I have studied young people that have been pushed out of school,

十多年來，

so called "dropouts."

我研究被學校趕出來的年輕人，

As they end up failed by the education system,

所謂的「中輟生」。

they're on the streets where they're vulnerable to violence,

他們被教育體系放棄的結果 就是流落街頭，

police harassment,

在那裡他們容易蒙受暴力對待、

police brutality

警察騷擾、

and incarceration.

警察暴行

I follow these young people for years at a time,

和監禁。

across institutional settings,

我追蹤這些年輕人多年的時間，

to try to understand what some of us call the "school-to-prison pipeline."

來回於各機構間，

When you look at a picture like this,

試圖了解我們當中某些人 所謂的「學校到監獄管道」。

of young people who are in my study ...

當你看到這樣的照片，

you might see trouble.

我研究的年輕人...

I mean one of the boys has a bottle of liquor in his hand,

你大概看得到問題。

he's 14 years old

我的意思是其中一個男孩 手上拿著一瓶酒，

and it's a school day.

他才十四歲，

Other people, when they see this picture,

而且那天是上學日。

might see gangs,

其他人看到這張照片時，

thugs, delinquents --

看到的可能是幫派、

criminals.

惡棍、問題少年、

But I see it different.

罪犯。

I see these young people through a perspective

但我看到的不是這樣。

that looks at the assets that they bring to the education system.

從我的角度來看， 我認為這些年輕人

So will you join me in changing the way we label young people

能為教育系統帶來寶貴的資產。

from "at-risk" to "at-promise?"

你們願不願意跟我一起 改變我們標記年輕人的方式，

(Applause)

從「有危險」改為「有希望」呢？

How do I know that these young people

（掌聲）

have the potential and the promise to change?

我怎麼知道這些年輕人

I know this because I am one of them.

有改變的潛力和希望呢？

You see, I grew up in dire poverty in the inner city,

我知道，因為我曾是其中的一員。

without a father --

事情是這樣子的， 我在都市中的貧民區長大，

he abandoned me before I was even born.

沒有父親。

We were on welfare,

他在我出生前就棄我而去。

sometimes homeless,

我們領救濟金，

many times hungry.

有時無家可歸，

By the time I was 15 years old,

多次處在飢餓中。

I had been incarcerated in juvy three times for three felonies.

到我十五歲時，

My best friend had already been killed.

已犯下三次重罪， 被判三次監禁了。

And soon after,

我最好的朋友已被殺死。

while I'm standing next to my uncle,

不久後，

he gets shot.

我目睹了身旁的舅舅

And as I'm waiting for the ambulance to arrive

遭受槍擊。

for over an hour ...

我等救護車等了

he bleeds to death on the street.

超過一個多小時...

I had lost faith and hope in the world,

以致他在街上失血過多而死。

and I had given up on the system because the system had failed me.

我對世界失去了信心和希望，

I had nothing to offer

我放棄了體制，因體制辜負了我。

and no one had anything to offer me.

我沒能給別人什麼，

I was fatalistic.

也沒有人能給我些什麼。

I didn't even think I could make it to my 18th birthday.

我認命了。

The reason I'm here today

甚至自認無法活過十八歲。

is because a teacher that cared reached out

我今天能夠在這裡

and managed to tap into my soul.

是因為有個老師伸出關心的手，

This teacher,

觸動了我的心靈。

Ms. Russ ...

這位老師，

she was the kind of teacher that was always in your business.

柔絲老師...

(Laughter)

她是那種什麼事都愛管的老師。

She was the kind of teacher that was like,

（笑聲）

"Victor, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."

她這樣對我說：

(Laughter)

「維克多，當你準備好了， 願意的時候，我就在這裡。」

I wasn't ready.

（笑聲）

But she understood one basic principle about young people like me.

當時我還沒準備好。

We're like oysters.

但她瞭解像我這類年輕人的 一個基本原則：

We're only going to open up when we're ready,

我們就像牡蠣。

and if you're not there when we're ready,

我們只在準備好的時候張開，

we're going to clam back up.

若那個當下你不在我們身旁，

Ms. Russ was there for me.

我們就又關起來了。

She was culturally relevant,

當時柔絲老師在我身邊。

she respected my community, my people, my family.

她理解我的文化背景，

I told her a story about my Uncle Ruben.

她尊重我的社區、族群和家人。

He would take me to work with him because I was broke,

我告訴她有關我舅舅魯本的事。

and he knew I needed some money.

他帶我一起工作， 因為我一塊錢都沒有，

He collected glass bottles for a living.

