The 2nd Annual Boys to Men
To a Higher Degree Educational Opportunity Awards Dinner
with keynote Sut Jhally, PhD
Professor of Communications, UMass-Amherst
and Founder & Director of the Media Education Foundation  
Honoring Daryl Fort
Mentors in Violence Prevention

Join us for an evening of celebration and education, honoring the work of Daryl Fort in promoting boys' educational opportunity and supporting boys' educational achievement. Reception and dinner, followed by address by Dr. Sut Jhally, presentation of awards and boys' art auction.

When: Thursday, November 8th, 5:30pm
Where: Haraseeket Inn, Freeport, Maine
Cost: $100 per person
Contact: fleurb2m@maine.rr.com or 207-774-9994

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A Word from the Director

As the mother of two adolescent boys (almost 18 and 20), I have spent a large percentage of my parental energy over the last decade focused on assisting and supporting them to do well in school. The biggest challenge to fulfilling this parental duty had nothing to do with operating in unison with my husband; he was usually the driver of the academic achievement bandwagon and I was the navigator. The challenge was not that my boys strongly disliked and resented my assistance/intrusion; that comes with the parenting territory. The challenge was that they were not alone. Most of their male friends held the same attitudes and beliefs about school: school is something to get through. It is not a place where boys try their hardest to succeed, learn and grow. “That is what girls do, Mom”. What’s more, they said, “only girls go in for extra help, hand-in meticulously crafted homework and care about grades.”

Thirty years ago, 58% of college graduates in the U.S. were young men. That figure is now 44%. Boys are more likely to drop out of high school than girls and typically three-quarters of the valedictorians in a major U.S. city are girls. (Have you noticed that the majority of top ten graduates in schools throughout Maine each spring are girls?)  Colleges are struggling to maintain a 60/40 female to male ratio, and practice a form of affirmative action “off the record” to keep the male-female ratio as even as possible. Educators and commentators in the United States have finally acknowledged the growing gap between girl academic achievement and boy academic achievement at all levels. However, the explanations for this phenomenon are many, varied and inconclusive. 

Male Privilege and the "Boy Crisis"
By Dr. Mark Tappan, Professor of Education and Human Development, Colby College

Something’s missing from recent public discussions of the so called “boy crisis” in America’s schools and colleges: an honest conversation about male privilege.

Male privilege refers to those benefits and advantages that come to me and other men, unearned and undeserved, simply by virtue of being men in this society.  For example, boys and men can usually assume that national heroes, sports models, and other figures held up for general admiration will be boys and men (a recent study from Dads and Daughters and See Jane reports that 75% of the characters in the top-grossing G-rated Hollywood films from 1990 through 2004 are male).  Male privilege also helps to explain, among other things, why we’ve never had a woman president, and why women, nationally, earn only 78% of what men earn, on average.

While it sometimes feels to me like I have worked hard to attain the privileges associated with being a man in this society, that I earned them and I deserve them, in reality I haven’t, and I don’t.  They are unearned advantages associated with the patriarchal power structure that dominates in all aspects of our society (including, by the way, public education), and they work to hold that power structure in place, to support and sustain the status quo.  Men are also meant to benefit from, and yet remain unaware and unconscious of, our privilege—-we’re supposed to think “that’s just the way things are.”  That way, the patriarchy persists, and the status quo remains unchallenged.

So why is male privilege an important topic to consider in the ongoing conversation about boys’ academic difficulties?   Because the pressures and struggles that many boys face these days, in schools and in society at large, are a direct result of their male privilege.  The “boy code” identified first by Robert Brannon and popularized by William Pollack in his book Real Boys (Random House, 1998) highlights the “rules” that define what’s accepted as the conventional, stereotypic definition of American masculinity, and thus determine what it means to be a “real boy” in contemporary American culture: be tough, be strong, be powerful, be a dare-devil and a risk-taker, and, above all, don’t be a girl.   Pollack and others argue convincingly and compassionately that the boy code ultimately limits and constrains boys’ emotional and relational lives.  However, we also have to acknowledge that at the same time that it limits and constrains boys and men, the boy code continues to support and reproduce male privilege and power, because it defines the very essence of what we still consider to be strong and powerful—a “real man.”  That makes it very hard to resist. 

