Our failing schools. Enough is enough!
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0:01 - 0:04I'm a little nervous, because my wife Yvonne said to me,
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0:04 - 0:06she said, "Geoff, you watch the TED Talks."
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0:06 - 0:08I said, "Yes, honey, I love TED Talks."
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0:08 - 0:12She said, "You know, they're like, really smart, talented -- "
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0:12 - 0:14I said, "I know, I know." (Laughter)
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0:14 - 0:18She said, "They don't want, like, the angry black man."
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0:18 - 0:20(Laughter)
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0:20 - 0:22So I said, "No, I'm gonna be good, Honey,
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0:22 - 0:24I'm gonna be good. I am."
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0:24 - 0:27But I am angry. (Laughter)
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0:27 - 0:31And the last time I looked, I'm --
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0:31 - 0:34(Applause)
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0:34 - 0:39So this is why I'm excited but I'm angry.
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0:39 - 0:44This year, there are going to be millions of our children
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0:44 - 0:47that we're going to needlessly lose,
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0:47 - 0:52that we could -- right now, we could save them all.
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0:52 - 0:56You saw the quality of the educators who were here.
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0:56 - 0:59Do not tell me they could not reach those kids
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0:59 - 1:01and save them. I know they could.
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1:01 - 1:04It is absolutely possible.
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1:04 - 1:07Why haven't we fixed this?
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1:07 - 1:11Those of us in education have held on to a business plan
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1:11 - 1:15that we don't care how many millions of young people fail,
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1:15 - 1:18we're going to continue to do the same thing that didn't work,
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1:18 - 1:23and nobody is getting crazy about it -- right? --
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1:23 - 1:25enough to say, "Enough is enough."
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1:25 - 1:30So here's a business plan that simply does not make any sense.
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1:30 - 1:33You know, I grew up in the inner city,
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1:33 - 1:38and there were kids who were failing
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1:38 - 1:45in schools 56 years ago when I first went to school,
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1:45 - 1:51and those schools are still lousy today, 56 years later.
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1:51 - 1:53And you know something about a lousy school?
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1:53 - 1:56It's not like a bottle of wine.
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1:56 - 1:57Right? (Laughter)
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1:57 - 2:01Where you say, like, '87 was like a good year, right?
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2:01 - 2:04That's now how this thing -- I mean, every single year,
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2:04 - 2:07it's still the same approach, right?
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2:07 - 2:11One size fits all, if you get it, fine, and if you don't,
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2:11 - 2:15tough luck. Just tough luck.
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2:15 - 2:18Why haven't we allowed innovation to happen?
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2:18 - 2:20Do not tell me we can't do better than this.
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2:20 - 2:26Look, you go into a place that's failed kids for 50 years,
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2:26 - 2:28and you say, "So what's the plan?"
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2:28 - 2:30And they say, "We'll, we're going to do
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2:30 - 2:33what we did last year this year."
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2:33 - 2:36What kind of business model is that?
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2:36 - 2:42Banks used to open and operate between 10 and 3.
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2:42 - 2:47They operated 10 to 3. They were closed for lunch hour.
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2:47 - 2:52Now, who can bank between 10 and 3? The unemployed.
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2:52 - 2:55They don't need banks. They got no money in the banks.
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2:55 - 2:59Who created that business model? Right?
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2:59 - 3:01And it went on for decades.
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3:01 - 3:03You know why? Because they didn't care.
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3:03 - 3:05It wasn't about the customers.
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3:05 - 3:10It was about bankers. They created something that worked for them.
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3:10 - 3:12How could you go to the bank
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3:12 - 3:15when you were at work? It didn't matter.
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3:15 - 3:17And they don't care whether or not Geoff is upset
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3:17 - 3:20he can't go to the bank. Go find another bank.
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3:20 - 3:23They all operate the same way. Right?
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3:23 - 3:27Now, one day, some crazy banker had an idea.
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3:27 - 3:31Maybe we should keep the bank open when people come home from work.
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3:31 - 3:34They might like that. What about a Saturday?
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3:34 - 3:37What about introducing technology?
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3:37 - 3:40Now look, I'm a technology fan, but I have to admit
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3:40 - 3:42to you all I'm a little old.
