Educating the Whole Boy in a Changing World
Recently, I travelled to meet with other trustees of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) at our January Board meeting. Their group convenes in person twice a year to support the work of approximately 300 member schools across the Americas, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. This year, a central theme emerged during our conversations as we began strategic planning: the health of young men. The group will meet next to continue this work at the annual conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, in late June.
Typically, at these meetings, the Board invites thought leaders and other organizational partners to ignite the discussion. This year, we were privileged to meet with Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation (a must-read for any current parent) and Dr. Peter Fisher, research fellow at Movember’s Research Institute of Men’s Health. Both presentations and subsequent discussions revealed what those in the room already knew to be true: whether through a policy or practice lens, young men are struggling. Well-documented reports have all but affirmed what the research about and experience of boys and men reveal — many are failing to launch at school and in work, susceptible to risky behaviours, and increasingly prone to negative health outcomes.
The changing face of men’s health is not the only challenge confronting boys’ schools. The growing challenges associated with seismic cultural and technological forces make this work uniquely complex. Just as the need to advocate for a human-centred education is so great, the world is increasingly becoming synthetic (e.g., machine learning, generative AI, and agentic systems) and skeptical (e.g., geopolitical distrust, toxic masculinity, and intercultural ambiguity).
At one point in our meeting, a seasoned and well-regarded head of school remarked, “Many boys are failing to learn the things that will make them good men.” He is right, and this is precisely where boys’ schools matter. If not us, then who? It is heartening that academics and clinicians who study boys’ development affirm what we see every day: boys’ schools educate boys and shape character with intention. It is why building well-being, technology, and character strategies is not an afterthought, but a deep commitment to employing what we know best for boys and those who serve them — brotherhood and belonging among students, close connections with teachers and mentors, high levels of challenge and support within a modern and relevant academic program, and partnership at home with values-aligned and mission-anchored parents.
For us at Crescent, there is no standing still. From a one-room schoolhouse for 20 Grade 5 students in 1913 to a growing, vibrant school of 825 students from Grades 1 to 12 as of September 2026, our boys’ futures are simply too important for us to be static. This is why we launched our new Breakthrough 2030 last year and why we are committed to offering a complete grade school journey. This blueprint for school improvement has us doubling down on our many strengths—academics, teaching, community engagement, and campus development—while also reaching for the horizon to embrace our many opportunities: adaptive technology, teacher recruitment, alumni stewardship, and financial access.
My time away afforded me to wear a different hat and share my voice as part of an important planning process; it also allowed me to return with my gaze firmly fixed on doing what is needed to ensure Crescent reaches our next level of excellence. And when we host the global community of boys’ school educators on campus for the International Boys' Schools Coalition conference in 2028, we will do so knowing that Crescent has much to offer the boys, not just in our care, but also those supporting young men around the world.
