Ira Jones Teachers, Principal Reach Out as Mentors for the School's Male Students

Middle-school boys needing a helping hand or some thoughtful advice have a mentor at .

Growing up in a single-parent home, Ira Jones Principal Ed Boswell knew that middle-school boys often need a man they can rely on as they go through social, physical and emotional changes during those tough transitional years.

Elementary and middle school is mostly dominated by female teachers, and boys without a man in their lives to help them sometimes just need to talk to a male teacher, Boswell said.

It was this thought that sparked the Ira Jones Boys Club, in which all 18 male staff members at the Plainfield school donate their time after school to help, mentor and serve as role models for boys in need of assistance.

New this year, the group invited boys that they thought could use a male to confide in, Boswell said. They included boys in single-parent households, who are being raised by foster families or by grandparents or who perhaps come from an intact family, but may feel lost or confused. Special education students or kids in need of additional social skills were invited as well.

Although the first meeting had more teachers than students, the Boys Club has since grown by word-of-mouth, Boswell said. Any boy in the school is welcome to participate.

Having only four meetings so far, the mentors are working on developing trust with the students. They hang out, play board games, have snacks and talk about making positive choices.

The mentors said they hope the students will see them as someone who likes the same sports, watches the same movies or even plays the same video games that they do.

“I’d love to see us have a personal conversation about conflict resolution, how to treat female students, how to better treat family, neighbors,” Boswell said. “Those conversations are coming.”

An after-school club makes it possible for the teachers to talk with students, give advice or lend an ear.

Seventh-grade math teacher Todd Crackel said that there are many students he would like to reach out to, but there’s not enough time in the school day to properly handle all their concerns. Sometimes, students approach him after class to open up, but with other students around, it’s not the right environment, he said.

The middle-school years are often confusing as well.

“Some days a seventh-grader wants to be a big man on campus, and on another day they are crying,” said Jeff St. Yves, a seventh-grade math teacher.

Having another man to talk with helps ease the awkwardness of middle school that a female teacher may not be able to provide, St. Yves said.

“We went through these transitions as well as 12-, 13- and 14-year-old boys,” he said. “It’s going to be OK.”

It’s part of the rite of passage that comes in middle school – a time when socialization trumps science, Boswell said.

It can’t be assumed, though, that children come to school with the appropriate social skills from simple manners and making eye contact to handling dating and relationships.

Mentors are needed as the number of single-parent homes or dual working parent homes increases, and mentoring helps children improve their academic achievement, gain confidence, make wise choices or handle personal or social stress, research shows.

“One student resisted making a connection,” Boswell said. “Now, he waves to me. That’s progress. That’s a huge thing to him.”

Seventh-grade social studies teacher Mike Adamson said he hopes the students being mentored now have an easier transition to high school. The kids should also know they have a go-to person if they ever need help now or after graduation, he said.

Boswell said helping the students grow, mature and succeed in a school of about 1,000 students will help when they reach high school where they are one of 2,500 students. When students improve their self-esteem, they will less likely be targeted by bullies, he said.

“We are trying to provide the tools they need to be confident,” Boswell said.