ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anindya Kundu - Sociologist, educator, writer
TED Resident Anindya Kundu is reframing our notions of achievement and ability through his sociological research, which suggests all students can succeed if provided the right support systems.

Why you should listen

Anindya Kundu studies the potential of human agency to help people create positive change in their lives. His research involves learning how students can navigate around personal, social and institutional challenges to succeed. Kundu's book Achieving Agency is forthcoming.

At NYU, Kundu has taught the course, "American Dilemmas: Race, Inequality, and the Unfulfilled Promise of Public Education," originally designed by achievement gap scholar, Dr. Pedro Noguera. Kundu was the 2017 recipient of the NYU "Outstanding Doctoral Student Teaching Award." He also teaches high school students storytelling through The Moth in New York City.

Kundu frequently contributes to public discourse on education. His work has appeared in NPR Education, MSNBC and Huffington Post. Kundu says, "There is intellectual talent going uncultivated and unnoticed in our communities. If we remember education is our greatest public responsibility, we can better tackle the social problems that lie ahead, together."

More profile about the speaker
Anindya Kundu | Speaker | TED.com
TED Residency

Anindya Kundu: The boost students need to overcome obstacles

Anindya Kundu: O impulso que os estudantes precisam para superar obstáculos

Filmed:
1,902,460 views

Como os alunos desfavorecidos podem obter sucesso na escola? Para o sociólogo Anindya Kundu, determinação e tenacidade não são suficientes; os estudantes também precisam desenvolver sua capacidade de ação, ou a capacidade de superar obstáculos e navegar pelo sistema. Ele compartilha histórias auspiciosas de estudantes que desafiaram as expectativas diante de seus desafios pessoais, sociais e institucionais.
- Sociologist, educator, writer
TED Resident Anindya Kundu is reframing our notions of achievement and ability through his sociological research, which suggests all students can succeed if provided the right support systems. Full bio

