TED演講者：Joel Baraka / 喬爾·巴拉卡

演講標題：The board game getting kids excited about school / 棋盤游戲讓孩子們對學校感到興奮

內(nèi)容概要：Going to school in a refugee camp can be complicated: students encounter crowded classrooms, rigid curricula and limited access to teachers. Joel Baraka, who grew up in the Kyangwali refugee camp in Uganda, is determined to change that for the better. He shows how educational board games can be a fun and effective way to improve access to learning and help kids thrive in and out of school.

在難民營上學可能會很復(fù)雜：學生們會遇到擁擠的教室、死板的課程和接觸老師的機會。喬爾·巴拉卡（Joel Baraka）在烏干達的 Kyangwali 難民營長大，他決心將這一點改變得更好。他展示了教育棋盤游戲如何成為一種有趣而有效的方式，以改善學習機會，幫助孩子們在學校內(nèi)外茁壯成長。

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【1】At the very young age of less than one year old, a violent civil war broke out in my home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

在我不到一歲的時候, 一場暴力內(nèi)戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)在 我的祖國剛果民主共和國。

【2】As a result, my family was forced to flee.

因此,我的家人被迫逃離。

【3】And as luck would have it, we found safety in Kyangwali refugee camp, located in western Uganda, where I grew up from and have learned to call home for the past 24 years.

幸運的是, 我們在位于烏干達西部 的Kyangwali 難民營 找到了安全的地方, 我從那里長大,并在 已經(jīng)過去了 24 年中 稱它為家。

【4】Every morning, my two parents would wake up at 5am and leave for the fields where they went to cultivate our small garden, to plant maize and beans to feed the family.

每天早上,我的父母 都會在早上 5 點起床, 然后去田地里耕種我們的小花園, 種植玉米和豆類來養(yǎng)家糊口。

【5】And every evening when they came back home, they would end the night in the same way.

每天晚上, 當他們回家時, 他們都會以同樣的方式結(jié)束夜晚。

【6】Usually, they would gather me and my siblings and would give us a pep talk on how much they desired for us to go to school and be educated.

通常,他們會召集 我和我的兄弟姐妹, 給我們打氣, 告訴我們他們多么希望 我們能夠上學和受教育。

【7】Surprisingly, none of my parents actually had gone to school.

驚訝的是,我的父母 實際上都沒有上學。

【8】But to them, education meant securing a well-paying job at some point in the future.

但對他們來說,教育意味 著在未來的某個時候 找到一份高薪工作。

【9】And with this, we [could] afford the three meals a day.

有了這個,我們 可以負擔一天三餐。

【10】We perhaps could build a nice-looking house for our family or even decide to take our family from the refugee camp to the city.

我們或許可以為我們的家人 建造一座漂亮的房子, 甚至決定把我們的家人 從難民營帶到城市。

【11】And so when I started going to school, I took this [to] heart and I took school seriously.

所以當我開始上學的時候, 我把這件事放在心上, 認真對待學校。

【12】Even though I was just a little kid, I managed to wake myself out of bed, take all three goats to graze and be back on time to dress up and go to school.

盡管我還是個小孩子, 我還是設(shè)法把自己從床上叫醒, 帶著三只山羊去吃草, 然后準時穿好衣服去上學。

【13】Classes in the refugee camp can be overcrowded.

難民營的班級可能過于擁擠。

【14】I was one of the nearly 200 students who sat in a single classroom as I tried to focus and learn.

我是坐在一間教室里 近 200 名學生中的一員, 我試圖集中精力學習。

【15】But besides the problem of overcrowded classrooms, we also had an issue whereby most of our learning was characterized by rote memorization.

但除了教室擁擠的問題, 我們還有一個問題, 我們的大部分的學習 都是死記硬背。

【16】On a typical day, we showed up in a classroom, copied down notes that teachers gave us and were expected to go back home

在一個尋常日子里, 我們出現(xiàn)在一個教室里, 抄下老師給我們的筆記, 并準備回家復(fù)習,

【17】[and] cram these in preparation for exams.

為考試做準備。

【18】And if I can be honest with you, I did not enjoy this.