他知道我需要錢。

Four in the morning on a school day,

他以回收玻璃瓶維生。

we'd throw the glass bottles in the back of his van,

上學日的早上四點鐘，

and the bottles would break.

我們把玻璃瓶往他的貨車後面扔，

And my hands and arms would start to bleed

瓶子迸裂，

and my tennis shoes and pants would get all bloody.

我的手和手臂開始流血，

And I was terrified and in pain, and I would stop working.

我的球鞋和長褲沾上血跡。

And my uncle, he would look me in the eyes and he would say to me,

我嚇到了，覺得很痛， 於是停下了工作。

"Mijo,

舅舅直視我的眼睛對我說：

estamos buscando vida."

「親愛的孩子，

"We're searching for a better life,

（西文：）estamos buscando vida.

we're trying to make something out of nothing."

我們在追求更美好的生活，

Ms. Russ listened to my story,

要在一無所有中， 創造些什麼出來。」

welcomed it into the classroom and said,

柔絲老師傾聽我的故事，

"Victor, this is your power.

在課堂上分享並告訴我：

This is your potential.

「維克多，這是你的力量，

Your family, your culture, your community have taught you a hard-work ethic

是你的潛力。

and you will use it to empower yourself in the academic world

你的家人、文化和社區 已經教了你勤奮工作的倫理，

so you can come back and empower your community."

用此倫理來激勵自己，完成學業，

With Ms. Russ's help,

然後就有能力回饋和激勵你的社區。」

I ended up returning to school.

藉由柔絲老師的幫助，

I even finished my credits on time

我重回到學校，

and graduated with my class.

甚至還如期修畢了學分，

(Applause)

和同班同學一起，自高中畢業。

But Ms. Russ said to me right before graduation,

（掌聲）

"Victor, I'm so proud of you.

柔絲老師在畢業前對我說：

I knew you could do it.

「維克多，我以你為傲。

Now it's time to go to college."

我就知道你做得到。

(Laughter)

接下來要上大學囉。」

College, me?

（笑聲）

Man, what is this teacher smoking thinking I'm going to college?

我上大學？

I applied with the mentors and support she provided,

這個老師認為我會上大學？ 開什麼玩笑？

got a letter of acceptance,

我在她的支持與指導下申請學校，

and one of the paragraphs read,

我收到一封入學許可信，

"You've been admitted under probationary status."

其中有這麼一段話：

I said, "Probation? I'm already on probation,

「允許你來試讀。」 （註：probation 是試用也是緩刑）

that don't matter?"

我說：「啥，緩刑？ 我早已在緩刑期中，

(Laughter)

有什麼差別？」

It was academic probation, not criminal probation.

（笑聲）

But what do teachers like Ms. Russ do to succeed with young people

信上指的是學業上的試讀， 不是刑事上的緩刑。

like the ones I study?

像柔絲老師這樣的師長 採取了哪些行動，

I propose three strategies.

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？

The first:

我提出三個策略。

let's get rid of our deficit perspective in education.

第一：

"These people come from a culture of violence,

讓我們擺脫負面、缺失的教育觀點。

a culture of poverty.

「這些人來自暴力文化，

These people are at-risk; these people are truant.

貧窮文化。

These people are empty containers for us to fill with knowledge.

這些人危險；他們逃學懶惰。

They have the problems,

這些人腦袋空空， 得由我們灌輸知識。

we have the solutions."

他們問題多多，

Number two.

有待我們去解決。」

Let's value the stories that young people bring to the schoolhouse.

第二：

Their stories of overcoming insurmountable odds are so powerful.

讓我們珍視年輕人帶到學校的故事。

And I know you know some of these stories.

他們克服萬難的故事 是如此地強大有力。

These very same stories and experiences

我確信你們知道這些故事。

already have grit, character and resilience in them.

這類的故事和經驗

So let's help young people refine those stories.

蘊含著膽量毅力、品格和韌性。

Let's help them be proud of who they are,

讓我們幫助年輕人淬煉這些故事；

because our education system welcomes their families, their cultures,

讓他們以自身為傲，

their communities

因為我們的教育體系 歡迎他們的家人、文化、

and the skill set they've learned to survive.

社區，

And of course the third strategy being the most important:

以及他們學會的生存技能。

resources.

第三，最重要的是

We have to provide adequate resources to young people.

資源。

Grit alone isn't going to cut it.

我們必須提供年輕人充足的資源。

You can sit there and tell me all you want,

光靠膽量毅力是不夠的。

"Hey man, pick yourself up by the bootstraps."

