I'm an historian. And what I love about being an historian is it gives you perspective.
我是一名历史学家。我之所以热爱这份工作，是因为历史使人明智。
Today, I'd like to bring that perspective to education in the United States.
今天，我想把这份智慧献给美国的教育事业。
About the only thing people can agree on is that the most strategic time for a child to start learning is early.
众所周知，儿童开始接受教育的最佳时期是学龄前。
Over 50 years ago, there was a watershed moment in early education in the US called "Head Start."
五十年以前，美国学龄前教育有一道分水岭，叫做“头脑启蒙”。
Now, historians love watersheds because it makes it so easy to talk about what came before and what's happened since.
历史学家喜欢分水岭，因为分水岭让我们很容易讨论它之前发生的事和它之后的事。
Before Head Start, basically nothing.
头脑启蒙之前，什么都没有。
With Head Start, we began to get our nation's most at-risk children ready for school.
头脑启蒙之后，我们开始让大部分儿童都接受了学前教育。
Since Head Start, we've made strides,
从头脑启蒙开始，我们取得了巨大的进步，
but there are still 2.2 million children in the US without access to early learning,
但在美国仍然有220万儿童无缘学龄前教育，
or more than half of the four-year-olds in the country.
也就是说有超过一半的四岁儿童。
That's a problem. But the bigger problem is what we know happens to those children.
这是个问题。但更大的问题是这些孩子们的前途。
At-risk children who reach school without basic skills are 25 percent more likely to drop out,
如果孩子们在进入校园之前，缺乏基本技能，那么他们中途辍学的可能性增加25%，
40 percent more likely to become teen parents and 60 percent less likely to go to college.
青春期结婚生子的可能性增加40%，上大学的可能性下降60%。
So if we know how important early education is, why aren't all children getting it?
那么既然我们知道学龄前教育的重要性，有什么理由不让所有孩子都享受到学龄前教育？
There are barriers that the solutions we've come up with to date simply can't overcome.
我们今天提出的解决方案并不完美，并不能一劳永逸地解决所有问题。
Geography: think rural and remote.
地理问题：想一想农村和偏远地区。
Transportation: think working parents everywhere.
交通问题：想一想四处奔波的父母。
Parent choice: no state requires a four-year-old to go to school.
父母的态度：法律没有规定四岁孩子必须上学。
And cost: the average cost for a state to educate a preschooler is five thousand dollars a year.
金钱成本：一个州学龄前教育的成本，平均是每人每年五千美金。
So am I just going to keep talking about problems? No.
那么我只会不断讲问题吗？不会的。
Today, I want to tell you about a cost-effective,
今天，我想告诉大家一种高性价比的学前教育，
technology-delivered, kindergarten-readiness program that can be done in the home.
一种以科技为媒介、足不出户的教育模式。
It's called UPSTART, and more than 60,000 preschoolers in the US have already used it.
它叫做“伊始”，在美国，已有超过六万名学龄前儿童接受了这样的教育方式。
Now, I know what you might be thinking: here's another person throwing tech at a national problem.
此刻，你们也许会想：“又是一个想用科技解决国家教育问题的人”。
And you'd be partially right.
你们只说对了一半。
We develop early learning software designed to individualize instruction, so children can learn at their own pace.
我们为早教软件设计了个性化教学功能，让孩子们可以按照自己的节奏来学习。
To do that, we rely on experts from fields ranging from reading to sociology to brain science development to all aspects of early learning,
为此，我们召集了来自各行各业的专家，他们来自从阅读学到社会学，从脑科学到早教的全体学科，
to tell us what the software should do and look like. Here's an example.
一起为这款软件的功能样式出谋划策。请看这个案例。
Zero! Zero! Zero is the number that's different from the others.
零！零！零这个数字和其他数字完全不同。
Zero is a big, round "O."
零是一个大圆“O”。
It's not like one, I'm sure you'll discover.
它不像一，我相信你看得出来。
Zero is a big, round "O."
零是一个大圆“O”。
That is "The Zero Song."
这就是“零之歌”。
And here are Odd Todd and Even Steven to teach you some things about numbers.
