Goddard’s hosts Parkinson lads for Men’s Day

Young male students from Parkinson Secondary School marked International Men’s Day at a neighbourhood firm which hosted a life-coaching session with actor and performance artist Neil Waithe.

Goddard Enterprises Limited (GEL) hosted 15 boys from first to fifth form at its Haggatt Hall headquarters, it said. 

The session became a journey into the variety of emotions and perspectives the adolescent males face in their lives and how to cope with them – from joy to rage to sadness – in a society where showing and sharing emotions are not considered masculine traits.

The narrator used a puppet as a prop while another student, wearing a headpiece, acted as the mother in the story ‘Little Neal and the Monkey’.

Said Nathan Taylor, a prefect and form captain: “It was fun and we got a chance to say how we felt. Many boys gave their opinions; sometimes we feel our opinions will be overlooked or pushed away but the session gave us the opportunity to express ourselves.”

The facilitator encouraged the youngsters to speak about their feelings and to give their opinions on issues affecting them and society.

Head Office People Coordinator Valerie Lovell setting up the session with the students.

“Valuable lessons were learnt through fun exercises, as well as by casual conversation between Waithe and the students,” according to a press release from Goddard’s. 

At various stages in the session, Waithe asked the boys to write lists. One was about their favourite things, which led to a discussion that showed the differences between each other. Later, they wrote a list of their strengths, fears and opportunities.

In an exercise to encourage them to think about the implications of their actions, Waithe told them a story about a boy whose mother warned him not to stone a monkey but as soon as she turned her back, he did so, was bitten by the monkey and had to be taken to the hospital. The students then re-enacted the story using props, and commented on the plot.

Terry Scantlebury, Group ICT & Business Solutions Manager at GEL, interacting with some of the students in their break-out session.

Waithe said he aimed to tap into the different ways students learn – visual, auditory and kinesthetic – in a bid to ensure they each went away with a valuable lesson. His goal was to help each of them achieve a positive shift in their perspective, involving them taking small steps at a time, he added.

Male staff members teamed up with groups of students who led discussions on the topic of being a positive role model. 

GEL Group Managing Director Anthony Ali told the boys about the importance of having a positive role model, telling the story of a mentor who has become a best friend. 

(PR/BT)