????肯尼的新書向大眾介紹了這些努力求學但前景渺茫的孩子們。他們的成功和失敗讓讀者心系一線，欲罷不能。2007年，時任美國總統喬治?W?布什視察該校后，在全國電視節目上呼吁全美學校都應以之為楷模。紐約市長邁克爾?布隆伯格稱該校為“全國杰出典范”。NBC《晚間新聞》（Nightly News）主播布萊恩?威廉姆斯稱他們“給全美的學校上了一課”。

????肯尼的高期望并不是總能落實。有一次她去旁聽一堂課，上課的老師正在申請鄉村學校的一個職位?？吹秸n堂上很多孩子不守紀律，她說：“五分鐘內就可以判定她不適合到我的學校教書，但我還是聽完了整堂課，一方面是出于禮貌，另一方面是因為我對所看到的一切很感興趣?！钡斔詈箝_辦了自己的學校，她發現自己招來的老師也并不是總能掌控課堂局面。

????肯尼并不完美，過去十年在哈林努力打造一所好學校的過程中她犯了很多錯誤。然而，正是這些不完美使得她的成功更加鼓舞人心。

????譯者：早稻米

????Kenny's high expectations don't always pan out. At one point she observes a class being taught by a teacher who is applying for a position at Village Academies. Noticing a lot of children misbehaving, she says: "While it was obvious within five minutes that she was not going to be teaching at my school, I stayed for the full class period, both to be polite and also because I was fascinated with what I was seeing." When she finally opens her own school, however, she finds that the teachers she recruits don't always have control over their classes.

????Kenny isn't perfect, and she makes a lot of mistakes in the course of her decade-long struggle to build a quality school in Harlem. These imperfections make her success that much more inspiring.

????Our Weekly Read column features Fortune staffers' and contributors' takes on recently published books about the business world and beyond. We've invited the entire Fortune family -- from our writers and editors to our photo editors and designers -- to weigh in on books of their choosing based on their individual tastes or curiosities.