So here’s the rub:  The boy code sends the message that it’s not cool to do well in school, that academic success is only for nerds and geeks; that it’s much better to be tough, aggressive, and athletic than it is to be smart.  Many boys also get the message that they don’t really need to do well in school to succeed in life.  They learn, for example, that they can grow up and become a President who is proud of the “gentleman C’s” that he received in college, who boasts about not reading the newspaper.  I hear this sentiment, that it’s not cool to do well in school, that I don’t really need school to be a success, again and again from 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade boys in the boys groups that my students and I are running in our local middle schools.  But, in reality, we know that’s not true, and that educational achievement and income, to take a simple marker of success, are highly correlated.  But male privilege continues to blind many boys and young men to this fact.

In the end, I would argue, if men, in particular, really care about the current state of boys in this country, we need to stop blaming women (either the “radical feminists” or simply the women teachers who have overly “feminized” our schools) and step up to the plate to take genuine responsibility for the health and well being of our boys.  We must challenge/resist traditional and conventional definitions of masculinity that are both limiting/constraining for many boys, and that promote male privilege and power.  We must work at expressing a wider range of emotions, as well as being more flexible and open to different roles and relationships.  We must also be aware of, acknowledge, and ultimately work to interrupt our own male privilege.  To get at this, here in Central Maine, we are, among other things, helping boys become more critical consumers of the messages they receive from the culture (particularly the media) about what it means to be a "real boy" or a "real man" and to resist/challenge those messages.  We are trying, in other words, to help boys resist both the pressures and the privileges associated with the boy code.  It’s not easy, and it’s not the whole answer, but it’s a start. 

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Doing Well in School for Boys: A Chore or a Reward for Self?
By Michael Odokara, Senior, Waynflete School

Boys get many mixed messages about what it means to be masculine and what it means to be a good student, sometimes these two messages conflict. Naturally, we hear that the way to shine is athletically, with the mindset that to be a good student is to be a sissy (and that might not be cool). Many parents, teachers and experts in the educational field start to ask the question of why boys, in general, are struggling in school more than their female counterparts are.  Here are three reasons why I think boys tend to be struggling in school:

Behavior: In schools, boys are easily labeled by teachers as hyperactive, too rough, or troublemakers. We are more likely to be suspended or expelled than girls. We are also more likely than girls to get addicted to drugs like Ritalin, and be disciplined by teachers and administrators. In my experience, many boys feel the school system favors girls over boys. I know that boys do not do well in that school when they are engaged in conflict with that school. Conflict affects our self-esteem, but we can’t show that so we tend to hide this vulnerability with a false sense of manhood and strength. Because we regularly portray a false sense of bravado, we learn to oppress our struggles, weaknesses and questions, sometimes bottling it up until it becomes an uncontrollable negative behavior or action.  

The System: The system is not designed to benefit us boys. From the elementary school level, your are expected to sit down, follow orders and listen. Personally, that was hard for me as a child. I wanted to engage in rough play, sing and touch everything. In my younger age, teachers were complaining to my parents. Luckily, I had parents who encouraged me to express myself outside of the classroom. I later learned how to handle myself in the classroom, but many boys do not have that parental support system that I have.   

Lack of Male Teachers: Another problem is that there are not many examples of what it means to be a man that boys can look up to in school. Female teachers can be great role models for boys, but male teachers can have a more lasting effect, or different impact. I believe more male teachers would better motivate boys, starting with the way they talk to us.  In my case, my school advisor, who is a male, is one of the most brilliant, personable, well traveled and respected people I have ever met. He is a huge example to me. If there could be an increase in the number of male teachers in schools, you may see a difference in boys’ achievements. 

