一所贫民窟学校的创业启示

    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.

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