine months, from where they are to where they need to be? And it was difficult, it was awfully hard. How do I raise the self-esteem of a child and his academic achievement at the same time?
Držala sam tako loše časove, toliko akademski neadekvatne, da sam plakala. Pitala sam se kako ću da dovedem ovu grupu za 9 meseci, od njihovog sadašnjeg nivoa znanja do onog na kom bi trebalo da budu? I bilo je teško. Bilo je strašno teško. Kako da poboljšam i samopoštovanje deteta i njegova akademska dostignuća u isto vreme?
One year I came up with a bright idea. I told all my students, "You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students, they put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it."
Jedne godine mi je pala na pamet sjajna ideja. Rekla sam svim mojim đacima: "Izabrani ste da budete u mom razredu jer sam ja najbolja nastavnica, a vi ste najbolji učenici! Spojili su nas kako bismo bili primer svima ostalima."
One of the students said, "Really?"
Jedan od đaka je pitao: "Stvarno!?"
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I said, "Really. We have to show the other classes how to do it, so when we walk down the hall, people will notice us, so you can't make noise. You just have to strut."
Rekla sam: "Stvarno! Pokazaćemo ostalim razredima kako se to radi! Kada budemo prolazili hodnikom, primećivaće nas i zato ne smete da pravite buku. Treba samo da koračate ponosno."
(Laughter)
And I gave them a saying to say: "I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go."
A dala sam im i mantru: "Ja sam neko. Bio sam neko kada sam došao. Biću još bolja osoba kad odem. Ja sam moćan, ja sam snažan. Zaslužujem obrazovanje koje dobijam ovde. Ima toliko stvari koje treba da uradim, ljudi koje treba da zadivim i mesta na koja treba da odem."
And they said, "Yeah!"
A oni kažu: "Jeste!"
(Laughter)
You say it long enough, it starts to be a part of you.
Kad ponoviš ove reči dovoljno puta, one postanu deo tebe.
(Applause)
I tako - (Aplauz)
I gave a quiz, 20 questions. A student missed 18. I put a "+2" on his paper and a big smiley face.
Dala sam kontrolni, 20 pitanja. Jedan đak je omašio 18. Napisala sam "+2" na njegovom papiru i velikog smajlija.
(Laughter)
He said, "Ms. Pierson, is this an F?"
Pitao je: "G-đice Pirson, da li je ovo 1?"
I said, "Yes."
Rekla sam: "Da."
(Laughter)
"Zašto ste onda stavili smajlija?"
He said, "Then why'd you put a smiley face?"
Rekla sam: "Zato što si i dalje u igri.
I said, "Because you're on a roll. You got two right. You didn't miss them all."
Imao si dva tačna odgovora. Nisi pogrešio sve."
(Laughter)
I said, "And when we review this, won't you do better?"
Rekla sam: "Zar nećeš uraditi bolje
He said, "Yes, ma'am, I can do better."
nakon što uradimo ispravku?"
You see, "-18" sucks all the life out of you. "+2" said, "I ain't all bad."
On kaže: "Da, učiteljice, ja mogu bolje." Vidite, "-18" je deprimirijauće. Dok "+2" šalje poruku: "Nisam toliko loš." (Smeh) (Aplauz)
For years, I watched my mother take the time at recess to review, go on home visits in the afternoon, buy combs and brushes and peanut butter and crackers to put in her desk drawer for kids that needed to eat, and a washcloth and some soap for the kids who didn't smell so good. See, it's hard to teach kids who stink.
Godinama sam gledala svoju majku kako uzima vreme od odmora da se pripremi, kako odlazi u kućne posete tokom popodneva, kako kupuje češljeve, četke, kikiriki puter i krekere koje bi stavila u svoju fioku za decu koja su gladna, kao i prašak i sapun za decu koja nisu mirisala najbolje. Vidite, teško je učiti decu koja smrde.
(Laughter)
And kids can be cruel. And so she kept those things in her desk, and years later, after she retired, I watched some of those same kids come through and say to her, "You know, Ms. Walker, you made a difference in my life. You made it work for me. You made me feel like I was somebody, when I knew, at the bottom, I wasn't. And I want you to just see what I've become."
A deca umeju da budu surova. I tako je ona držala sve to u svojoj fioci, a godinama kasnije, pošto je otišla u penziju, gledala sam neku od te iste dece kako joj prilaze i govore: "Znate, G-đo Voker, promenili ste mi život. Dali ste smisao stvarima. Učinili ste da se osetim kao neko, kada sam, duboku u sebi, znao da to nisam. Samo sam želeo da vidite šta sam postao."
And when my mama died two years ago at 92, there were so many former students at her funeral, it brought tears to my eyes, not because she was gone, but because she left a legacy of relationships that could never disappear.
I, kada je moja mama umrla pre dve godine u svojoj 92. godini, toliko njenih bivših učenika je došlo na njenu sahranu da me je to rasplakalo. Ne zato što je umrla, već zato što je iza sebe ostavila međuljudske veze koje nikada ne mogu nestati.
Can we stand to have more relationships? Absolutely. Will you like all your children? Of course not.
Možemo li podneti da stvaramo više veza? Naravno! Da li ćete voleti sve vaše učenike? Naravno da ne.
(Laughter)
I, znate da vaša najproblematičnija deca nikada ne izostaju.
And you know your toughest kids are never absent.
(Smeh)
(Laughter)
Nikada. Nećete ih voleti sve
Never. You won't like them all, and the tough ones show up for a reason. It's the connection. It's the relationships. So teachers become great actors and great actresses, and we come to work when we don't feel like it, and we're listening to policy that doesn't make sense, and we teach anyway. We teach anyway, because that's what we do.
ali problematična deca se pojavljuju sa razlogom. To je povezanost. To je veza. I, iako ih nećete voleti sve, suština je u tome da oni to nikada ne smeju primetiti. Tako učitelji postaju veliki glumci: dolazimo na posao i kada nam se ne radi, i poštujemo pravila koja nemaju smisla, i predajemo uprkos svemu. Predajemo uprkos svemu jer je to naš poziv.
Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.
Predavanje i učenje treba da donose radost. Koliko moćan bi bio svet ako bismo imali decu koja se ne boje rizika, koja se ne boje da razmišljaju i koja imaju nekog junaka? Svako dete zaslužuje nekog junaka, odraslu osobu koja nikad neće odustati od njih, koja razume moć povezanosti i koja insistira da oni postanu ono najbolje što mogu biti.
Is this job tough? You betcha. Oh God, you betcha. But it is not impossible. We can do this. We're educators. We're born to make a difference.
Da li je to težak posao? Možete da se kladite da jeste. Ali nije nemoguć. Mi to možemo. Mi smo prosvetari. Mi smo rođeni da napravimo razliku.
Thank you so much.
Hvala vam puno.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)