ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pearl Arredondo - Teacher
Pearl Arredondo helped establish a pilot middle school that teaches students to be good communicators in the 21st century.

Why you should listen

Pearl Arredondo grew up in the impoverished East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. She was raised by a single-mother, a long time Los Angeles Unified School District office secretary, who saw firsthand the challenges facing students in public schools. To ensure that she got the best education in the district, Arredondo was bussed to schools almost an hour away from home.

Arredondo graduated and moved on to Pepperdine University, where she received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Education and Instructional Leadership. She was the first in her family to graduate from college and began her teaching career at San Fernando Middle School (SFMS) -- the very middle school she attended eight years prior.

At SFMS, she embraced the mission of enhancing educational opportunities for historically underserved students. To do so, she launched the school’s Multimedia Academy, which serviced 350 low-income students. After three successful years, the Multimedia Academy faculty decided it was time to make a full split and become a separate school. In 2010, she helped lead an ambitious reform agenda, through a pilot reform model, that focused on technology development, improving outcomes for children and strengthening families. The team founded San Fernando Institute for Applied Media (SFiAM), the first pilot school established in the Los Angeles Unified School District at the middle school level.

Arredondo is passionate about increasing student access to technology and closing the digital divide, and is a tireless advocate for technology-based curriculum that prepare students to enter a global economy. Her goal is to make SFiAM a model of educational reform.

Currently, Arredondo is pursuing a Master of Science in Educational Administration and is a 2013 National Board Certified Teacher candidate. She is also part of the 2013 Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellowship and serves as the Vice President of SFiAM’s Governing Council. She is featured in the short documentary film TEACHED Vol.1: “The Blame Game,” and is a role model for young Latinas seeking to make a difference in their communities.

More profile about the speaker
Pearl Arredondo | Speaker | TED.com
TED Talks Education