如果我可以對你說實話, 我并不喜歡這樣。

【19】We barely interacted with our teachers and even amongst ourselves.

我們幾乎沒有與老師互動, 甚至沒有與自己互動。

【20】And even though as serious students, most of the time, school seemed to be very boring.

盡管作為嚴肅的學生, 大多數(shù)時候, 學校似乎很無聊。

【21】However, as I was growing up and as I took on the routine of going to school in the morning and then coming back to my family in the evening, there seemed to be one thing and one thing only, that truly held my attention, and that was the idea of playing games.

然而,隨著我的成長, 當我開始每天早上上學, 晚上回到家里時, 似乎只有一件事真 正吸引了我的注意力, 那就是玩游戲。

【22】And I most loved playing the game of football.

我最喜歡踢足球。

【23】Now I will start off by addressing the biggest elephant in the room.

現(xiàn)在我將首先提出 最不愿多談的話題,

【24】I know most of you love American football, but actually that's not the game I'm talking about.

我知道你們大多數(shù)人 都喜歡美式足球, 但事實上, 這不是我所說的比賽。

【25】I'm five foot three, and given my size, I truly can't play American football.

我身高一米六, 考慮到我的體型, 我真的不適合踢美式足球。

【26】So I'm actually talking about football, where we use our feet, and that's soccer.

所以我實際上是在談?wù)撟闱? 我們用腳,這就是足球。

【27】I also loved playing the cards of spades.

我也喜歡玩黑桃牌。

【28】And most of the time after school I would come to my house, and I would be holding a deck of cards.

放學后的大部分時間, 我都會回家, 手里拿著一副撲克牌。

【29】And every time my parents saw me shuffling these cards, they would be paranoid, thinking I'd started gambling.

每次我父母看到我洗牌, 他們都會疑神疑鬼, 以為我開始賭博了。

【30】But I wasn't.

但我不是。

【31】And perhaps because I then didn't have money to do so.

也許是因為當時我沒有錢這樣做。

【32】No wonder, while in high school in 2016, the idea of gamification became the best solution I thought about I could use to be able to address the problem in the refugee camp.

難怪, 2016 年上高中時, 游戲化的想法成為了 我認為可以用來解決 難民營問題的最佳解決方案。

【33】And since then, I've been on a quest to make education more accessible and more fun and engaging for children within Kyangwali refugee camp through the use of board games.

從那時起, 我一直在尋求通過使用棋盤游戲, 讓 Kyangwali 難民營的孩子們 更容易接受教育, 更有趣,更有吸引力。

【34】And if you don't mind, I'm going to share with you how it all happened.

如果你不介意, 我會和你分享這一切是怎么發(fā)生的。

【35】One year before, in 2015, I was lucky and got an opportunity to go and study at African Leadership Academy, located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

2015 年, 我很幸運,有機會去 非洲領(lǐng)導(dǎo)學院學習, 在南非約翰內(nèi)斯堡。

【36】And here I was introduced to the idea of entrepreneurship for the first time.

在這里,我第一次被 介紹了創(chuàng)業(yè)的概念。

【37】And my amazing teachers taught me that entrepreneurs were simply problem solvers.

我那些了不起的老師告訴我, 企業(yè)家只是解決問題的人。

【38】And I immediately knew that I wanted to work on an education problem.

我立刻知道我想解決一個教育問題。

【39】The first idea I thought: I could build a primary school.

我想到的第一個想法是: 我可以建一所小學。

【40】More children would access learning spaces, teachers would not have the problem of overcrowded classrooms.

更多的孩子將進入學習空間, 教師將不會面臨教室擁擠的問題。

【41】But the problem was I was 19 years old, didn't have the money, didn't have the skills of what it took to build a primary school.

但問題是,我19歲,沒有錢, 沒有建造小學所需的技能。

【42】The second idea I thought: I could advocate for a well-equipped library.

我想的第二個想法是: 我可以倡導(dǎo)建立一個 設(shè)備齊全的圖書館。

【43】With this, we would have enough textbooks in the library, and children would have enough reading materials.

這樣,我們的圖書館里 就會有足夠的課本, 孩子們也會有足夠的閱讀材料。

【44】They would do it at school in performing in the national exams.

