演讲者：Alvin Irby
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As an elementary school teacher,my mom did everything she could to ensure I had good reading skills.This usually consisted of weekend reading lessons at our kitchen tablewhile my friends played outside.My reading ability improved,but these forced reading lessons didn't exactly inspire a love of reading.
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High school changed everything.In 10th grade, my regular English class read short stories and did spelling tests.Out of sheer boredom, I asked to be switched into another class.The next semester, I joined advanced English.
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We read two novels and wrote two book reports that semester.The drastic difference and rigor between these two English classesangered me and spurred questions like,"Where did all these white people come from?"
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My high school was over 70 percent black and Latino,but this advanced English class had white students everywhere.This personal encounter with institutionalized racismaltered my relationship with reading forever.I learned that I couldn't depend on a school, a teacher or curriculumto teach me what I needed to know.And more out of like, rebellion, than being intellectual,I decided I would no longer allow other people to dictatewhen and what I read.And without realizing it, I had stumbled upon a keyto helping children read.Identity.
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Instead of fixating on skillsand moving students from one reading level to another,or forcing struggling readers to memorize lists of unfamiliar words,we should be asking ourselves this question:How can we inspire children to identify as readers?
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DeSean, a brilliant first-grader I taught in the Bronx,he helped me understand how identity shapes learning.One day during math, I walk up to DeSean, and I say,"DeSean, you're a great mathematician."He looks at me and responds,"I'm not a mathematician, I'm a math genius!"
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OK DeSean, right?Reading?Completely different story."Mr. Irby, I can't read.I'm never going to learn to read," he would say.I taught DeSean to read,but there are countless black boys who remain trapped in illiteracy.According to the US Department of Education,more than 85 percent of black male fourth gradersare not proficient in reading.85 percent!The more challenges to reading children face,the more culturally competent educators need to be.Moonlighting as a stand-up comedian for the past eight years,I understand the importance of cultural competency,which I define as the ability to translatewhat you want someone else to know or be able to dointo communication or experiences that they find relevant and engaging.Before going on stage, I assess an audience.Are they white, are they Latino?Are they old, young, professional, conservative?Then I curate and modify my jokesbased on what I think would generate the most laughter.While performing in a church, I could tell bar jokes.But that might not result in laughter.
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As a society, we're creating reading experiences for childrenthat are the equivalent of telling bar jokes in a church.And then we wonder why so many children don't read.Educator and philosopher Paulo Freirebelieved that teaching and learning should be two-way.Students shouldn't be viewed as empty buckets to be filled with factsbut as cocreators of knowledge.
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Cookie-cutter curriculums and school policiesthat require students to sit statue-stillor to work in complete silence --these environments often exclude the individual learning needs,the interest and expertise of children.Especially black boys.
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Many of the children's books promoted to black boysfocus on serious topics, like slavery, civil rights and biographies.Less than two percent of teachers in the United States are black males.And a majority of black boys are raised by single mothers.There are literally young black boys who have never seen a black man reading.Or never had a black man encourage him to read.What cultural factors, what social cues are presentthat would lead a young black boy to concludethat reading is even something he should do?
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This is why I created Barbershop Books.It's a literacy nonprofitthat creates child-friendly reading spaces in barber shops.The mission is simple:to help young black boys identify as readers.Lots of black boys go to the barber shop once or twice a month.Some see their barbers more than they see their fathers.Barbershop Books connects reading to a male-centered spaceand involves black men and boys' early reading experiences.This identity-based reading programuses a curated list of children's books recommended by black boys.These are the books that they actually want to read.
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Scholastic's 2016 Kids and Family Reportfound that the number one thing children look for when choosing a bookis a book that will make them laugh.So if we're serious about helping black boys and other children to readwhen it's not required,we need to incorporate relevant male reading modelsinto early literacyand exchange some of the children's books that adults love so muchfor funny, silly or even gross books, like "Gross Greg".
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"You call them boogers. Greg calls them delicious little sugars."
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That laugh, that positive reactionor gross reaction some of you just had,
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black boys deserve and desperately need more of that.
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Dismantling the savage inequalities that plague American educationrequires us to create reading experiencesthat inspire all children to say three words:I'm a reader.