Pearl Arredondo: My story, from gangland daughter to star teacher

Pearl Arredondo: Moja priča - od kćeri podzemlja do vrhunske učiteljice

Filmed:
1,159,622 views

Pearl Arredondo odrasla je u istočnom Los Angelesu, kao kćer visokopozicioniranog člana bande, koji je malo bio u zatvoru, malo izvan njega. Mnogi su je učitelji otpisali pripisujući joj probleme s autoritetom. Sad kad je i sama učiteljica, stvara drugačiju školu i pripovijeda svojim učenicima svoju priču kako bi znali da je u redu ako im katkad domaća zadaća i nije na prvom mjestu.
- Teacher
Pearl Arredondo helped establish a pilot middle school that teaches students to be good communicators in the 21st century. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
So I grewrastao up in EastIstok LosLos AngelesAngeles,
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Odrasla sam u istočnom dijelu Los Angelesa
00:16
not even realizingrealizirati I was poorsiromašan.
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i ne shvaćajući da sam bila siromašna.
00:18
My dadtata was a high-rankingVisoki gangbanda memberčlan who ranran the streetsulice.
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Moj je otac bio visokopozicionirani član ulične bande.
00:22
EveryoneSvi knewznao who I was,
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Svi su znali tko sam
00:23
so I thought I was a prettyprilično bigvelika dealdogovor, and I was protectedzaštićeni,
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pa sam mislila da sam prilično važna, i bila sam zaštićena!
00:27
and even thoughiako my dadtata spentpotrošen mostnajviše of my life
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Iako je moj otac većinu mog života proveo
00:29
in and out of jailzatvor,
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u zatvoru,
00:31
I had an amazingnevjerojatan mommama who was just fiercelyžestoko independentsamostalan.
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imala sam nevjerojatnu majku koja je bila jednostavno silno neovisna.
00:35
She workedradio at the locallokalne highvisok schoolškola
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Radila je u lokalnoj srednjoj školi
00:37
as a secretarytajnica in the dean'sdekana officeured,
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kao tajnica u ravnateljevom uredu,
00:39
so she got to see all the kidsdjeca that got thrownbačen out of classklasa,
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pa je mogla vidjeti svu djecu koja su bila izbacivana s nastave
00:42
for whateveršto god reasonrazlog, who were waitingčekanje to be disciplineddisciplinovan.
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iz bilo kakvih razloga, i koja su čekala neku disciplinsku mjeru.
00:45
Man, her officeured was packedupakiran.
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Čovječe... Njen je ured uvijek bio prepun.
00:48
So, see, kidsdjeca like us, we have a lot of things to dealdogovor with
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Tako da, znate, djeca poput nas, suočavamo se s puno toga
00:52
outsideizvan of schoolškola,
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izvan škole,
00:54
and sometimesponekad we're just not readyspreman to focusfokus.
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i ponekad jednostavno nismo spremni koncentrirati se.
00:57
But that doesn't mean that we can't.
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Ali, to ne znači da ne možemo.
00:59
It just takes a little bitbit more.
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Samo nam je potrebno malo više.
01:01
Like, I rememberzapamtiti one day I foundpronađeno my dadtata
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Kao, na primjer, sjećam se da sam jednog dana pronašla tatu
01:04
convulsingconvulsing, foamingStvaranje pjene at the mouthusta,
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zgrčenog, pjena mu je izlazila iz ustiju,
01:07
OD-ingOD-ing on the bathroomkupaonica floorkat.
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predoziranog na podu kupaonice.
01:09
Really, do you think that doing my homeworkdomaća zadaća that night
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Zaista, mislite li da je domaća zadaća te večeri
01:11
was at the topvrh of my priorityprioritet listpopis?
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bila jedan od mojih prioriteta?
01:14
Not so much.
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Ne baš.
01:15
But I really neededpotreban a supportpodrška networkmreža,
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Ali, zaista mi je trebala mreža podrške,
01:18
a groupskupina of people who were going to help me
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grupa ljudi koji će mi pomoći,
01:21
make sure that I wasn'tnije going to be
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pobrinuti se da neću postati
01:23
a victimžrtva of my ownvlastiti circumstanceokolnost,
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žrtva okolnosti u kojima sam se našla,
01:26
that they were going to pushgurnuti me
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da će me pogurati
01:27
beyondIznad what I even thought I could do.
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čak i iznad onog što sam ja mislila da mogu.
01:30
I neededpotreban teachersučitelji, in the classroomučionica, everysvaki day,
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Učitelji su mi bili potrebni, u učionici, svakog dana,
01:33
who were going to say, "You can movepotez beyondIznad that."
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koji će reći: "Možeš se izdići iznad toga."
01:37
And unfortunatelynažalost, the locallokalne juniorJunior highvisok
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Nažalost, lokalna osnovna škola
01:40
was not going to offerponuda that.
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nije mi to mogla ponuditi.
01:42
It was gang-infestedbanda-opustošen, hugeogroman teacheručitelj, nastavnik, profesor turnoverpromet ratestopa.
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Bila je preplavljena bandama; mnogo
je učitelja odustajalo od tog posla.
01:46
So my mommama said, "You're going on a busautobus
