“Boys are told what they shouldn’t be rather than what they should be”.

This week is the annual Headmaster and Head Student of Boys’ Schools conference. We are fortunate to have connections with other boys’ schools and there has never been a more important time for boys’ schools. CBHS has a strategic priority of developing healthy male role models and we are conscious of the importance of this work.

I recently attended a 'Talking Masculinities' workshop about encountering the increasing attraction to young males of online, far right, anti-feminist messages and ideologies. Research shows that boys are drawn to the rhetoric of the likes of Andrew Tate through fear. They are uncertain about what their life will look like and what it is to be a man. I asked the question of the researcher why he thought there were not more men at the workshop. He responded by talking about the reluctance of men to step up in this space and even to talk positively about being male. Good men are leaving a vacuum for others to fill.

It matters that we do step into this space. This is the moral purpose of modern boys’ schools. We all need to be making positive statements about being authentic, connected and motivated and having both backbone and heart. 

This year CBHS will host Andrew Reiner, a US academic, whose focus is on addressing the disconnect that boys of all ages are feeling and Richie Hardcore, a former kickboxer, who talks with boys about what good men are. These will be important conversations for our boys, staff and community and they align directly with our mission of developing fine young men.

CBHS has a privileged position to positively influence young men. This is an opportunity we must take. We encourage all of our community to give our boys courageous and positive messages as we think about positively defining and celebrating modern masculinity.