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We know why kids don't learn. It's either poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences— we know why.
我们知道孩子们为什么学不下去，无非就是家境贫寒、出勤率低、同龄人的坏影响——原因我们都知道。
But one of the things that we never discuss or we rarely discuss is the value and importance of human connection. Relationships.
但是有一件事情我们从来没有讨论过或者很少讨论，那就是人和人之间的联系的价值和重要性，也就是“人际关系”。
I have had classes that were so low, so academically deficient, that I cried.
我以前教过一些水平非常低的班级，学术水平极差，差到我都哭了。
I wondered, "How am I going to take this group, in nine months, from where they are to where they need to be? How do I raise the self-esteem of a child and his academic achievement at the same time?"
我就想了：怎么样才能在9个月内把这群学生从现在的状态调整到他们需要的状态？怎么样能同时提高一个孩子的自尊心和他的学习成绩？
One year I came up with a bright idea. I told all my students, "You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students. They put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it."
有一年我想到了一个好主意。我告诉我所有的学生：你们是被选进这个班的，因为我是最好的老师，而你们是最好的学生。他们把我们放到了一个班，这样我们就可以给别人做个示范。
One of the students said, "Really?" I said, "Really."
有个学生问：“真的吗？”我说：“真的。”
And I gave them a saying to say: "I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go."
我跟他们说了一段话：“我是一个大人物，我来的时候是个人物，走的时候更是人上人。我很强大，我很牛。我值得在这里接受教育。我要完成很多事情！我要去很多地方！我要让人们记住我！”
And they said, "Yeah!"
然后他们说：“耶！！！”
You say it long enough, it starts to be a part of you.
如果一件事情你说多了，它就会变成现实。
Both my parents were educators. My maternal grandparents were educators.
我的父母都是教育家，我的姥姥姥爷也都是搞教育的。
For years, I watched my mother take the time at recess to review, go on home visits in the afternoon, buy combs and brushes and peanut butter and crackers to put in her desk drawer for kids that needed to eat, and a washcloth and some soap for the kids who didn't smell so good.
多年来我一直看着母亲利用课间休息时间批改作业，下午去家访，买梳子、梳子、花生酱和饼干放在自己的抽屉里，把食物给那些饿了的孩子们吃，还为那些脏孩子们准备了毛巾和肥皂。
See, it's hard to teach kids who stink.
看吧，教那些臭臭的小孩绝非易事。
Years later, after she retired, I watched some of those same kids come through and say to her, "You know, Ms. Walker, you made a difference in my life. You made it work for me. You made me feel like I was somebody, when I knew, at the bottom, I wasn't. And I want you to just see what I've become."
多年后，在她退休之后，我看到一些当年她教的孩子们回来找她并跟她说：“您知道，沃克老师，您改变了我的生活，您让我的生活有了意义。您让我觉得自己是个大人物，即便我内心知道自己不是。我就是想让您看看我现在成了一个什么样的人。”
And when my mama died two years ago at 92, there were so many former students at her funeral, it brought tears to my eyes, not because she was gone, but because she left a legacy of relationships that could never disappear.
在母亲两年前以92岁高龄去世时，有很多以前的学生来参加了她的葬礼，我哭了，不是因为她去世了，而是因为她留下了遗产——那些永存的关系。
Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.
每个孩子都应该成为冠军，成为一个永远不会放弃他们的成年人，成为一个能够洞悉联系的力量的成年人，成为一个能够坚持让他们成为最好的自己的年轻人。
Is this job tough? You betcha. Oh God, you betcha. But it is not impossible. We can do this. We're educators. We're born to make a difference.
这项工作难吗？当然难。但并不是不可能。我们能做到。因为我们是教育家。我们生下来就是要创造奇迹。
