TED Talks Education
Pearl Arredondo: My story, from gangland daughter to star teacher
Pearl Arredondo: 我的故事：从黑帮女到明星老师。
Filmed:
Readability: 3
1,159,622 views
Pearl Arredondo 在洛杉矶东区长大，是一名屡次进出监牢的黑帮头目之女。曾经很多老师认为她不守纪律，不可救药。而现在她自己就是一名老师。她创办了一所与众不同的学校，和学生分享她自己的故事，目的是教育学生有时候作业未必是人生的头等大事。
Pearl Arredondo - Teacher
Pearl Arredondo helped establish a pilot middle school that teaches students to be good communicators in the 21st century. Full bio
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 grew up in East Los Angeles,
0
1615
2500
我在洛杉矶东区长大。
00:16
not even realizing I was poor.
1
4115
2171
从来没意识到我很穷。
00:18
My dad was a high-ranking gang member who ran the streets.
2
6286
4117
我老爸是街头黑帮头目之一。
00:22
Everyone knew who I was,
3
10403
1299
大家都知道我是谁，
00:23
so I thought I was a pretty big deal, and I was protected,
4
11702
3450
所以，还真把自己当回事了，我还受到保护，
00:27
and even though my dad spent most of my life
5
15152
2569
尽管我老爸
00:29
in and out of jail,
6
17721
1349
常进班房。
00:31
I had an amazing mom who was just fiercely independent.
7
19070
4501
但我有一个非常了不起的母亲，一名非常独立的女性。
00:35
She worked at the local high school
8
23571
1509
她在本地的一间中学工作
00:37
as a secretary in the dean's office,
9
25080
2555
是学校主任室的一名秘书。
00:39
so she got to see all the kids that got thrown out of class,
10
27635
2690
所以，她要面对很多因为各种原因
00:42
for whatever reason, who were waiting to be disciplined.
11
30325
2838
被赶出课堂，准备接受处罚的孩子们。
00:45
Man, her office was packed.
12
33163
3791
她的办公室总是人满为患的。
00:48
So, see, kids like us, we have a lot of things to deal with
13
36954
3797
象我们这类孩子，要处理许多
00:52
outside of school,
14
40751
1558
校外的问题，
00:54
and sometimes we're just not ready to focus.
15
42309
2917
有时我们只是还没准备好集中精神学习而已。
00:57
But that doesn't mean that we can't.
16
45226
2330
但这并不意味着我们做不到。
00:59
It just takes a little bit more.
17
47556
2187
只不过我们要比别人多付出一些罢了。
01:01
Like, I remember one day I found my dad
18
49743
3105
比如说，我记得有一天，我发现我老爸
01:04
convulsing, foaming at the mouth,
19
52848
2344
抽搐、口吐白沫、
01:07
OD-ing on the bathroom floor.
20
55192
2214
因为过量吸毒昏死在浴室的地板上。
01:09
Really, do you think that doing my homework that night
21
57406
2473
说真的，你认为在这样一个晚上
01:11
was at the top of my priority list?
22
59879
2512
做作业会是我要处理的最重要的事吗？
01:14
Not so much.
23
62391
1467
当然不是。
01:15
But I really needed a support network,
24
63858
3133
但我确实又很需要一个支持网络，
01:18
a group of people who were going to help me
25
66991
2325
-------一群能帮得了我的人
01:21
make sure that I wasn't going to be
26
69316
2220
他们可以保证我不会成为
01:23
a victim of my own circumstance,
27
71536
2655
我生活环境的牺牲品，
01:26
that they were going to push me
28
74191
1614
他们会鞭策我
01:27
beyond what I even thought I could do.
29
75805
2565
超越我对自己的期望
01:30
I needed teachers, in the classroom, every day,
30
78370
3469
我需要老师，在教室里，每一天
01:33
who were going to say, "You can move beyond that."
31
81839
3745
他们会对我说：”你能比现在做得更好的“
01:37
And unfortunately, the local junior high
32
85584
3278
但不幸的是，本地的初中
01:40
was not going to offer that.
33
88862
2109
无法满足我的需要
01:42
It was gang-infested, huge teacher turnover rate.
