JEROME TEELUCKSINGH
MOST BOYS want to be cool, hip and display macho qualities. Some boys in Trinidad and Tobago aspire to be a zesser who values rank/respect and be associated with "bling" (expensive jewellery/accessories, customised or expensive cars and brand-name clothes). No boy wants to be teased as being weak or called a bookworm, nerd or sissy. This is the reality facing young males in primary and secondary schools.
This year the theme for World Day of the Boy Child (WDBC) is “Cool Boys: Managing Anger and Aggression.” It is relevant when we consider the troubling incidents of violence within the classrooms, homes and communities.
Since May 16, 2018, there have been annual observances of World Day of the Boy Child (also known as International Boys Day or International Day of the Boy Child). This is a grassroots and global effort to rewrite intolerable scripts in which our boys are ignored, marginalised, injured and killed. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, special days focusing on boys are not on the annual calendar of United Nations events.
In Trinidad and Tobago, an oral and written competition for secondary schools was organised. This project was spearheaded by the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), through its Educational Library Services Division. Additionally, on the sister isle, the Tobago Mission of Seventh Day Adventist Men’s Ministries has consistently been helping boys.
Across the globe there are activities co-ordinated by ambassadors and visionaries as the Voice of Men 360 (in Canada), Ministry of Health, Gender Affairs and Social Empowerment (in St Kitts and Nevis) and the All Bengal Men’s Forum (in India). And across Africa, major workshops and conferences will be convened. These amazing efforts, often with a lack of funding, have saved and enriched the lives of thousands of boys.
Observances of World Day of the Boy Child connect the boys to crucial conversations that are occurring on their mental, emotional and physical well-being. No longer can society believe that feelings of depression and suicide are adult problems. Boys are also prone to these dark moods. Furthermore, boys are also susceptible to ailments as diabetes and cancer. These cannot be classified as adult diseases.
In our society some of us aspire to be first, to excel academically, break records and win awards. However, we have to remind our boys that not everyone can be a winner. Somebody will be second, third…and last. If we keep on pressuring our boys they will be more likely to suffer from nervous breakdowns and feel inferior. Of course, we cannot encourage a culture of mediocrity or let boys believe that excellence is not important.
Cool boys are those who control their anger. Imagine this scenario: boys in a classroom or community are fighting, being aggressive and disrespectful. Some of us would view this as normal. Something is wrong in our society if we see it as normal and are unable to correct this situation. No longer must we accept boys as underachievers or disruptive in