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3:42 - 3:45So I was a little slow, and I did not trust technology,
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3:45 - 3:49and when they first came out with those new contraptions,
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3:49 - 3:52these tellers that you put in a card and they give you money,
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3:52 - 3:56I was like, "There's no way that machine is going to count that money right.
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3:56 - 3:58I am never using that, right?"
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3:58 - 4:04So technology has changed. Things have changed.
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4:04 - 4:07Yet not in education. Why?
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4:07 - 4:12Why is it that when we had rotary phones,
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4:12 - 4:16when we were having folks being crippled by polio,
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4:16 - 4:19that we were teaching
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4:19 - 4:22the same way then that we're doing right now?
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4:22 - 4:26And if you come up with a plan to change things,
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4:26 - 4:28people consider you radical.
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4:28 - 4:31They will say the worst things about you.
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4:31 - 4:35I said one day, well, look, if the science says --
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4:35 - 4:38this is science, not me -- that our poorest children
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4:38 - 4:42lose ground in the summertime --
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4:42 - 4:44You see where they are in June and say, okay, they're there.
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4:44 - 4:46You look at them in September, they've gone down.
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4:46 - 4:51You say, whoo! So I heard about that in '75
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4:51 - 4:52when I was at the Ed School at Harvard.
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4:52 - 4:55I said, "Oh, wow, this is an important study."
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4:55 - 4:59Because it suggests we should do something.
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4:59 - 5:03(Laughter)
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5:03 - 5:06Every 10 years they reproduce the same study.
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5:06 - 5:07It says exactly the same thing:
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5:07 - 5:10Poor kids lose ground in the summertime.
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5:10 - 5:15The system decides you can't run schools in the summer.
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5:15 - 5:18You know, I always wonder, who makes up those rules?
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5:18 - 5:20For years I went to -- Look, I went the Harvard Ed School.
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5:20 - 5:21I thought I knew something.
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5:21 - 5:24They said it was the agrarian calendar, and people had —
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5:24 - 5:26but let me tell you why that doesn't make sense.
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5:26 - 5:29I never got that. I never got that,
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5:29 - 5:32because anyone knows if you farm,
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5:32 - 5:35you don't plant crops in July and August.
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5:35 - 5:37You plant them in the spring.
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5:37 - 5:41So who came up with this idea? Who owns it?
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5:41 - 5:43Why did we ever do it?
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5:43 - 5:45Well it just turns out in the 1840s we did have,
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5:45 - 5:48schools were open all year. They were open all year,
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5:48 - 5:51because we had a lot of folks who had to work all day.
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5:51 - 5:52They didn't have any place for their kids to go.
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5:52 - 5:54It was a perfect place to have schools.
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5:54 - 5:57So this is not something that is ordained
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5:57 - 6:00from the education gods.
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6:00 - 6:03So why don't we? Why don't we?
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6:03 - 6:08Because our business has refused to use science.
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6:08 - 6:11Science. You have Bill Gates coming out and saying,
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6:11 - 6:15"Look, this works, right? We can do this."
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6:15 - 6:20How many places in America are going to change? None.
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6:20 - 6:22None. Okay, yeah, there are two. All right?
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6:22 - 6:27Yes, there'll be some place, because some folks will do the right thing.
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6:27 - 6:32As a profession, we have to stop this. The science is clear.
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6:32 - 6:34Here's what we know.
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6:34 - 6:40We know that the problem begins immediately.
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6:40 - 6:44Right? This idea, zero to three.
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6:44 - 6:46My wife, Yvonne, and I, we have four kids,
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6:46 - 6:50three grown ones and a 15-year-old.
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6:50 - 6:51That's a longer story.
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6:51 - 6:53(Laughter)
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6:53 - 6:56With our first kids, we did not know the science
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6:56 - 6:58about brain development.
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6:58 - 7:01We didn't know how critical those first three years were.
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7:01 - 7:03We didn't know what was happening in those young brains.
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7:03 - 7:06We didn't know the role that language,
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7:06 - 7:08a stimulus and response, call and response,
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7:08 - 7:11how important that was in developing those children.
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7:11 - 7:16We know that now. What are we doing about it? Nothing.
