Kids need structure
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0:01 - 0:02What I want to do this afternoon
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0:02 - 0:05is something a little different than what's scheduled.
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0:05 - 0:07Foreign policy, you can figure that out
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0:07 - 0:10by watching, I don't know, Rachel Maddow or somebody,
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0:10 - 0:12but — (Laughter) —
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0:12 - 0:16I want to talk about young people and structure,
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0:16 - 0:18young people and structure.
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0:18 - 0:20This was last Wednesday afternoon
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0:20 - 0:22at a school in Brooklyn, New York,
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0:22 - 0:25at Cristo Rey High School, run by the Jesuits.
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0:25 - 0:29And I was talking to this group of students, and take a look at them.
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0:29 - 0:32They were around me in three directions.
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0:32 - 0:34You'll noticed that almost all of them are minority.
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0:34 - 0:36You'll notice that the building is rather austere.
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0:36 - 0:40It's an old New York school building, nothing fancy.
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0:40 - 0:43They still have old blackboards and whatnot.
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0:43 - 0:46And there are about 300 kids in this school,
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0:46 - 0:48and the school's been going now for four years,
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0:48 - 0:51and they're about to graduate their first class.
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0:51 - 0:53Twenty-two people are graduating,
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0:53 - 0:55and all 22 are going to college.
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0:55 - 0:58They all come from homes where there is, for the most part,
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0:58 - 1:01just one person in the home,
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1:01 - 1:04usually the mother or the grandmother, and that's it,
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1:04 - 1:06and they come here for their education
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1:06 - 1:07and for their structure.
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1:07 - 1:10Now I had this picture taken, and it was put up
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1:10 - 1:13on my Facebook page last week,
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1:13 - 1:14and somebody wrote in,
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1:14 - 1:19"Huh, why does he have him standing at attention like that?"
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1:19 - 1:24And then they said, "But he looks good." (Laughter)
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1:24 - 1:26He does look good, because kids need structure,
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1:26 - 1:30and the trick I play in all of my school appearances
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1:30 - 1:33is that when I get through with my little homily to the kids,
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1:33 - 1:35I then invite them to ask questions,
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1:35 - 1:37and when they raise their hands, I say, "Come up,"
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1:37 - 1:39and I make them come up and stand in front of me.
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1:39 - 1:41I make them stand at attention like a soldier.
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1:41 - 1:43Put your arms straight down at your side,
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1:43 - 1:47look up, open your eyes, stare straight ahead,
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1:47 - 1:50and speak out your question loudly so everybody can hear.
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1:50 - 1:53No slouching, no pants hanging down, none of that stuff.
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1:53 - 1:55(Laughter)
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1:55 - 1:58And this young man, his name is -- his last name Cruz --
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1:58 - 2:02he loved it. That's all over his Facebook page and it's gone viral.
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2:02 - 2:04(Laughter)
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2:04 - 2:07So people think I'm being unkind to this kid.
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2:07 - 2:08No, we're having a little fun.
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2:08 - 2:11And the thing about it, I've done this for years,
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2:11 - 2:14the younger they are, the more fun it is.
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2:14 - 2:17When I get six- and seven-year-olds in a group,
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2:17 - 2:19I have to figure out how to keep them quiet.
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2:19 - 2:21You know that they'll always start yakking.
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2:21 - 2:22And so I play a little game with them
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2:22 - 2:24before I make them stand at attention.
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2:24 - 2:26I say, "Now listen. In the army,
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2:26 - 2:29when we want you to pay attention,
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2:29 - 2:32we have a command. It's called 'at ease.'
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2:32 - 2:35It means everybody be quiet and pay attention. Listen up.
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2:35 - 2:36Do you understand?"
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2:36 - 2:41"Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.""Let's practice. Everybody start chatting."
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2:41 - 2:45And I let them go for about 10 seconds, then I go, "At ease!"
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2:45 - 2:48"Huh!" (Laughter)
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2:48 - 2:51"Yes, General. Yes, General."
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2:51 - 2:53Try it with your kids. See if it works. (Laughter)
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2:53 - 2:56I don't think so.
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2:56 - 2:59But anyway, it's a game I play, and it comes obviously
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2:59 - 3:01from my military experience.
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3:01 - 3:04Because for the majority of my adult life,
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3:04 - 3:08I worked with young kids, teenagers with guns, I call them.
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3:08 - 3:11And we would bring them into the army,
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3:11 - 3:13and the first thing we would do is to put them
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3:13 - 3:17in an environment of structure, put them in ranks,
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3:17 - 3:19make them all wear the same clothes,
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3:19 - 3:21cut all their hair off so they look alike,
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3:21 - 3:23make sure that they are standing in ranks.
