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."
Duže od decenije sam izučavao mlade ljude koji su isterani iz škola, takozvane "ispisane". Kako ih je obrazovni sistem izneverio, završavaju na ulicama gde su podložni nasilju, policijskom maltretiranju, policijskoj brutalnosti i zatvoru. Pratim ove mlade ljude ponekad godinama, u institucionalnim okruženjima, kako bih pokušao da shvatim ono što neki zovu "put od škole do zatvora".
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?"
Kad pogledate ovakvu sliku, maldih ljudi koje izučavam... možda vidite nevolje. Mislim, jedan od dečaka drži flašu pića u ruci, ima 14 godina i školski je dan. Drugi ljudi kad vide ovu sliku možda vide bande, nasilnike, delinkvente - kriminalce. Međutim, ja to vidim drugačije. Vidim ove mlade ljude kroz perspektivu koja traga za doprinosima koje donose obrazovnom sistemu. Pa, hoćete li da mi se pridružite u menjanju toga kako označavamo mlade od "rizičnih" do "obećavajućih"?
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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.
Kako da znam da ovi mladi ljudi imaju potencijal i obećavaju promene? Znam jer sam jedan od njih. Vidite, odrastao sam u strašnom siromaštvu u gradu u unutrašnjosti, bez oca - napustio me je pre mog rođenja. Primali smo socijalnu pomoć, ponekad smo bili beskućnici, mnogo puta gladni. Do svoje 15. godine, bio sam u popravnom tri puta zbog tri prekršaja. Najbolji prijatelj mi je već bio ubijen. I uskoro potom, dok sam stajao pored ujaka, on je upucan. I dok sam čekao hitnu da stigne duže od jednog sata... on je iskrvario na ulici. Izgubio sam veru i nadu u svet, i digao sam ruke od sistema jer me je sistem izneverio. Nisam imao šta da ponudim i niko nije imao šta da meni ponudi. Bio sam fatalista. Nisam čak ni smatrao da ću doživeti 18. rođendan.
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.
Razlog zašto sam danas ovde je jer je nastavnica, koju je bilo briga, posegnula za mnom i uspela je da dosegne moju dušu. Ova nastavnica, Gđa Ras... bila je onaj tip nastavnika koji se uvek meša u vaš posao.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
She was the kind of teacher that was like, "Victor, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."
Bila je tip nastavnika u fazonu: "Viktore, tu sam za tebe kad god budeš spreman."
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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."
Nisam bio spreman. Ali je razumela osnovni princip kod mladih poput mene. Mi smo poput ostriga. Jedino ćemo se otvoriti kad budemo spremni, a ako niste tu kad smo spremni, opet ćemo se sklopiti. Gđa Ras je bila tu za mene. Imala je razumevanja za kulturu, poštovala je moju zajednicu, moje ljude, moju porodicu. Ispričao sam joj za mog ujaka Rubena. Vodio bi me da radim s njim jer sam bio švorc, a on je znao da mi je potreban novac. Sakupljao je staklene flaše za novac. U četiri sata ujutru na radni dan, ubacivali smo staklene flaše u njegov kombi, a flaše su se lomile. I moje šake i ruke bi krvarile, i moje patike i pantalone bi bile natopljene krvlju. Bio sam preplašen i u bolovima, te bih prestao da radim. A moj ujak bi me pogledao u oči i rekao bi mi: "Mijo, estamos buscando vida." "Tragamo za boljim životom, pokušavamo da iz ničega stvorimo nešto."
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."
Gđa Ras je poslušala moju priču, napravila mesta za nju u učionici i rekla: "Viktore, ovo je tvoja snaga. Ovo je tvoj potencijal. Tvoja porodica, kultura, zajednica su te naučili etici vrednog rada i ti ćeš je koristiti da osnažiš sebe u akademskom svetu, kako bi mogao da se vratiš i osnažiš svoju zajednicu."
With Ms. Russ's help, I ended up returning to school. I even finished my credits on time and graduated with my class.
Uz pomoć gđe Ras, na kraju sam se vratio u školu. Čak sam i dobio sve ocene na vreme i maturirao sam sa odeljenjem.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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."
No gđa Ras mi je rekla neposredno pred maturu: "Viktore, tako sam ponosna na tebe. Znala sam da to možeš. Sad je vreme da ideš na fakultet."
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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?"
