Post by FamousDave on Feb 4, 2008 23:34:01 GMT -5
Mentoring program puts focus on middle schools
Boys II Men emphasizes academics in changing student behavior
A.L. Reeves helps Aberdeen and Edgewood youths shun gang life. (Sun photo by Monica Lopossay / January 25, 2008)
About 65 male students filed into a music room at Magnolia Middle School and found a seat on a tiered stage in the back of the room.
Standing in front of them, the Rev. Alfred Reeves polled the boys on who was academically eligible to participate in an upcoming basketball game at the school. After he determined that about 25 students were ineligible, he challenged the boys.
"I expect the eligible students to help the students who are ineligible get their grades up," Reeves said. "If at least half of the students who are currently ineligible don't become eligible by our Feb. 12 game, I'm canceling it."
Based on author W.E.B. Du Bois' Talented Tenth concept that called for higher education to develop the leadership capacity among the most able black Americans, the challenge was posed to the students during a meeting of an academic behavior program.
Called Boys II Men, the mentoring program includes about 600 students in grades six through eight who attend Aberdeen, Edgewood and Magnolia middle schools.
Started by Reeves in 1988 at Joppatowne High School, the program was moved to middle school when research showed that children were most susceptible to joining gangs at the middle school age, he said. Unlike most behavioral mentoring programs, Boys II Men stresses academics, said Reeves, pastor of the Carpenter's House, a nondenominational church in Aberdeen.
"If academics are turned around, a child's behavior usually gets better," Reeves said.
The program is open to all students regardless of academic standing or race. And it appeals to students who struggle and excel academically.
Honor student Samuel Winnie found that the program has helped him socially.
"I am a lot more active now," said Winnie, 13, of Joppatowne, who aspires to be a veterinarian. "Before I joined Boys II Men, I was kind of a slouch."
Each student who enrolls in the program has his grades and behavior assessed. Then, many of the participants are assigned a tutor as needed and a mentor.
Sports - basketball and football - also are offered through the program.
"All boys want to be a pro sports star," Reeves said. "And sports are not offered through the school district in middle school. Through this program, the boys can compete in sports."
The sports program was funded with $5,000 grants from the county and the Baltimore Ravens.
To participate in the sports programs, members of Boys II Men must have at least a C average, and not have any suspensions or behavioral problems, Reeves said. The students play flag football in the fall and spring, and basketball in the winter. Members of the community, including the sheriff and his deputies, volunteer with the program.
"We want to give the kids a chance to see police officers in a totally different light," Reeves said. "Not just as people who will arrest them if they commit a crime."
Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane began coaching last year, he said.
The program gives children in the seventh and eighth grades a chance to do something that keeps them off the street, said Bane.
Children also learn to interact with adults, work as a team and share, he said.
"In many cases, there is not enough love or care shown to these kids by their family or their community," Bane said. "Boys II Men allows children a chance to be around people who care."
The program also helps keep some middle school students out of gangs, he said. The usual recruitment age for gangs is between 12 and 14.
"Once a child makes a decision to join a gang, it is extremely difficult to get them to leave it," Bane said. "The influence of gangs is stronger now than it has ever been."
Despite the troubled environments many of the children live in, they behave like any other child when given the chance, Bane said. These children need to be told what is expected of them just like any other child, he said.
Matthew Jones, 14, of Edgewood said the program was the difference between getting in trouble at school and making the honor roll.
Jones said he was frequently in trouble last year for fighting, but that has changed.
"I don't want to get suspended, and I want to get good grades," said Jones. "This program helps me feel proud of myself and want to do well."
Garrett Hutchins, 13, of Edgewood said he sees the program as a place where he can go and be himself.
"Boys II Men allows me to be around people who influence me to do my very best," said Hutchins, who aspires to attend the University of Maryland to become a sports journalist. "And I like what Pastor Reeves says to us. It makes me try harder."
Cameron Pritchett, 13, of Edgewood said he has a newfound respect for himself.
"I feel good about myself," he said. "Being in this program makes me feel smart. It makes me feel like I am making something of myself."
In some cases, the students do what they can, but their home lives are too much for them, and often they can't succeed, said Randy Geyer, assistant principal of Magnolia Middle School.
"Some kids in the program go home, and they can't do their homework because they're worried about whether or not the electricity is going to be on, or they have to go home after school and baby-sit a younger brother or sister," Geyer said.
Last year, Bane was coaching a basketball game when a group of students benched the less-skilled players. He told the students that it wasn't their place to remove the other boys, and if they did it again, he would take them out of the game.
About five minutes later, the boys did it again, Bane said.
He called a timeout and removed five players. They grumbled, but they stayed on the bench, and they never did it again. It was a valuable lesson for them, Bane said.
"These boys grow up in a place where they are disrespectful to their parents, their teachers and other adults," Bane said. "No one has ever held them accountable, and they really want you to do that."
