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THE GENTLEMEN’S CLUB
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BOH Newsom, Founder |
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The Gentlemen’s Club |
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“A Program of Student Leadership Development” |
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Offered exclusively by Systems III
The Gentlemen's Club is a program designed to motivate male students. Participants in the program learn to exhibit self-control, become disciplined and improve behavior. Participating teachers learn additonal classroom management strategies and techniques.
Specific Goals Of The Program
- Increase male student attendance and participation in class
- Improve the academic standing of low achieving male students
- Improve male student attitudes and reduce behavior problems
Rationale
In the United States, over two million boys are born each year. These young adults enter classrooms needing the guidance that will allow them to acquire the skills to think critically and compassionately, land gainful employment and be contributing members of society.
However, too often boys become the troublemakers, dropouts and/or pushouts in our nation's schools. Many would agree, all students are entitled to a quality education that enables them to achieve to their fullest potential. Many male students, especially students of color, have been unable to adapt within the prevailing school environment. Failure at the school level often leads to failure in the larger society. For example, a determining factor in one's ability to earn a breadwinner's wage is level of education.
Statistics compiled byThe Washington Kiplinger Letter (12/23/98) show that the average income for male high school graduates ages 30 -34 years is $28,500. But for college graduates it is $50,000. In 1993, the Census Bureau reported that 82.9% of all high school graduates are in the labor force, compared to 61.5% of high school dropouts. Boys have a higher dropout rate than do girls. According to dropout rates compiled in the 1996 U.S. Statistical Abstract, 13.6% of white males dropped out compared to 11.7% for white females, 15.5% of black males left school compared to 13.7% for black females and 34.7% of Hispanic males as compared to 33% for their female counterparts.
While theories abound about why this phenomenon occurs and a variety of adjunct programs have been put into place, little success has been achieved in keeping male students in school. Even when they remain in school, too often their performance is dismal. Factors such as high absenteeism, low productivity, lack of motivation, overt behavioral problems and the like continue to present areas of concern which adversely affect boys' educational progress.
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