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3:23 - 3:25We teach them how to go right face, left face,
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3:25 - 3:27so they can obey instructions and know
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3:27 - 3:30the consequences of not obeying instructions.
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3:30 - 3:32It gives them structure.
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3:32 - 3:36And then we introduce them to somebody who they come to hate immediately, the drill sergeant.
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3:36 - 3:38And they hate him.
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3:38 - 3:40And the drill sergeant starts screaming at them,
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3:40 - 3:44and telling them to do all kinds of awful things.
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3:44 - 3:47But then the most amazing thing happens over time.
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3:47 - 3:50Once that structure is developed,
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3:50 - 3:53once they understand the reason for something,
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3:53 - 3:57once they understand, "Mama ain't here, son.
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3:57 - 4:01I'm your worst nightmare. I'm your daddy and your mommy.
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4:01 - 4:03And that's just the way it is. You got that, son?
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4:03 - 4:06Yeah, and then when I ask you a question, there are only three possible answers:
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4:06 - 4:09yes, sir; no, sir; and no excuse, sir.
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4:09 - 4:11Don't start telling me why you didn't do something.
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4:11 - 4:13It's yes, sir; no, sir; no excuse, sir."
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4:13 - 4:15"You didn't shave.""But sir —"
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4:15 - 4:18"No, don't tell me how often you scraped your face this morning.
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4:18 - 4:20I'm telling you you didn't shave."
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4:20 - 4:23"No excuse, sir.""Attaboy, you're learning fast."
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4:23 - 4:25But you'd be amazed at what you can do with them
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4:25 - 4:28once you put them in that structure.
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4:28 - 4:33In 18 weeks, they have a skill. They are mature.
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4:33 - 4:36And you know what, they come to admire the drill sergeant
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4:36 - 4:38and they never forget the drill sergeant.
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4:38 - 4:40They come to respect him.
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4:40 - 4:44And so we need more of this kind of structure and respect
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4:44 - 4:46in the lives of our children.
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4:46 - 4:48I spend a lot of time with youth groups,
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4:48 - 4:51and I say to people, "When does the education process begin?"
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4:51 - 4:53We're always talking about, "Let's fix the schools.
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4:53 - 4:57Let's do more for our teachers. Let's put more computers in our schools.
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4:57 - 5:00Let's get it all online."
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5:00 - 5:03That isn't the whole answer. It's part of the answer.
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5:03 - 5:06But the real answer begins with bringing a child to the school
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5:06 - 5:11with structure in that child's heart and soul to begin with.
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5:11 - 5:14When does the learning process begin? Does it begin in first grade?
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5:14 - 5:16No, no, it begins the first time
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5:16 - 5:19a child in a mother's arms
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5:19 - 5:21looks up at the mother
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5:21 - 5:25and says, "Oh, this must be my mother.
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5:25 - 5:27She's the one who feeds me.
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5:27 - 5:29Oh yeah, when I don't feel so good down there,
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5:29 - 5:32she takes care of me.
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5:32 - 5:35It's her language I will learn."
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5:35 - 5:38And at that moment they shut out all the other languages
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5:38 - 5:40that they could be learning at that age,
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5:40 - 5:43but by three months, that's her.
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5:43 - 5:45And if the person doing it, whether it's the mother
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5:45 - 5:47or grandmother, whoever's doing it,
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5:47 - 5:49that is when the education process begins.
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5:49 - 5:51That's when language begins.
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5:51 - 5:53That's when love begins. That's when structure begins.
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5:53 - 5:56That's when you start to imprint on the child
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5:56 - 5:58that "you are special,
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5:58 - 6:01you are different from every other child in the world.
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6:01 - 6:03And we're going to read to you."
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6:03 - 6:06A child who has not been read to
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6:06 - 6:08is in danger when that child gets to school.
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6:08 - 6:10A child who doesn't know his or her colors
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6:10 - 6:13or doesn't know how to tell time, doesn't know how to tie shoes,
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6:13 - 6:14doesn't know how to do those things,
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6:14 - 6:17and doesn't know how to do something that
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6:17 - 6:20goes by a word that was drilled into me as a kid: mind.
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6:20 - 6:24Mind your manners! Mind your adults! Mind what you're saying!
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6:24 - 6:27This is the way children are raised properly.
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6:27 - 6:30And I watched my own young grandchildren now come along
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6:30 - 6:34and they're, much to the distress of my children,
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6:34 - 6:39they are acting just like we did. You know? You imprint them.
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6:39 - 6:44And that's what you have to do to prepare children for education and for school.