你可以坐在那裡愛怎麼講就怎麼講：

But if I was born without any straps on my boots --

「你可以提著靴帶把自己拉上來。」 （註：靠自己的努力奮發向上。）

(Laughter)

但如果我生來就沒有靴帶...

How am I supposed to pick myself up?

（笑聲）

(Applause)

是要如何拉自己一把啊？

Job training,

（掌聲）

mentoring,

職訓、

counseling ...

指導、

Teaching young people to learn from their mistakes

諮詢...

instead of criminalizing them,

教年輕人從自身的錯誤中學習，

and dragging them out of their classrooms like animals.

而不是將他們定罪，

How about this?

待他們如同動物般地 從教室裡拖出來。

I propose that we implement restorative justice in every high school in America.

我們換個做法如何？

(Applause)

我提議在全美的中學裡 實施恢復型正義。

So we went out to test these ideas in the community of Watts in LA

（掌聲）

with 40 young people that had been pushed out of school.

我們去洛杉磯的瓦茨社區 測試這些想法，

William was one of them.

有四十個中輟生參與，

William was the kind of kid that had been given every label.

威廉是其中之一。

He had dropped out, he was a gang member,

威廉是那種被貼上 各種標籤的孩子。

a criminal.

他退學，參加幫派，

And when we met him he was very resistant.

是個罪犯。

But I remember what Ms. Russ used to say.

當我們初相遇時， 他抗拒得很厲害。

"Hey, I'm here for you whenever you're ready."

但我記得柔絲老師曾說：

(Laughter)

「嘿，只要你準備好了， 我隨時都在這裡等你。」

So over time --

（笑聲）

over time he began to open up.

經過一段時間，

And I remember the day that he made the switch.

他漸漸地卸下了心防。

We were in a large group

他轉變的那一天，我記憶猶新。

and a young lady in our program was crying

我們在一個團體的聚會中，

because she told us her powerful story

當中一名年輕女子

of her dad being killed

哭泣著講述

and then his body being shown in the newspaper the next day.

她父親遇害的隔天，

And as she's crying, I don't know what to do,

報紙上刊登其屍體照片的震撼故事。

so I give her her space,

她哭泣時，我不知該怎麼辦，

and William had enough.

所以我給她盡情發洩的空間，

He slammed his hands on the desk and he said,

而威廉已經受夠了。

"Hey, everybody! Group hug! Group hug!"

他雙手拍桌，說道：

(Applause)

「嘿，大家一起來抱抱！每個人都來！」

This young lady's tears and pain turned into joy and laughter

（掌聲）

knowing that her community had her back,

這位年輕女孩最終破涕為笑，

and William had now learned that he did have a purpose in life:

她知道這個群體是她的後盾；

to help to heal the souls of people in his own community.

而威廉當下發現了他生命的意義：

He told us his story.

幫助他社區的人們癒合心靈的傷痛。

We refined his story

他告訴我們他的故事。

to go from being the story of a victim to being the story of a survivor

我們淬煉他的故事，

that has overcome adversity.

他從一個受害者

We placed high value on it.

轉變成克服逆境的勇者。

William went on to finish high school,

我們珍視他的故事。

get his security guard certificate to become a security guard,

威廉繼續念到高中畢業，

and is now working at a local school district.

獲得保全警衛的證書，

(Applause)

目前在當地學區擔任警衛的工作。

Ms. Russ's mantra --

（掌聲）

her mantra was always,

柔絲老師有個口頭禪，

"when you teach to the heart, the mind will follow."

她總會說：

The great writer Khalil Gibran says,

「當你的教導可以觸及心靈， 大腦就跟著心領神會了。」

"Out of suffering have emerged the greatest souls.

偉大的作家紀伯倫說：

The massive characters are seared with scars."

「苦難的煎熬造就了偉大的靈魂。

I believe that in this education revolution that we're talking about

偉岸的品格烙印著累累的傷痕。」

we need to invite the souls of the young people that we work with,

我相信在我們談及的這場教育改革裡，

and once they're able to refine --

我們要邀請年輕人， 和他們的性靈一起合作，

identify their grit, resilience and character

一旦他們提升了 --

that they've already developed --

發掘出他們已開發的 膽量毅力、韌性和品格 --

their academic performance will improve.

他們的學業成績自然會提高。

Let's believe in young people.

讓我們對年輕人有信心。

Let's provide them the right kinds of resources.

讓我們提供他們所需要的資源。

I'll tell you what my teacher did for me.

讓我告訴你們 我的老師是如何幫我的。

She believed in me so much

因她是這麼地相信我，

that she tricked me into believing in myself.

以致我也相信了我自己。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）