For over a decade, I have studied young people that have been pushed out of school, so called "dropouts." As they end up failed by the education system, they're on the streets where they're vulnerable to violence, police harassment, police brutality and incarceration. I follow these young people for years at a time, across institutional settings, to try to understand what some of us call the "school-to-prison pipeline."
Selama lebih dari sepuluh tahun, saya mempelajari anak-anak yang dikeluarkan dari sekolah, atau <i>"dropout."</i> Saat mereka dikecewakan oleh sistem edukasi, mereka menjadi anak jalanan yang hidup dengan kekerasan, pelecehan, brutalitas, dan penahanan oleh polisi. Selama bertahun-tahun saya mengikuti anak-anak ini, dari berbagai latar belakang institusi, untuk memahami orang yang disebut "alur sekolah ke penjara."
When you look at a picture like this, of young people who are in my study ... you might see trouble. I mean one of the boys has a bottle of liquor in his hand, he's 14 years old and it's a school day. Other people, when they see this picture, might see gangs, thugs, delinquents -- criminals. But I see it different. I see these young people through a perspective that looks at the assets that they bring to the education system. So will you join me in changing the way we label young people from "at-risk" to "at-promise?"
Saat Anda melihat gambar ini, gambar anak-anak yang saya teliti ... Anda melihat ada yang salah. Anak ini memegang botol minuman keras di tangannya, ia berumur 14 tahun dan hari itu bukan hari libur. Ketika orang melihat gambar ini, mereka kira itu geng, preman, berandalan, atau kriminalis. Berbeda dengan apa yang saya lihat. Saya melihat mereka dari perspektif aset yang ada pada mereka dalam sistem edukasi. Maukah Anda turut serta untuk mengubah label anak muda dari yang "berisiko" menjadi "berpotensi?"
(Applause)
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How do I know that these young people have the potential and the promise to change? I know this because I am one of them. You see, I grew up in dire poverty in the inner city, without a father -- he abandoned me before I was even born. We were on welfare, sometimes homeless, many times hungry. By the time I was 15 years old, I had been incarcerated in juvy three times for three felonies. My best friend had already been killed. And soon after, while I'm standing next to my uncle, he gets shot. And as I'm waiting for the ambulance to arrive for over an hour ... he bleeds to death on the street. I had lost faith and hope in the world, and I had given up on the system because the system had failed me. I had nothing to offer and no one had anything to offer me. I was fatalistic. I didn't even think I could make it to my 18th birthday.
Bagaimana saya tahu jika anak muda ini punya potensi dan kesempatan untuk berubah? Saya tahu karena saya dulu salah satu dari mereka. Saya dulu hidup dalam kemiskinan di kota, tanpa seorang ayah ia pergi sebelum saya lahir. Kami hidup aman, kadang tunawisma, dan sering kelaparan. Saat saya berusia 15 tahun, saya ditahan di penjara 3 kali karena melakukan 3 kejahatan. Sahabat saya terbunuh. Dan sesaat setelah itu, saat saya berdiri di samping paman saya, ia tertembak. Saya menunggu ambulan lebih dari sejam, dan ia meninggal kehabisan darah di jalan. Saya kehilangan iman dan harapan di dunia, dan saya menyerah pada sistem karena sistem mengecewakan saya. Saya tidak dapat menawarkan apa pun dan tak ada yang bisa ditawarkan pada saya. Saya sangat putus asa. Bahkan saya merasa tidak akan hidup sampai berusia 18 tahun.
The reason I'm here today is because a teacher that cared reached out and managed to tap into my soul. This teacher, Ms. Russ ... she was the kind of teacher that was always in your business.
Alasan saya di sini hari ini karena sosok guru yang mempedulikan saya dan berhasil menyentuh jiwa saya. Guru ini adalah Ibu Russ ia adalah guru yang selalu mencampuri urusan orang lain.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
She was the kind of teacher that was like, "Victor, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."
Ia adalah guru yang selalu berkata, "Victor, saya selalu siap untuk kamu."
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
I wasn't ready. But she understood one basic principle about young people like me. We're like oysters. We're only going to open up when we're ready, and if you're not there when we're ready, we're going to clam back up. Ms. Russ was there for me. She was culturally relevant, she respected my community, my people, my family. I told her a story about my Uncle Ruben. He would take me to work with him because I was broke, and he knew I needed some money. He collected glass bottles for a living. Four in the morning on a school day, we'd throw the glass bottles in the back of his van, and the bottles would break. And my hands and arms would start to bleed and my tennis shoes and pants would get all bloody. And I was terrified and in pain, and I would stop working. And my uncle, he would look me in the eyes and he would say to me, "Mijo, estamos buscando vida." "We're searching for a better life, we're trying to make something out of nothing."
