Drop Your Mask, Use Your RULER!

On Wednesday, 10 September, the Grade Six cohort travelled to St John’s Prep to launch their healthy masculinity collaborative project.

Our boys were welcomed by friendly faces and a warm cup of hot chocolate, after which the day’s proceedings began. Mr Des van Wyk shared his story and unpacked the impact of society’s expectations compared to being one’s authentic self. He referred to these expectations as the masks we wear, and used the analogy of dropping the mask to illustrate how freeing it is to be and act as our true selves.

The boys then brainstormed their experiences of receiving unhelpful messages about what it means to be a boy or a man, and contrasted these with how they would prefer to present themselves. They wrote the unhelpful messages on the outside of their masks, and their preferred messages on the inside.

After a short break, the RULER framework was introduced. To elicit real emotions, the boys participated in an educational game that generated much excitement. They then used the Feelings Wheel to plot the emotions they experienced during the game. The RULER framework helps boys to Recognise, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate their emotions - key indicators of healthy masculinity. Each boy received a ruler as a tangible reminder to keep practising these skills.

It was encouraging to see the boys eager to interact, share ideas, and speak in front of an audience about topics that don’t often come up in everyday conversation. Over the next few weeks, these concepts will be taught intentionally at school, culminating in October when Boys’ Prep hosts the final session.

We look forward to tracking our boys’ progress in these areas of wellbeing as they learn to Drop the Mask and Use the RULER.