还有《奇数托德和偶数斯蒂文》来教大家奇偶数。
And here are the Word Birds, and they're going to show you when you blend letter sounds together, you can form words.
还有单词鸟，它们为你展示，当你把字母连起来时，你就得到了单词。
You can see that instruction is short, colorful and catchy, designed to capture a child's attention.
这些短视频色彩鲜艳、朗朗上口，让孩子们目不转睛。
But there's another piece to UPSTART that makes it different and more effective.
但是，“伊始”之所以高效，是因为它的另一个特点。
UPSTART puts parents in charge of their children's education.
“伊始”让父母能够掌控孩子的教育。
We believe, with the right support, all parents can get their children ready for school.
我们坚信，只要我们伸出援手，所有的父母都可以让子女获得学前教育。
Here's how it works. This is the kindergarten readiness checklist from a state.
这是它的运作机理。这是某个州的幼儿园入学技能检查表。
And almost every state has one.
几乎每个州都有一张这种表。
We go to parents wherever they are, and we conduct a key in-person group training.
不论父母身在何处，我们都派人去拜访，我们为其进行面对面小组培训。
And we tell them the software can check every reading, math and science box,
我们会告诉他们，这款软件可以检查所有的阅读、数学和科学作业，
but they're going to be responsible for motor skills and self-help skills,
但是他们要负责运动技能和自理能力，
and together, we're going to work on social emotional learning.
最后由我们和父母一起培养孩子的社会情感学习能力。
Now, we know this is working because we have a 90-percent completion rate for the program.
目前，我们知道这有效果，因为这个项目的完成率是百分之九十。
Last year, that translated into 13,500 children "graduating," with diplomas, from UPSTART.
去年，一万三千五百名儿童收获了“伊始”的毕业证书。
And the results have been amazing.
教育的效果好极了。
We have an external evaluation that shows our children have two to three times the learning gains
我们的另外一项调查显示，我们这里孩子学知识的速度，
as children who don't participate in the program.
是其他孩子的两到三倍。

We have a random control trial that shows strong evidence of effectiveness,
我们有随机对照试验，确保了实验有效，
and we even have a longitudinal study that shows our children's gains last into third and fourth grade,
我们甚至进行了长期跟踪调查，发现孩子们收获的技能一直持续到三到四年级，
the highest grades the children had achieved at the time. Those are academic gains.
他们的成绩是同龄人中顶尖的。这些都是学术成就。
But another study has shown that our children's social emotional gains
但另一项研究发现，在社交情绪收益方面，我们训练过的孩子们
are equal to those of children attending public and private preschool.
与公立和私立学前班的孩子相比是持平的。
The majority of the 60,000 children who have participated in UPSTART to date have been from Utah.
今天，参与了“伊始”的六万名孩子中，大多数来自犹他州。
But we have replicated our results with African-American children in Mississippi -- this is Kingston and his mother;
但是我们也把成果带到了其他地方：密西西比的非洲裔美籍儿童--这是金士顿和他的母亲；
with English language learners in Arizona -- this is Daisy and her family;
亚利桑那州的英语学习者--这是戴西和她的家人；
with refugee children in Philadelphia -- this is my favorite graduation photo;
这是我最喜欢的一张毕业照--来自费城的儿童难民；
and with Native American children from some of the most remote parts of the United States.
还有一些非常偏远地区的美国土生土长的孩子们。
This is Cherise, and this is where she lives in Monument Valley.
她叫谢丽丝，这是她在纪念碑山谷的家。
Now, there are skeptics about UPSTART.
有些人对“伊始”持怀疑态度。
Some people don't believe young children should have screen time.
一些人觉得小孩子不应该接触电子屏幕。
To them, we say: UPSTART's usage requirement of 15 minutes a day, five days a week,
我们是这样回应的：孩子们每周五天，每天花15分钟使用“伊始”，
is well within the hour-a-day recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for four-year-olds.
这完全符合美国儿科学会对4岁儿童每天使用电子厂品不超过一小时的建议。
Some people believe only site-based preschool can work, and to them, we say:
还有些人只相信实体幼儿园，我们是这样回应的：
site-based preschool is great, but if you can't get a child there or if a parent won't send a child there,
虽然实体幼儿园的效果极佳，但是对于不能或者不愿意把孩子送到实体幼儿园的父母，
isn't a technology-delivered, results-based option a great alternative?
