ABLE

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION/SUMMARY    

In 2006, alarmed by frightening deficit of Portland area  programming specifically targeted for boys and their healthy development, Boys to Men (B2M) teamed up with Rippleffect (RE) to develop ABLE, a boys’ leadership program that effectively addresses and promotes the health, successful development, and aspirations of boys ages 15 through 18. Rippleffect is a community-based youth development organization specializing in adventure and wilderness experiences that build confidence and self-esteem. RE‘s style of leadership development combined with the gender-based violence prevention leadership focus of B2M makes ABLE a dynamic and extremely attractive leadership training program for adolescent boys. ABLE is an engaging combination of outdoor activity, self exploration, gender awareness and media literacy training, meetings with established community leaders, and a photography component that allows ABLE students to document their leadership development and explore concepts through metaphor.

ABLE is a semester-long accredited course that is delivered through 44 eighty eight minute class periods throughout each semester. The course is divided into five modules, each exploring different dimensions of leadership development.

 Goals:

• Increase participants’ self confidence and sense of agency in the world.
• Facilitate the young men’s abilities to empower others.
• Expose participants to and deepen their understanding of how photography can be used expand knowledge of the world as well as convey those insights meaningfully to others.
• Develop skills to resolve conflict in meaningful and nonviolent ways.
• Offer opportunities to explore and clarify personal values while exploring and understanding the values of others.
• Increase awareness of the dynamics of “power and influence” as it relates to gender, race, ethnicity and sex.
• Introduce program participants to leadership activities and leaders throughout Maine.
• Build a bridge between minority and majority communities in the Greater Portland area.

Module I Objectives,  What is Leadership? (First Month of program- September or January/February depending on the semester)

• Students will be able to identify five basic qualities of effective leadership.
• Students will learn how “core values” guide decision-making and will be able to identify a minimum of three of their own values or guiding principles.
• Students will begin building working relationships of trust and respect within the group by identifying, creating and obeying a list of “group norms”.
• Students will learn and describe the dimensions of three types of leadership: self, peer and community.
• Students will identify and describe the qualities of a minimum of six diverse leaders on national, state and local levels.
• Students will be able to identify the eight fundamental elements that comprise media literacy.
• Students will meet with and interview a local male community leader.

Module II Objectives, “Power and Influence – the Light and Dark Sides of Leadership” (Second month of program.):

• Students will learn and describe in three scenarios the dynamics of power and influence.
• Students will deepen self knowledge by completing a Past As Prologue cultural life line exercise.  
• Students will learn and be able to describe the concept of “privilege” and how it relates to gender, race, ethnicity and class identities.
• Students will continue building working relationships of trust and respect within the group by participating in 6 values clarification exercises.
• Students will learn to use a 35mm camera to explore and document their growing understanding of male youth leadership.
• Students will meet with and interview a local female community leader.

Module III Objectives, Resolving Conflict in Meaningful and Nonviolent Ways (Third month of Program.)

• Students will be able to identify practical skills for resolving conflict by defining the four key elements of effective bystander responses to harassment and abuse.
• Students will continue building working relationships of trust and respect within the group by participating in 6 values clarification exercises.            
• Students will continue their photography and learn to develop their photographic images in a dark room.
• Students will meet with and interview a person of color who is a local and/or tribal community leader.

Module IV Objectives, Developing Skills of Empowerment for Self and Others (Fourth month of program.)

• Using community and group scenarios, students will be able to describe four key elements of “Leadership through Followership”.
• Students will be able to list five key dimensions of self-care and link these characteristics to examples of effective leadership.
• Students will continue building working relationships of trust and respect within the group by participating in 6 values clarification exercises.
• Students will learn to use a 35mm camera to explore and document their growing understanding of male youth leadership.
• Students will work in the dark and produce three prints each for the “In Focus on Leadership” Photography Show.
• Students will meet with and interview the Governor.

Module V Objectives, To Explore Definition and Experience of Being a Young Adult Male Leader (Fifth month of program.)

• Students will develop and produce a photography show to share leadership experiences, understanding and growth.
• Students will meet with and interview a Maine leader who is from the LGBTQ community.
• Students will evaluate the ABLE curriculum and provide input for the design and implementation of year II.

Course Requirements:

• Assignment #1 - What is your definition of leadership? In what ways, if any, do you consider yourself a leader? Responses can be in essay form, collage, or photography.
• Leadership Presentations – Each student will create a 5-10 minute presentation on the topic of his choice. (details TBD)
• A minimum of Four Leadership Interview Summaries.
• Assignment #2 – Either describe a situation in your life where you used win/win conflict resolution strategies, OR describe a situation in your life where, looking back, you would use these strategies. How did/would the situation turn out differently?
• Completion of all homework assignments.
• Participation in photography show at end of year.

In order to pass this course, each student is expected to attend all classes, complete all written and photography assignments, and show up to each session in a timely fashion.

Boys to Men shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or citizenship status, disability, or gender

Copyright © 2005. Boys to Men