Maine Boys Network

The Maine Boys Network presents:

REGIONAL FORUMS to Support the Academic Achievement of Boys

Boys and Mental Health: What Schools

Need to Know

     Presented by Bob Katz, LCSW, Bridgton Academy

     and Bernie Hershberger, PhD, Bowdoin College

Packaging Boyhood: Helping Boys Resist Media Stereotypes

     Presented by Mark Tappan, PhD, Colby College

"It Ain't Cool to Like School:" Why Boys are Underachieving and What We Can Do About It

     Presented by Layne Gregory, LCSW

     Executive Director, Boys to Men

Boys and Mental Health: What Schools

Need to Know

ADHD, violent behavior, conduct disorders, suicide: all serious mental health issues that impact our schools; all experienced at higher rates by boys. In this special workshop for educational professionals, we will examine the range of mental health and wellness issues that affect boys in  our schools, from anxiety and depression to bi-polar disorder and suicidal behavior, and explore the unique ways these issues present themselves in boys. We will consider the impact of the "boy code," which encourages boys to hide their emotional lives, on boys' mental health, social and emotional development, and in-school behavior. Most importantly, we will explore prevention and education strategies to improve our boys' overall mental wellness and  help them succeed in school and in life. Essential information for teachers, school administrators, parents, and anyone who cares about boys.

Packaging Boyhood: Helping Boys Resist

Media Sterotypes

Jock. Slacker. Gangster. Superhero. Goofball. Player. This workshop explores the narrow version of boyhood that is sold to boys - and what teachers, parents, and others who work with boys can do about it. Today's media and marketers besiege boys with a steady diet of negative imagery that encourages slacking over studying; competition over teamwork; power over empowerment; and being cool over being yourself. This multimedia presentation offers an overview of this "cultural landscape" that boys confront every day in school and society at large, and provides tools and information that can be used to help boys resist these troubling images and negative sterotypes.

"It Ain't Cool to LIke School:" Why Boys are Underachieving and What We Can Do About It

Boys are on the losing end of an education gap that stretches from kindergarten to graduate school, scoring lower grades, fighting through a higher incidence of learning disabilities, and earning fewer high-school diplomas and college degrees than girls. Concurrently, popular culture conveys messages to boys telling them to be tough, cool, hard-drinking, and unemotional. When academic achievement is labeled as "something girls do", how can boys succeed? In this interactive worshop, we will explore these school-based and culttural dynamics, as well as review approaches that engage and connect to boys and support their academic achievement.

For more information contact: Layne Gregory at 774-9994 or boystomen@maine.rr.com or Bernie Hershberger at 725-3069 or bhershbe@bowdoin.edu.

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Copyright © 2005. Boys to Men