Lillian: Let's start with you telling a little about yourself.

Franklin: I was born in 1942 in Jamaica. I went to elementary school, of course, and took the mandatory “Eleven-Plus” general examination in 1953. I then left elementary school and for a year attended a small private high school with my two older brothers. The school system was a little different from the United States. I know that well, because when I came here and told a group of Wisconsin school kids that I had spent six years in high school, they said, “You must have been very dumb.” To which I replied that “that was not the opinion of my teachers.” I didn't realize then that in the United States students spend four years in high school. In Jamaica we spend six, combining middle and high school years. You get in at age 12 or 13 and graduate at 18 or 19.

莉莲：让我们先介绍一下你自己吧。

富兰克林：我 1942 年出生于牙买加。当然，我上了小学，并在 1953 年参加了强制性的“十一加”普通考试。然后我离开了小学，和我的两个哥哥一起在一所小型私立高中学习了一年。学校系统与美国略有不同。我很清楚这一点，因为当我来到这里告诉一群威斯康星州的学生我在高中度过了六年时，他们说：“你们一定很蠢。” 我回答说“这不是我的老师的意见”。当时我没有意识到在美国学生要在高中度过四年。在牙买加，我们度过了六年的时光，包括初中和高中。你在 12 或 13 岁入学，在 18 或 19 岁毕业。