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专栏 - 财富书签

一所贫民窟学校的创业启示

Caitlin Keating 2012年06月05日

《财富》书签(Weekly Read)专栏专门刊载《财富》杂志(Fortune)编辑团队的书评,解读商界及其他领域的新书。我们每周都会选登一篇新的评论。
为了改变当地公立教育落后的现状,美国妇女黛博拉•肯尼在纽约的黑人聚居区哈林区创办了一所私立学校。多年来她所经历的挫折,不亚于创办一家企业。她的新书《天生我才:哈林师生挖掘人生潜能的故事》(Born to Rise: A Story of Children and Teachers Reaching Their Highest Potential)或许能给我们一些启示。

    肯尼的新书向大众介绍了这些努力求学但前景渺茫的孩子们。他们的成功和失败让读者心系一线,欲罢不能。2007年,时任美国总统乔治•W•布什视察该校后,在全国电视节目上呼吁全美学校都应以之为楷模。纽约市长迈克尔•布隆伯格称该校为“全国杰出典范”。NBC《晚间新闻》(Nightly News)主播布莱恩•威廉姆斯称他们“给全美的学校上了一课”。

    肯尼的高期望并不是总能落实。有一次她去旁听一堂课,上课的老师正在申请乡村学校的一个职位。看到课堂上很多孩子不守纪律,她说:“五分钟内就可以判定她不适合到我的学校教书,但我还是听完了整堂课,一方面是出于礼貌,另一方面是因为我对所看到的一切很感兴趣。”但当她最后开办了自己的学校,她发现自己招来的老师也并不是总能掌控课堂局面。

    肯尼并不完美,过去十年在哈林努力打造一所好学校的过程中她犯了很多错误。然而,正是这些不完美使得她的成功更加鼓舞人心。

    译者:早稻米

    Kenny's high expectations don't always pan out. At one point she observes a class being taught by a teacher who is applying for a position at Village Academies. Noticing a lot of children misbehaving, she says: "While it was obvious within five minutes that she was not going to be teaching at my school, I stayed for the full class period, both to be polite and also because I was fascinated with what I was seeing." When she finally opens her own school, however, she finds that the teachers she recruits don't always have control over their classes.

    Kenny isn't perfect, and she makes a lot of mistakes in the course of her decade-long struggle to build a quality school in Harlem. These imperfections make her success that much more inspiring.

    Our Weekly Read column features Fortune staffers' and contributors' takes on recently published books about the business world and beyond. We've invited the entire Fortune family -- from our writers and editors to our photo editors and designers -- to weigh in on books of their choosing based on their individual tastes or curiosities.

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