Growing up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, I wasn’t allowed to go to school until fourth grade because I used a wheelchair and was unable to walk.
我在纽约市(New York City)的布鲁克林(Brooklyn)区长大，直到四年级才有机会上学，因为我不能行走，需要用轮椅代步。
But my parents were adamant that I get an education equal to my brothers’ so I could support myself if I never married (women were not typically breadwinners back then). They teamed up with other parents to force some of the local secondary schools to become accessible to students with disabilities. Later, I battled successfully to be the first person in a wheelchair to teach in New York and taught there for three years.
但是我父母坚持认为我应该获得和我的兄弟们同等的受教育机会，以便即使我不结婚也可以自立(女性在当时通常不是家庭的经济支柱)。他们与其他家长联合起来，促使本地的一些中学能让残疾学生通行。后来，经过奋争，我成功地成为纽约市第一位坐着轮椅授课的老师，在纽约教了三年书。
Education, including the higher education described in this issue, is a great equalizer: It opens opportunities for girls and boys, for disadvantaged people and especially for people, like me, who have disabilities.
教育，包括本期讨论的高等教育，是实现平等的重要因素：它为男孩、女孩和弱势群体，特别是像我这样的残疾人，提供了机会。
Hamza Jaka and Amber Buckley-Shaklee, two students with disabilities, worked as interns at the State Department this year. Overall, their stories indicate that inclusive education is moving forward.
哈姆扎•亚卡(Hamza Jaka)和安博•巴克利•沙克利(Amber Buckley-Shaklee)是两位今年在美国国务院实习的残疾学生。总体而言，他们的经历表明，包容性教育正在不断进步。
Both Hamza and Amber have always attended integrated schools, as required under laws that didn’t exist when I was in school. Hamza, now an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, was resented by peers who thought the accommodations he received (such as having a computer for spelling tests) were unfair. And Amber, now a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, had friends at nearby schools who were told they could come to school, but only if they didn’t bring their wheelchairs.
哈姆扎和安博两人一直在正常学校就读，这是法律规定，而我读书的时候还没有这样的法规。哈姆扎现在是加州大学伯克利分校(University of California，Berkeley)的本科生，同学们对学校为他提供的便利设施(例如为他配备进行拼写测验的电脑)感到不满，认为不公平。安博现在是伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)的研究生，她在附近学校有几个朋友，他们被告知不能坐轮椅去学校。
Parents and students need to know their rights. In the U.S. there are Parent Information Centers that help. Also, after years of implementation of our laws, more students with disabilities are graduating from secondary school and entering work or higher education.
家长和学生需要知道自己的权利。在美国，家长信息中心(Parent Information Centers)可以提供帮助。此外，在法律实施多年后，有更多的残疾学生从中学毕业，走向工作岗位或接受高等教育。
We have come a long way since I had polio in 1949, and we have far to go. Our laws are not always enforced as they should be. As I work for equality and the advancement of human rights, I want to teach this lesson: People with disabilities should have the same rights and opportunities as all people. Granted these, we can and do improve our communities, our country and the world.
从 1949年我患小儿麻痹症到今天，我们已经取得了很大的进步，但面前仍有很长的道路。我们的法律不是一贯得到应有的执行。因为我的工作是争取平等和提升人权，所以我要告诉大家：残疾人应该与所有人一样享有平等的权利和机会。有了这样的权利和机会，我们能够而且确实在改善我们的社区、我们的国家和整个世界。
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