Boys and Testosterone

boys and testosteroneUnless you’ve been living under a rock recently a lot has been happening on the broad landscape of contemporary masculinity.

First, Jamie Packer, media mogul and Australia’s riches man went toe-to-toe in a street brawl with the head of a major TV station David Gyngell.

Second, professional rugby player Konrad Hurrell posted a sexually explicit video of himself and a female TV reporter and finally cricketer Keiron Pollard decided to throw his bat at the head of bowler Mitchel Starc. Continue reading

Benji Marshall And Humility

benji marshall and humility

Benji Marshall

Stone the crows. Last week I had the unique experience of reading the sports pages where a major story had something extraordinary to offer young men.

I’ll assume no prior knowledge here about rugby as I know many readers are based around the world. Let me set the stage.

Rugby League hero Benji Marshal quit his long-time team the Wests Tigers to follow a two million dollar deal to play rugby union in New Zealand. He left his beloved Tigers in a somewhat less-than-ideal set of circumstances. Long story short. He was lousy at rugby union. It’s a totally different game. They offered him the option of going to play local club rugby in the New Zealand suburbs for 12 months. That’s a long way down the totem pole of sporting super stardom. Continue reading

The Men We Need On National Television

The Men We Need has been impacting so many young men around the country and overseas. More and more schools and more and more young men are being given the opportunity to ask the big questions about what it means to be a fine man.

the men we needOn Channel Nine Mornings Show

We were so pleased recently to discover that the program was being used so successfully at a local high school. Jon Hanna, featured in this interview has a real heart for young men and for seeing them really flourish in life. Jon recently began using The Men We Need resource as part of a bigger program at his school.

The interview captures something of the many issues young men face at this moment in history. Of particular relevance was the issue of body image and how that impacts young men’s sense of self-esteem. When a young man feels he cannot attain an ideal that is constantly presented to him then the results can be extremely negative. Some react with anger and some withdraw further into themselves.

At the very least the interview shows that the issues facing young men are increasingly gaining national attention. One of the key aspects we wanted to help young men understand is the crucial issue of how they use masculine strength. So much of the time, young men are conditioned to react out of anger and fear and their strength is channeled into violence or depression. The Men We Need is about helping them, through the support of teachers and families and other mentors so see a new horizon where they have so much to offer to others and to the wider world.

 

Mentoring Boys – Where Have All The Men Gone?

helping-mentorMentoring boys and young men into effective members of society able to make a deep contribution has always been a key task of every generation. But what happens when the men go missing and boys don’t receive the guidance, love, nurture and support they need?
In this week’s podcast I am spending some time reflecting on a powerful quote I read recently and what it offers us in terms of reaching and mentoring boys. It is also worth listening to in terms of how disempowered many men and fathers are. So many men don’t realise that their failures and pain have as much to teach boys as their triumphs and successes. Continue reading

Programs For Boys – Interview with Francis Owusu From Kulture Break

Screen Shot 2013-06-07 at 1.54.34 PMA special interview with Francis Owusu from KutlureBreak where we discuss programs for boys and much more.

 

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JD:            Well welcome to The Weekly Podcast, Jonathan Doyle with you once again.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is a big change this week.  After many, many months now of you listening to me I suddenly realised that there’s over 6 billion people in the world.  And many of these people have wonderful insights for us.  So I wanted to do something different this week; this week I’ve got us a very special guest to join us on The Weekly Podcast, and over the next few weeks I really want to start talking with people who are doing really fantastic stuff in the area of changing lives, changing culture, helping us all grow and learn.  So I’ve got a very special guest for you who has done some amazing work over the last decade, and we’ll talk about that as we go.  But I’m talking today to Francis Owusu who’s the Founder and CEO of an amazing organisation called Kulture Break which I have been aware of in different times over recent years.  And he’s somebody making a real difference in the lives of so many people and I just know in this interview we are going to hear some insights into what we can all do to contribute, to grow, to change.  So Francis, with that glowing recommendation welcome to The Weekly Podcast.

FO:           Well welcome and thank you for having me on board. Continue reading

An Interview with Dr. Abigail James Phd on Boys’ Education

programs for boysIn this powerful boys’ education interview Jonathan Doyle talks with gender based education expert Dr. Abigail Norfleet James on key issues such as teaching boys and how to develop programs for boys that really succeed. Dr. James is a dynamic and passionate communicator and this interview will help parents, teachers and anyone with an interest in boys’ education make better connections with boys in the classroom and beyond.

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Transcript

JD:            Well welcome back once again to The Men We Need Podcast.  I’ve got a real treat for you this week.  We’ve been talking off-air and having a few laughs about some of the boys ed suspects that we know[h].  Today I’ve got the privilege of talking with Dr Abigail Norfleet James who is joining us from Virginia and we’re in deep winter here, but I was just noticing the light shining through the window where Abigail is sitting.  You’re heading what, into mid-summer now?

AJ:            We are, about 32 degrees this afternoon.

JD:            32 degrees – that’s Celsius correct?

AJ:            Celsius, yes.

JD:            Virginia…does Virginia have beaches?

AJ:            Ah yes it does, Virginia Beach. Continue reading