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

00:12
So, I teach college students
about inequality and race in education,
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Dou aulas na faculdade
sobre desigualdade e raça na educação,
00:17
and I like to leave my office open
to any of my students
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e meu gabinete fica aberto
a qualquer de meus alunos
00:20
who might just want to see me to chat.
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que queira bater um papo.
00:23
And a few semesters ago,
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Alguns semestres atrás,
00:24
one of my more cheerful
students, Mahari,
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um dos meus alunos
mais empolgados, Mahari,
00:27
actually came to see me
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veio me ver
00:29
and mentioned that he was feeling
a bit like an outcast because he's black.
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e mencionou que se sentia
um pouco excluído por ser negro.
Ele tinha acabado de vir para a NYU
de uma faculdade comunitária
00:34
He had just transferred to NYU
from a community college
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00:36
on a merit scholarship,
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com uma bolsa por mérito,
00:38
and turns out,
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e acontece que apenas 5% dos alunos
da NYU são negros.
00:40
only about five percent
of students at NYU are black.
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00:43
And so I started to remember
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Então comecei a me lembrar
que conheço esse sentimento
00:45
that I know that feeling
of being an outsider
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de ser um forasteiro
na própria comunidade.
00:47
in your own community.
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00:49
It's partially what drew me to my work.
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Em parte, foi isso
que me levou ao meu trabalho.
00:51
At my university,
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Na minha universidade,
00:53
I'm one of the few
faculty members of color,
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sou um dos poucos
membros de cor no corpo docente,
00:55
and growing up, I experienced
my family's social mobility,
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e vivenciei a mobilidade social
da minha família,
00:59
moving out of apartments
into a nice house,
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quando nos mudamos de um apartamento
para uma casa bem legal,
01:02
but in an overwhelmingly
white neighborhood.
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mas em um bairro predominantemente branco.
01:05
I was 12,
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Eu tinha 12 anos,
01:06
and kids would say that were surprised
that I didn't smell like curry.
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e as crianças se diziam surpresas
por eu não cheirar a curry.
01:10
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
01:11
That's because school is in the morning,
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Isso porque as aulas eram pela manhã,
01:13
and I had Eggo waffles for breakfast.
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e eu comia Sucrilhos no café da manhã.
01:15
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
01:17
Curry is for dinner.
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O curry é na janta.
01:18
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
01:20
So when Mahari was leaving,
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Quando Mahari estava saindo,
01:21
I asked him how he was coping
with feeling isolated.
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perguntei a ele como estava lidando
com esse sentimento.
01:24
And he said that despite feeling lonely,
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Ele disse que, apesar
de se sentir sozinho,
01:27
he just threw himself at his work,
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se jogava no trabalho,
e construiu estratégias
baseadas em sua determinação
01:29
that he built strategies around his grit
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01:31
and his desire to be successful.
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e seu desejo de ter sucesso.
01:33
A mentor of mine is actually
Dr. Angela Duckworth,
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Uma das minhas mentoras, na verdade,
é a Dra. Angela Duckworth,
01:36
the psychologist at UPenn who has defined
this stick-to-itiveness of grit
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a psicóloga da UPenn que definiu
essa tenacidade da determinação
01:41
as being "the perseverance
and passion for long-term goals."
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como sendo "a perseverança
e paixão por objetivos a longo prazo".
01:45
Angela's book has become a bestseller,
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O livro da Angela
foi um dos mais vendidos,
01:47
and schools across the country,
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e escolas de todo o país, especialmente
as escolas públicas autônomas,
01:49
particularly charter schools,
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01:51
have become interested in citing
"grit" as a core value.
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ficaram interessadas em citar
"determinação" como um valor fundamental.
01:55
But sometimes grit isn't enough,
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Mas às vezes só determinação
não é suficiente,
01:57
especially in education.
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especialmente na educação.
Então, quando Mahari saiu,
01:59
So when Mahari was leaving my office,
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me perguntei se ele poderia
precisar de algo mais específico
02:01
I worried that he might need
something more specific
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02:03
to combat the challenges
that he mentioned to me.
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para combater os desafios
que ele tinha mencionado.
02:06
As a sociologist,
I also study achievement,
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Como sociólogo,
também estudo as conquistas,
02:10
but from a slightly different perspective.
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mas de uma perspectiva
ligeiramente diferente.
02:12
I research students who have overcome
immense obstacles
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Pesquiso estudantes
que superaram imensos obstáculos
02:15
related to their background.
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relacionados à sua origem.
02:17
Students from low-income,
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Estudantes de baixa renda, normalmente
que vivem só com o pai ou com a mãe,
02:18
often single-parent households,
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estudantes que tenham sido sem-teto,
presos ou talvez não tenham documentação,
02:20
students who have been homeless,
incarcerated or perhaps undocumented,
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02:25
or some who have struggled
with substance abuse
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ou alguns que tenham lutado
contra o uso de drogas
02:28
or lived through violent or sexual trauma.
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ou passado por trauma sexual ou violento.
02:31
So let me tell you about two
of the grittiest people I've met.
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Então deixem-me contar sobre duas
das pessoas mais determinadas que conheci.
