Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 24

News
IBSC
CONFERENCE
2019: BOYS
AND THE
ARTS
ABOVE: SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL, MONTREAL. LEFT: DELEGATES AT THE OPENING
CONFERENCE
Montreal in Canada was the venue for the 2019 International Boys’
Schools Coalition Conference, hosted by Selwyn House School
from 26-29 June. The conference centred on the arts and their
role in helping us meet the huge responsibility we have in helping
our students become more aware, respectful, open-hearted and
responsible people. A key theme was the need for boys to learn to
share themselves emotionally for their own mental wellbeing.
Welcoming the delegates, former teacher and current Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau elaborated on this concept: ‘When
young people have the chance to express themselves fully and explore
who they are, they grow up to be more empathetic leaders, committed
change-makers and caring citizens of their countries and their world’.
In his opening remarks, IBSC President Tom Batty spoke of the
wonderful value of the event in bringing together 620 educators from
around the world and enabling them to benefit from a concentrated
period of reflection. He stressed the importance of the arts in helping
us to connect.
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Great Scot Number 157 – September 2019
Keynote speakers included clinical psychologist, consultant
and author Adam Cox, and Sonia Lupien, founder and director of
the Centre for Studies on Human Stress. Interspersing the wide-
ranging presentations and workshops were artistic reflections and
performances by jazz singer Molly Johnson and her band, rapper
Jonathan Emile, director Jean-Mar Vallee, and a plethora of old boys
and supporters of Selwyn House School. A recurring theme was the
role that the arts play in solving problems and building relationships.
The message was very much a positive and affirming one.
One important facet of the IBSC involves training selected teachers
in an action research methodology, mentoring them throughout
the research block and then facilitating the presentation of their
findings. Of the 40 participants in the 2018/2019 program, Scotch’s
James Kearney (English department) chose a research topic in
which he sought to deepen his Year 11 and 12 students’ intercultural
understanding.
To achieve this, he engaged boys in a theatre project exploring the
theme of displacement. Participants interviewed refugees and asylum
seekers from Afghanistan, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe, and then
used these stories in an ensemble play, written and performed by the
boys. The project challenged existing perceptions of displaced people,
cultivated empathy and respect for them, and validated the unique
strength of storytelling in drama as a pathway for learning.
The IBSC committee congratulated James for his outstanding work
and awarded him equal first place in the 2019 IBSC Action Research
Award for ‘completing highly innovative action research projects
that make a valuable contribution to the IBSC Action Research
community’.
Congratulations to James Kearney and to all involved in the 2019
IBSC conference: Barcelona 2020 has a hard act to follow!
DANIEL WIGHTMAN – ENGLISH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DEPARTMENT