How to Confront Gender and Masculinity in Schools (and make them better for everyone) - with Jason Ablin

Our schools, public or private, primary or secondary, rich or poor are in tumult. They were already institutions that semi-unintentionally bred dominance hierarchies and reinforced unhealthy gender roles, but now the fake controversies around curriculum and teaching are inhibiting the kinds of conversations that can actually make schools safer, more welcoming AND can actually improve test scores. In this episode, Mark and I have a virtual sit-down with “faculty whisper” and school culture expert Jason Ablin.

Jason Ablin is the author of The Gender Equation in School: How to Create Equity and Fairness for All Students. With over thirty years in education and educational leadership, he has served as a teacher, department chair, principal, and head of school.

As an instructor at American Jewish University’s graduate programs for teacher training he helps teachers to create gender aware classrooms and has taught year-long courses to teams of educators in graduate level seminars regarding the relationship between cognitive neuroscience and education.

Jason consults with schools across the country to help them create positive culture by:

• Getting staff on same page with mission and vision,
• Working on their own adult implicit bias and gender ideas
• Getting back to putting kids first, building relationships, and having meaningful, caring conversations.

Jason, Mark, and I also talk about

• Three main groups of boys and how they often interact to perpetuate dominance, bullying and harassment.
• The differential suicide rate and how man box masculinity perpetuates  it
• What steps adults can take to make school better for all kids.

Jason Provides a vision for how schools can build cultures and structures that empowers adults and nurtures kids, in particular boys.

Although this is a podcast for adult men we know we all have a role to play in healing, morning or taking accountability for our own childhood AND making it better for current and future generations of kids. Listening to this podcast can be a part of that adult adventure.

• Link to Jason’s book on Amazon: The Gender Equation in Schools: How to Create Equity and Fairness for all Students
• Website: Ablin Education
• Blog Link: Educating Gender

Join the conversation on Twitter!! @jasonablin