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6:44 - 6:46And I'm working at all the energy I have
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6:46 - 6:48to sort of communicate this message that
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6:48 - 6:52we need preschool, we need Head Start,
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6:52 - 6:55we need prenatal care.
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6:55 - 6:59The education process begins even before the child is born,
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6:59 - 7:02and if you don't do that, you're going to have difficulty.
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7:02 - 7:04And we are having difficulties in so many of our communities
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7:04 - 7:07and so many of our schools where kids are coming
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7:07 - 7:10to first grade and their eyes are blazing,
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7:10 - 7:13they've got their little knapsack on and they're ready to go,
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7:13 - 7:17and then they realize they're not like the other first graders
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7:17 - 7:21who know books, have been read to, can do their alphabet.
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7:21 - 7:24And by the third grade, the kids who didn't have
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7:24 - 7:28that structure and minding in the beginning
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7:28 - 7:30start to realize they're behind, and what do they do?
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7:30 - 7:33They act it out. They act it out, and they're on their way
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7:33 - 7:36to jail or they're on their way to being dropouts.
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7:36 - 7:38It's predictable.
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7:38 - 7:41If you're not at the right reading level at third grade,
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7:41 - 7:45you are a candidate for jail at age 18,
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7:45 - 7:47and we have the highest incarceration rate
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7:47 - 7:50because we're not getting our kids the proper start in life.
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7:50 - 7:52The last chapter in my book is called
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7:52 - 7:55"The Gift of a Good Start."
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7:55 - 7:59The gift of a good start. Every child ought to have a good start in life.
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7:59 - 8:02I was privileged to have that kind of good start.
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8:02 - 8:04I was not a great student.
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8:04 - 8:06I was a public school kid in New York City,
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8:06 - 8:09and I didn't do well at all.
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8:09 - 8:13I have my entire New York City Board of Education transcript
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8:13 - 8:15from kindergarten through college.
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8:15 - 8:18I wanted it when I was writing my first book.
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8:18 - 8:20I wanted to see if my memory was correct,
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8:20 - 8:23and, my God, it was. (Laughter)
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8:23 - 8:26Straight C everywhere.
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8:26 - 8:28And I finally bounced through high school,
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8:28 - 8:30got into the City College of New York
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8:30 - 8:34with a 78.3 average, which I shouldn't have been allowed in with,
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8:34 - 8:37and then I started out in engineering,
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8:37 - 8:39and that only lasted six months. (Laughter)
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8:39 - 8:43And then I went into geology, "rocks for jocks." This is easy.
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8:43 - 8:45And then I found ROTC.
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8:45 - 8:49I found something that I did well and something that I loved doing,
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8:49 - 8:53and I found a group of youngsters like me who felt the same way.
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8:53 - 8:57And so my whole life then was dedicated to ROTC and the military.
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8:57 - 9:00And I say to young kids everywhere, as you're growing up
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9:00 - 9:02and as this structure is being developed inside of you,
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9:02 - 9:05always be looking for that which you do well and that which you love doing,
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9:05 - 9:08and when you find those two things together, man, you got it.
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9:08 - 9:11That's what's going on. And that's what I found.
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9:11 - 9:13Now the authorities at CCNY were getting tired of me being there.
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9:13 - 9:15I'd been there four and a half going on five years,
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9:15 - 9:20and my grades were not doing particularly well,
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9:20 - 9:23and I was in occasional difficulties with the administration.
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9:23 - 9:26And so they said, "But he does so well in ROTC.
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9:26 - 9:29Look, he gets straight A's in that but not in anything else."
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9:29 - 9:33And so they said, "Look, let's take his ROTC grades
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9:33 - 9:37and roll them into his overall GPA and see what happens."
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9:37 - 9:43And they did, and it brought me up to 2.0. (Laughter)
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9:43 - 9:47Yep. (Laughter) (Applause)
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9:47 - 9:50They said, "It's good enough for government work.
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9:50 - 9:54Give him to the army. We'll never see him again. We'll never see him again."
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9:54 - 9:56So they shipped me off to the army,
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9:56 - 9:59and lo and behold, many years later,
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9:59 - 10:04I'm considered one of the greatest sons the City College of New York has ever had. (Laughter)
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10:04 - 10:07So, I tell young people everywhere,
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10:07 - 10:11it ain't where you start in life, it's what you do with life
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10:11 - 10:15that determines where you end up in life,
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10:15 - 10:17and you are blessed to be living in a country that,
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10:17 - 10:20no matter where you start, you have opportunities
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10:20 - 10:23so long as you believe in yourself,
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10:23 - 10:26you believe in the society and the country,
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10:26 - 10:30and you believe that you can self-improve
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10:30 - 10:32and educate yourself as you go along.
