Player of the Year
Partial Class

Step 1.

Tell students to pretend that the “Council of Better Male Bureau” (CBMB) was founded recently in the U.S. The CBMB is a private, nonprofit organization whose self-described mission is to focus on advancing male trust, respect, responsibility, and accountability in schools, the workplace, in public places, and at home. CBMB provides trainings and oversight for many places to ensure that males are not abusing their power. CBMB also accepts complaint reports and investigates cases to hold men accountable.

Step 2.

Tell students to think of a male they know personally (relative, friend, peer, teacher, neighbor) or know of (friend’s parent/relative, cousin’s boyfriend/husband, celebrity, character from a T.V. show/movie/book) that have displayed toxic behavior. They must write a complaint letter to CBMB describing the offensive toxic behaviors and how it has affected them or other victims.

OR

Have students write a satirical award speech introducing the male they have chosen and his toxic behavior. Give students the opportunity to perform their speech in front of the class.

Step 1.

Tell students to pretend that they are looking for a male to date or hire. The male they are looking for should be a person who does NOT display behaviors of toxic masculinity. Students must write a classified ad that describes the characteristics and qualifications they are looking for.

Step 2.

Ask for student volunteers to share their ad with the class.

Step 3.

Collect all ads and post them on walls for everyone to read.

Step 1.

Divide a whiteboard or other display into three different sections with these three headings:

• Behaviors from My Parents/Guardians that are Worth Repeating
• Behaviors from My Parents/Guardian that Should End
• New Traditions and Behaviors to Start

Step 2.

Tell students to think about what kind of parent they wish to be in the future (if they wish to have children, or what kind of adult caretaker they wish to be if they don’t want to have children) that will enable those in their care to grow up accepting themselves and others. Ask them to think about what they’ve learned from their parents/guardians that are great qualities, as well as some not-so-great qualities.

Step 3.

Give each student as many paper dolls as they need. Give students the time to design all but one of the dolls to look like their parents/guardians. On some of those dolls, have your students write two to three qualities and behaviors they wish to copy from them. On the other dolls, have students write down two to three qualities that they do not wish to continue. The last doll should be designed to look like them and on it they should write what new traditions, behaviors, and/or mentalities they will instill in their future children.

Step 4.

Have students paste their dolls in the appropriate section of the wall. Encourage them to take time to read each others’ dolls.