移民家庭实现美国梦

Matilda Cuomo - wife, mother, teacher and former first lady of New York State - has perhaps had the most far-reaching impact as founder of Mentoring USA, which has trained volunteer mentors for more than 5,000 schoolchildren nationwide.

玛蒂尔达.科莫夫人是母亲，是教师，是前纽约州的第一夫人，也是“美国辅导教育计划”的创办人。这项组织到目前为止，为全美国五千名学童训练志工导师。

Cuomo was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1931, during the Great Depression. Despite the bleak economic conditions, her mother, an Italian immigrant, and her father, the child of immigrants, were intent on realizing the American dream for themselves and their five children.

1931年美国经济大萧条期间，玛蒂尔达.科莫在纽约市布鲁克林区出生。尽管他们那时面临着严峻的经济情况，她的母亲，一名来自意大利的移民，以及她的父亲，一名移民之子，都决心要使他们的美国梦，实现在他们两人和五名子女的身上。

"I was very fortunate in that regard. They suffered and struggled and sacrificed so much," she says . "They put five children through college without a Pell Grant or government help. You have to honor them for that and appreciate it and be gratified. So that’s how I feel."

玛蒂尔达.科莫说：“在这一方面，我非常幸运。他俩承受了困难，并且做出很多奋斗和牺牲。他们靠着贝尔助学金和政府的协助，将我们五名子女都送进大学。我们真该为此向他们表示敬意，感受他们为我们所做的。”

Doing whatever is necessary to make life better has been a recurring theme in Cuomo’s life - as a teacher, a mother and a mentor. In 1954, she married a young law student named Mario Cuomo whose long public service career eventually led to the New York State governor’s mansion.

作为教师，母亲和导师，玛蒂尔达.科莫一生经常持有的理念，是做一切该做的，使生活变得更好。1954年，她和一名年轻的律师马里奥.科莫结为夫妇。马里奥长年参与公共事物，终于成为纽约州长。

Looking out for children

After that election in 1982, Cuomo also entered public service as a volunteer advocate for children.

在1982年的选举之后，玛蒂尔达.科莫也加入了公共事物的领域。她成为促进儿童福利的志愿人员。

The mid-1980s were a difficult time for New York State. The economy was in recession. Crack addiction was becoming epidemic in the cities. The teen pregnancy rate was soaring, and the high school graduation rate was plummeting to record lows. These trends were deeply disturbing to Governor Cuomo.

1980年代中期对纽约来说，是一个困难的时期。不仅是经济上的不景气，各大城市都有毒品泛滥的问题。少女怀孕率上升。同时，高中学生的毕业率下降。这些趋势使科莫夫妇深感困扰。

"And he said to me one morning, ‘The dropout rate, that’s it, I can’t stand it, it’s intolerable. We must do something.’ So I said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ He said, ‘Well, you’re a mother of five children. You’re a teacher.’ He’s giving me all my background qualifications. He said, ‘You have to get a whole board together, non-partisan, the best you can find, Matilda, and have them figure out with you, concern yourselves with, what are we going to do with these children? How do we keep them in school? How do you inspire them about education like our parents did for us?’ I said, ‘You’re right. It can be done. And it should be done.’"

玛蒂尔达.科莫说：“有一天早上他(马里奥.科莫)对我说，这种辍学率使我无法忍受，它不应该被容忍。我们必须采取行动。我说，那你要我作些什么？他说，你身为五个孩子的母亲，又是一名教师。他先把我的资格都说了出来，然后说，你必须要召开一个会议。不分党派，网络最好的人选。让他们和你一同探讨，一同关切，我们将为孩子们做些什么？如何让他们留在学校里？如何激励他们向学，就像我们的父母为我们做的那样？我回答说，你说得对，那是可以办到，也应该办到的。”

One-on-one mentoring

And so it was. In 1987, Matilda Cuomo helped establish the nation’s first statewide school-based one-to-one mentoring program. Its work was guided by Cuomo’s belief that a healthy and successful childhood rests on three pillars: a warm and supportive home where the child’s welfare is paramount, a school infused with the joy of learning where respect for the child is coupled with high standards, and a caring community.

她果然做到了。1987年，玛蒂尔达.科莫协助成立了全国首创以学校为基础，全州范围内一对一的个别辅导计划。这项工作受到科莫的信念指导，那就是成功的孩童时代依靠三项支柱，温暖支持的家庭，充满学习乐趣的学校，和一个关怀孩子的社区。

玛蒂尔达.科莫说：“请相信我，这三项支柱中如果有一个不能发生作用，孩子们就会吃亏了。”

She wanted mentors with the state-run program to act as a bridge among all three elements. They would offer the personal support a family member might provide along with the strong focus on academic achievement of a school. She looked for volunteers from the wider community who could expose young students to the larger world beyond their immediate circles.

科莫希望在这项州计划管理之下的辅导老师们扮演这三项支柱之间的桥梁。他们可以像家庭成员一样提供支持，并兼顾到学校重视的课业成绩。她从广大的社区里寻求志愿工作者，带领年轻的学生超越现在的生活领域，看到更广大的世界。

Cuomo says individual attention provides the most effective mentoring.

科莫说，最有效的辅导工作，是一对一的方式。

"These children do not thrive unless you give them the one-to-one. When a mentor comes, well-trained - we will do that - and says ‘I am here for you. And we are going to work out your problems. We are going to see why you’re not doing better in English and math and so forth and you are going to your pass your grade. You are going to do better. You are going to graduate.’ This is what I want. This is what I want to see instilled in these children."

科莫说：“除非你提供一对一的辅导，孩子不会起劲的。当一名受过良好训练的辅导老师来了，并且说我是为你来的，我们来解决你的问题。我们看一看为什么你的英语或数学等科目不能进步。然后你的成绩可以及格。你会进步，会毕业。这就是我要的。这就是我希望看到输灌给孩子的观念。”

Challenging times

The New York State Mentoring Program was hugely successful. Yet when Mario Cuomo left office in 1994, the new governor cut funding for the program. This was a difficult time for Matilda Cuomo. She considered giving up the project, until her son Andrew - who is now the governor of New York State himself - gave her a pep talk.

纽约州的教师辅导计划大为成功。但是，当马里奥.科莫于1994年卸下州长职务后，新任州长删减了这项计划的经费。对于玛蒂尔达.科莫来说，这又是她的一个困难时期。她一度考虑放弃这项计划。直到后来她的儿子，现任纽约州长安德鲁为她打气。

"He said ‘That’s your baby. You nurture babies. You don’t ever leave them, Mom. So you have to keep it going.’ I said ‘What am I going to call it?’ He said ‘Mentoring USA. Now you can go national.’"

科莫说：“他说，这是你的宝贝。你亲手培育起来的宝贝。妈，不要离弃它。你要继续带着它向前。我说，我该怎么叫它？他说，就叫它‘美国辅导教育计划’。如此，你可以向全国发展。”

Today, Mentoring USA works with youth in seven states, and Cuomo expects that more states will be signing on soon. She sums up her attitude with an Italian expression she often heard from her father: "passa ci sopra," roughly meaning, "keep on going, never give up."

现在，为年轻人而设的美国辅导教育计划已经在美国的七个州里成立。玛蒂尔达以一句过去常听父亲讲的意大利话来表达 -- “passa ci sopra”。这句话的意思是，继续前进，不要放弃。”