34
90971
3834
当地帮派林立，老师的更换非常频繁。
01:46
So my mom said, "You're going on a bus
35
94805
3173
所以，我妈妈说：“你要每天坐一个半小时的公交车”
01:49
an hour and a half away from where we live every day."
36
97978
5213
到另外一间学校去读书。
01:55
So for the next two years, that's what I did.
37
103191
2362
所以，在随后的两年里，我就这样去那里读书了。
01:57
I took a school bus to the fancy side of town.
38
105553
4487
我每天乘坐校车到镇上富裕繁华的地方
02:02
And eventually, I ended up at a school
39
110040
2925
最后我来到这间
02:04
where there was a mixture.
40
112965
1564
学生成分很多样化的学校。
02:06
There were some people who were really gang-affiliated,
41
114529
2678
学生当中有些人是帮派成员，
02:09
and then there were those of us
42
117207
1465
而其他的是我们这些
02:10
really trying to make it to high school.
43
118672
1994
十分努力完成中学课程的人。
02:12
Well, trying to stay out of trouble was a little unavoidable.
44
120666
3503
其实，尝试从麻烦当中脱身是在所难免的
02:16
You had to survive.
45
124169
1714
因为你要活下来
02:17
You just had to do things sometimes.
46
125883
2653
有时候，就免不了做些身不由己的事。
02:20
So there were a lot of teachers who were like,
47
128536
2353
所以，也有不少老师曾说：
02:22
"She's never going to make it.
48
130889
1426
“她是读不到毕业的。”
02:24
She has an issue with authority.
49
132315
1591
她不接受管教
02:25
She's not going to go anywhere."
50
133906
1643
她不会有任何出路的。
02:27
Some teachers completely wrote me off as a lost cause.
51
135549
4093
有些老师甚至认定我已经不可救药。
02:31
But then, they were very surprised
52
139642
3167
所以，当我高中毕业时
02:34
when I graduated from high school.
53
142809
3191
他们全都惊呆了。
02:38
I was accepted to Pepperdine University,
54
146000
2862
后来我被Pepperdine大学录取了，
02:40
and I came back to the same school that I attended
55
148862
3123
毕业后，我回到我高中时的母校
02:43
to be a special ed assistant.
56
151985
1911
当了一名特别教育助理。
02:45
And then I told them, "I want to be a teacher."
57
153896
4553
后来，我告诉他们：“我要做一名老师。”
02:50
And boy, they were like, "What? Why?
58
158449
3224
他们听到后都很惊讶地问我：“什么？”“为什么？”
02:53
Why would you want to do that?"
59
161673
1520
“你怎么会想到要当老师呢？”
02:55
So I began my teaching career
60
163193
2286
可我就这样开始了我的教学生涯
02:57
at the exact same middle school that I attended,
61
165479
3528
任教于我的高中母校。
03:01
and I really wanted to try to save more kids
62
169007
3431
我真的想要挽救更多的
03:04
who were just like me.
63
172438
2077
有过和我一样经历的孩子。
03:06
And so every year, I share my background with my kids,
64
174515
3200
所以，每年，我都和我的学生分享我的故事，
03:09
because they need to know that everyone has a story,
65
177715
3057
因为他们有必要知道每个人都有自己的故事，
03:12
everyone has a struggle,
66
180772
2367
每个人都有过挣扎，
03:15
and everyone needs help along the way.
67
183139
3754
而每个人在自己前进的道路上都需要别人拉一把、
护一下。
护一下。
03:18
And I am going to be their help along the way.
68
186893
4128
而我正是那个他们人生旅途上需要找的人。
03:23
So as a rookie teacher, I created opportunity.
69
191021
6068
所以，作为一个菜鸟老师, 我为他们创造了机会。
03:29
I had a kid one day come into my class
70
197089
2646
一天，一名学生走入我的课堂
03:31
having been stabbed the night before.
71
199735
3208
他在前一天晚上被人刺伤了。
03:34
I was like, "You need to go to a hospital,
72
202943
2496
我对他说：“你得去医院”
03:37
the school nurse, something."
73
205439
3275
“或者找学校的护士什么的处理一下你的伤”
03:40
He's like, "No, Miss, I'm not going.
74
208714
2161
可他说：“我不去，老师，我不会去的。”
03:42
I need to be in class because I need to graduate."
