‘A Day in the life of …’
I’d like you to meet ‘John’, a young man who was part of my Masculinity Program and who I went on to mentor. Now ‘John’ wasn’t what I’ve heard referred to as a ‘big hitter’; he wasn’t on anyone’s radar for behaviour or academics. He was one of those seemingly invisible pupils who just gets quietly by. During one of our sessions I asked ‘John’ to write a piece called ‘A Day in my life’ describing a typical day for him. Not a terrible day, just an average one. Please listen to the audio file below and consider the following:
Audio File
- Does ‘John’ seem happy to you?
- Who does he ever really talk to?
- Does he possess (has he been taught) the emotional literacy he needs to effectively communicate?
- Why is his language so combative? E.g. “fight” “Get through”
- How many ‘Johns’ do you know? How many are in your school?
- What can we do to help develop ‘John’s’ communication skills, emotional literacy, mental health etc?
Questions like this lie at the heart of the Progressive Masculinity Social and Emotional Learning Program. Unfortunately, in my 18 years as a teacher and 3 years running this program I have seen a growing number of boys and young men in this position but I have also seen what can happen when time and thought are dedicated to addressing it.