02:35
Tyrique was raised by a single mother,
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Tyrique foi criado pela mãe solteira
02:37
and then after high school,
he fell in with the wrong crowd.
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e, depois do ensino médio,
começou a sair com a turma errada.
02:40
He got arrested for armed robbery.
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Ele foi preso por assalto à mão armada.
02:42
But in prison, he started to work hard.
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Mas, na prisão, ele começou
a trabalhar duro.
02:45
He took college credit courses,
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Ele cursou disciplinas da faculdade,
02:46
so when he got out,
he was able to get a master's,
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então, quando saiu, estava
habilitado para um mestrado,
02:49
and today he's a manager at a nonprofit.
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e hoje ele é gerente em uma ONG.
02:52
Vanessa had to move around a lot as a kid,
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Vanessa se mudou muito,
quando era criança,
02:55
from the Lower East Side
to Staten Island to the Bronx.
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do Lower East Side
para Staten Island e para o Bronx.
02:58
She was raised primarily
by her extended family,
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Na maior parte do tempo,
ela foi criada por parentes,
03:01
because her own mother
had a heroin addiction.
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pois sua mãe era viciada em heroína.
03:04
Yet at 15,
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Aos 15 anos, Vanessa
teve que largar a escola,
03:05
Vanessa had to drop out of school,
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03:07
and she had a son of her own.
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e teve um filho sozinha.
03:09
But eventually, she was able
to go to community college,
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Mas, finalmente, ela pôde ir
para uma faculdade comunitária,
03:12
get her associate's,
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cursou um tecnólogo,
03:14
then go to an elite college
to finish her bachelor's.
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depois foi para uma faculdade
concluir seu bacharelado.
03:18
So some people might
hear these stories and say,
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Algumas pessoas podem
ouvir essas histórias e dizer:
"Sim, essas pessoas
são mesmo determinadas.
03:20
"Yes, those two definitely have grit.
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Elas progridem através
do próprio esforço".
03:22
They basically pulled themselves up
by the bootstraps."
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03:26
But that's an incomplete picture,
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Mas esse é um quadro impreciso,
03:28
because what's more important
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porque o mais importante
03:30
is that they had factors in their lives
that helped to influence their agency,
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é que havia fatores na vida deles
que ajudaram a influenciar sua ação,
03:34
or their specific capacity
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ou sua capacidade específica
03:35
to actually overcome
the obstacles that they were facing
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para realmente superar os obstáculos
que estavam enfrentando
03:39
and navigate the system
given their circumstances.
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e navegar no sistema,
dadas as circunstâncias.
03:43
So, allow me to elaborate.
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Vou explicar melhor.
03:44
In prison, Tyrique
was actually aimless at first,
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Na prisão, Tyrique, no início,
não tinha objetivos,
03:48
as a 22-year-old on Rikers Island.
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como um presidiário de 22 anos.
03:50
This is until an older detainee
took him aside
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Foi assim até que um detento mais velho
chamou Tyrique para ajudar
no programa dos jovens.
03:54
and asked him to help
with the youth program.
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03:56
And in mentoring youth,
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E, ao ajudar os jovens,
03:58
he started to see his own mistakes
and possibilities in the teens.
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ele começou a ver seus próprios
erros e possibilidades nos adolescentes.
04:02
This is what got him interested
in taking college-credit courses.
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Foi isso que despertou nele o interesse
em cursar disciplinas da faculdade.
04:05
And when he got out,
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E, quando ele saiu, conseguiu
um emprego na Fortune Society,
04:07
he got a job with Fortune Society,
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04:09
where many executives are people
who have been formerly incarcerated.
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onde muitos executivos
são ex-presidiários.
04:13
So then he was able to get
a master's in social work,
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Assim, ele pôde fazer
um mestrado em serviço social,
04:16
and today, he even lectures
at Columbia about prison reform.
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e hoje até ministra palestras
na Universidade de Columbia
sobre reforma prisional.
04:21
And Vanessa ...
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E a Vanessa...
04:22
well, after the birth of her son,
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bem, depois do nascimento do seu filho,
04:24
she happened to find a program
called Vocational Foundation
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ela encontrou um programa
chamado Vocational Foundation
04:27
that gave her 20 dollars biweekly,
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que dava a ela US$ 20 a cada 15 dias,
04:30
a MetroCard
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um cartão de metrô
04:31
and her first experiences with a computer.
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e sua primeira experiência
com um computador.
04:33
These simple resources
are what helped her get her GED,
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Esses recursos simples a ajudaram
a concluir o ensino médio,
04:36
but then she suffered
from a very serious kidney failure,
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mas então ela sofreu
de uma falência renal muito grave,
04:39
which was particularly problematic
because she was only born with one kidney.
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particularmente complicada
porque ela nasceu com apenas um rim.
04:43
She spent 10 years on dialysis
waiting for a successful transplant.
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Ela passou dez anos fazendo hemodiálise,
esperando por um transplante.
04:48
After that,
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Depois disso, seus mentores da faculdade
comunitária mantiveram contato com ela
04:49
her mentors at community college
had kept in touch with her,
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04:52
and so she was able to go,
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e a colocaram em um programa
para alunos avançados.
04:54
and they put her in an honors program.
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Esse caminho permitiu que ela fosse aceita
04:56
And that's the pathway
that allowed her to become accepted
