HayU Blog
In Honor of Boys
May 24th, 2023
Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us that every day is an opportunity to value the emotional wellbeing of ourselves and those we love. While many of us have read of the mental health crisis facing adolescent girls in the wake of the pandemic, perhaps fewer are as aware of its similarly dramatic impact on teen boys.
Nat Damon is a lifelong educator with a storied career of leadership as an administrator and teacher at myriad independent day schools. In his latest career chapter as a dedicated educator of adolescent boys, Nat is in a unique position to share why the educational and emotional future of our boys deserves everyone’s attention.
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Boys are relational beings. Yet school has not done enough to fully capitalize on this fact. In his book, Of Boys and Men, Brookings Scholar Richard Reeves writes that “men are in crisis.” As examples, he cites that 50 years ago, the ratio of men to women attending college was 60:40. Today, it’s reversed, at 40:60. “The Future is Female!” is an often-cited mantra in K-12 schools, and girls are assuming leadership roles with far more reach than in the past.
In a very real way, this is a phenomenally positive indicator of how far we have come for women’s equality since Title IX went into effect just over 50 years ago. It also serves as a reminder that the fight for gender equality is not a zero-sum game. We can be incensed at the fact that women only comprise 10% of Fortune 500 company CEOs. Or not even 30% in the House of Representatives. Or that there are 25 women (25%) in the Senate.
Yet we can be equally enraged that males are dropping out of high school and college at increasing rates, that the suicide rate for men is four times greater than women and that over 98% of school shooters are males. Add to this terms like Toxic Masculinity, that broad stroke men in a dehumanizing manner, and we are indeed experiencing a rising tension amongst the genders in modern society.
Our boys deserve the opportunity to prove themselves as the deep thinkers they are; young men who possess a very real inner life and who are deserving of support and guidance as they make their way through school. This requires a focus on re-learning what was so obvious in the past: social skills. Knowing this, Reach Academy for Young Men was created. By offering classes that appeal to boys’ interests, we are offering up opportunities for them to grow intellectually (and have fun along the way). By hiring relatable, aspirational teachers, we are creating relationships with adult mentors that could literally change lives.
This is an opportunity for a restart for our boys, and such a gift can be priceless. By placing a premium on listening and communicating at Reach Academy, we are making space for our boys to express themselves in a safe and welcoming environment.
Our primary goal is to guarantee that each boy leaves our 3-week program with a heightened sense of self. In this way, Reach Academy is solving for the mental health crisis exacerbated by the global pandemic, one young man at a time.
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We’re grateful to Nat for sharing his perspective about how he’s making a difference.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’ll close with an inspirational quote from acclaimed actress and mental health advocate, Glenn Close:
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.”
Mr. Nat Damon is a 25-year educator from Los Angeles. He is the author of the book, Time to Teach, Time to Reach – Expert Teachers Give Voice to the Power of Relational Teaching (Relationship Foundation, Cambridge UK, 2018). He is the Founding Executive Director of Reach Academics, LLC , an educational consultancy. In 2021, he launched Reach Academy for Young Men, a summer institute for boys in Los Angeles. His podcast, Reach Teach Talk focuses on relationships in the classroom of life, and is available on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts.
