移民家庭實現美國夢
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.
瑪蒂爾達.科莫夫人是母親，是教師，是前紐約州的第一夫人，也是“美國輔導教育計劃”的創辦人。這項組織到目前爲止，爲全美國五千名學童訓練志工導師。
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年美國經濟大蕭條期間，瑪蒂爾達.科莫在紐約市布魯克林區出生。儘管他們那時面臨着嚴峻的經濟情況，她的母親，一名來自意大利的移民，以及她的父親，一名移民之子，都決心要使他們的美國夢，實現在他們兩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."
瑪蒂爾達.科莫說：“在這一方面，我非常幸運。他倆承受了困難，並且做出很多奮鬥和犧牲。他們靠着貝爾助學金和政府的協助，將我們五名子女都送進大學。我們真該爲此向他們表示敬意，感受他們爲我們所做的。”
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.
作爲教師，母親和導師，瑪蒂爾達.科莫一生經常持有的理念，是做一切該做的，使生活變得更好。1954年，她和一名年輕的律師馬里奧.科莫結爲夫婦。馬里奧長年參與公共事物，終於成爲紐約州長。
Looking out for children
After that election in 1982, Cuomo also entered public service as a volunteer advocate for children.
在1982年的選舉之後，瑪蒂爾達.科莫也加入了公共事物的領域。她成爲促進兒童福利的志願人員。
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年代中期對紐約來說，是一個困難的時期。不僅是經濟上的不景氣，各大城市都有毒品氾濫的問題。少女懷孕率上升。同時，高中學生的畢業率下降。這些趨勢使科莫夫婦深感困擾。
"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.’"
瑪蒂爾達.科莫說：“有一天早上他(馬里奧.科莫)對我說，這種輟學率使我無法忍受，它不應該被容忍。我們必須採取行動。我說，那你要我作些什麼？他說，你身爲五個孩子的母親，又是一名教師。他先把我的資格都說了出來，然後說，你必須要召開一個會議。不分黨派，網絡最好的人選。讓他們和你一同探討，一同關切，我們將爲孩子們做些什麼？如何讓他們留在學校裏？如何激勵他們向學，就像我們的父母爲我們做的那樣？我回答說，你說得對，那是可以辦到，也應該辦到的。”
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，瑪蒂爾達.科莫協助成立了全國首創以學校爲基礎，全州範圍內一對一的個別輔導計劃。這項工作受到科莫的信念指導，那就是成功的孩童時代依靠三項支柱，溫暖支持的家庭，充滿學習樂趣的學校，和一個關懷孩子的社區。"When one of those pillars isn’t working or is dysfunctional, trust me, the child suffers," says Cuomo.
瑪蒂爾達.科莫說：“請相信我，這三項支柱中如果有一個不能發生作用，孩子們就會吃虧了。”
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.
科莫希望在這項州計劃管理之下的輔導老師們扮演這三項支柱之間的橋樑。他們可以像家庭成員一樣提供支持，併兼顧到學校重視的課業成績。她從廣大的社區裏尋求志願工作者，帶領年輕的學生超越現在的生活領域，看到更廣大的世界。
Cuomo says individual attention provides the most effective mentoring.
科莫說，最有效的輔導工作，是一對一的方式。
"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."
科莫說：“除非你提供一對一的輔導，孩子不會起勁的。當一名受過良好訓練的輔導老師來了，並且說我是爲你來的，我們來解決你的問題。我們看一看爲什麼你的英語或數學等科目不能進步。然後你的成績可以及格。你會進步，會畢業。這就是我要的。這就是我希望看到輸灌給孩子的觀念。”
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.
紐約州的教師輔導計劃大爲成功。但是，當馬里奧.科莫於1994年卸下州長職務後，新任州長刪減了這項計劃的經費。對於瑪蒂爾達.科莫來說，這又是她的一個困難時期。她一度考慮放棄這項計劃。直到後來她的兒子，現任紐約州長安德魯爲她打氣。
"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.’"
科莫說：“他說，這是你的寶貝。你親手培育起來的寶貝。媽，不要離棄它。你要繼續帶着它向前。我說，我該怎麼叫它？他說，就叫它‘美國輔導教育計劃’。如此，你可以向全國發展。”
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."
現在，爲年輕人而設的美國輔導教育計劃已經在美國的七個州里成立。瑪蒂爾達以一句過去常聽父親講的意大利話來表達 -- “passa ci sopra”。這句話的意思是，繼續前進，不要放棄。”
