ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alvin Irby - Educator, comedian, social entrepreneur, author
Whether speaking to barbers about early literacy, entertaining strangers at comedy clubs, or reading to kindergarteners at a local school, TED Resident Alvin Irby endeavors to make learning relevant and engaging.

Why you should listen

Alvin Irby is a former kindergarten teacher turned social entrepreneur. He is founder and chief reading inspirer at Barbershop Books, a nonprofit organization that creates child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops and provides early literacy training to barbers. His work connecting reading to male-centered spaces and involving men in boys’ early reading experiences earned him the National Book Foundation's 2017 Innovations in Reading Prize.

As a cultural competency specialist, Irby trains educators and administrators to translate learning objectives for children or adults into relevant and engaging communication and experiences. Irby's nationally recognized keynotes and workshops excavate his eclectic professional and personal life to better understand and address one of American education’s greatest challenges - cultivating children’s intrinsic motivation to read.  

Irby's debut children’s book, Gross Greg, combines his passion for early literacy and comedy; it is a laugh-out-loud story that captures the hilariously gross behavior of kids everywhere. His clever social commentary and astute observations shine through in his 2012 comedy album They Know Too Much. One of the highlights of Irby's comedy career was being selected as a 2015 StandUp NBC national finalist and performing at the legendary Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles, CA. 

Irby holds a Masters in Childhood Education from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education, a Masters in Public Administration from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and a Bachelors in Sociology from Grinnell College.

More profile about the speaker
Alvin Irby | Speaker | TED.com
TED Residency

Alvin Irby: How to inspire every child to be a lifelong reader

Alvin Irby: Como inspirar crianças a serem grandes leitores

Filmed:
1,312,731 views

De acordo com o Departamento de Educação dos EUA, mais de 85% dos meninos negros do quarto ano não são leitores proficientes. Quais tipos de experiências de leitura deveríamos criar para termos a certeza de que todas as crianças leem bem? Em uma palestra que fará você repensar em como ensinamos a ler, o professor e autor Alvin Irby explica os desafios de leitura que muitas crianças negras encaram, e nos conta o que os professores culturalmente competentes fazem para ajudá-las a se identificarem como leitores.
- Educator, comedian, social entrepreneur, author
Whether speaking to barbers about early literacy, entertaining strangers at comedy clubs, or reading to kindergarteners at a local school, TED Resident Alvin Irby endeavors to make learning relevant and engaging. Full bio

