How America's public schools keep kids in poverty
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0:01 - 0:03I want to talk to you about my kids.
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0:04 - 0:08Now, I know everyone thinks
that their kid is the most fantastic, -
0:08 - 0:10the most beautiful kid that ever lived.
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0:11 - 0:13But mine really are.
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0:13 - 0:14(Laughter)
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0:14 - 0:16I have 696 kids,
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0:16 - 0:21and they are the most intelligent,
inventive, innovative, -
0:21 - 0:25brilliant and powerful kids
that you'll ever meet. -
0:25 - 0:30Any student I've had the honor of teaching
in my classroom is my kid. -
0:31 - 0:35However, because their "real"
parents aren't rich -
0:35 - 0:37and, I argue, because they
are mostly of color, -
0:37 - 0:40they will seldom get to see in themselves
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0:40 - 0:42the awesomeness that I see in them.
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0:43 - 0:45Because what I see in them is myself --
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0:46 - 0:48or what would have been myself.
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0:50 - 0:52I am the daughter of two hardworking,
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0:52 - 0:55college-educated, African-American parents
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0:55 - 0:57who chose careers as public servants:
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0:57 - 1:01my father, a minister;
my mother, an educator. -
1:01 - 1:05Wealth was never the primary
ambition in our house. -
1:05 - 1:07Because of this lack of wealth,
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1:07 - 1:09we lived in a neighborhood
that lacked wealth, -
1:09 - 1:12and henceforth a school system
that lacked wealth. -
1:12 - 1:16Luckily, however, we struck
the educational jackpot -
1:16 - 1:19in a voluntary desegregation program
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1:19 - 1:22that buses inner-city kids --
black and brown -- -
1:22 - 1:25out to suburban schools -- rich and white.
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1:25 - 1:29At five years old, I had to take
an hour-long bus ride -
1:29 - 1:31to a faraway place
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1:31 - 1:33to get a better education.
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1:34 - 1:38At five years old, I thought
everyone had a life just like mine. -
1:39 - 1:41I thought everyone went to school
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1:41 - 1:43and were the only ones
using the brown crayons -
1:43 - 1:45to color in their family portraits,
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1:45 - 1:48while everyone else was using
the peach-colored ones. -
1:49 - 1:52At five years old, I thought
everyone was just like me. -
1:53 - 1:56But as I got older, I started
noticing things, like: -
1:57 - 2:00How come my neighborhood friend
don't have to wake up -
2:00 - 2:01at five o'clock in the morning,
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2:01 - 2:04and go to a school that's an hour away?
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2:04 - 2:07How come I'm learning to play the violin
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2:07 - 2:10while my neighborhood friends
don't even have a music class? -
2:11 - 2:15Why were my neighborhood friends
learning and reading material -
2:15 - 2:17that I had done two to three years prior?
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2:18 - 2:20See, as I got older,
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2:21 - 2:25I started to have
this unlawful feeling in my belly, -
2:25 - 2:29like I was doing something
that I wasn't supposed to be doing; -
2:29 - 2:31taking something that wasn't mine;
-
2:32 - 2:33receiving a gift,
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2:34 - 2:36but with someone else's name on it.
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2:36 - 2:39All these amazing things
that I was being exposed to -
2:39 - 2:41and experiencing,
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2:41 - 2:44I felt I wasn't really supposed to have.
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2:45 - 2:49I wasn't supposed to have a library,
fully equipped athletic facilities, -
2:49 - 2:52or safe fields to play in.
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2:52 - 2:54I wasn't supposed to have
theatre departments -
2:54 - 2:57with seasonal plays and concerts --
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2:57 - 2:59digital, visual, performing arts.
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3:00 - 3:04I wasn't supposed to have
fully resourced biology or chemistry labs, -
3:04 - 3:07school buses that brought me door-to-door,
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3:07 - 3:10freshly prepared school lunches
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3:10 - 3:11or even air conditioning.
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3:12 - 3:14These are things my kids don't get.
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3:15 - 3:16You see, as I got older,
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3:16 - 3:19while I was grateful
for this amazing opportunity -
3:19 - 3:21that I was being given,
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3:21 - 3:24there was this ever-present pang of:
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3:24 - 3:27But what about everyone else?
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3:27 - 3:31There are thousands
of other kids just like me, -
3:31 - 3:32who deserve this, too.