他們會在學校參加全國考試。

【45】However, I had one issue with the library.

然而,我對圖書館有一個問題。

【46】You see, food can be scarce in the refugee camp, and several times when I showed up at school, I personally remembered every time I entered in the library, all I could think about was food.

難民營里的食物可能很少, 有幾次當我出現(xiàn)在學校時, 我記得每次我走進圖書館時, 我能想到的都是食物。

【47】More than anything, I needed a solution that was cheap, a solution that was credible, and something that would be very exciting to the children.

最重要的是,我需要 一個廉價的解決方案, 一個可信的解決方案 以及對孩子們來說 非常令人興奮的東西。

【48】Something that somehow would help these children forget about their hunger and then engage with running.

某種方式可以幫助這些孩子 忘記饑餓, 然后開始跑步。

【49】But also something that would help teachers have control on overcrowded classrooms.

但也有助于教師控制 過度擁擠的教室。

【50】But most importantly, help children engage with algebra, with the science they were learning, and have fun every single day they came to school.

但最重要的是, 幫助孩子們學習代數(shù) 和他們正在學習的科學, 并在他們來到學校的每一天 都玩得開心。

【51】And so even though I had never taken drawing classes, I picked up a pencil and got some courage to start making sketches of what would be my first board game.

所以,盡管我從未上過繪畫課, 我還是拿起了一支鉛筆, 鼓起勇氣開始畫 我的第一個棋盤游戲。

【52】I also generated a number of trivia questions and then called up my former primary school teacher in Kyangwali refugee camp.

我還提出了一些瑣事問題, 然后給我 Kyangwali 難民營的 前小學老師打電話。

【53】And I asked if I could visit my primary school once again.

我問我是否可以 再去參觀我的小學。

【54】He was generous, and he said yes.

他很慷慨,他答應(yīng)了。

【55】When I showed up at my former primary school, the kids were excited, and most of them jumped out of their seats when I told them what I held in my hands was a board game.

當我出現(xiàn)在我以前的小學時, 孩子們都很興奮, 當我告訴他們我手里拿的是 一個棋盤游戲時, 他們中的大多數(shù)人 都從座位上跳了下來。

【56】Surprisingly, none of them actually knew even how the game was played.

令人驚訝的是,他們甚至都不知道 游戲是如何進行的。

【57】But heading towards the board game, they were thrilled.

但在走向棋盤游戲時, 他們非常興奮。

【58】Working with the teachers and the school administration, they give me about one hour to test out the game for the next couple weeks.

通過與老師和學校管理部門合作, 他們給了我大約一個小時的時間 來測試接下來幾周的游戲。

【59】And the game was a huge success.

結(jié)果游戲取得了巨大的成功。

【60】So much so, that the next morning my mom woke me out of bed telling me that there was a group of children wearing my school uniform, looking for me.

第二天早上, 媽媽把我從床上叫醒, 告訴我有一群 穿著我校服的孩子在找我。

【61】I was still confused because it was about 6am in the morning.

我那時很困惑, 因為那是早上 6 點左右。

【62】But I woke up out of my bed, still in my night dress actually, and then opened the door.

但我仍舊從床上醒來, 還穿著睡衣, 然后打開了門。

【63】There was about six children, and when I looked at them, there were about two faces that I could recognize.

大約有六個孩子, 當我看著他們時, 我能認出大約兩張臉。

【64】There was James and Patrick, two of the children I had worked with the previous day.

有詹姆斯和帕特里克, 他們是我前一天 一起玩游戲的兩個孩子。

【65】And with the most innocent faces that I have ever seen, they were like, "Could you come and join us at school, and then we play the game before school starts?"

面對著我見過的最無辜的面孔, 他們就像在說: “你能來和我們一起上學, 然后我們在開學前玩游戲嗎？”

【66】And looking at their faces, there was no way I was going to say no.

看著他們的臉, 我無法拒絕。

【67】I said, "I'll dress up and meet you over by school."

我說:“我去梳洗一番, 在學校見你們?！?/p>

【68】And this group of amazing children became my early testers.