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

Como professora do ensino básico,
00:12
As an elementary school teacher,
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minha mãe fez o que pôde
para eu ter boas habilidades de leitura.
00:14
my mom did everything she could
to ensure I had good reading skills.
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Isso consistia em aulas de leitura
na mesa da cozinha, nos fins de semana,
00:20
This usually consisted of weekend
reading lessons at our kitchen table
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enquanto meus amigos brincavam lá fora.
00:24
while my friends played outside.
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Minha habilidade de leitura melhorou,
00:26
My reading ability improved,
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mas essas aulas obrigatórias
não despertaram um amor pela leitura.
00:29
but these forced reading lessons
didn't exactly inspire a love of reading.
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00:35
High school changed everything.
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O ensino médio mudou tudo.
No 1º ano, as aulas de inglês eram ler
contos curtos e fazer provas de gramática.
00:38
In 10th grade, my regular English class
read short stories and did spelling tests.
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Para sair do tédio,
pedi para trocar de turma.
00:45
Out of sheer boredom, I asked
to be switched into another class.
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No semestre seguinte,
passei para o inglês avançado.
00:48
The next semester,
I joined advanced English.
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00:52
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Lemos dois romances e fizemos relatórios
sobre dois livros naquele semestre.
00:53
We read two novels and wrote
two book reports that semester.
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A diferença drástica e rígida
entre as duas classes de inglês
00:57
The drastic difference and rigor
between these two English classes
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me irritou e me levou
a fazer perguntas como:
01:01
angered me and spurred questions like,
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"De onde vieram todos esses brancos?".
01:05
"Where did all these
white people come from?"
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(Risos)
01:07
(Laughter)
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No meu ensino médio,
mais de 70% eram negros e latinos,
01:09
My high school was over
70 percent black and Latino,
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mas naquela classe de inglês avançado
havia alunos brancos por toda parte.
01:13
but this advanced English class
had white students everywhere.
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01:18
This personal encounter
with institutionalized racism
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Esse encontro pessoal
com o racismo institucionalizado
alterou o meu relacionamento
com a leitura para sempre.
01:22
altered my relationship
with reading forever.
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01:25
I learned that I couldn't depend
on a school, a teacher or curriculum
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Aprendi que eu não poderia depender
de uma escola, um professor ou currículo
para ensinar o que eu precisava saber.
01:29
to teach me what I needed to know.
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01:31
And more out of like, rebellion,
than being intellectual,
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E de forma mais revoltada
do que intelectual,
decidi que não iria mais
permitir que outros ditassem
01:35
I decided I would no longer allow
other people to dictate
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01:39
when and what I read.
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quando e o que eu deveria ler.
E sem perceber, encontrei a chave
01:41
And without realizing it,
I had stumbled upon a key
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para ajudar as crianças a lerem.
01:45
to helping children read.
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01:47
Identity.
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Identidade.
Em vez de concentrar em habilidades
01:49
Instead of fixating on skills
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e mudar os alunos de um nível a outro,
01:52
and moving students
from one reading level to another,
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ou forçar leitores com dificuldades
a gravar listas de palavras desconhecidas,
01:55
or forcing struggling readers
to memorize lists of unfamiliar words,
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deveríamos nos fazer essa pergunta:
02:01
we should be asking ourselves
this question:
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"Como podemos inspirar as crianças
a se identificarem como leitores?".
02:05
How can we inspire children
to identify as readers?
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02:10
DeSean, a brilliant first-grader
I taught in the Bronx,
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DeSean, aluno brilhante da primeira série,
para quem lecionei no Bronx,
02:15
he helped me understand
how identity shapes learning.
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me ajudou a entender como a identidade
molda a aprendizagem.
Um dia, durante a aula de matemática,
eu fui ao DeSean e disse:
02:18
One day during math,
I walk up to DeSean, and I say,
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"DeSean, você é um grande matemático".
02:22
"DeSean, you're a great mathematician."
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Ele olhou para mim e respondeu:
02:25
He looks at me and responds,
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02:27
"I'm not a mathematician,
I'm a math genius!"
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"Não sou um matemático,
sou um gênio da matemática!".
02:29
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
O.k., DeSean.
02:31
OK DeSean, right?
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02:34
Reading?
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Ler?
História bem diferente.
02:35
Completely different story.
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"Sr. Irby, eu não posso ler.
02:37
"Mr. Irby, I can't read.
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Nunca vou aprender a ler", disse.
02:39
I'm never going to learn
to read," he would say.
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Eu o ensinei a ler,
02:42
I taught DeSean to read,
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mas há muitos meninos negros
que estão presos ao analfabetismo.
02:44
but there are countless black boys
who remain trapped in illiteracy.
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Segundo o Departamento
de Educação dos EUA,
02:50
According to the US
Department of Education,
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mais de 85% dos meninos
negros da quarta série
02:53
more than 85 percent
of black male fourth graders
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02:57
are not proficient in reading.
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não têm proficiência na leitura.
Oitenta e cinco por cento!
02:59
85 percent!
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Quanto mais desafios ao ler
as crianças encaram,
03:02
The more challenges
to reading children face,
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mais competentes culturalmente
os professores precisam ser.
03:07
the more culturally competent
educators need to be.
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Ao fazer bico como comediante
nos últimos oito anos,
03:11
Moonlighting as a stand-up comedian
for the past eight years,
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03:15
I understand the importance
of cultural competency,
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eu entendi a importância
da competência cultural,
03:18
which I define as the ability to translate
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a qual eu defino
como a habilidade de traduzir
o que você quer que as pessoas
saibam ou façam
03:20
what you want someone else
to know or be able to do
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em comunicação ou experiências
relevantes e envolventes para elas.
03:25
into communication or experiences
that they find relevant and engaging.
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Antes de subir ao palco,
eu analiso o público.
03:30
Before going on stage,
I assess an audience.
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Eles são brancos? São latinos?
03:33
Are they white, are they Latino?
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São velhos, jovens,
profissionais, conservadores?
03:36
Are they old, young,
professional, conservative?
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03:40
