????雖然相隔多年，黛博拉?肯尼依然清晰地記得那一天。她把車靠邊停在了美國(guó)95號(hào)州際公路的路肩上，拿出筆記本寫下了“教育不是開發(fā)產(chǎn)品，而是培育人”。當(dāng)時(shí)，肯尼的丈夫剛?cè)ナ啦痪?，高薪工作讓她郁郁寡歡，她渴望在紐約黑人聚居區(qū)——哈林創(chuàng)建一家新的公助私立學(xué)校。她確實(shí)做到了。在《天生我才》（Born to Rise）一書中，肯尼娓娓道來，回憶了多年致力于提供優(yōu)質(zhì)教育這段“亦師亦生”的歷程。

????肯尼認(rèn)定，打造一所好學(xué)校的最好辦法是培養(yǎng)高素質(zhì)的教師隊(duì)伍。

????她堅(jiān)信社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)因素不應(yīng)成為學(xué)生求學(xué)的障礙。正是這種天真的樂觀情緒支撐著她在紐約市教育系統(tǒng)僵化的官僚作風(fēng)下努力前行，讓教師和學(xué)生都做到最好。

????和很多成功的創(chuàng)業(yè)者一樣，肯尼從一開始就有明確的構(gòu)想，并在前行過程中不斷調(diào)整策略。她飛到全美很多地方參加會(huì)議，借鑒頂尖教育專家的意見，并思考如何在幾無儲(chǔ)蓄的情況下創(chuàng)建一所學(xué)校。很多專家警告肯尼，她很可能失敗。有些時(shí)候，她的確失敗了，但這些小小的挫折都進(jìn)一步轉(zhuǎn)化為了她繼續(xù)前進(jìn)的動(dòng)力。

????2001年哈林鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)校（Harlem Village Academies）成立時(shí)，哈林區(qū)僅29%的四年級(jí)學(xué)生可以通過基本的閱讀測(cè)試，16%的八年級(jí)學(xué)生能夠達(dá)到該年級(jí)的閱讀水平。五年后，肯尼的學(xué)生們創(chuàng)造了歷史，成為哈林區(qū)首個(gè)八年級(jí)數(shù)學(xué)測(cè)試全部達(dá)標(biāo)的班級(jí)。

????She pulled over to the shoulder on I-95, took out her notebook, and wrote: "Education is not about developing products. It's about developing people." Deborah Kenny was recently widowed, unhappy at her high-paying job, and eager to create a new public charter school in Harlem. Which she did. In Born to Rise, Kenny takes us on her long but rewarding journey to deliver great education, one teacher and student at a time.

????Kenny decided that the best way to build a quality school was to develop quality teachers.

????She firmly believed that socioeconomic circumstances shouldn't block any student from learning. Her na?ve optimism helped her cut through New York City's stultifying educational bureaucracy and get the very best from her teachers and students.

????Like many successful entrepreneurs, Kenny had a clear vision from day one but often changed tactics along the way. She flew around the country to conferences, picking the brains of top experts in education, while figuring out how to start a school with barely any money in her bank account. Many experts warned Kenny that she could easily fail. At times she did, but only in small ways that strengthened her motivation to succeed.

????When Harlem Village Academies launched in 2001, only 29% of fourth grade students in Harlem could pass a basic reading test. Just 16% of Harlem eighth graders could read at grade level. Five years later, Kenny's students made history as the first Harlem class ever to achieve 100% proficiency in eighth-grade math.

????Kenny introduces us to kids who faced long odds in their pursuit of an education. Their successes and failures keep you turning each page. After President George W. Bush toured Kenny's school in 2007, he said on national television that schools everywhere should follow her example. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the school "a national model of excellence." NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams called them "a lesson for America's schools about what works."