75
210875
2768
“我得来上课，因为我一定要毕业”
03:45
So he knew that I was not going to let him be a victim
76
213643
3392
他知道我不会让他
03:49
of his circumstance,
77
217035
1777
因为自己的生活环境而被拖累，
03:50
but we were going to push forward and keep moving on.
78
218812
4038
相反，我们要促使他们迈出第一步和继续向前进。
03:54
And this idea of creating a safe haven for our kids
79
222850
3890
所以，我很想为这帮孩子营造一个安全的学习环境
03:58
and getting to know exactly what they're going through,
80
226740
4116
想了解他们所经历的一切
04:02
getting to know their families -- I wanted that,
81
230856
3256
想了解他们的家庭 我希望能这样做
04:06
but I couldn't do it in a school with 1,600 kids,
82
234112
5480
但是， 在一间有1600名学生的学校里我没法关注到他们每个人。
04:11
and teachers turning over year after year after year.
83
239592
3474
而且，年复一年，还有大量的老师离职，
04:15
How do you get to build those relationships?
84
243066
4052
你又怎么能建立师生关系呢？
04:19
So we created a new school.
85
247118
3587
所以，我们创办了一所新学校。
04:22
And we created
86
250705
1479
我们的新校名字是
04:24
the San Fernando Institute for Applied Media.
87
252184
3538
圣费尔南多应用媒体研究所。
04:27
And we made sure that we were still attached
88
255722
3472
尽管我们仍然要挂靠在我们的学区以获得
04:31
to our school district for funding, for support.
89
259194
4038
资金和支持。
04:35
But with that, we were going to gain freedom:
90
263232
3117
但是，我们享有很大的办学自主权：
04:38
freedom to hire the teachers
91
266349
2253
如聘请教师的自由
04:40
that we knew were going to be effective;
92
268602
3322
我们只聘那些高效的老师；
04:43
freedom to control the curriculum
93
271924
2740
同时，我们还拥有课程安排的自由
04:46
so that we're not doing lesson 1.2 on page five, no;
94
274664
5638
这样子我们就不会受教材的束缚,不会;
04:52
and freedom to control a budget,
95
280302
2720
我们还可以控制我们的预算，
04:55
to spend money where it matters,
96
283022
2584
将资金花在重要的事情方面，
04:57
not how a district or a state says you have to do it.
97
285606
4241
而不是花在学区或州的教育部门规定的事情上。
05:01
We wanted those freedoms.
98
289847
2303
我们需要这些自主权。
05:04
But now, shifting an entire paradigm,
99
292150
2576
但此时，我们已经做到了办学模式的彻底转变，
05:06
it hasn't been an easy journey, nor is it even complete.
100
294726
4145
其中的过程是艰辛的，这一革新目前也并非完善。
05:10
But we had to do it.
101
298871
2350
但我们必须要做好这件事。
05:13
Our community deserved a new way of doing things.
102
301221
4121
我们的社区需要一种新的办法来做好这些孩子的教育工作。
05:17
And as the very first pilot middle school
103
305342
3526
作为洛杉矶联合学区内的
05:20
in all of Los Angeles Unified School District,
104
308868
3225
第一间试点中学，
05:24
you better believe there was some opposition.
105
312093
2976
自然有人对我们的办学方式提出反对的意见
05:27
And it was out of fear --
106
315069
2123
反对是出于某种担心-----
05:29
fear of, well, what if they get it wrong?
107
317192
3223
担心万一办不好怎么办？
05:32
Yeah, what if we get it wrong?
108
320415
2185
对，如果我们办不好会怎么样呢？
05:34
But what if we get it right?
109
322600
2254
但问题是，如果我们办好了呢？
05:36
And we did.
110
324854
2075
后来，我们的确办得很成功。
05:38
So even though teachers were against it
111
326929
2611
所以，尽管老师们反对
05:41
because we employ one-year contracts --
112
329540
2581
因为我们只和老师签定一年期的工作合同----
05:44
you can't teach, or you don't want to teach,
113
332121
4069
如果你教不好，或者你不想教，
05:48
you don't get to be at my school with my kids.