這群神奇的孩子成為了 我的早期測試者。

【69】We would play the game in the morning, and then in the afternoon, as they waited for their afternoon shift.

我們會在早上玩游戲, 然后在下午, 因為他們在等待下午的班。

【70】And today, the game has evolved into what my team and I at My Home Stars, a nonprofit we are running in Uganda, have called the 5 STA-Z educational board game.

今天, 這個游戲已經(jīng)演變成了 我和我在烏干達運營的非營利組織 My Home Stars 的團隊 所稱的 5 STA-Z 教育棋盤游戲。

【71】And here is how the 5 STA-Z education board works.

這是 5 STA-Z 教育棋盤 的工作原理。

【72】At the beginning, a classroom divides itself into groups of five children.

一開始, 一個教室分成五個孩子組成的小組。

【73】And these children begin interacting with one another on questions and content we've developed in partnership with a group of 16 teachers.

這些孩子開始就我們 與 16 名教師合作開發(fā)的問題 和內(nèi)容相互交流。

【74】All this content is a reflection of the actual content covered in the Ugandan educational curriculum of mathematics,

所有這些內(nèi)容都反映了 烏干達數(shù)學、

【75】English, science and social studies.

英語、科學和社會研究教育課程 所涵蓋的實際內(nèi)容。

【76】And as they interact, they get to earn points for every trivia question they get right.

當他們互動時, 他們每答對一個瑣事問題 都能獲得分數(shù)。

【77】And they use these points to advance around the star-shaped board with a goal of being the first one to enter the middle and take on the big yellow star, which usually gets children very excited.

他們利用這些點在星形板周圍前進, 目標是成為第一個進入中間 并與大黃星較量的人, 這往往會讓孩子們非常興奮。

【78】My team and I also have worked together to incorporate game mechanics such as chance and jeopardy, where children actually can earn extra points when they collaborate and help each other with difficult trivia questions.

我和我的團隊還共同努力, 將游戲機制例如機會和危險 融入其中, 孩子們可以在合作 時獲得額外的分數(shù), 并在棘手的瑣事問題上相互幫助。

【79】This has been intended to make sure that children actually are learning the components of communication and working together in teams.

這是為了確保 孩子們真正學習交流的組成部分, 并在團隊中共同工作。

【80】But also it makes learning become more child-centered.

但它也使學習變得更以兒童為中心。

【81】And actually, teachers can focus on groups of children that are struggling most, a model that we are finding to be very helpful in communities such as refugee camps, where most of the time we don't have enough teachers.

事實上, 教師可以把注意力集中在那些 最艱苦奮斗的兒童群體上, 我們發(fā)現(xiàn)這種模式 在難民營等社區(qū)非常有用, 因為大多數(shù)情況下 我們沒有足夠的教師。

【82】And there's one particular reason as to why my team and I decided to call the game the 5 STA-Z.

有一個特別的原因, 讓我和我的團隊決定 將這個游戲稱為 5 STA-Z。

【83】And it's simply the conviction that no matter where you're from and the current existing circumstances, we can all reach for the stars.

這只是一種信念, 無論你來自何方, 在當前的環(huán)境下, 我們都可以摘到星星。

【84】And like Neil deGrasse Tyson would put it, not only do we live among the stars, the stars themselves live within us.

正如尼爾.德格拉斯.泰森所說, 我們不僅生活在群星之中, 群星本身也生活在我們體內(nèi)。

【85】And that includes children from refugee camps.

其中包括來自難民營的兒童。

【86】And as children also start playing the game, we encourage them not to use their actual names, but actually to take on the characters of the five brightest stars in the galaxy.

當孩子們也開始玩這個游戲時, 我們鼓勵他們不要使用自己的真名, 而是用銀河系中 最亮的五顆星的名字。

【87】And that's Canopus, Rigel, Arcturus, Vega and Sirius.

那就是老人星、參宿七、 大角星、織女星和天狼星。

【88】And also, when we hand them the board game, we remind them that they are already stars who are interacting with one another to help each other just shine a little bit brighter.

而且,當我們把 棋盤游戲交給他們時, 我們會提醒他們, 他們已經(jīng)是明星了, 他們彼此互動, 互相幫助, 只是讓自己變得更明亮一些。

【89】And perhaps our biggest impact was realized in 2020 and 2021.

