SJA每周新闻（September 11, 2017）

September 11, 2017

We Need to Talk

我们需要谈谈

Throughout my life, I knew there was a problem whenever someone told me, "We need to talk." Whether it was a relationship, my performance, or someone's health, whenever someone told me we needed to talk, I knew that the conversation was going to be hard. Unlike "let's talk", which seems more like an invitation or request and which usually has indicated a friendly conversation, "we need to talk" indicated that things were not right.

回顾我的一生，每当有人跟我说“我们需要谈谈”时，总会出现问题。无论是关于人际关系、我的表现或者健康问题，当一个人需要和我交谈的时候，我就知道接下来的谈话会很艰难。它不像“我们谈谈吧”，这似乎更像是一种邀请或者请求，通常都表示会进行一次友好的交谈，而“我们需要谈谈”则有种事情不对劲的暗示。

And indeed, things are not right in our country right now, and they haven't been for a while. I have been reading about racial violence, racism, and race since last fall, trying to figure out how to have a courageous and honest conversation in our diverse school. I was prompted to do so by English teacher Molly Shepley, who within her first weeks here suggested that we have such a conversation. Having taught in a school near Ferguson, Missouri, she had seen the power of and need for such a conversation first-hand, especially in a diverse school and especially when tensions nationally were high. I began reading during a time of violence perpetrated by and against police officers, and I have kept reading all the way through to now, post-Charlottesville. All this reading has led me to an even greater commitment to foster a dialogue about race that will help us become an even stronger community.

事实上，目前我们国家的局势不太好，并且在相当一段时间内都没有好过。自去年秋天以来，我一直在读关于种族暴力、种族主义和有关种族问题的文章，试图弄清楚如何在我们这种多样化的校园里勇敢诚实地谈论。我这样做是受到了英语老师Molly Shepley的激励，她在开学第一周建议我们进行一次这样的谈话。由于在密苏里州弗格森附近的一所学校任教过，她知道这种对话的力量和必要性，尤其是在一所多元化的学校以及在全国性的紧张局势下。我从暴力犯罪开始读起，包括警察（对他人）实施的暴力行为和（他人对）警察犯下的罪行，一直坚持阅读此类文章到现在。我读过的所有这些文章让我想要对种族问题进行更深层次的对话，这会使我们社区变得更强大。

Last year, as she prepared to lead us in this dialogue, Molly was joined in her planning and research by Dean of International Students Florian Rexhepi. A former SJA boarding student from Macedonia, a victim of discrimination in his homeland, a participant in Seeds of Peace (a youth organization formed to bridge divisions among people), and a graduate of Brandeis University with an advanced degree from the School of International Training, Florian brought an international perspective. After a year of research and preparations, Florian and Molly began to roll out their plans this week.

当Molly去年准备引导我们进行这类谈话的时候，国际学生系主任Florian Rexhepi也加入了她的计划和研究中。Florian是一位来自马其顿的前SJA寄宿学生，他在家乡是一个遭遇种族歧视的受害者，同时他也是“和平种子”（消除人与人之间分歧的青年组织）的参与者，他还是布兰迪斯大学的研究生，获得了国际培训学校的高级学位。经过一年的研究和准备，Florian和Molly从本周开始推出他们的计划。

First, they plan to help us see our place in the world and be aware of how we see the world and how others see us in terms of race. They will then begin a dialogue that will require us to be vulnerable, honest, and open. These talks will require courage and stamina. Too often, we respond to uncomfortable conversations like these with defensiveness, withdrawal, or dismissiveness. Our first steps will be simply to build up stamina for discussing difficult and divisive issues.

首先，他们打算帮助我们看清自己在这个世界所处的位置，并了解我们如何看待这个世界，以及其他人如何看待我们的种族。然后他们会开始一场对话，要求我们虚心接受批评、诚实并且公开。这些对话需要勇气和毅力。我们常常会带着防御、退缩或轻视的态度来应对不舒服的谈话。所以我们首先要持有一种谈论极具争议话题的毅力。

Later this fall, Florian and Molly will be chaperoning a trip that will take them and about a dozen students south to the African American History Museum, some urban schools, and some significant historical sites in the Civil Rights Movement. Then in the spring, they hope to engage many more students in discussions about how we can start to make changes so that we become an even more just, aware, and trusting community. Although they have a social innovation curriculum and a series of talks planned, we all recognize that this process, which will not be linear and might be messy, has only just begun.

今年秋天晚些时候，Florian和Molly将要和十几个学生向南到非洲裔美国历史博物馆、一些城市里的高中以及民权运动中一些重要的历史遗迹参观。然后在春天，他们希望更多的学生参与到讨论中，谈谈我们如何开始改变，才能让我们变得更加公正、更有意识、更有信任感的社区。尽管他们计划推出社会创新课程和一系列话题讨论会，但是我们都知道这个过程会很曲折，一开始或许会很混乱。

There are so many of these difficult conversations we need to have, conversations that call upon our ability to listen actively and talk openly about our values, beliefs, and world views, conversations about ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, and religion. These conversations are important parts of a larger dialogue about how to stop the cycle of violence in the world and how to bring even greater peace, understanding, and unity even to places like our school, where this is already a part of who we are. By learning about ourselves and others, by learning how to listen and talk together, we can come to some decisions on how we need to act for our school, community, and nation to be a place with liberty and justice for all. But first we need to talk, and I am grateful to people like Molly and Florian who have stepped forward to lead us in beginning this effort.

我们需要进行很多这样艰难的谈话，有关种族、性别、社会经济地位以及宗教，它们要求我们积极倾听、公开讨论价值观、信仰和世界观。这类谈话组成了一个更大的话题，关于如何制止世界上的暴力循环事件，以及如何为我们这样的学校带来更大程度的和平、理解和团结，它已经成为“我们是谁”这个话题的一部分。通过认识自己和他人，了解如何倾听和交谈，做出一些使得学校、社区和国家变得更自由公正的决定。我很感谢Molly和Florian带领我们开始向这方面努力，但首先，“我们需要谈谈”。

The Varsity Girls' Soccer team celebrated Grace Cooke's goal.

学校女子足球队庆祝Grace Cooke的进球。

They had a lot of support from the boys' team on the sidelines.

她们获得了场边男子球队的大力支持。

Chemistry was a highlight.

化学是一大亮点。

The cross country team took a run in the rain.

长距离越野跑团队在雨中奔跑。

Students in the Intro to Culinary course were excited to get cooking!

烹饪课程学生非常期待烹饪过程。

JV and Varsity cheerleaders posed for a photo.

JV和学校拉拉队一起合影。

As did a group of students participating in a mountain biking trip to Kingdom Trails.

参加山地自行车的学生一起合影。

And to wrap up the week, the football team sang the Alma Mater after their win.

足球队在获胜后高唱校歌Alma Mater。

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