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Pa je moja mama rekla: "Ideš na autobus,
01:49
an hoursat and a halfpola away from where we liveživjeti everysvaki day."
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sat i pol dalje od mjesta gdje živimo. Svaki dan."
01:55
So for the nextSljedeći two yearsgodina, that's what I did.
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Sljedeće sam dvije godine radila upravo to.
01:57
I tookuzeo a schoolškola busautobus to the fancyfantazija sidestrana of towngrad.
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Išla sam autobusom do otmjenog dijela grada.
02:02
And eventuallyeventualno, I endedzavršeno up at a schoolškola
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I na kraju sam završila u školi
02:04
where there was a mixturesmjesa.
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koja je bila mješavina svega.
02:06
There were some people who were really gang-affiliatedbanda povezana,
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Bilo je ljudi koji su stvarno bili pripadnici bandi,
02:09
and then there were those of us
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a bilo je i nas koji
02:10
really tryingtežak to make it to highvisok schoolškola.
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smo stvarno željeli upisati srednju školu.
02:12
Well, tryingtežak to stayboravak out of troublenevolja was a little unavoidableneizbježni.
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Nastojati izbjeći nevolje bilo je pomalo neizbježno.
02:16
You had to survivepreživjeti.
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Morali ste preživjeti!
02:17
You just had to do things sometimesponekad.
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Ponekad ste jednostavno morali učiniti neke stvari.
02:20
So there were a lot of teachersučitelji who were like,
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Mnogo je učitelja mislilo:
02:22
"She's never going to make it.
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"Ona nikad neće uspjeti.
02:24
She has an issueizdanje with authorityvlast.
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Ima problema s autoritetom.
02:25
She's not going to go anywherebilo kuda."
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Neće nikamo stići."
02:27
Some teachersučitelji completelypotpuno wrotenapisao me off as a lostizgubljen causeuzrok.
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Neki su me učitelji potpuno otpisali kao izgubljen slučaj.
02:31
But then, they were very surprisediznenađen
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No opet, bili su jako iznenađeni
02:34
when I graduateddiplomirao from highvisok schoolškola.
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kad sam maturirala.
02:38
I was acceptedpriznat to PepperdinePepperdinu UniversitySveučilište,
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Upisala sam Sveučilište Pepperdine,
02:40
and I camedošao back to the sameisti schoolškola that I attendedprisustvovali su
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i vratila se u istu školu koju sam pohađala
02:43
to be a specialposeban edEd assistantpomoćnik.
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kao asistent u nastavi za djecus teškoćama u razvoju.
02:45
And then I told them, "I want to be a teacheručitelj, nastavnik, profesor."
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I onda sam im rekla: "Želim biti učiteljica."
02:50
And boydječak, they were like, "What? Why?
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Stvarno su ostali, ono, "Što? Zašto?
02:53
Why would you want to do that?"
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Zašto bi to željela?"
02:55
So I beganpočeo my teachingnastava careerkarijera
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Tako sam započela svoju učiteljsku karijeru
02:57
at the exacttočno sameisti middlesrednji schoolškola that I attendedprisustvovali su,
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u višim razredima iste osnovne školekoju sam pohađala.
03:01
and I really wanted to try to saveuštedjeti more kidsdjeca
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Stvarno sam željela pokušati spasiti više djece
03:04
who were just like me.
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koja su bila poput mene.
03:06
And so everysvaki yeargodina, I sharePodjeli my backgroundpozadina with my kidsdjeca,
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I tako svake godine dijelim svoju prošlost sa svojim učenicima,
03:09
because they need to know that everyonesvatko has a storypriča,
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jer trebaju znati da svatko ima neku priču,
03:12
everyonesvatko has a struggleborba,
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svi se borimo,
03:15
and everyonesvatko needspotrebe help alonguz the way.
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i svima nam je na tom putu potrebna pomoć.
03:18
And I am going to be theirnjihov help alonguz the way.
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A ja ću njima na tom putu biti ta pomoć.
03:23
So as a rookieNovak teacheručitelj, nastavnik, profesor, I createdstvorio opportunityprilika.
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Dakle, kao učitelj početnik, ja sam stvarala prigodu.
03:29
I had a kiddijete one day come into my classklasa
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Jednom je jedan učenik ušao u moj razred
03:31
havingima been stabbedizbo the night before.
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nakon što su ga prethodne noći proboli nožem.
03:34
I was like, "You need to go to a hospitalbolnica,
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Rekla sam mu: "Trebaš ići u bolnicu,
03:37
the schoolškola nursemedicinska sestra, something."
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školskoj medicinskoj sestri, nešto!"
03:40
He's like, "No, MissMiss, I'm not going.
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A on: "Ne, gospođice, ne idem.
03:42
I need to be in classklasa because I need to graduatediplomirani."
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Moram biti na nastavi, jer moram maturirati."
