A presentation by Amy Rich

Bringing Back the Boys

Introduction: Bedouin of the NegevEducation/drop out ratesWhy We Drop Out: student confessionsWhy girls are thrivingBoys are Falling Behind: teacher’s confessResearch on why boys are failingStrategies for engaging boys in the classroomCollaboration: what has worked for you?

In this presentation

Negev Bedouin were nomadic Arabs who lived by rearing livestock in the Negev Desert of

Southern Israel.

They have been transformed into urban town dwellers but maintain their traditional and conservative Bedouin Muslim values.

Population = approximately 160,000, 50% of which live in 7 permanent townships, and the remainder in

unrecognized villages.

The rate of growth highest in the world! Bedouin population doubles every 15

years. (By 2020-300,000)

Introduction to Bedouin of the Negev

With a shift from nomadic life to town dweller and a growing population, education, in particular higher education, is crucial to their adjustment and development.

Schools are supported by Jewish non profits and receive minimum founding.

Teachers: young Arabs from the North who do not stay long

Some high schools experience marked violence

Highest drop‐out rates in Israel

The poorest success rates on the matriculation exams in the country.

EDUCATION

BoysBoredomWe want to help support our familiesMoney for ourselvesSchool too difficultDon’t need education for my future jobDon’t like teachers, people in schoolCan’t afford books

GirlsOur parents’ choiceOur fiancé's choiceWe need to help at homeSince we can’t go to university, our parents don’t see the point in us attending high school

Student Confessions: Why we drop out

What’s the difference?

CHOICE.

More girls than boys are staying in school, successfully completing secondary education, and qualifying for university entrance

For Bedouin girls, drop out rates decreased over the past decade, from 42% to 32%, while by contrast the rates for boys increased from 33% to 43%.

Between 2000 and 2010, the matriculation rate for girls jumped from 13% to 28%, while for boys it rose only from 11% to 12%.

Major gap growing between boys and girls, and it’s the boys who are dropping out/failing to qualify to enter university

The Facts*

So, why are girls are thriving?

“The only why to change our status is through education.”

Because of feminism, boundaries for girls have been redefined. . The behavioral boundaries for girls greatly expand—girls play sports, get dirty, play “hard”—ideas previously off limits to them. These new opportunities for girls and women have been recognized as significant contributions to their overall health and well-being.

Special programs for girls: since the education and empowerment of women in developing societies is seen as the key to social change the majority of students in special programs are girls

Women in Bedouin society face double and sometimes triple discrimination (Bedouin, female, class, unmarried ).

There are quickly increasing numbers of Bedouin womenattending the university whereas the boys

numbers are slowing

Teacher Confessions:

The boys are not serious students, they are trouble makers, often disruptive and have too much freedom inside and outside of school.

Values have changed and money talks. Boys do not see education as a direct pathway to making money.

Many boys do not view education as important to their futures therefore they do not contribute, fall behind, and eventually drop out of school.

Many boys have LDs which go undiagnosed or ignored.

Teachers are weak and unqualified. They do not know how to manage or engage boys.

The present focus in schools is on empowering and engaging Bedouin girls; there are many after school programs designed specifically for girls. The girls are excelling and it leaves the boys feeling intimidated.

Why are boys dropping out of school and failing to enter college?

Can look to other minority communities for answers

”dropping out” systematic of larger problem (and schools don’t intervene early enough):-Boredom-Disconnection from adults-Missed too much school and can’t catch up-LD-Poverty

Weak/inexperienced/unqualified teachers

Weak Teacher/student relationships

Education doesn’t open doors

Modernization, changing role of woman, redefining of genders

Boundaries for boys remain rigid. (Boys still universally encouraged to purge themselves of any hint of softness or femininity, Kimmel)

If boys are leaving or have left school, why? What are their aspirations?

Let boys be active: accept a higher level of activity Reduce out of school suspensions Boy friendly activities/materials/topics Good leadership, qualified teachers Speak their language and treat them with respect; use discipline to

guide and build Stronger adult/student relationships Parental involvement—reinforcement at home—skills for parents how to

help their children succeed. Help them identify clear goals (*kids who believe they’re headed

somewhere behave better) Show them how education can create better opportunities for them Special programs to help boys indulge their emotions, teach boys a

range of emotions, that empathy is courage, model manhood as emotionally attached, and teach the many ways in which a boy can be a man.

Equip them with skills for dealing with changing role of women.

Strategies for engaging boys

What has worked for you?