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7:16 - 7:20Wealthy people know. Educated people know.
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7:20 - 7:22And their kids have an advantage.
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7:22 - 7:23Poor people don't know,
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7:23 - 7:26and we're not doing anything to help them at all.
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7:26 - 7:28But we know this is critical.
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7:28 - 7:31Now, you take pre-kindergarten.
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7:31 - 7:33We know it's important for kids.
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7:33 - 7:37Poor kids need that experience.
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7:37 - 7:42Nope. Lots of places, it doesn't exist.
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7:42 - 7:44We know health services matter.
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7:44 - 7:46You know, we provide health services
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7:46 - 7:49and people are always fussing at me about, you know,
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7:49 - 7:53because I'm all into accountability and data
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7:53 - 7:56and all of that good stuff, but we do health services,
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7:56 - 7:57and I have to raise a lot of money.
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7:57 - 7:59People used to say when they'd come fund us,
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7:59 - 8:02"Geoff, why do you provide these health services?"
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8:02 - 8:04I used to make stuff up. Right?
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8:04 - 8:06I'd say, "Well, you know a child
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8:06 - 8:10who has cavities is not going to, uh,
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8:10 - 8:12be able to study as well."
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8:12 - 8:16And I had to because I had to raise the money.
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8:16 - 8:19But now I'm older, and you know what I tell them?
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8:19 - 8:22You know why I provide kids with those health benefits
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8:22 - 8:24and the sports and the recreation and the arts?
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8:24 - 8:27Because I actually like kids.
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8:27 - 8:32I actually like kids. (Laughter) (Applause)
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8:32 - 8:36But when they really get pushy, people really get pushy,
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8:36 - 8:39I say, "I do it because you do it for your kid."
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8:39 - 8:42And you've never read a study from MIT that says
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8:42 - 8:45giving your kid dance instruction
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8:45 - 8:48is going to help them do algebra better,
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8:48 - 8:50but you will give that kid dance instruction,
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8:50 - 8:53and you will be thrilled that that kid wants to do dance instruction,
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8:53 - 8:56and it will make your day. And why shouldn't poor kids
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8:56 - 9:02have the same opportunity? It's the floor for these children.
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9:02 - 9:05(Applause)
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9:05 - 9:08So here's the other thing.
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9:08 - 9:12I'm a tester guy. I believe you need data, you need information,
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9:12 - 9:14because you work at something, you think it's working,
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9:14 - 9:16and you find out it's not working.
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9:16 - 9:18I mean, you're educators. You work, you say,
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9:18 - 9:21you think you've got it, great, no? And you find out they didn't get it.
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9:21 - 9:24But here's the problem with testing.
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9:24 - 9:26The testing that we do --
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9:26 - 9:29we're going to have our test in New York next week —
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9:29 - 9:31is in April.
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9:31 - 9:34You know when we're going to get the results back?
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9:34 - 9:37Maybe July, maybe June.
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9:37 - 9:40And the results have great data.
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9:40 - 9:43They'll tell you Raheem really struggled,
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9:43 - 9:46couldn't do two-digit multiplication -- so great data,
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9:46 - 9:49but you're getting it back after school is over.
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9:49 - 9:51And so, what do you do?
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9:51 - 9:54You go on vacation. (Laughter)
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9:54 - 9:56You come back from vacation.
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9:56 - 10:01Now you've got all of this test data from last year.
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10:01 - 10:04You don't look at it.
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10:04 - 10:06Why would you look at it?
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10:06 - 10:08You're going to go and teach this year.
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10:08 - 10:11So how much money did we just spend on all of that?
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10:11 - 10:14Billions and billions of dollars
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10:14 - 10:17for data that it's too late to use.
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10:17 - 10:19I need that data in September.
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10:19 - 10:21I need that data in November.
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10:21 - 10:23I need to know you're struggling, and I need to know
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10:23 - 10:25whether or not what I did corrected that.
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10:25 - 10:27I need to know that this week.
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10:27 - 10:31I don't need to know that at the end of the year when it's too late.
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10:31 - 10:36Because in my older years, I've become somewhat of a clairvoyant.
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10:36 - 10:39I can predict school scores.
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10:39 - 10:41You take me to any school.