Then I curate and modify my jokes
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Então eu refino e adapto as minhas piadas
com base no que gere mais gargalhadas.
03:43
based on what I think
would generate the most laughter.
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Ao me apresentar em uma igreja,
eu poderia contar piadas de bar.
03:46
While performing in a church,
I could tell bar jokes.
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Mas não resultaria em gargalhada.
03:50
But that might not result in laughter.
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(Risos)
03:52
(Laughter)
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Enquanto sociedade, estamos criando
experiências de leitura para crianças
03:54
As a society, we're creating
reading experiences for children
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que equivalem a contar
piadas de bar na igreja,
03:59
that are the equivalent
of telling bar jokes in a church.
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04:03
And then we wonder
why so many children don't read.
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e depois nos perguntamos
o porquê de tantas crianças não lerem.
O educador e filósofo Paulo Freire
04:07
Educator and philosopher Paulo Freire
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acreditava que ensinar e aprender
deveria ser recíproco.
04:10
believed that teaching and learning
should be two-way.
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Os alunos não devem ser vistos
como caixas vazias para encher com fatos,
04:13
Students shouldn't be viewed
as empty buckets to be filled with facts
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mas como cocriadores de conhecimento.
04:18
but as cocreators of knowledge.
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Currículos perfeitos e política escolar
04:21
Cookie-cutter curriculums
and school policies
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04:25
that require students to sit statue-still
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que pedem para que os alunos
se sentem como uma estátua
04:28
or to work in complete silence --
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ou trabalhem em silêncio total...
04:30
these environments often exclude
the individual learning needs,
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esses ambientes, muitas vezes, afastam
a vontade que a pessoa tem de aprender,
04:35
the interest and expertise of children.
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o interesse e a competência da criança,
em especial os meninos negros.
04:39
Especially black boys.
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Muitos livros infantis
apresentados a meninos negros
04:41
Many of the children's books
promoted to black boys
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focam tópicos sérios como escravidão,
direitos civis e biografias.
04:44
focus on serious topics, like slavery,
civil rights and biographies.
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Menos de 2% dos professores
nos EUA são negros
04:50
Less than two percent of teachers
in the United States are black males.
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e a maioria dos meninos negros
são criados por mães solteiras.
04:54
And a majority of black boys
are raised by single mothers.
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Há jovens negros que nunca
viram um homem negro lendo,
04:58
There are literally young black boys
who have never seen a black man reading.
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ou nunca foram encorajados a ler
por um homem negro.
05:04
Or never had a black man
encourage him to read.
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Quais fatores culturais,
quais sinais sociais presentes
05:09
What cultural factors,
what social cues are present
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levariam um jovem negro a concluir
05:14
that would lead
a young black boy to conclude
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que ler é algo que ele deveria fazer?
05:16
that reading is even
something he should do?
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05:19
This is why I created Barbershop Books.
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É por isso que eu criei
a barbearia-biblioteca.
É alfabetização sem fins lucrativos
05:24
It's a literacy nonprofit
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que cria um espaço amigável
para as crianças lerem.
05:26
that creates child-friendly
reading spaces in barber shops.
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A missão é simples:
05:31
The mission is simple:
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05:33
to help young black boys
identify as readers.
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ajudar jovens negros
a se identificarem como leitores.
05:37
Lots of black boys go to the barber shop
once or twice a month.
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Muitos vão à barbearia
uma ou duas vezes no mês.
05:41
Some see their barbers
more than they see their fathers.
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Alguns veem mais
os barbeiros do que seus pais.
A biblioteca-barbearia conecta
a leitura ao espaço central masculino
05:46
Barbershop Books connects reading
to a male-centered space
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e envolve homens e meninos negros
nas primeiras experiências com a leitura.
05:50
and involves black men
and boys' early reading experiences.
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Esse programa de leitura
baseado na identidade
05:55
This identity-based reading program
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usa uma lista de livros infantis
recomendados por meninos negros.
05:57
uses a curated list of children's books
recommended by black boys.
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06:01
These are the books
that they actually want to read.
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São livros que realmente querem ler.
O relatório escolar
das crianças e da família de 2016
06:06
Scholastic's 2016 Kids and Family Report
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constatou que a primeira coisa
que as crianças procuram em um livro
06:10
found that the number one thing
children look for when choosing a book
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é algo que irá fazê-las rir.
06:16
is a book that will make them laugh.
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Então, se estamos falando sério
em ajudar as crianças a ler
06:19
So if we're serious about helping
black boys and other children to read
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06:24
when it's not required,
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quando não for exigido,
precisamos incorporar modelos
de leitura relevantes
06:26
we need to incorporate
relevant male reading models
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no início da alfabetização
06:29
into early literacy.
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e trocar alguns livros infantis
que os adultos amam
06:31
In exchange, some of the children's books
that adults love so much
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por livros engraçados, bobos
ou até nojentos como o "Gross Greg".
06:36
for funny, silly or even gross books,
like "Gross Greg".
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06:41
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:45
"You call them boogers.
Greg calls them delicious little sugars."
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"Vocês as chamam de melecas.
Greg as chama de doces deliciosos."
(Risos)
06:50
(Laughter)
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Essa risada, essa reação positiva,
06:52
That laugh, that positive reaction
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ou reação nojenta,
que alguns acabaram de ter...
06:56
or gross reaction some of you just had,
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06:58
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:59
black boys deserve
and desperately need more of that.
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os meninos negros merecem
e precisam mais disso.
Desmantelar a grande desigualdade
que atormenta a educação americana
07:05
Dismantling the savage inequalities
that plague American education
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requer que criemos experiências de leitura
07:09
requires us to create reading experiences
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que inspirem todas as crianças
a dizer três palavras:
07:13
that inspire all children
to say three words:
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sou um leitor.
07:17
I'm a reader.
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Obrigado.
07:19
Thank you.
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07:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Laiza Viana
Reviewed by Elisa Santos