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3:32 - 3:34Why doesn't everyone get this?
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3:34 - 3:39Why is a high-quality education
only exclusive to the rich? -
3:40 - 3:43It was like I had some sort
of survivor's remorse. -
3:43 - 3:46All of my neighborhood friends
were experiencing -
3:46 - 3:48an educational train wreck
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3:48 - 3:52that I was saved from through a bus ride.
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3:52 - 3:55I was like an educational Moses screaming,
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3:55 - 3:56"Let my people go ...
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3:56 - 3:58to high-quality schools!"
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3:58 - 3:59(Laughter)
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4:00 - 4:04I'd seen firsthand how the other half
was being treated and educated. -
4:04 - 4:07I'd seen the educational promised land,
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4:07 - 4:11and I could not for the life of me
justify the disparity. -
4:14 - 4:18I now teach in the very same school system
from which I sought refuge. -
4:19 - 4:23I know firsthand the tools
that were given to me as a student, -
4:23 - 4:27and now as a teacher, I don't have
access to those same tools -
4:27 - 4:29to give my students.
-
4:29 - 4:34There have been countless nights
when I've cried in frustration, -
4:34 - 4:35anger
-
4:35 - 4:37and sorrow,
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4:37 - 4:40because I can't teach my kids
the way that I was taught, -
4:41 - 4:45because I don't have access
to the same resources or tools -
4:45 - 4:47that were used to teach me.
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4:47 - 4:50My kids deserve so much better.
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4:50 - 4:53We sit and we keep banging
our heads again this term: -
4:53 - 4:56"Achievement gap, achievement gap!"
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4:56 - 4:59Is it really that hard to understand
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4:59 - 5:03why these kids perform well
and these kids don't? -
5:03 - 5:04I mean, really.
-
5:05 - 5:07I think we've got it all wrong.
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5:07 - 5:08I think we,
-
5:08 - 5:10as Gloria Ladson-Billings says,
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5:10 - 5:15should flip our paradigm and our language
and call it was it really is. -
5:16 - 5:17It's not an achievement gap;
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5:18 - 5:20it's an education debt,
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5:20 - 5:26for all of the foregone schooling
resources that were never invested -
5:26 - 5:30in the education of the black
and brown child over time. -
5:31 - 5:34A little-known secret in American history
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5:34 - 5:39is that the only American institution
created specifically for people of color -
5:40 - 5:41is the American slave trade --
-
5:42 - 5:44and some would argue the prison system,
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5:44 - 5:46but that's another topic
for another TED Talk. -
5:46 - 5:47(Laughter)
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5:48 - 5:52The public school system of this country
was built, bought and paid for -
5:52 - 5:56using commerce generated
from the slave trade and slave labor. -
5:57 - 6:01While African-Americans were enslaved
and prohibited from schooling, -
6:01 - 6:04their labor established
the very institution -
6:04 - 6:06from which they were excluded.
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6:06 - 6:11Ever since then, every court case,
educational policy, reform, -
6:11 - 6:14has been an attempt
to retrofit the design, -
6:14 - 6:17rather than just stopping
and acknowledging: -
6:17 - 6:20we've had it all wrong from the beginning.
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6:21 - 6:25An oversimplification
of American educational history. -
6:25 - 6:27All right, just bear with me.
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6:28 - 6:31Blacks were kept out -- you know,
the whole slavery thing. -
6:31 - 6:33With the help
of philanthropic white people, -
6:33 - 6:35they built their own schools.
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6:35 - 6:37Separate but equal was OK.
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6:38 - 6:40But while we all know
things were indeed separate, -
6:40 - 6:42they were in no ways equal.
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6:43 - 6:48Enter Brown v. the Board of Education
of Topeka, Kansas in 1954; -
6:48 - 6:51legal separation of the races
is now illegal. -
6:52 - 6:58But very few people pay attention
to all of the court cases since then, -
6:58 - 7:03that have undone the educational
promised land for every child -
7:03 - 7:06that Brown v. Board intended.
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7:06 - 7:10Some argue that today our schools
are now more segregated -
7:10 - 7:15than they ever were before we tried
to desegregate them in the first place. -
7:16 - 7:20Teaching my kids about desegregation,
the Little Rock Nine, -
7:20 - 7:21the Civil Rights Movement,
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7:21 - 7:24is a real awkward moment in my classroom,
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7:24 - 7:27when I have to hear
the voice of a child ask, -
7:28 - 7:31"If schools were desegregated in 1954,
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7:31 - 7:34how come there are no white kids here?"