Dan saya tidak siap. Tapi ia paham satu prinsip dasar tentang anak muda seperti saya. Kami seperti kerang. Kami akan terbuka ketika kami siap, dan jika Anda tidak ada saat kami siap, kami akan menutup diri lagi. Ibu Russ ada untuk saya. Beliau menghargai budaya, komunitas, orang seperti saya, dan keluarga saya Saya menceritakan padanya tentang Paman Ruben. Paman mengajak saya untuk bekerja karena ia tahu saya memerlukan uang, Ia memungut botol kaca untuk bertahan hidup. Pukul 4 pagi di hari sekolah, kami melempar botol kaca ke belakang mobil van-nya, dan botol itu akan pecah. Lalu tangan dan lengan saya berdarah, dan mengenai sepatu dan celana saya. Saya panik dan kesakitan, dan saya ingin berhenti bekerja. Dan paman saya menatap mata saya dan berkata "Mijo, estamos buscando vida." "Kita mencari kehidupan yang lebih baik, kita mengubah yang tidak ada menjadi ada."
Ms. Russ listened to my story, welcomed it into the classroom and said, "Victor, this is your power. This is your potential. Your family, your culture, your community have taught you a hard-work ethic and you will use it to empower yourself in the academic world so you can come back and empower your community."
Ibu Russ mendengarkan kisah saya, menyambutnya dan berkata, "Victor, inilah kekuatanmu. Inilah potensimu. Keluarga, budaya, komunitas telah mengajari kamu hidup bekerja keras dan kamu akan memakainya untuk menginspirasi diri di dunia pendidikan agar kamu dapat kembali dan menginspirasi komunitasmu."
With Ms. Russ's help, I ended up returning to school. I even finished my credits on time and graduated with my class.
Dengan bantuan Ibu Russ, akhirnya saya kembali bersekolah. Saya menyelesaikan kelas-kelas dengan tepat waktu dan lulus bersama angkatan saya.
(Applause)
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But Ms. Russ said to me right before graduation, "Victor, I'm so proud of you. I knew you could do it. Now it's time to go to college."
Namun sebelum kelulusan, Ibu Russ berkata, "Victor, saya sangat bangga padamu. Saya tahu kamu bisa melakukannya. Sekarang kamu bisa lanjut ke perguruan tinggi."
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
College, me? Man, what is this teacher smoking thinking I'm going to college? I applied with the mentors and support she provided, got a letter of acceptance, and one of the paragraphs read, "You've been admitted under probationary status." I said, "Probation? I'm already on probation, that don't matter?"
Saya ke perguruan tinggi? Wow, apa yang guru saya hisap sampai ia berpikir saya akan berkuliah? Saya mendaftar dengan dukungannya, lalu mendapat surat penerimaan, dan salah satu paragrafnya menyatakan, "Anda diterima dalam status percobaan." Saya berkata, "Masa percobaan? Saya pernah alami itu,apa itu tidak salah?
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
It was academic probation, not criminal probation. But what do teachers like Ms. Russ do to succeed with young people like the ones I study? I propose three strategies. The first: let's get rid of our deficit perspective in education. "These people come from a culture of violence, a culture of poverty. These people are at-risk; these people are truant. These people are empty containers for us to fill with knowledge. They have the problems, we have the solutions." Number two. Let's value the stories that young people bring to the schoolhouse. Their stories of overcoming insurmountable odds are so powerful. And I know you know some of these stories. These very same stories and experiences already have grit, character and resilience in them. So let's help young people refine those stories. Let's help them be proud of who they are, because our education system welcomes their families, their cultures, their communities and the skill set they've learned to survive. And of course the third strategy being the most important: resources. We have to provide adequate resources to young people. Grit alone isn't going to cut it. You can sit there and tell me all you want, "Hey man, pick yourself up by the bootstraps." But if I was born without any straps on my boots --
Ini masa percobaan akademis, bukan masa percobaan kriminal. Apa yang guru lakukan seperti Ibu Russ untuk menghadapi anak muda seperti saya? Akan saya sampaikan tiga cara. Pertama, singkirkan pikiran buruk tentang pendidikan. "Orang-orang ini hidup dalam kekerasan, kemiskinan. Mereka akan sering bolos. Mereka adalah wadah kosong yang perlu kita isi dengan ilmu. Mereka punya masalah, kita punya solusi." Kedua, hargai setiap cerita yang mereka bawa ke sekolah. Cerita mereka dalam mengatasi rintangan yang begitu sulit. Dan Anda mengetahui beberapa kisah seperti ini. Kisah dan pengalaman ini memiliki kekuatan, karakter, dan ketahanan. Mari kita bantu mereka untuk memperbaiki cerita ini. Menolong mereka agar lebih percaya diri, karena sistem pendidikan kita menerima keluarga, budaya, komunitas mereka, dan keahlian mereka untuk bertahan hidup. Strategi ketiga dan yang terpenting adalah dukungan. Kita harus memberi dukungan untuk anak-anak muda. Keberanian saja tidaklah cukup. Anda duduk dan beritahu apa yang Anda mau, "Eh kamu, tarik tali sepatumu dan berdirilah sendiri." Tapi bagaimana jika saya lahir tanpa tali di sepatu saya --
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
How am I supposed to pick myself up?
