Boyz 2 Men - "Tough Guise"

Today, those that were in the boys to men program, around 7, went to Duke of York Public School to play a game of tag. The 3 staff members first present included James and Jerry; Raul joined a bit later. It seemed that James was particularly good at this game because of his speed. A life of running away from bullies, and responsibilities certainly paid off. Even though the slides and the structures on the playground were off limits to people aged 12 and over, we went on anyway. We formed two groups, consisting of 4-5 players each; it was good exercise. After a while, we went back to Regent Park Focus to have some snacks. There were tuna fish and turkey sandwiches; ham was avoided because it wasn’t halal. While having snacks, we watched a 15-minute youtube video called "Tough Guise" by Jackson Katz. He talked about the racialization of the masculine imagine in the media, and how couloured men are represented as "overly masculine" to compensate for a lack of privileges.  The video can be found through this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI.  Eman was kind enough to burn a copy of it on a DVD so that it could be viewed through the LCD television that was in the lobby. Because Mother’s Day was just around the corner, Jerry decided to teach the boys how to make roses using tissue paper, taper, and some green pipe cleaners. That last for around 20 minutes for most of he boys, while it took over an hour for others.  After the boys were finished making the roses, they were each given a yogurt cone.  We chose yogurt as opposed to ice cream because it was a healthier choice.  At end, there was a guessing game for the amount of gumballs that were in a jar.  The person who guessed closest to the actual amount won the jar of gumballs.

- James