Hope.
It speaks to our dreams.
Politicians realize this.
“The man from Hope."
“Hope and Change."
Hope is the core theme of the popular film, The Shawshank Redemption.
Schools are bastions of hope. As I wrote to our school’s extraordinary staff a few years ago: “To our children you provide hope. Hope … what a wonderful word, perhaps the best word in the English language.”
I wish that I could write that our schools were always successful, but despite our best efforts we lose too often. Unfortunately the intrusion of the real world tears at the hopes and dreams of our young people just at the time they are coming to grips with the realities of their impoverished lives.
When there is a student death, it is the the down and out kids who are most impacted, even when the student who dies is not close to them. When I was younger, I thought their grief was a cynical ploy to get out of class. A older and wiser colleague corrected my misconception.
“These kids aren't simply mourning the death of their classmate," he told me. "They are mourning for themselves. School is the place where things make sense. It’s the place that emphasizes hopes and dreams. It is their safe place. Kids aren't supposed to die. The death of a young person shatters the illusion of safety."
Some of these students eventually succumb to hopelessness. They come to the realization that the American Dream isn't meant for them. I see young kids so full of exuberance get beaten down by circumstances. I see very bright kids take a wrong turn and lose the one advantage they have. A few take their own lives. Most sink into a life of existing from day to day, and develop an armor of cynicism in an attempt to protect themselves from harshness of their reality.
Life is harsh and they age quickly. At 40 many appear broken and beaten down. Some are so thin as to appear anorexic. Many others are obese, belying their poverty. Their only pleasures may be a few cigarettes and perhaps some cheap snacks.
Elites across the political spectrum can barely disguise their contempt for the lifestyles of the hopeless. The right wing denigrates impoverished people of color. Too many liberals mock the poor white underclass. The poor are chastised for their choices as if forgoing cigarettes would suddenly elevate their life chances and lift them into upper middle class comfort.
Unfortunately fewer young people are escaping the grip of poverty and in fact just the opposite is happening. Working class people of all races and ethnicities are becoming part of the expendable marginalized class.
While the disparity in income continues to grow, most of those at the top either refuse to see or actually are pleased with the present state of affairs.
Some in the elite class are truly clueless and, though perhaps well-intentioned, continue to offer the same tired bromides.
Others are callous and indifferent to the suffering of those below. For these heartless folks it does not bother them that the hopelessness of the poor “sags like a heavy load”, as Langston Hughes wrote years ago.
In fact the heavier the load the impoverished must bear and the more cynical the underclass becomes, the better it is for those at the top. There is historical evidence indicating that often the more hopeless the situation is for the oppressed, the less likely are they to push back against their oppressors. The plutocrats have always attempted to pit working folks against each other. Too often it has been successful. Jay Gould claimed that he could hire half the workers to kill the other half. Race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion and political allegiance have all been used to drive a wedge between people who should be working together.
And yet …
There is the “arc of history”. Despite the fact that we are re-fighting battles that we had won in the past, I want to believe that it does indeed bend toward justice.
Then there are the teachers. Despite the fact that funding for education is being continually cut; despite the fact that they are continually targeted by the politicians motivated by greed or political expediency; despite the realization that faced with the challenges associated with grinding poverty, they will not always be successful in their quest; despite all of this, teachers arrive each year with renewed optimism, providing our children with a safe haven, and offering them hope for their futures.
Most importantly, I see the resilience in youngsters who have everything going against them. Against all odds, they continue to fight the good fight and often win. They give me hope.
Note:
I originally wrote this diary as I was reminiscing on a particular student. She had been bright and eager when she was in my junior high class. In high school she begin to slide, and cynicism appeared. She barely made to graduation. Today she is mired in poverty and is part of our marginalized class.
This is the first week of school in our district. I watch as the youngsters head off to school, most of them eager and excited about the new year. I have reposted this diary as a reminder of the obstacles faced by many of these youngsters, and as a reminder of the challenges faced by the teachers in high poverty areas.