114
336190
3060
你就不能在我们的学校混下去。
05:51
(Applause)
115
339250
6764
（掌声）
05:58
So in our third year, how did we do it?
116
346014
3672
到了我们办学的第三年，我们的学校是什么样子的呢？
06:01
Well, we're making school worth coming to every day.
117
349686
3431
我们已经使学校成为了学生每天都想去的地方了。
06:05
We make our kids feel like they matter to us.
118
353117
2761
我们已经让我们的学生感觉到我们在乎他们。
06:07
We make our curriculum rigorous and relevant to them,
119
355878
3888
我们为他们量身定制课程标准，
06:11
and they use all the technology that they're used to.
120
359766
2585
他们可以使用他们习惯使用的各种电子产品。
06:14
Laptops, computers, tablets -- you name it, they have it.
121
362351
2927
手提电脑、台式机，平板电脑----你能想得到的，他们都有。
06:17
Animation, software, moviemaking software, they have it all.
122
365278
3918
动画、软件、电影制作软件这些东西他们全都有。
06:21
And because we connect it to what they're doing —
123
369196
3813
我们把这些东西和他们的学习、生活联系在一起----
06:25
For example, they made public service announcements
124
373009
3202
比如说，他们会为癌症协会
06:28
for the Cancer Society.
125
376211
1626
做一些公益广告。
06:29
These were played in the local trolley system.
126
377837
2824
这些广告在有轨电车系统上播放。
06:32
Teaching elements of persuasion,
127
380661
2007
有说复力的教学当中
06:34
it doesn't get any more real than that.
128
382668
2920
没有什么是比这更真更成功的实践了。
06:37
Our state test scores have gone up
129
385588
2161
我们的州考成绩在不断上升
06:39
more than 80 points since we've become our own school.
130
387749
2989
目前已经比我们学校创办初期提升了80分。
06:42
But it's taken all stakeholders, working together --
131
390738
3095
但这是各利益相关者共同努力的结果---
06:45
teachers and principals on one-year contracts,
132
393833
3183
如一年工作合同期的老师和校长，
06:49
working over and above and beyond their contract hours
133
397017
3824
他们的工作时长远远超出了比合同中规定的时间
06:52
without compensation.
134
400841
3036
而没有得到任何额外的补偿。
06:55
And it takes a school board member
135
403877
2219
而且，这还多亏有一名校董
06:58
who is going to lobby for you and say,
136
406096
1952
在游说过程中提出一下的表达，
07:00
"Know, the district is trying to impose this,
137
408048
2428
“要知道，学区正准备推行这个，
07:02
but you have the freedom to do otherwise."
138
410476
3033
但是你们有另辟蹊径的自由“
07:05
And it takes an active parent center
139
413509
2564
同时，也受益于一个活跃的家长中心
07:08
who is not only there, showing a presence every day,
140
416073
4080
他们并不仅仅是每天露个脸而已
07:12
but who is part of our governance,
141
420153
2867
而且积极地参与了学校的治理，
07:15
making decisions for their kids, our kids.
142
423020
5004
帮他们的孩子-----我们的学生做决策。
07:20
Because why should our students have to go
143
428024
2605
为什么我们的学生非得
07:22
so far away from where they live?
144
430629
2979
到离家这么远的地方上学呢？
07:25
They deserve a quality school in their neighborhood,
145
433608
3724
他们应该拥有一间在自己的社区里的资质好的学校
07:29
a school that they can be proud to say they attend,
146
437332
3173
一间他们能引以为豪的学校
07:32
and a school that the community can be proud of as well,
147
440505
3668
一间社区为之骄傲的学校，
07:36
and they need teachers to fight for them every day
148
444173
4198
而他们也需要每天都在为学生争取权利的老师
07:40
and empower them to move beyond their circumstances.
149
448371
5333
鼓励他们摆脱目前的困境的老师。
07:45
Because it's time that kids like me
150
453704
2716
因为，是时候，让像我这样的孩子
07:48
stop being the exception, and we become the norm.
151
456420
4722
不再是非主流，而成为主流了。
07:53
Thank you.
152
461142
1309
谢谢。
07:54
(Applause)
153
462451
4339
（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pearl Arredondo - TeacherPearl 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.
Pearl Arredondo | Speaker | TED.com