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10:32 - 10:34And that's the key to success.
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10:34 - 10:38But it begins with the gift of a good start.
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10:38 - 10:40If we don't give that gift to each and every one of our kids,
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10:40 - 10:44if we don't invest at the earliest age,
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10:44 - 10:46we're going to be running into difficulties.
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10:46 - 10:51It's why we have a dropout rate of roughly 25 percent overall
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10:51 - 10:53and almost 50 percent of our minority population
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10:53 - 10:57living in low-income areas,
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10:57 - 11:00because they're not getting the gift of a good start.
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11:00 - 11:04My gift of a good start was not only being in a nice family,
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11:04 - 11:07a good family, but having a family that said to me,
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11:07 - 11:11"Now listen, we came to this country in banana boats
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11:11 - 11:15in 1920 and 1924.
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11:15 - 11:19We worked like dogs down in the garment industry every single day.
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11:19 - 11:22We're not doing it so that you can stick something up your nose
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11:22 - 11:27or get in trouble. And don't even think about dropping out."
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11:27 - 11:30If I had ever gone home and told those immigrant people
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11:30 - 11:32that, "You know, I'm tired of school and I'm dropping out,"
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11:32 - 11:35they'd said, "We're dropping you out. We'll get another kid."
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11:35 - 11:41(Laughter)
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11:41 - 11:44They had expectations for all of the cousins
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11:44 - 11:47and the extended family of immigrants that lived in the South Bronx,
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11:47 - 11:50but they had more than just expectations for us.
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11:50 - 11:54They stuck into our hearts like a dagger
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11:54 - 11:59a sense of shame: "Don't you shame this family."
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11:59 - 12:01Sometimes I would get in trouble,
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12:01 - 12:03and my parents were coming home,
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12:03 - 12:06and I was in my room waiting for what's going to happen,
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12:06 - 12:08and I would sit there saying to myself, "Okay, look,
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12:08 - 12:13take the belt and hit me, but, God, don't give me that 'shame the family' bit again."
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12:13 - 12:16It devastated me when my mother did that to me.
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12:16 - 12:18And I also had this extended network.
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12:18 - 12:21Children need a network. Children need to be part of a tribe,
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12:21 - 12:23a family, a community.
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12:23 - 12:27In my case it was aunts who lived in all of these tenement buildings.
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12:27 - 12:29I don't know how many of you are New Yorkers,
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12:29 - 12:31but there were these tenement buildings,
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12:31 - 12:34and these women were always hanging out one of the windows,
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12:34 - 12:36leaning on a pillow.
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12:36 - 12:39They never left. (Laughter)
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12:39 - 12:42I, so help me God, I grew up walking those streets,
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12:42 - 12:43and they were always there.
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12:43 - 12:46They never went to the bathroom. They never cooked. (Laughter)
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12:46 - 12:49They never did anything.
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12:49 - 12:51But what they did was keep us in play.
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12:51 - 12:54They kept us in play.
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12:54 - 12:56And they didn't care
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12:56 - 13:01whether you became a doctor or a lawyer or a general,
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13:01 - 13:04and they never expected any generals in the family,
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13:04 - 13:07as long as you got an education and then you got a job.
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13:07 - 13:09"Don't give us any of that self-actualization stuff.
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13:09 - 13:12You get a job and get out of the house.
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13:12 - 13:15We don't have time to waste for that.
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13:15 - 13:18And then you can support us. That's the role of you guys."
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13:18 - 13:24And so, it's so essential that we kind of put this culture
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13:24 - 13:28back into our families, all families.
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13:28 - 13:31And it is so important that all of you here today
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13:31 - 13:34who are successful people,
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13:34 - 13:39and I'm sure have wonderful families and children and grandchildren,
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13:39 - 13:40it's not enough. You've got to reach out and back
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13:40 - 13:43and find kids like Mr. Cruz
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13:43 - 13:46who can make it if you give them the structure,
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13:46 - 13:48if you reach back and help, if you mentor,
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13:48 - 13:51if you invest in boys and girls clubs,
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13:51 - 13:53if you work with your school system,
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13:53 - 13:54make sure it's the best school system,
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13:54 - 13:59and not just your kid's school, but the school uptown in Harlem,
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13:59 - 14:02not just downtown Montessori on the West Side.
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14:02 - 14:06All of us have to have a commitment to do that.
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14:06 - 14:08And we're not just investing in the kids.
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14:08 - 14:10We're investing in our future.
