The tradition of leaving high school and finding full-time employment after grade 8 has put Low German-speaking (LGS) Mennonites in rural Southwestern Ontario in a vulnerable economic position. Consequently, alternative education programs have been developed by Ontario public school boards in areas containing high numbers of LGS Mennonites. The programs strive to keep LGS Mennonite youth in school by creating spaces where primarily male LGS Mennonite students feel more comfortable and can pursue a high school diploma while maintaining their religious beliefs, cultural identity, and work responsibilities. This article draws from qualitative interview data and open-ended survey responses to explore perceptions of LGS Mennonite men’s experiences in alternative education programs, and it highlights factors that caused the men to avoid or leave the programs. This article offers recommendations on how to strengthen the programs to increase the number of LGS Mennonite students attending them. It emphasizes the importance of LGS Mennonite students receiving strong messages from educators that their language, culture, and religious beliefs are valued even if that means separating the youth from Canadian society rather than integrating them on equal terms to minimize their marginalization.

中文翻译：

---

在安大略省西南部的另类教育课程中，德语水平较低的门诺教徒男子的经历

离开高中并在8年级后找到全职工作的传统使安大略省西南部农村的低德语（LGS）门诺教徒处于脆弱的经济地位。因此，安大略省公立学校董事会已经在包含大量LGS门诺教徒的地区制定了替代教育计划。这些计划旨在通过创造空间，使主要的LGS Mennonite男生感到更舒适，可以在保持其宗教信仰，文化认同和工作责任的同时获得高中文凭，从而使LGS Mennonite青年保持在学校的地位。本文从定性访谈数据和开放式调查问卷中得出结论，以探讨LGS门诺派男性在替代教育计划中的经历，它突出显示了导致男人避免或退出该计划的因素。本文就如何加强计划以增加参加LGS Mennonite学生人数的方案提供了建议。它强调了LGS门诺派学生从教育工作者那里获得强烈信息的重要性，即他们的语言，文化和宗教信仰受到重视，即使这意味着将年轻人与加拿大社会隔离开来，而不是将他们平等地融合在一起，以最大程度地减少他们的边缘化。