Bagaimana saya dapat bangkit?
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)
Job training, mentoring, counseling ... Teaching young people to learn from their mistakes instead of criminalizing them, and dragging them out of their classrooms like animals. How about this? I propose that we implement restorative justice in every high school in America.
Pelatihan kerja, bimbingan, konseling Itu mengajar anak muda untuk belajar dari kesalahan mereka bukan malah kriminalisasi mereka, dan mengeluarkan mereka dari kelas seperti binatang. Bagaimana jika begini? Saya usulkan setiap SMA di Amerika menerapkan keadilan restoratif .
(Applause)
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So we went out to test these ideas in the community of Watts in LA with 40 young people that had been pushed out of school. William was one of them. William was the kind of kid that had been given every label. He had dropped out, he was a gang member, a criminal. And when we met him he was very resistant. But I remember what Ms. Russ used to say. "Hey, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."
Kami menguji ide ini di sebuah komunitas di Watts, LA pada 40 anak muda yang dikeluarkan dari sekolah. Salah satunya bernama William. William adalah anak yang dicap dengan berbagai label. Dia putus sekolah, anggota geng, dan penjahat. Ketika kami bertemu dengannya dia sangat berontak. Namun saya ingat apa yang Ibu Russ pernah katakan. "Hei, saya di sini kapan pun kamu siap."
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
So over time -- over time he began to open up. And I remember the day that he made the switch. We were in a large group and a young lady in our program was crying because she told us her powerful story of her dad being killed and then his body being shown in the newspaper the next day. And as she's crying, I don't know what to do, so I give her her space, and William had enough. He slammed his hands on the desk and he said, "Hey, everybody! Group hug! Group hug!"
Seiring berjalannya waktu, ia mulai terbuka Saya ingat saat dia berubah. Kami berada dalam kelompok besar dan seorang wanita menangis dia menceritakan kisahnya tentang ayahnya yang dibunuh dan keesokan harinya tubuh ayahnya muncul di koran. Dia menangis, saya bingung harus berbuat apa, jadi saya membiarkannya, dan William hilang kesabaran. Dia membanting tangannya ke meja dan berkata, "Semuanya! Berpelukan! Berpelukan!"
(Applause)
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This young lady's tears and pain turned into joy and laughter knowing that her community had her back, and William had now learned that he did have a purpose in life: to help to heal the souls of people in his own community. He told us his story. We refined his story to go from being the story of a victim to being the story of a survivor that has overcome adversity. We placed high value on it. William went on to finish high school, get his security guard certificate to become a security guard, and is now working at a local school district.
Air mata dan rasa sakit wanita ini berubah menjadi sukacita dan tawa karena ia tahu komunitasnya mendukungnya, dan William telah mengetahui bahwa ia memiliki tujuan hidup : untuk membantu menyembuhkan jiwa orang-orang di komunitasnya. Ia menceritakan kisahnya. Kami menyempurnakan kisahnya kisah dari seorang korban menjadi pejuang dan telah mengalahkan kesulitan. Kami sangat menghargainya. William menyelesaikan studi SMA, mendapatkan sertifikat dam menjadi penjaga keamanan, dan sekarang bekerja di sebuah sekolah lokal.
(Applause)
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Ms. Russ's mantra -- her mantra was always, "when you teach to the heart, the mind will follow." The great writer Khalil Gibran says, "Out of suffering have emerged the greatest souls. The massive characters are seared with scars." I believe that in this education revolution that we're talking about we need to invite the souls of the young people that we work with, and once they're able to refine -- identify their grit, resilience and character that they've already developed -- their academic performance will improve.
Mantra Ibu Russ selalu, "Ketika kamu mengajari hati, pikiran akan mengikuti." Penulis hebat, Khalil Gibran, berkata: "Dari kesengsaraan muncul jiwa-jiwa paling hebat. Karakter luar biasa dibakar oleh luka." Saya percaya bahwa revolusi pendidikan yang kita bicarakan kita perlu mengundang jiwa-jiwa anak muda dan setelah mereka memperbaikinya, mengenali kekuatan, ketahanan, dan karakter yang mereka miliki prestasi akademik mereka akan meningkat.
Let's believe in young people. Let's provide them the right kinds of resources. I'll tell you what my teacher did for me. She believed in me so much that she tricked me into believing in myself.
Mari kita percaya pada anak-anak muda ini. Berikan mereka dukungan yang tepat. Ini yang guru saya lalukan untuk saya. Beliau sangat percaya pada saya hingga beliau menipu saya agar saya percaya pada diri saya sendiri.
Thank you.
Terima kasih.
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)