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10:41 - 10:44I'm really good at inner city schools that are struggling.
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10:44 - 10:48And you tell me last year 48 percent of those kids
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10:48 - 10:51were on grade level.
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10:51 - 10:53And I say, "Okay, what's the plan, what did we do
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10:53 - 10:54from last year to this year?"
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10:54 - 10:55You say, "We're doing the same thing."
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10:55 - 10:58I'm going to make a prediction. (Laughter)
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10:58 - 11:01This year, somewhere between 44
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11:01 - 11:04and 52 percent of those kids will be on grade level.
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11:04 - 11:08And I will be right every single time.
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11:08 - 11:12So we're spending all of this money, but we're getting what?
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11:12 - 11:15Teachers need real information right now
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11:15 - 11:16about what's happening to their kids.
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11:16 - 11:22The high stakes is today, because you can do something about it.
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11:22 - 11:27So here's the other issue that I just think
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11:27 - 11:29we've got to be concerned about.
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11:29 - 11:34We can't stifle innovation in our business.
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11:34 - 11:38We have to innovate. And people in our business get mad about innovation.
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11:38 - 11:40They get angry if you do something different.
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11:40 - 11:41If you try something new, people are always like,
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11:41 - 11:46"Ooh, charter schools." Hey, let's try some stuff. Let's see.
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11:46 - 11:48This stuff hasn't worked for 55 years.
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11:48 - 11:51Let's try something different. And here's the rub.
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11:51 - 11:53Some of it's not going to work.
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11:53 - 11:56You know, people tell me, "Yeah, those charter schools, a lot of them don't work."
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11:56 - 12:00A lot of them don't. They should be closed.
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12:00 - 12:02I mean, I really believe they should be closed.
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12:02 - 12:06But we can't confuse figuring out the science
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12:06 - 12:11and things not working with we shouldn't therefore do anything.
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12:11 - 12:13Right? Because that's not the way the world works.
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12:13 - 12:14If you think about technology,
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12:14 - 12:17imagine if that's how we thought about technology.
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12:17 - 12:18Every time something didn't work,
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12:18 - 12:20we just threw in the towel and said, "Let's forget it." Right?
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12:20 - 12:24You know, they convinced me. I'm sure some of you were like me --
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12:24 - 12:28the latest and greatest thing, the PalmPilot.
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12:28 - 12:31They told me, "Geoff, if you get this PalmPilot
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12:31 - 12:32you'll never need another thing."
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12:32 - 12:37That thing lasted all of three weeks. It was over.
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12:37 - 12:41I was so disgusted I spent my money on this thing.
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12:41 - 12:47Did anybody stop inventing? Not a person. Not a soul.
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12:47 - 12:49The folks went out there. They kept inventing.
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12:49 - 12:52The fact that you have failure, that shouldn't stop you
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12:52 - 12:55from pushing the science forward.
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12:55 - 12:57Our job as educators,
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12:57 - 13:00there's some stuff we know that we can do.
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13:00 - 13:04And we've got to do better. The evaluation, we have to start with kids earlier,
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13:04 - 13:07we have to make sure that we provide the support to young people.
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13:07 - 13:09We've got to give them all of these opportunities.
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13:09 - 13:12So that we have to do. But this innovation issue,
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13:12 - 13:16this idea that we've got to keep innovating
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13:16 - 13:19until we really nail this science down
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13:19 - 13:21is something that is absolutely critical.
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13:21 - 13:24And this is something, by the way,
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13:24 - 13:27that I think is going to be a challenge for our entire field.
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13:27 - 13:32America cannot wait another 50 years to get this right.
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13:32 - 13:35We have run out of time.
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13:35 - 13:38I don't know about a fiscal cliff, but I know there's an educational cliff
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13:38 - 13:42that we are walking over right this very second,
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13:42 - 13:46and if we allow folks to continue this foolishness
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13:46 - 13:49about saying we can't afford this —
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13:49 - 13:51So Bill Gates says it's going to cost five billion dollars.
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13:51 - 13:54What is five billion dollars to the United States?
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13:54 - 13:56What did we spend in Afghanistan this year?
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13:56 - 14:00How many trillions? (Applause)
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14:00 - 14:03When the country cares about something,
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14:03 - 14:07we'll spend a trillion dollars without blinking an eye.