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7:34 - 7:35(Laughter)
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7:35 - 7:36These kids aren't dumb.
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7:37 - 7:39They know exactly what's happening,
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7:40 - 7:41and what's not.
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7:42 - 7:44They know that when it comes to schooling,
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7:45 - 7:46black lives don't matter
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7:47 - 7:48and they never have.
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7:50 - 7:57For years, I tried desperately
to cultivate in my kids a love of reading. -
7:57 - 8:00I'd amassed a modest classroom library
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8:00 - 8:04of books I'd accumulated
from secondhand shops, -
8:04 - 8:06thrift stores, attics -- you know.
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8:06 - 8:09But whenever I said those dreadful words,
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8:09 - 8:11"Take out a book and read,"
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8:11 - 8:13you'd think I'd just declared war.
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8:13 - 8:15It was torture.
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8:16 - 8:17One day,
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8:17 - 8:20after I'd heard about this website
called DonorsChoose, -
8:20 - 8:23where classroom teachers create wish lists
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8:23 - 8:25of items they need for their classroom
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8:25 - 8:27and anonymous donors fulfill them,
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8:27 - 8:31I figured I'd go out on a limb
and just make a wish list -
8:31 - 8:35of the teenager's dream library.
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8:36 - 8:40Over 200 brand-new books
were sent to my room piece by piece. -
8:41 - 8:45Every day there were new deliveries
and my kids would exclaim with glee, -
8:45 - 8:47"This feels like Christmas!"
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8:47 - 8:48(Laughter)
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8:48 - 8:50Then they'd say,
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8:50 - 8:52"Ms. Sumner, where did
these books come from?" -
8:52 - 8:54And then I'd reply,
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8:54 - 8:58"Strangers from all over the country
wanted you to have these." -
8:58 - 9:01And then they'd say, almost suspiciously,
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9:02 - 9:04"But they're brand-new."
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9:04 - 9:05(Laughter)
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9:05 - 9:07To which I'd reply,
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9:07 - 9:09"You deserve brand-new books."
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9:10 - 9:14The whole experience hit home
for me when one of my girls, -
9:14 - 9:17as she peeled open a crisp paperback said,
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9:18 - 9:22"Ms. Sumner -- you know,
I figured you bought these books, -
9:22 - 9:25'cause you teachers
are always buying us stuff. -
9:25 - 9:29But to know that a stranger,
someone I don't even know, -
9:29 - 9:31cares this much about me
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9:31 - 9:33is pretty cool."
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9:34 - 9:36Knowing that strangers
will take care of you -
9:37 - 9:39is a privilege my kids aren't afforded.
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9:40 - 9:42Ever since the donation,
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9:42 - 9:46there has been a steady stream of kids
signing out books to take home, -
9:46 - 9:48and then returning them
with the exclamation, -
9:48 - 9:50"This one was good!"
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9:50 - 9:51(Laughter)
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9:51 - 9:53Now when I say,
"Take out a book and read," -
9:53 - 9:56kids rush to my library.
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9:57 - 9:59It wasn't that they didn't want to read,
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9:59 - 10:03but instead, they'd gladly read
if the resources were there. -
10:06 - 10:07Institutionally speaking,
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10:07 - 10:12our public school system has never
done right by the black and brown child. -
10:12 - 10:15We keep focusing on the end results
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10:15 - 10:16or test results,
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10:16 - 10:18and getting frustrated.
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10:18 - 10:20We get to a catastrophe and we wonder,
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10:20 - 10:23"How did it get so bad?
How did we get here?" -
10:24 - 10:25Really?
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10:25 - 10:28If you neglect a child long enough,
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10:28 - 10:31you no longer have
the right to be surprised -
10:31 - 10:32when things don't turn out well.
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10:33 - 10:35Stop being perplexed
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10:35 - 10:37or confused
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10:37 - 10:38or befuddled
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10:39 - 10:41by the achievement gap,
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10:41 - 10:42the income gap,
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10:42 - 10:43the incarceration rates,\
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10:44 - 10:49or whatever socioeconomic disparity
is the new "it" term for the moment. -
10:49 - 10:52The problems we have as a country
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10:52 - 10:54are the problems we created as a country.