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alvin Irby - Educator, comedian, social entrepreneur, author
Whether speaking to barbers about early literacy, entertaining strangers at comedy clubs, or reading to kindergarteners at a local school, TED Resident Alvin Irby endeavors to make learning relevant and engaging.

Why you should listen

Alvin Irby is a former kindergarten teacher turned social entrepreneur. He is founder and chief reading inspirer at Barbershop Books, a nonprofit organization that creates child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops and provides early literacy training to barbers. His work connecting reading to male-centered spaces and involving men in boys’ early reading experiences earned him the National Book Foundation's 2017 Innovations in Reading Prize.

As a cultural competency specialist, Irby trains educators and administrators to translate learning objectives for children or adults into relevant and engaging communication and experiences. Irby's nationally recognized keynotes and workshops excavate his eclectic professional and personal life to better understand and address one of American education’s greatest challenges - cultivating children’s intrinsic motivation to read.  

Irby's debut children’s book, Gross Greg, combines his passion for early literacy and comedy; it is a laugh-out-loud story that captures the hilariously gross behavior of kids everywhere. His clever social commentary and astute observations shine through in his 2012 comedy album They Know Too Much. One of the highlights of Irby's comedy career was being selected as a 2015 StandUp NBC national finalist and performing at the legendary Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles, CA. 

Irby holds a Masters in Childhood Education from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education, a Masters in Public Administration from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and a Bachelors in Sociology from Grinnell College.

More profile about the speaker
Alvin Irby | Speaker | TED.com

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