COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT: BOYS STUDY COMMITTEE BY MS. MURRAY, First-Grade Co-Lead Teacher The Boys Study Committee, a Board sub-committee, has had a substantial impact on Cathedral School for Boys’ education policies and practices since its inception in 1996.
Since 1996, the Boys Study committee has given thoughtful inquiry and discussion tied to the fulfillment of our School’s Mission. The goal throughout this process is to question, research, and seek understanding in areas that are not completely mapped out or fully under- stood in order to best serve our boys. This thought-leading work is one of the many things that sets us apart from other schools and strengthens us as a community. As the faculty representative on the Boys Study Committee, I am contin- ually exploring how we can support the emotional growth of boys starting from an early age to adulthood. There are a multitude of articles and books that offer insight in defining (and broadening) our definitions of masculinity and cultural norms. While the underlying message for girls is one of empowerment, “You can do and be anything” mantra (as it should be), society’s messaging for boys doesn’t seem quite as explicit. How can we communicate with our boys, build their self-confidence, and support their development and learning in a way that is equally empowering?
One step in the right direction is the understanding that parents and teachers are responsible for strengthening and nurturing the connection with their sons/ students. Teaching our boys to identify and communicate feelings, express vulnerabilities and mistakes, allow for disappointments and create strategies to work through them are embedded in our chapel lessons, Friendship Groups, and conversations at lunch and on the playground. Establishing and fostering these relationships is a tenet of who we as a school. At the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, the Boys Study Committee sought a speaker with comprehensive knowledge of boys and their social-emotional development. The Committee’s goal was to begin a conversation within our community, sharing perspectives and insights to enhance our understanding of our boys, and to further establish Cathedral School as a thought-leader in the development of boys. In January, a presentation by Dr. Michael Gurian was held for the Cathedral School for Boys community. With thirty years of study in child development, brain research, and gender differences, Dr. Gurian shared
his latest findings in male emotional intelligence, the male brain, and neuro- science along with concrete examples to support boys, parents, and educators in the journey to manhood both at home and school. His most recent book, Saving Our Sons: A New Path for Raising Healthy and Resilient Boys tackles social and cultural issues facing boys, spotlights male mental health and well-being, and explores practical solutions in order to help us see boys fully and fairly. Through this speaking event the Boys Study Committee aimed to further our school community’s understanding of how to best teach, support, and prepare our boys for the world ahead. The Boys Study Committee will continue to bridge the conversation between all constituents of our community with the hope that our boys will feel loved, supported, and successful as well strive to do the same for others. While the Boys Study Committee will continue to research and seek experts in this field, as parents and teachers we know our boys best and can benefit from learning from each other along the way.
About the most challenging (and rewarding) parts of cooking for hundreds of people (boys) every day… It’s not as challenging as it seems. Everything in the CSB kitchen is correctable. That’s a huge benefit. This is different from making individual plates at a restaurant. If you make a mistake with a flavor or a temperature in a restaurant, there’s no time to correct the mistake. Hence, you have unhappy customers. Here, in the CSB kitchen, you can correct every- thing. Adjust everything. Experiment with flavors on the fly. For instance, when correcting flavor balances in soups and sauces—water is always your friend. It seems with soups, you’re always thickening or loosening. It’s always easier to loosen a sauce when you’re short on time. If something’s too salty, you Whomever you sit and eat with, everyone has an opinion about food and can tell you something about food. I learn something about food from whomever I sit and eat with. But if I had to choose, I would like to dine with Abraham Lincoln. A cookbook was published during his White House years that I have read. It was full of things that I have never had, like potted meat. It would be interesting to eat some of those things, things that are now out of fashion, to understand better how he and people of that time enjoyed their meals. can add lemon juice or something acidic. About who he would like to dine with…
About what he enjoys cooking lately… Brussels sprouts. They are a lot of prep and the boys don’t eat them much, but they have been great this season. I like to roast them with shallots and big chunks of bacon, or with coriander and cumin. But I don’t like them boiled. About the boys’ favorite item… They love Buffalo wings. They like spicy food here—probably another surprising fact for the parents. About his favorite cooking tool… The immersion blender. It makes soup more palatable. One parent told me that her son likes my tomato sauce because it There could be no lunch without the CSB volunteers. We would have to hire at least two or three more people, which would be prohibitively expensive. The kids see the parents helping out and getting to know their classmates—it’s part of what makes us a community. It’s great for the parents to see how lunchtime works, and they get to spy on their kids! Ha! Parents serve every boy, in every grade, so they can get a sense of the whole school in one short period of time. doesn’t have tomatoes in it! Ha! Fooled him. About the role of the lunchroom volunteer…
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FALL 2019 • RED & GOLD | 75
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