Na fakultet, ja? Čoveče, na čemu je ova nastavnica kad misli da ću ići na fakultet? Aplicirao sam kod mentora, uz njenu pomoć, dobio pismo da sam primljen, a u jednom od paragrafa je stajalo: "Primljeni ste sa uslovnim statusom." Rekao sam: "Uslovno? Ja sam već na uslovnoj, to nije važno?"
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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 --
Bila je to akademska uslovna, ne kriminalna uslovna. Ali šta nastavnici, poput gđe Ras, rade da imaju uspeha kod mladih poput onih koje proučavam? Predlažem tri strategije. Prva: otarasimo se deficitne perspektive u obrazovanju. "Ovi ljudi potiču iz kulture nasilja. kulture siromaštva. Ovi ljudi su rizični, ovi ljudi ne dolaze u školu. Ovi ljudi su prazne posude koje mi treba da ispunimo znanjem. Oni imaju probleme, mi imamo rešenja." Druga strategija. Cenimo priče koje mladi ljudi donose u škole. Njihove priče o prevazilaženju nepremostivih prepreka su snažne. I znam da znate neke od tih priča. Same ove priče i iskustva u sebi već sadrže odlučnost, karakter i otpornost. Zato pomozimo mladim ljudima da rafinišu te priče. Pomozimo im da budu ponosni na sebe jer naš obrazovni sistem prihvata njihove porodice, kulturu, njihove zajednice i skup veština koje su stekli da bi preživeli. A treća strategija je najvažnija: resursi. Moramo da obezbedimo odgovarajuće resurse za mlade. Sama odlučnost neće biti dovoljna. Možete da sedite tu i da mi iznova ponavljate: "Slušaj, čoveče, uspravi se uz pomoć petlji na čizmama." Ali ja sam rođen bez petlji na čizmama -
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
How am I supposed to pick myself up?
Kako da se uspravim?
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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.
Obuka za posao, mentorstvo, savetovanja... Podučavanje mladih da uče na sopstvenim greškama, umesto što ih kriminalizujemo i izvlačimo iz učionica kao da su životinje. Šta mislite o ovome? Predlažem da uvedemo restorativnu pravdu u svaku srednju školu u Americi.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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."
Pa smo krenuli da testiramo ove ideje u zajednici Vots u Los Anđelesu na 40 mladih ljudi koji su bili primorani da napuste školu. Vilijam je bio jedan od njih. Vilijam je bio jedno od dece koje je etiketirano na sve načine. Ispisao se iz škole, bio je član bande, kriminalac. A kad smo ga upoznali, uporno se opirao. Ali sam se sećao šta je gđa Ras govorila: "Hej, tu sam za tebe, kad god budeš spreman."
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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!"
Te je vremenom - vremenom je počeo da se otvara. I sećam se dana kad je došlo do preokreta. Bili smo u velikoj grupi, a mlada dama iz našeg programa je plakala jer nam je ispričala svoju snažnu priču o tome kako joj je otac ubijen i telo mu je prikazano narednog dana u novinama. I dok je ona plakala, nisam znao šta da radim, pa sam je pustio na miru, a Vilijamu je bilo dosta. Lupio je rukama o klupu i rekao: "Hej, svi! Grupni zagrljaj! Grupni zagrljaj!"
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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.
Suze i bol ove mlade dame su se pretvorile u radost i smeh zbog saznanja da ima podršku zajednice, a Vilijam je tako naučio da njegov život ima svrhu: da pomogne u lečenju duša ljudi iz njegove zajednice. Ispričao nam je svoju priču. Rafinisali smo njegovu priču, kako bi se preobličila iz priče o žrtvi u priču o opstajanju kojim su prevaziđene nedaće. Dali smo toj priči veliki značaj. Vilijam je potom završio srednju školu, dobio je dozvolu za radnika obezbeđenja kako bi se zaposlio u obezbeđenju i trenutno radi u lokalnom školskom okrugu.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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 gđe Ras - njena mantra je uvek bila: "Kada podučavate srcu, um će uvek da sledi." Veliki pisac Halil Džubran kaže: "Naznačajnije duše su izrasle iz patnje. Krupni karakteri su izbrazdani ožiljcima." Verujem da u ovoj obrazovnoj revoluciji o kojoj govorimo moramo da pozovemo duše mladih s kojima radimo, a čim uspeju da rafinišu - da prepoznaju odlučnost, otpornost i karakter koji su već razvili - njihova akademska dostignuća će biti unapređena.
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.
Verujmo u mlade ljude. Pružimo im odgovarajuće resurse. Reći ću vam šta je moja nastavnica uradila za mene. Toliko je verovala u mene da me je obmanula da poverujem u sebe.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)