Boys II Men emphasizes academics in changing student behavior
A.L. Reeves helps Aberdeen and Edgewood youths shun gang life. (Sun photo by Monica Lopossay / January 25, 2008)
About 65 male students filed into a music room at Magnolia Middle School and found a seat on a tiered stage in the back of the room.
Standing in front of them, the Rev. Alfred Reeves polled the boys on who was academically eligible to participate in an upcoming basketball game at the school. After he determined that about 25 students were ineligible, he challenged the boys.
"I expect the eligible students to help the students who are ineligible get their grades up," Reeves said. "If at least half of the students who are currently ineligible don't become eligible by our Feb. 12 game, I'm canceling it."
Based on author W.E.B. Du Bois' Talented Tenth concept that called for higher education to develop the leadership capacity among the most able black Americans, the challenge was posed to the students during a meeting of an academic behavior program.
Called Boys II Men, the mentoring program includes about 600 students in grades six through eight who attend Aberdeen, Edgewood and Magnolia middle schools.
Started by Reeves in 1988 at Joppatowne High School, the program was moved to middle school when research showed that children were most susceptible to joining gangs at the middle school age, he said. Unlike most behavioral mentoring programs, Boys II Men stresses academics, said Reeves, pastor of the Carpenter's House, a nondenominational church in Aberdeen.
"If academics are turned around, a child's behavior usually gets better," Reeves said.
The program is open to all students regardless of academic standing or race. And it appeals to students who struggle and excel academically.
Honor student Samuel Winnie found that the program has helped him socially.
"I am a lot more active now," said Winnie, 13, of Joppatowne, who aspires to be a veterinarian. "Before I joined Boys II Men, I was kind of a slouch."
Each student who enrolls in the program has his grades and behavior assessed. Then, many of the participants are assigned a tutor as needed and a mentor.
Sports - basketball and football - also are offered through the program.
"All boys want to be a pro sports star," Reeves said. "And sports are not offered through the school district in middle school. Through this program, the boys can compete in sports."
The sports program was funded with $5,000 grants from the county and the Baltimore Ravens.
To participate in the sports programs, members of Boys II Men must have at least a C average, and not have any suspensions or behavioral problems, Reeves said. The students play flag football in the fall and spring, and basketball in the winter. Members of the community, including the sheriff and his deputies, volunteer with the program.
"We want to give the kids a chance to see police officers in a totally different light," Reeves said. "Not just as people who will arrest them if they commit a crime."
Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane began coaching last year, he said.
The program gives children in the seventh and eighth grades a chance to do something that keeps them off the street, said Bane.
Children also learn to interact with adults, work as a team and share, he said.
"In many cases, there is not enough love or care shown to these kids by their family or their community," Bane said. "Boys II Men allows children a chance to be around people who care."
The program also helps keep some middle school students out of gangs, he said. The usual recruitment age for gangs is between 12 and 14.
"Once a child makes a decision to join a gang, it is extremely difficult to get them to leave it," Bane said. "The influence of gangs is stronger now than it has ever been."
Despite the troubled environments many of the children live in, they behave like any other child when given the chance, Bane said. These children need to be told what is expected of them just like any other child, he said.
Matthew Jones, 14, of Edgewood said the program was the difference between getting in trouble at school and making the honor roll.
Jones said he was frequently in trouble last year for fighting, but that has changed.
"I don't want to get suspended, and I want to get good grades," said Jones. "This program helps me feel proud of myself and want to do well."
Garrett Hutchins, 13, of Edgewood said he sees the program as a place where he can go and be himself.
"Boys II Men allows me to be around people who influence me to do my very best," said Hutchins, who aspires to attend the University of Maryland to become a sports journalist. "And I like what Pastor Reeves says to us. It makes me try harder."
Cameron Pritchett, 13, of Edgewood said he has a newfound respect for himself.
"I feel good about myself," he said. "Being in this program makes me feel smart. It makes me feel like I am making something of myself."
In some cases, the students do what they can, but their home lives are too much for them, and often they can't succeed, said Randy Geyer, assistant principal of Magnolia Middle School.
"Some kids in the program go home, and they can't do their homework because they're worried about whether or not the electricity is going to be on, or they have to go home after school and baby-sit a younger brother or sister," Geyer said.
Last year, Bane was coaching a basketball game when a group of students benched the less-skilled players. He told the students that it wasn't their place to remove the other boys, and if they did it again, he would take them out of the game.
About five minutes later, the boys did it again, Bane said.
He called a timeout and removed five players. They grumbled, but they stayed on the bench, and they never did it again. It was a valuable lesson for them, Bane said.
"These boys grow up in a place where they are disrespectful to their parents, their teachers and other adults," Bane said. "No one has ever held them accountable, and they really want you to do that."