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(Applause)
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作为一名小学教师，我母亲竭尽所能以确保 我有良好的阅读能力。她通常在周末时在餐桌前教我阅读，而此时我的朋友们在外玩耍。我的阅读能力提高了，但这种强迫式的阅读教学 并没有激发我对阅读的热爱。
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到高中时，这一切改变了。在十年级时，我的常规英文课要求 阅读短篇故事和测试拼写。因为感觉实在无聊， 我要求转去另一门课。在下一个学期， 我加入了高阶英语课。
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那学期，我们要读两本小说 并写两篇读书报告。这两门英语课之间的 巨大差异和严格程度让我很生气也引发了像这样的问题，“这些白人是从哪来的？”
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黑裔和拉丁美洲裔学生 在我的高中占学生总数的70%，但这门高阶英语课上遍布着白人学生这样的制度化种族主义的个人遭遇永久地改变了我与阅读的关系。我发现我不能依赖于一个学校， 一位老师或课程来教我那些我需要知道的。主要因为叛逆，而非理智，我决定我再也不会让其他人来决定我应该在何时阅读以及阅读什么。我已偶然发现了一把帮助孩子阅读的钥匙，虽然我当时并没有意识到这一点。那就是认同。
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不应只专注于技能和将学生从一个阅读级别 升到下一级，或逼迫阅读有困难的学生 去记忆不熟悉的字列，我们应当问我们自己这个问题：我们如何启发孩子们 认同自己是阅读者？
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迪翔，一位我在布朗克斯区教过的 聪明的一年级学生，他帮助我懂得了 认同感如何塑造学习行为。有一天在数学课上， 我走向迪翔，说，”迪翔，你是个很棒的数学家。“他看着我回答说，”我不是个数学家， 我是个数学天才！“
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好吧，迪翔，是吧？阅读呢？情形完全不同。他说：“尔比先生，我不会阅读。我永远也学不会阅读。"我教会了迪翔去阅读，但有无数黑人男孩们仍然是文盲。根据美国教育部统计，超过85%的四年级黑人学生不擅长阅读。85%！孩子们面对的阅读挑战越多，教育者们所需要的文化能力越高。在过去八年兼职做喜剧演员时，我了解到文化能力的重要性，我认为这种能力可以把你想要别人知道或能够做到的，翻译成他们认为与之有关 且愿意参与的交流或体验。在上台之前，我会评估观众。他们是白人？拉丁美洲人？他们年长、年轻、专业、还是保守？然后我会策划和修改我的笑话依据我对怎样能 引发更多笑声的考量。我在教堂表演时可以说个酒吧笑话。但可能根本没人会笑。
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在社会环境中， 我们为孩子们创造阅读体验就像是在教堂里讲酒吧笑话。然后我们纳闷 为什么这么多孩子不阅读。教育家兼哲学家保罗·弗莱雷相信教和学应该是双向的。学生们不应被看作是 需要被填满事实的空桶，而应是知识的共同创作者。
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一刀切的课程和学校政策要求学生端坐或保持安静——这些环境通常抑制了 孩子们的个体学习需求、兴趣和专长。尤其是黑人男孩们。
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很多给黑人男孩的儿童书籍都聚焦在诸如奴隶制、 公民权利和传记这样的严肃主题。黑人男性在美国教师中 占比不到2%。大多数黑人男孩由单亲母亲抚养。甚至还有黑人男孩 从来没见过一个黑人男性阅读。或从来没有被一个黑人男性 去鼓励阅读。有什么文化因素、社会诱因来使得一个黑人男孩觉得阅读是一件他应该做的事？
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这是为什么我创立了理发店书籍 （Barbershop Books）。这是一个扫盲的非营利组织旨在理发店里 创造对孩子们友好的阅读空间。使命很简单：就是帮助年少的黑人男孩 认同自己是阅读者。很多黑人男孩每月去理发店一两次。有些孩子见到理发师的次数 比见到他们父亲的次数还多。理发店连接着阅读 和以男性为主导的空间并让黑人男性参与到 男孩早期阅读体验中。这个基于认同的阅读计划使用由黑人男孩推荐的 儿童书籍清单。这些是他们想要去读的书。
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学者出版社（Scholastic） 2016年的儿童与家庭报告发现孩子们在选书时首先会找让他们发笑的书。所以如果我们真要帮助 黑人男孩和其他孩子去主动阅读，而不是强迫阅读时，我们需要将相关的男性阅读模型融入到早期识字学习中。有些儿童书籍成人们也非常喜欢那些有趣、愚蠢、甚至恶心的书， 像《恶心的格雷》（Gross Greg）（笑声）
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需要我们创造阅读体验来激发所有孩子们说出这些词：我是阅读者。谢谢。
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（掌声）
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