03:45
So he knewznao that I was not going to let him be a victimžrtva
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Dakle, znao je da neću dopustiti da bude žrtva
03:49
of his circumstanceokolnost,
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okolnosti u kojima se našao,
03:50
but we were going to pushgurnuti forwardnaprijed and keep movingkreće on.
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nego ćemo ustrajati i nastaviti dalje.
03:54
And this ideaideja of creatingstvaranje a safesef havenutočište for our kidsdjeca
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A ta ideja o stvaranju sigurnog utočišta za našu djecu
03:58
and gettinguzimajući to know exactlytočno what they're going throughkroz,
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i upoznavanju kroz što točno prolaze,
04:02
gettinguzimajući to know theirnjihov familiesobitelji -- I wanted that,
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upoznavanju njihovih obitelji - to sam željela,
04:06
but I couldn'tne mogu do it in a schoolškola with 1,600 kidsdjeca,
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ali nisam mogla učiniti u školi s 1600 djece,
04:11
and teachersučitelji turningtokarenje over yeargodina after yeargodina after yeargodina.
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s učiteljima koji se iz godine u godinu mijenjaju.
04:15
How do you get to buildizgraditi those relationshipsodnosa?
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Kako uspijete izgraditi takve odnose?
04:19
So we createdstvorio a newnovi schoolškola.
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I tako smo stvorili novu školu!
04:22
And we createdstvorio
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Stvorili smo
04:24
the SanSan FernandoFernando InstituteInstitut for AppliedPrimijeniti MediaMedija.
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Institut San Fernando za primijenjene medije.
04:27
And we madenapravljen sure that we were still attachedprivržen
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Pobrinuli smo se da ostanemo u sklopu
04:31
to our schoolškola districtokrug for fundingfinanciranje, for supportpodrška.
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školskog okruga radi financiranja, radi potpore.
04:35
But with that, we were going to gaindobit freedomsloboda:
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A sa svime time dobili smo slobodu:
04:38
freedomsloboda to hirenajam the teachersučitelji
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slobodu da zaposlimo učitelje
04:40
that we knewznao were going to be effectivedjelotvoran;
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za koje smo znali da će biti djelotvorni.
04:43
freedomsloboda to controlkontrolirati the curriculumnastavni plan
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Slobodu da utječemo na program
04:46
so that we're not doing lessonlekcija 1.2 on pagestranica fivepet, no;
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kako ne bismo obrađivali lekciju 1.2 na petoj stranici, ne.
04:52
and freedomsloboda to controlkontrolirati a budgetbudžet,
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I slobodu da upravljamo svojim proračunom,
04:55
to spendprovesti moneynovac where it matterspitanja,
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da trošimo novac na ono bitno,
04:57
not how a districtokrug or a statedržava sayskaže you have to do it.
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ne onako kako okruzi država kažu da morate učiniti!
05:01
We wanted those freedomsslobode.
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Željeli smo te slobode.
05:04
But now, shiftingpremještanje an entirečitav paradigmparadigma,
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No, mijenjanje cijele paradigme,
05:06
it hasn'tnema been an easylako journeyputovanje, norni is it even completepotpun.
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put nije bio lak, niti smo ga još uvijek okončali.
05:10
But we had to do it.
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Ali, morali smo to učiniti!
05:13
Our communityzajednica deservedZaslužio a newnovi way of doing things.
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Naša zajednica zaslužila je da počnemo drugačije raditi.
05:17
And as the very first pilotpilot middlesrednji schoolškola
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A u prvoj pokusnoj osnovnoj školi
05:20
in all of LosLos AngelesAngeles UnifiedJedinstveni SchoolŠkola DistrictČetvrti,
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u cijelom Ujedinjenom školskom okrugu Los Angelesa...
05:24
you better believe there was some oppositionopozicija.
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vjerujte, bilo je protivljenja.
05:27
And it was out of fearstrah --
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I bilo ga je zbog straha -
05:29
fearstrah of, well, what if they get it wrongpogrešno?
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straha od - što ako nisu u pravu?
05:32
Yeah, what if we get it wrongpogrešno?
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Da, što ako nismo u pravu?!
05:34
But what if we get it right?
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Ali, što ako jesmo?!
05:36
And we did.
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A bili smo!
05:38
So even thoughiako teachersučitelji were againstprotiv it
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Iako su učitelji bili protiv,
05:41
because we employzaposliti one-yeargodinu contractsugovori --
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jer zapošljavamo kroz jednogodišnje ugovore -
05:44
you can't teachučiti, or you don't want to teachučiti,
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Ako ne možeš poučavati, ili ne želiš poučavati,
05:48
you don't get to be at my schoolškola with my kidsdjeca.
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nema ti mjesta u mojoj školi, s mojom djecom!
05:51
(ApplausePljesak)
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(Pljesak)
05:58
So in our thirdtreći yeargodina, how did we do it?
