Alvin Irby: How to inspire every child to be a lifelong reader
Alvin Irby: Cómo inspirar a todo niño a ser un lector de por vida
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.
to ensure I had good reading skills.
yo tuviera buenas habilidades lectoras.
reading lessons at our kitchen table
de fin de semana en la mesa de la cocina
didn't exactly inspire a love of reading.
no inspiraron de verdad mi amor por leer.
read short stories and did spelling tests.
cortos y hacía pruebas de ortografía.
to be switched into another class.
que me cambiaran a otra clase.
I joined advanced English.
fui a la clase de inglés "avanzado".
two book reports that semester.
dos reseñas de libros ese semestre.
between these two English classes
entre estas dos clases de inglés
white people come from?"
70 percent black and Latino,
más del 70 % de personas negras y latinas,
had white students everywhere.
estudiantes blancos por todas partes.
with institutionalized racism
con el racismo institucionalizado
with reading forever.
con la lectura para siempre.
on a school, a teacher or curriculum
escuela, un maestro o un plan de estudios
than being intellectual,
que por ser intelectual,
other people to dictate
que otras personas dictaran
I had stumbled upon a key
con las competencias
from one reading level to another,
de un nivel de lectura a otro
to memorize lists of unfamiliar words,
de palabras desconocidas,
this question:
to identify as readers?
a identificarse como lectores?
I taught in the Bronx,
primer grado al que enseñé en el Bronx,
how identity shapes learning.
la identidad forma el aprendizaje.
I walk up to DeSean, and I say,
caminé hasta DeSean y dije:
soy un genio de las matemáticas!"
I'm a math genius!"
to read," he would say.
who remain trapped in illiteracy.
que siguen atrapados en el analfabetismo.
de Educación de EE.UU.
Department of Education,
of black male fourth graders
to reading children face,
enfrentan los niños que leen,
educators need to be.
deben ser los educadores.
for the past eight years,
durante los últimos ocho años,
of cultural competency,
de la competencia cultural,
to know or be able to do
o que llegue a poder hacer
that they find relevant and engaging.
lo que consideran relevante y atractivo.
I assess an audience.
evalúo una audiencia.
professional, conservative?
profesionales, conservadores?
would generate the most laughter.
que generará más risa.
I could tell bar jokes.
podía contar chistes de bar.
reading experiences for children
experiencias de lectura para niños
of telling bar jokes in a church.
chistes de bar en una iglesia.
why so many children don't read.
por qué tantos niños no leen.
should be two-way.
deberían ser bidireccionales.
as empty buckets to be filled with facts
como contenedores vacíos
como cocreadores de conocimiento.
and school policies
y políticas escolares esteriotipados
estén sentados quietos como estatuas
the individual learning needs,
individuales de aprendizaje,
promoted to black boys
que presentan a niños negros
civil rights and biographies.
esclavitud, derechos civiles y biografías.
in the United States are black males.
en EE.UU.: son hombres negros.
are raised by single mothers.
son criados por madres solteras.
who have never seen a black man reading.
nunca han visto a un hombre negro leyendo.
encourage him to read.
what social cues are present
qué claves sociales están presentes
a young black boy to conclude
something he should do?
algo que debería hacer?
sin fines de lucro par la alfabetización
reading spaces in barber shops.
para los niños en las barberías.
identify as readers.
a identificarse como lectores.
once or twice a month.
a la barbería una o dos veces al mes.
more than they see their fathers.
de lo que ven a sus padres.
to a male-centered space
con un espacio centrado en el hombre
and boys' early reading experiences.
temprana de hombres negros y niños.
basado en la identidad
recommended by black boys.
para niños recomendados por niños negros.
that they actually want to read.
realmente quieren leer.
el informe de familia de 2016
children look for when choosing a book
los niños buscan cuando eligen un libro
black boys and other children to read
a los niños negros y a otros niños a leer
relevant male reading models
de lectura masculinos relevantes
that adults love so much
niños que a los adultos les gustan tanto
like "Gross Greg".
o incluso burdos, como "Gross Greg".
Greg calls them delicious little sugars."
Greg los llama azúcarillos ricos".
de Uds. acaba de tener,
and desperately need more of that.
merecen y necesitan desesperadamente.
that plague American education
que plagan la educación estadounidense
to say three words:
a decir tres palabras:
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alvin Irby - Educator, comedian, social entrepreneur, authorWhether 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.
Alvin Irby | Speaker | TED.com