GUIDING BOYS WITH A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Christina Kratzman, Spanish instructor at Trinity-Pawling, reflects on the 2015 IBSC Conference:

As a first time attendee of an International Boys’ Schools Coalition Annual Conference, it’s global nature was immediately evident to me as I sat in the chapel at Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town, South Africa with close to 700 delegates from eleven different countries. From attending the Action Research training to hearing Desmond Tutu deliver the opening conference address to having dinner at the home of a local Cape Town boys’ school educator, the conference drove home the need for acceptance, cooperation, and global participation.

One of the most valuable parts of the conference was attending presentations by educators. They offered a perspective and a context that reading an article cannot offer. It stood out to me that schools – and boys – around the world are facing similar issues. How do we help our boys connect more meaningfully to the world around them? How can we help them become more emotionally intelligent? How do we teach masculinity?

My project looks to tackle these issues. This academic year, 2015-2016, will serve as a research and trial run year for a global masculinities curriculum. I will work with 8-12 boys – roughly the same size as two advisor/advisee groups – using the boys’ input over the course of multiple months to help guide the content and presentation of the material. In each of our meetings, a different issue about masculinity will be presented and discussed in the context of a man or cultural practice in a different part of the world with the aim of helping our boys become more aware of their own identities and roles as young men in the world.

I’m excited to continue my project this school year and to work directly with our students as we further engage in an on-going conversation about being men and global citizens.