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14:10 - 14:13We're going to be a minority-majority country
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14:13 - 14:15in one more generation.
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14:15 - 14:19Those that we call minorities now are going to be the majority.
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14:19 - 14:21And we have to make sure that they are ready to be the majority.
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14:21 - 14:23We have to make sure they're ready to be the leaders
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14:23 - 14:26of this great country of ours,
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14:26 - 14:30a country that is like no other,
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14:30 - 14:32a country that amazes me every single day,
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14:32 - 14:34a country that's fractious. We're always arguing with each other.
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14:34 - 14:37That's how the system's supposed to work.
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14:37 - 14:41It's a country of such contrasts, but it's a nation of nations.
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14:41 - 14:45We touch every nation. Every nation touches us.
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14:45 - 14:46We are a nation of immigrants.
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14:46 - 14:50That's why we need sound immigration policy.
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14:50 - 14:53It's ridiculous not to have a sound immigration policy
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14:53 - 14:56to welcome those who want to come here and be part of this great nation,
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14:56 - 14:58or we can send back home with an education
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14:58 - 15:01to help their people rise up out of poverty.
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15:01 - 15:05One of the great stories I love to tell is about my love
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15:05 - 15:07of going to my hometown of New York
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15:07 - 15:08and walking up Park Avenue on a beautiful day
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15:08 - 15:11and admiring everything and seeing all the people go by
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15:11 - 15:12from all over the world.
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15:12 - 15:16But what I always have to do is stop at one of the corners
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15:16 - 15:19and get a hot dog from the immigrant pushcart peddler.
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15:19 - 15:23Gotta have a dirty water dog. (Laughter)
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15:23 - 15:26And no matter where I am or what I'm doing,
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15:26 - 15:27I've got to do that.
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15:27 - 15:29I even did it when I was Secretary of State.
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15:29 - 15:32I'd come out of my suite at the Waldorf Astoria
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15:32 - 15:35— (Laughter) —
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15:35 - 15:39be walking up the street, and I would hit around 55th Street
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15:39 - 15:41looking for the immigrant pushcart peddler.
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15:41 - 15:43In those days, I had five bodyguards around me
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15:43 - 15:46and three New York City police cars would roll alongside
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15:46 - 15:51to make sure nobody whacked me while I was going up Park Avenue. (Laughter)
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15:51 - 15:53And I would order the hot dog from the guy,
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15:53 - 15:55and he'd start to fix it, and then he'd look around
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15:55 - 15:57at the bodyguards and the police cars --
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15:57 - 15:59"I've got a green card! I've got a green card!" (Laughter)
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15:59 - 16:03"It's okay, it's okay."
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16:03 - 16:06But now I'm alone. I'm alone.
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16:06 - 16:08I've got no bodyguards, I've got no police cars. I've got nothing.
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16:08 - 16:11But I gotta have my hot dog.
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16:11 - 16:15I did it just last week. It was on a Tuesday evening
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16:15 - 16:17down by Columbus Circle.
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16:17 - 16:20And the scene repeats itself so often.
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16:20 - 16:23I'll go up and ask for my hot dog,
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16:23 - 16:26and the guy will fix it, and as he's finishing,
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16:26 - 16:28he'll say, "I know you. I see you on television.
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16:28 - 16:30You're, well, you're General Powell."
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16:30 - 16:33"Yes, yes.""Oh ... "
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16:33 - 16:34I hand him the money.
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16:34 - 16:39"No, General. You can't pay me. I've been paid.
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16:39 - 16:43America has paid me. I never forget where I came from.
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16:43 - 16:46But now I'm an American. Sir, thank you."
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16:46 - 16:48I accept the generosity, continue up the street,
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16:48 - 16:51and it washes over me, my God,
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16:51 - 16:55it's the same country that greeted my parents this way 90 years ago.
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16:55 - 16:57So we are still that magnificent country,
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16:57 - 17:00but we are fueled by young people coming up
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17:00 - 17:03from every land in the world,
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17:03 - 17:06and it is our obligation as contributing citizens
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17:06 - 17:08to this wonderful country of ours
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17:08 - 17:11to make sure that no child gets left behind.
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17:11 - 17:13Thank you very much.
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17:13 - 17:25(Applause)
- Title:
- Kids need structure
- Speaker:
- Colin Powell
- Description:
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How can you help kids get a good start? In this heartfelt and personal talk, Colin Powell, the former U.S. Secretary of State, asks parents, friends and relatives to support children from before they even get to primary school, through community and a strong sense of responsibility. (Filmed at TEDxMidAtlantic.)
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 17:46
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Kids need structure | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Kids need structure |