科学、务实的"伊始“，难道不是一个绝佳的解决方案吗？
And we love working with site-based preschools.
同时我们也乐意与实体幼儿园合作。
Right now, there are 800 children in Mississippi going to Head Start during the day
目前，在密西西比州有800名孩子白天去上头脑启蒙学校，
and doing UPSTART at night with their families.
晚上和家人一起接受”伊始“教育。
Our audacious idea is to take UPSTART across the country -- not to replace anything;
我们的宏愿是让”伊始“遍布整个美国--不是做教育的替代品，
we want to serve children who otherwise would not have access to early education.
而是让原本无缘接受早教的孩子接受早教。
We have the guts to take on the skeptics, we have the energy to do the work, and we have a plan.
我们有勇气面对流言蜚语，有能力去开展工作，也有完整的计划。
It is the role of the states to educate their children.
教育孩子们是州政府的责任。
So first we will use philanthropy dollars to go into a state to pilot the program and get data.
所以我们首先用慈善基金，督促州政府推广“伊始”，获取数据。
Every state believes it's unique and wants to know that the program will work with its children before investing.
每个州政府都认为自己的情况特殊，要先确认项目对当地孩子有帮助，之后才会对我们投资。
Then we identify key leaders in the state to help us champion UPSTART as an option for unserved children.
之后我们会找到州政府有关领导帮我们推广“伊始”，旨在帮助无法接触早教的孩子。
And together, we go to state legislatures to transition UPSTART from philanthropy to sustainable and scalable state funding.
我们会一起向州立法机构申请把“伊始”由慈善机构转变为平稳运行、规模化的州立基金。
That plan has worked -- Thanks. Thank you.
这个计划已经成功了。谢谢。谢谢你们。
That plan has worked in three states to date: Utah, Indiana and South Carolina.
到目前为止，此计划已经在三个州获得了成功：犹他州、印第安纳州和南卡罗来纳州。
We've also piloted the program in a number of states and identified champions.
我们也在一些州进行了试点，获得了认可。
Next, we're moving to states with the greatest geographic barriers to work the plan,
接下来，我们会去地理位置恶劣的州来推广我们的计划。
and then on to states that already have early education but may not be getting great academic results
然后会去已经有早教项目但是效果有待加强的州，
or great parent buy-in to participate.
或者邀请一些对我们项目认可的家长来参与。
From there, we go to the states that are going to require the most data and work to convince,
接下来，我们会去需要大量的数据和工作来说服的州，
and we'll hope our momentum helps turn the tide there.
我们希望用实际效果让他们回心转意。
We will serve a quarter of a million children in five years,
我们预计在五年内服务25万名儿童，
and we will ensure that states continue to offer UPSTART to their children.
我们始终确保在各地提供“伊始”。
Here's how you can help: for two thousand dollars, we can provide a child with UPSTART, a computer and internet,
我们需要捐款：只要两千美金，就可以为一名儿童提供电脑、网络和“伊始”教育，
and that child will be part of the pilot that makes certain other children get UPSTART in the future.
在这个孩子长大以后，将会帮助更多的孩子得到“伊始”教育。
We also need engaged citizens to go to their government and say just how easy it can be to get children ready for school.
我们也需要热心市民游说各地政府，让孩子们接受早教一点都不难。
You wouldn't be here if you weren't an engaged citizen, so we're asking for your help.
在座的应该都是热心市民，不然大家就不会来了，所以我恳求大家的帮助。
Now, will all of us this make UPSTART a watershed moment in early education?
那么，我们大家能不能让“伊始”成为早教的分水岭？
I believe together we can make it one.
我相信只要我们团结一致就能做到。
But I can tell you without a doubt that UPSTART is a watershed moment in the life of a child
但是我可以负责任的说，“伊始”无疑是他们人生的分水岭，
who otherwise would not be ready for school. Thank you.
对于原本得不到学前教育的孩子们来说。谢谢大家。