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04:59
to one of the most elite colleges
for women in the country,
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numa das faculdades para mulheres
mais conceituadas no país,
05:02
and she received her bachelor's at 36,
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e ela recebeu seu diploma aos 36 anos,
05:05
setting an incredible example
for her young son.
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sendo um excelente exemplo para seu filho.
05:08
What these stories primarily indicate
is that teaching is social
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Fundamentalmente, essas histórias indicam
que o ensino é uma questão social
05:12
and benefits from social scaffolding.
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e beneficia a escalada social.
05:15
There were factors
pushing these two in one direction,
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Havia fatores puxando os dois
para uma direção,
05:18
but through tailored
mentorship and opportunities,
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mas, através de oportunidades
e mentoria personalizada,
05:21
they were able to reflect
on their circumstances
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eles puderam refletir
sobre as circunstâncias
05:23
and resist negative influences.
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e resistir às influências negativas.
05:26
They also learned simple skills
like developing a network,
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Eles também aprenderam habilidades
simples, como desenvolver uma rede,
05:29
or asking for help --
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ou pedir ajuda...
coisas que muitos de nós aqui nesta sala
05:31
things many of us in this room can forget
that we have needed from time to time,
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podem subestimar ou se esquecer
de que já precisamos uma vez ou outra.
05:36
or can take for granted.
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05:38
And when we think of people like this,
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E, quando pensamos em pessoas assim,
05:40
we should only think of them
as exceptional, but not as exceptions.
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deveríamos pensar nelas como sendo
excepcionais, mas não como exceções.
05:44
Thinking of them as exceptions absolves us
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Pensar nelas como exceções nos absolve
05:47
of the collective responsibility
to help students in similar situations.
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da responsabilidade coletiva de ajudar
estudantes em situações similares.
05:52
When Presidents Bush, Obama
and now even Trump,
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Quando os presidentes Bush,
Obama, e agora até mesmo Trump,
05:55
have called education
"the civil rights issue of our time,"
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chamaram a educação de "a questão
dos direitos civis do nosso tempo",
05:59
perhaps we should treat it that way.
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talvez devêssemos tratá-la assim.
06:02
If schools were able to think
about the agency that their students have
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Se as escolas pudessem pensar
na capacidade de ação de seus alunos
06:05
and bring to the table
when they push them,
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e os trouxessem para o jogo,
em vez de afastá-los,
o ensino poderia se tornar
mais relevante na vida de seus alunos,
06:08
what students learn can become
more relevant to their lives,
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06:11
and then they can tap into those internal
reservoirs of grit and character.
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e eles poderiam alcançar suas reservas
internas de determinação e caráter.
06:17
So this here --
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E este aqui,
06:18
My student Mahari
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meu aluno Mahari,
06:20
got accepted to law school
with scholarships,
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recebeu bolsa para a faculdade de direito,
06:23
and not to brag,
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e, sem querer me gabar,
06:25
but I did write one of his letters
of recommendation.
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eu escrevi uma de suas
cartas de recomendação.
06:27
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:29
And even though I know hard work
is what got him this achievement,
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E apesar de saber que foi o trabalho duro
que o levou a essa conquista,
06:33
I've seen him find
his voice along the way,
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eu o vi encontrar sua voz nesse processo,
06:35
which as someone who's grown up
a little bit shy and awkward,
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o que, para alguém que cresceu
um pouco tímido e desajeitado,
06:39
I know it takes time and support.
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sei que demanda tempo e apoio.
06:41
So even though
he will rely a lot on his grit
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Então apesar de ele confiar
muito em sua determinação
06:44
to get him through
that first-year law school grind,
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3175
para passar pelo primeiro ano
da faculdade de direito,
06:48
I'll be there as a mentor for him,
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eu estarei ao lado dele,
06:50
check in with him from time to time,
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acompanhando-o de tempos em tempos,
06:52
maybe take him out to get some curry ...
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talvez saindo com ele para comer curry...
06:54
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:55
so that he can keep growing his agency
to succeed even more.
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para que ele mantenha
sua capacidade de ação
e tenha ainda mais sucesso.
06:59
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
07:00
(Applause)
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(Aplausos) (Vivas)
Translated by Cláudia Sander
Reviewed by Raissa Mendes

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anindya Kundu - Sociologist, educator, writer
TED Resident Anindya Kundu is reframing our notions of achievement and ability through his sociological research, which suggests all students can succeed if provided the right support systems.

Why you should listen

Anindya Kundu studies the potential of human agency to help people create positive change in their lives. His research involves learning how students can navigate around personal, social and institutional challenges to succeed. Kundu's book Achieving Agency is forthcoming.

At NYU, Kundu has taught the course, "American Dilemmas: Race, Inequality, and the Unfulfilled Promise of Public Education," originally designed by achievement gap scholar, Dr. Pedro Noguera. Kundu was the 2017 recipient of the NYU "Outstanding Doctoral Student Teaching Award." He also teaches high school students storytelling through The Moth in New York City.

Kundu frequently contributes to public discourse on education. His work has appeared in NPR Education, MSNBC and Huffington Post. Kundu says, "There is intellectual talent going uncultivated and unnoticed in our communities. If we remember education is our greatest public responsibility, we can better tackle the social problems that lie ahead, together."

More profile about the speaker
Anindya Kundu | Speaker | TED.com

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