Author: Quincy Koster

The A Call to Men staff are proud to announce the launch of the refreshed Live Respect and Healthy Masculinity Curriculum: Life Skills and Well-Being for Boys and Young Men , an in-depth guide first developed in 2017 as a resource for coaches, educators, mentors, and youth advocates to build young people of character. The recent updates to this program include three additional lesson plans on race, privilege, and aspiring allyship – as well as updated gender-expansive language.

“At A Call to Men, we know that social issues and language are both constantly evolving. We wanted to update our curriculum to more accurately and adequately speak to the needs of our young men and boys, and to address the types of issues they’re grappling with on a daily basis.” says Director of Healthy Manhood Initiatives Rickie Houston. 

The three new lesson plans – “History and Race in the United States”, “What’s Up with Privilege?”, and “Aspiring Allyship: What Does All this Mean For Me” – offer young men and boys the intellectual framework to see patriarchy as an intersectional issue, and the resources to take action in pursuit of a healthier, more respectful world.

What is the Live Respect & Healthy Masculinity Curriculum?

Designed specifically to foster life skills and well-being for boys and young men ages 10-18, this free curriculum can be downloaded and taught directly by educators or presented via custom workshop with an A Call to Men trainers. Each of our twelve unique lesson plans are designed to:

  • promote healthy, respectful manhood
  • decrease language and actions that degrade women, girls and other marginalized groups
  • challenge harmful cultural and social norms 
  • decrease instances of bullying and homophobia
  • promote healthy relationships

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Data shows that our Live Respect curriculum’s interactive lesson plans significantly increase young people’s understanding of and commitment to gender equity and violence prevention.  In 2017, A Call to Men and Verizon conducted a study on the impact of the Live Respect curriculum on 300 male students who took the course. The results demonstrate the urgent need for this kind of training for all young men.

Before taking the course, only 21% of boys understood that they are taught to view women and girls as the property of men. After the course, that number increased to 90%. Additionally, only 19% of boys said they knew the meaning of consent before completing the Live Respect curriculum. After the course, that number increased to 75%.

“There is so much potential for good that this curriculum can bring to our classrooms,” adds Director of Youth Initiatives, Nicole Dillon. “Helping boys and young men embrace healthier, more respectful habits will have an enormous impact on the types of relationships and communities those young people will go on to build.”

The updated curriculum and educator’s guide are available for download below. Do you have questions about bringing Live Respect to your school or community? Get in touch with rickie@acalltomen.org or rahk@acalltomen.org.

Download the free Live Respect curriculum