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."
十多年來, 我研究被學校趕出來的年輕人, 所謂的「中輟生」。 他們被教育體系放棄的結果 就是流落街頭, 在那裡他們容易蒙受暴力對待、 警察騷擾、 警察暴行 和監禁。 我追蹤這些年輕人多年的時間, 來回於各機構間, 試圖了解我們當中某些人 所謂的「學校到監獄管道」。
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?"
當你看到這樣的照片, 我研究的年輕人... 你大概看得到問題。 我的意思是其中一個男孩 手上拿著一瓶酒, 他才十四歲, 而且那天是上學日。 其他人看到這張照片時, 看到的可能是幫派、 惡棍、問題少年、 罪犯。 但我看到的不是這樣。 從我的角度來看, 我認為這些年輕人 能為教育系統帶來寶貴的資產。 你們願不願意跟我一起 改變我們標記年輕人的方式, 從「有危險」改為「有希望」呢?
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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.
我怎麼知道這些年輕人 有改變的潛力和希望呢? 我知道,因為我曾是其中的一員。 事情是這樣子的, 我在都市中的貧民區長大, 沒有父親。 他在我出生前就棄我而去。 我們領救濟金, 有時無家可歸, 多次處在飢餓中。 到我十五歲時, 已犯下三次重罪, 被判三次監禁了。 我最好的朋友已被殺死。 不久後, 我目睹了身旁的舅舅 遭受槍擊。 我等救護車等了 超過一個多小時... 以致他在街上失血過多而死。 我對世界失去了信心和希望, 我放棄了體制,因體制辜負了我。 我沒能給別人什麼, 也沒有人能給我些什麼。 我認命了。 甚至自認無法活過十八歲。
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.
我今天能夠在這裡 是因為有個老師伸出關心的手, 觸動了我的心靈。 這位老師, 柔絲老師... 她是那種什麼事都愛管的老師。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
She was the kind of teacher that was like, "Victor, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."
她這樣對我說: 「維克多,當你準備好了, 願意的時候,我就在這裡。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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."
當時我還沒準備好。 但她瞭解像我這類年輕人的 一個基本原則: 我們就像牡蠣。 我們只在準備好的時候張開, 若那個當下你不在我們身旁, 我們就又關起來了。 當時柔絲老師在我身邊。 她理解我的文化背景, 她尊重我的社區、族群和家人。 我告訴她有關我舅舅魯本的事。 他帶我一起工作, 因為我一塊錢都沒有, 他知道我需要錢。 他以回收玻璃瓶維生。 上學日的早上四點鐘, 我們把玻璃瓶往他的貨車後面扔, 瓶子迸裂, 我的手和手臂開始流血, 我的球鞋和長褲沾上血跡。 我嚇到了,覺得很痛, 於是停下了工作。 舅舅直視我的眼睛對我說: 「親愛的孩子, (西文:)estamos buscando vida. 我們在追求更美好的生活, 要在一無所有中, 創造些什麼出來。」
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."
柔絲老師傾聽我的故事, 在課堂上分享並告訴我: 「維克多,這是你的力量, 是你的潛力。 你的家人、文化和社區 已經教了你勤奮工作的倫理, 用此倫理來激勵自己,完成學業, 然後就有能力回饋和激勵你的社區。」
With Ms. Russ's help, I ended up returning to school. I even finished my credits on time and graduated with my class.
藉由柔絲老師的幫助, 我重回到學校, 甚至還如期修畢了學分, 和同班同學一起,自高中畢業。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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."
柔絲老師在畢業前對我說: 「維克多,我以你為傲。 我就知道你做得到。 接下來要上大學囉。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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?"
我上大學? 這個老師認為我會上大學? 開什麼玩笑? 我在她的支持與指導下申請學校, 我收到一封入學許可信, 其中有這麼一段話: 「允許你來試讀。」 (註:probation 是試用也是緩刑) 我說:「啥,緩刑? 我早已在緩刑期中, 有什麼差別?」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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 --
信上指的是學業上的試讀, 不是刑事上的緩刑。 像柔絲老師這樣的師長 採取了哪些行動, 能夠成功地幫助那些我所研究的 徘徊在社會邊緣的青少年呢? 我提出三個策略。 第一: 讓我們擺脫負面、缺失的教育觀點。 「這些人來自暴力文化, 貧窮文化。 這些人危險;他們逃學懶惰。 這些人腦袋空空, 得由我們灌輸知識。 他們問題多多, 有待我們去解決。」 第二: 讓我們珍視年輕人帶到學校的故事。 他們克服萬難的故事 是如此地強大有力。 我確信你們知道這些故事。 這類的故事和經驗 蘊含著膽量毅力、品格和韌性。 讓我們幫助年輕人淬煉這些故事; 讓他們以自身為傲, 因為我們的教育體系 歡迎他們的家人、文化、 社區, 以及他們學會的生存技能。 第三,最重要的是 資源。 我們必須提供年輕人充足的資源。 光靠膽量毅力是不夠的。 你可以坐在那裡愛怎麼講就怎麼講: 「你可以提著靴帶把自己拉上來。」 (註:靠自己的努力奮發向上。) 但如果我生來就沒有靴帶...
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
How am I supposed to pick myself up?
是要如何拉自己一把啊?
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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.
職訓、 指導、 諮詢... 教年輕人從自身的錯誤中學習, 而不是將他們定罪, 待他們如同動物般地 從教室裡拖出來。 我們換個做法如何? 我提議在全美的中學裡 實施恢復型正義。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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."
我們去洛杉磯的瓦茨社區 測試這些想法, 有四十個中輟生參與, 威廉是其中之一。 威廉是那種被貼上 各種標籤的孩子。 他退學,參加幫派, 是個罪犯。 當我們初相遇時, 他抗拒得很厲害。 但我記得柔絲老師曾說: 「嘿,只要你準備好了, 我隨時都在這裡等你。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
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!"
經過一段時間, 他漸漸地卸下了心防。 他轉變的那一天,我記憶猶新。 我們在一個團體的聚會中, 當中一名年輕女子 哭泣著講述 她父親遇害的隔天, 報紙上刊登其屍體照片的震撼故事。 她哭泣時,我不知該怎麼辦, 所以我給她盡情發洩的空間, 而威廉已經受夠了。 他雙手拍桌,說道: 「嘿,大家一起來抱抱!每個人都來!」
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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.
這位年輕女孩最終破涕為笑, 她知道這個群體是她的後盾; 而威廉當下發現了他生命的意義: 幫助他社區的人們癒合心靈的傷痛。 他告訴我們他的故事。 我們淬煉他的故事, 他從一個受害者 轉變成克服逆境的勇者。 我們珍視他的故事。 威廉繼續念到高中畢業, 獲得保全警衛的證書, 目前在當地學區擔任警衛的工作。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
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.
柔絲老師有個口頭禪, 她總會說: 「當你的教導可以觸及心靈, 大腦就跟著心領神會了。」 偉大的作家紀伯倫說: 「苦難的煎熬造就了偉大的靈魂。 偉岸的品格烙印著累累的傷痕。」 我相信在我們談及的這場教育改革裡, 我們要邀請年輕人, 和他們的性靈一起合作, 一旦他們提升了 -- 發掘出他們已開發的 膽量毅力、韌性和品格 -- 他們的學業成績自然會提高。
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.
讓我們對年輕人有信心。 讓我們提供他們所需要的資源。 讓我告訴你們 我的老師是如何幫我的。 因她是這麼地相信我, 以致我也相信了我自己。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)