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Dakle, u trećoj našoj godini - kako smo uspjeli?
06:01
Well, we're makingizrađivanje schoolškola worthvrijedan comingdolazak to everysvaki day.
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Pa, svakog dana radimo na tome da vrijedi dolaziti u školu.
06:05
We make our kidsdjeca feel like they matterstvar to us.
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Naši učenici osjećaju da su nam važni.
06:07
We make our curriculumnastavni plan rigorousrigorozan and relevantrelevantan to them,
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Naš je program zahtjevan i njima važan.
06:11
and they use all the technologytehnologija that they're used to.
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I koriste se svom tehnologijom na koju su navikli...
06:14
LaptopsPrijenosna računala, computersračunala, tabletstablete -- you nameime it, they have it.
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Laptopi, kompjuteri, tableti - sve čega se sjetite, oni imaju!
06:17
AnimationAnimacija, softwaresoftver, moviemakingsnimanja softwaresoftver, they have it all.
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Animacije, softver, softver za snimanje filmova, sve imaju.
06:21
And because we connectSpojiti it to what they're doing —
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I zato što povezujemo s onim što rade -
06:25
For exampleprimjer, they madenapravljen publicjavnost serviceservis announcementsnajave
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Primjerice, izradili su javna priopćenja
06:28
for the CancerRak SocietyDruštvo.
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za Društvo za borbu protiv raka.
06:29
These were playedigrao in the locallokalne trolleytrolejbus systemsistem.
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Objavljivana su po lokalnim tramvajima.
06:32
TeachingNastava elementselementi of persuasionnagovaranje,
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Poučavati elemente uvjeravanja,
06:34
it doesn't get any more realstvaran than that.
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Ne može biti realnije od ovoga!
06:37
Our statedržava testtest scoresrezultate have goneotišao up
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Naši rezultati na državnom testu porasli su
06:39
more than 80 pointsbodova sinceod we'veimamo becomepostati our ownvlastiti schoolškola.
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za više od 80 bodova otkako smo postali samostalna škola.
06:42
But it's takenpoduzete all stakeholderssudionici, workingrad togetherzajedno --
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No, svi dionici morali su zajedno raditi -
06:45
teachersučitelji and principalsravnatelji on one-yeargodinu contractsugovori,
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učitelji i ravnatelji s jednogodišnjim ugovorima
06:49
workingrad over and aboveiznad and beyondIznad theirnjihov contractugovor hourssati
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radili su više, iznad i izvan ugovorenih sati
06:52
withoutbez compensationkompenzacija.
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bez naknade.
06:55
And it takes a schoolškola boardodbor memberčlan
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Potreban je i član školskog odbora
06:58
who is going to lobbylobi for you and say,
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koji će se zauzeti za vas i reći:
07:00
"Know, the districtokrug is tryingtežak to imposenametnuti this,
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"Znaš, okrug nastoji ovo nametnuti,
07:02
but you have the freedomsloboda to do otherwiseinače."
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ali imaš slobodu učiniti to drugačije."
07:05
And it takes an activeaktivan parentroditelj centercentar
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A potrebno je i aktivno vijeće roditelja,
07:08
who is not only there, showingpokazivanje a presenceprisutnost everysvaki day,
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koje nije ondje samo da bi bilo ondje,
07:12
but who is partdio of our governancevladavina,
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nego kao dio našeg sustava upravljanja
07:15
makingizrađivanje decisionsodluke for theirnjihov kidsdjeca, our kidsdjeca.
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odlučuje za dobro svoje djece,naše djece.
07:20
Because why should our studentsstudenti have to go
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Jer, zašto bi naši učenici trebali putovati
07:22
so fardaleko away from where they liveživjeti?
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toliko daleko od mjesta gdje žive?!
07:25
They deservezaslužiti a qualitykvaliteta schoolškola in theirnjihov neighborhoodsusjedstvo,
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Zaslužuju kvalitetnu školu u svome susjedstvu,
07:29
a schoolškola that they can be proudponos to say they attendprisustvovati,
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školu za koju će s ponosom moći reći da je pohađaju,
07:32
and a schoolškola that the communityzajednica can be proudponos of as well,
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i školu na koju će i zajednica biti ponosna.
07:36
and they need teachersučitelji to fightborba for them everysvaki day
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Potrebni su im i učitelji da se za njih bore, svakoga dana,
07:40
and empowerosposobiti them to movepotez beyondIznad theirnjihov circumstancesokolnosti.
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i daju im snage da se izdignu iznad okolnosti koje ih sputavaju.
07:45
Because it's time that kidsdjeca like me
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Zato što je vrijeme da djeca poput mene
07:48
stop beingbiće the exceptionizuzetak, and we becomepostati the normnorma.
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prestanu biti iznimka, i da postanemo pravilo.
07:53
Thank you.
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Hvala vam.
07:54
(ApplausePljesak)
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(Pljesak)
Translated by Kalina Matušin
Reviewed by Maja Budisin Lukin