也許我們最大的影響是在 2020 年和 2021 實現(xiàn)的。

【90】Like most of you remember, these are the two years when COVID-19 pandemic decided to visit us.

正如你們大多數(shù)人所記得的, 這兩年正是新冠疫情到來的時候。

【91】And during this time, classes in the refugee camp closed, and children were sent home with no way of accessing learning resources.

在此期間, 難民營的課程停課, 孩子們被送回家, 無法獲得學習資源。

【92】My team and I took on the challenge to make learning happen within homes, and we produced about 1,000 game packages that we gave to teachers and community leaders.

我和我的團隊接受了 在家中進行學習的挑戰(zhàn), 我們制作了 大約 1000 個游戲包, 并送給了老師和社區(qū)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。

【93】And with this, we're able to help about 5,000 children to access home learning in the most fun and engaging way through the use of board games.

通過這個,我們能夠 幫助大約 5000 名兒童 通過使用棋盤游戲, 以最有趣、最吸引人的方式 進行家庭學習。

【94】Today, we are working with five schools in Kyangwali refugee camp where we've actually been able to work with school administration to make the 5 STA-Z part of the learning schedules.

我們?nèi)缃衽cKyangwali 難民營的五所學校合作, 在那里, 我們能夠與學校管理部門合作, 使 5 STA-Z 成為 學習日程的一部分。

【95】In the morning, children spend the morning time learning the normal classes they're supposed to take in the curriculum and then spend about one hour in the afternoon to put what they've learned in the morning into practice.

早上, 孩子們把上午的時間花在學習 他們應(yīng)該參加的課程上, 然后在下午花大約一個小時 把他們早上學到的東西付諸實踐。

【96】Beyond being a game that is helping children master the curriculum content and do well in the national exam, my team and I are committed to continue building the 5 STA-Z into a learning resource

除了作為一款 幫助孩子們掌握課程內(nèi)容 并在全國考試中 取得優(yōu)異成績的游戲之外, 我和我的團隊還致力于將 5 STA-Z 打造成一種學習資源,

【97】that will continue to put a smile on these children's faces, every single day they come to class and a game that can continue to inspire them into what is possible for them in the future.

讓孩子們每天上課時都能保持笑容, 這是一款 能繼續(xù)激勵孩子們 學習未來可能發(fā)生的事情的游戲。

【98】And also, we are committed to continue building this game into a game that we shall be able to make available to other children in other refugee camps across Uganda and other countries across the African continent.

此外, 我們致力于繼續(xù)將這一游戲 打造成一個 能夠為烏干達其他難民營 和非洲大陸其他國家的兒童 提供的游戲。

【99】In the past one year, about 100 million people across the world have been displaced, and many of these are the result of a civil war.

在過去一年中, 全世界約有一億人流離失所, 其中許多人是因為內(nèi)戰(zhàn)導(dǎo)致的。

【100】From Kyangwali refugee camp in western Uganda to New York City and standing in front of you today and engaging with you is a big, big, big privilege.

從烏干達西部的 Kyangwali 難民營 到紐約, 今天站在你面前, 與你接觸是 一項巨大的特權(quán)。

【101】And the only reason I'm able to do so and stand in front of you, is because I've been given an opportunity to go to school.

我能這樣做 并站在你們面前的唯一原因 是我得到了上學的機會。

【102】And while board games such as the 5 STA-Z will not be able to solve some of the world's complex problems of the 21st century, like refugee crisis and displacement,

雖然像 5 STA-Z 這樣的棋盤游戲 無法解決 21 世紀世界上的一些復(fù)雜問題, 比如難民危機和流離失所問題,

【103】I strongly believe that you and I that are here today, that happen to be a little bit privileged, bear the responsibility to continue building platforms and systems

但我堅信, 今天在座的你們和我 都有責任繼續(xù)構(gòu)建平臺和系統(tǒng),

【104】that will help refugee children imagine a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

幫助難民兒童, 幫助他們的家庭和社區(qū) 想象更美好的未來。

【105】Thank you.

謝謝。