Wearing the Mask

We Wear the mask that grin and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,

This debt we pay to human guile; with torn and bleeding hearts we smile,…

Why should the world be overwise, in counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us while we wear the mask…

            One of my favorite poems is “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar.  As an educator, this poem speaks to the complexity of a problem many youth in economically distressed communities face as they attempt to resolve the internal conflict over the relevancy of education while living in the realities of an economically distressed community.

            We expect our youth to get an education so they can obtain the skills to go to college, get a career and become a contributing member to our society.  However, for many youth in economically distressed communities, this expectation does not appear to be realistic or obtainable.  Due to the lack of viable models of success, many youth find it hard to identify educational success with how success is defined in economically distressed communities.

            In many economically distressed communities, success begins (and sometimes ends) with graduation from high school.  The problem with this ideology is that youth see very little success from their peers and adults in their community who graduate from high school.  Since many high school graduates in economically distressed communities struggle to find a job that pays above minimum wage and is not connected to fast food, retail, maintenance or security.  Additionally, many youth see their former peers, neighbors and family members unemployed or underemployed and their dreams lost. 

As a result of the “veil” of success has been removed and the youth develop a misguided understanding that graduation from high school does not equate to success. 

They equate their chance of success in the paths of sports and entertainment.  Unless a youth believes he/she has athletic potential or can sing (or rap), they see their future on the same path as those in their community.  Therefore, youth begin to wear the mask.

In the realm of education, the mask is given a label.  Common labels such as educational apathy, disruptive to instruction, and immature (i.e.: “class clown”) portray these youth as underachievers’ who are on the path to becoming another “statistic.”  As youth become older their mask are called incorrigible and then criminal and they become an unwelcomed presence in their schools. 

As the mask hardens and their dreams of another life begin to fade, they are constantly being told education is important to their future.  Unfortunately, no one is able to help them to make connection between what they are being told to learn and how it applies to continuing their education or the world of work.  Frustration and anger sets in until the youth drops out, is pushed out, or socially promoted to graduation.

Who will help these youth take off their Mask?