I think that parents have a huge role in their son’s drive to do well in school. For boys to do well in school, it should be ingrained in them starting at a young age. I also think that the parent should be aware of what is going on in their son’s education. They should be aware of his weaknesses but celebrate his strengths. I believe that we all come with different gifts, and it should be encouraged and celebrated by our parents, community and teachers. 

From High School to College: Removing Barriers for Maine Students
By Lisa Plimpton, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute

The Mitchell Institute works to increase the likelihood that Maine young people will aspire to, pursue, and achieve a college education.  Each year we award a $5,000 scholarship to a graduating senior from every Maine high school.  We also conduct research to learn how to make college accessible to more Maine students.  After completing a yearlong study, we recently released the report From High School to College: Removing Barriers for Maine Students.

The purpose of the study was to explore the growing gap between college intentions and actual enrollment among Maine’s graduating seniors.  While the proportion of graduates intending to enroll in college grew from 64% in 2001 to 70% in 2005, the actual college enrollment figures dropped from 62% in 2001 to 57% in 2006.  While college aspirations are high in Maine, realizing these aspirations appears to be increasingly difficult.  To learn more, we surveyed more than 3,000 Maine educators, parents, students, and young adults; and conducted group interviews at 19 high schools around the state.  The factors that most influence aspirations and attitudes about college are academic track in school and parental education level.

*         Compared with students in an Honors/AP or College Prep track, students in a General/Vocational track are less challenged in the classroom, experience less effective career planning practices at school, and do not feel as well-prepared for life after high school. 

*        Parental educational attainment has a critical influence on student experience, and has an even stronger influence on parents’ beliefs about the financial feasibility of college than does household income.

We also found some gender differences.  Male and female students have similar aspirations, but male students have less confidence about their future plans than do female students.  Some educators report that the academic program at school is less effective for male than for female students.  For example, one in three educators (32%) report that “Socially, it is not ‘cool’ to be studious” for male students at their school, while 23% says this is true for both male and female students, and only 1% say it is true for only female students.

The research offers evidence about why college enrollment is not growing along with aspirations, and how Maine can help more students realize their college plans:

*      Most educators do not believe that all students are capable of graduating from high school ready for college, and some educators still have a limited view of college as a four-year degree program in the liberal arts and sciences.

*      There is a lack of awareness, particularly among parents and students, that similar math, reading, and writing skills are needed for success both at college and in the workplace.

*      There is work to be done improving academic readiness for college.  Not enough students are taking advanced math courses.  Many students are concerned or apprehensive that they will not be adequately academically prepared for college.

*      There is not enough awareness of the financial aid process or support for families navigating it.  Parents who themselves did not go to college tend to believe that finances will be the determining factor in whether or not their child attends college.   

*      Parental involvement—both at school and in helping to plan for the future—is critical.  While this has increased over the past five years, some parents still do not see it as their responsibility.

We offer eight recommendations to help more students realize their college aspirations, including:

*  Expose students to college, starting at a young age.

*  Start career exploration early. 

*  Ensure that all students have rigorous educational experiences. 

*  Start financial planning and saving for college early. 

Read more about what schools, colleges, businesses, parents, and students can do by downloading the Removing Barriers report from our website at: www.mitchellinstitute.org/research_barriers.html

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Interview with Thomas Newkirk: Decoding Boy Behavior in the Classroom
By Meghann McCluskey, AmeriCorps VISTA, Boys to Men 

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Examining Boys' Academic Underacheivment: An Annotated Bibliography
By Meghann McCluskey, AmeriCorps VISTA, Boys to Men

Dee, Thomas S. “The Why Chromosome: How a Teacher’s Gender Affects Boys and Girls.”  
      Education Next. ONLINE. 2 September. http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/3853842.html

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