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14:07 - 14:10When the safety of America is threatened,
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14:10 - 14:13we will spend any amount of money.
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14:13 - 14:16The real safety of our nation
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14:16 - 14:18is preparing this next generation
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14:18 - 14:21so that they can take our place
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14:21 - 14:25and be the leaders of the world
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14:25 - 14:28when it comes to thinking and technology and democracy
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14:28 - 14:30and all that stuff we care about.
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14:30 - 14:35I dare say it's a pittance,
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14:35 - 14:39what it would require for us to really
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14:39 - 14:41begin to solve some of these problems.
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14:41 - 14:46So once we do that, I'll no longer be angry. (Laughter)
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14:46 - 14:52So, you guys, help me get there.
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14:52 - 14:54Thank you all very much. Thank you.
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14:54 - 15:04(Applause)
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15:04 - 15:08John Legend: So what is the high school dropout rate at Harlem Children's Zone?
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15:08 - 15:09Geoffrey Canada: Well, you know, John,
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15:09 - 15:12100 percent of our kids graduated high school
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15:12 - 15:13last year in my school.
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15:13 - 15:14A hundred percent of them went to college.
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15:14 - 15:18This year's seniors will have 100 percent graduating high school.
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15:18 - 15:21Last I heard we had 93 percent accepted to college.
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15:21 - 15:23We'd better get that other seven percent.
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15:23 - 15:30So that's just how this goes. (Applause)
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15:30 - 15:33JL: So how do you stick with them after they leave high school?
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15:33 - 15:35GC: Well, you know, one of the bad problems
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15:35 - 15:38we have in this country is these kids, the same kids,
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15:38 - 15:40these same vulnerable kids, when you get them in school,
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15:40 - 15:41they drop out in record numbers.
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15:41 - 15:45And so we've figured out that you've got to really design
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15:45 - 15:48a network of support for these kids that in many ways
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15:48 - 15:50mimics what a good parent does.
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15:50 - 15:54They harass you, right? They call you, they say,
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15:54 - 15:56"I want to see your grades. How'd you do on that last test?
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15:56 - 15:59What are you talking about that you want to leave school?
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15:59 - 16:00And you're not coming back here."
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16:00 - 16:02So a bunch of my kids know you can't come back to Harlem
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16:02 - 16:04because Geoff is looking for you.
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16:04 - 16:07They're like, "I really can't come back." No. You'd better stay in school.
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16:07 - 16:10But I'm not kidding about some of this,
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16:10 - 16:11and it gets a little bit to the grit issue.
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16:11 - 16:16When kids know that you refuse to let them fail,
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16:16 - 16:18it puts a different pressure on them,
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16:18 - 16:19and they don't give up as easy.
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16:19 - 16:22So sometimes they don't have it inside,
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16:22 - 16:24and they're, like, "You know, I don't want to do this,
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16:24 - 16:27but I know my mother's going to be mad."
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16:27 - 16:30Well, that matters to kids, and it helps get them through.
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16:30 - 16:34We try to create a set of strategies that gets them tutoring
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16:34 - 16:38and help and support, but also a set of encouragements
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16:38 - 16:40that say to them, "You can do it. It is going to be hard,
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16:40 - 16:42but we refuse to let you fail."
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16:42 - 16:44JL: Well, thank you Dr. Canada.
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16:44 - 16:45Please give it up for him one more time.
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16:45 - 16:50(Applause)
- Title:
- Our failing schools. Enough is enough!
- Speaker:
- Geoffrey Canada
- Description:
-
Why, why, why does our education system look so similar to the way it did 50 years ago? Millions of students were failing then, as they are now -- and it’s because we’re clinging to a business model that clearly doesn’t work. Education advocate Geoffrey Canada dares the system to look at the data, think about the customers and make systematic shifts in order to help greater numbers of kids excel.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 17:07
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Our failing schools. Enough is enough! | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Our failing schools. Enough is enough! | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Our failing schools. Enough is enough! | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Our failing schools. Enough is enough! | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Our failing schools. Enough is enough! | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Our failing schools. Enough is enough! | ||
Joseph Geni added a translation |