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pearl Arredondo - Teacher
Pearl Arredondo helped establish a pilot middle school that teaches students to be good communicators in the 21st century.

Why you should listen

Pearl Arredondo grew up in the impoverished East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. She was raised by a single-mother, a long time Los Angeles Unified School District office secretary, who saw firsthand the challenges facing students in public schools. To ensure that she got the best education in the district, Arredondo was bussed to schools almost an hour away from home.

Arredondo graduated and moved on to Pepperdine University, where she received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Education and Instructional Leadership. She was the first in her family to graduate from college and began her teaching career at San Fernando Middle School (SFMS) -- the very middle school she attended eight years prior.

At SFMS, she embraced the mission of enhancing educational opportunities for historically underserved students. To do so, she launched the school’s Multimedia Academy, which serviced 350 low-income students. After three successful years, the Multimedia Academy faculty decided it was time to make a full split and become a separate school. In 2010, she helped lead an ambitious reform agenda, through a pilot reform model, that focused on technology development, improving outcomes for children and strengthening families. The team founded San Fernando Institute for Applied Media (SFiAM), the first pilot school established in the Los Angeles Unified School District at the middle school level.

Arredondo is passionate about increasing student access to technology and closing the digital divide, and is a tireless advocate for technology-based curriculum that prepare students to enter a global economy. Her goal is to make SFiAM a model of educational reform.

Currently, Arredondo is pursuing a Master of Science in Educational Administration and is a 2013 National Board Certified Teacher candidate. She is also part of the 2013 Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellowship and serves as the Vice President of SFiAM’s Governing Council. She is featured in the short documentary film TEACHED Vol.1: “The Blame Game,” and is a role model for young Latinas seeking to make a difference in their communities.

More profile about the speaker
Pearl Arredondo | Speaker | TED.com