-
10:55 - 10:58The quality of your education
is directly proportionate -
10:58 - 11:00to your access to college,
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11:00 - 11:02your access to jobs,
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11:02 - 11:04your access to the future.
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11:06 - 11:11Until we live in a world where every kid
can get a high-quality education -
11:11 - 11:12no matter where they live,
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11:12 - 11:14or the color of their skin,
-
11:14 - 11:18there are things we can do
on a macro level. -
11:19 - 11:23School funding should not
be decided by property taxes -
11:23 - 11:25or some funky economic equation
-
11:25 - 11:28where rich kids continue
to benefit from state aid, -
11:28 - 11:32while poor kids are continuously
having food and resources -
11:32 - 11:34taken from their mouths.
-
11:35 - 11:39Governors, senators, mayors,
city council members -- -
11:39 - 11:41if we're going to call
public education public education, -
11:41 - 11:43then it should be just that.
-
11:44 - 11:47Otherwise, we should
call it what it really is: -
11:47 - 11:48poverty insurance.
-
11:49 - 11:51"Public education:
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11:51 - 11:54keeping poor kids poor since 1954."
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11:54 - 11:55(Laughter)
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11:57 - 12:02If we really, as a country, believe
that education is the "great equalizer," -
12:02 - 12:06then it should be just that:
equal and equitable. -
12:06 - 12:11Until then, there's no democracy
in our democratic education. -
12:11 - 12:13On a mezzo level:
-
12:14 - 12:17historically speaking, the education
of the black and brown child -
12:17 - 12:20has always depended
on the philanthropy of others. -
12:20 - 12:23And unfortunately, today it still does.
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12:24 - 12:28If your son or daughter or niece
or nephew or neighbor -
12:28 - 12:30or little Timmy down the street
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12:30 - 12:33goes to an affluent school,
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12:33 - 12:36challenge your school committee
to adopt an impoverished school -
12:36 - 12:38or an impoverished classroom.
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12:38 - 12:41Close the divide by engaging
in communication -
12:41 - 12:43and relationships that matter.
-
12:44 - 12:46When resources are shared,
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12:46 - 12:48they're not divided;
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12:48 - 12:49they're multiplied.
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12:50 - 12:52And on a micro level:
-
12:52 - 12:54if you're a human being,
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12:54 - 12:55donate.
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12:56 - 13:00Time, money, resources, opportunities --
-
13:00 - 13:02whatever is in your heart.
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13:03 - 13:05There are websites like DonorsChoose
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13:05 - 13:07that recognize the disparity
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13:07 - 13:10and actually want
to do something about it. -
13:12 - 13:14What is a carpenter with no tools?
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13:14 - 13:17What is an actress with no stage?
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13:17 - 13:19What is a scientist with no laboratory?
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13:20 - 13:23What is a doctor with no equipment?
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13:23 - 13:25I'll tell you:
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13:25 - 13:26they're my kids.
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13:27 - 13:29Shouldn't they be your kids, too?
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13:30 - 13:31Thank you.
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13:31 - 13:37(Applause)
- Title:
- How America's public schools keep kids in poverty
- Speaker:
- Kandice Sumner
- Description:
-
Why should a good education be exclusive to rich kids? Schools in low-income neighborhoods across the US, specifically in communities of color, lack the resources that come standard at wealthier schools -- things like musical instruments, new books, healthy school lunches and soccer fields -- and this has a real impact on the potential of the students. Kandice Sumner sees the disparity every day in her classroom in Boston, and in this inspiring talk she asks us to face facts -- and change them.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 13:50
Retired user commented on English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Brian Greene commented on English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Gabriel Tallineau commented on English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Peter van de Ven commented on English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Peter van de Ven commented on English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How America's public schools keep kids in poverty |
Peter van de Ven
typo at 10.41: "the incarceration rates,\"
Peter van de Ven
typo at 5.10: "and call it was it really is." was->what
Gabriel Tallineau
Typo at 4.50 : "against" and not "again".
Brian Greene
The typos at 4:50, 5:10 and 10:41 were fixed on 11/8/2016.
Retired user
Hi, another typo in 1:40
and were the only ones using the brown crayons => and WE were the only ones using the brown crayons