Fostering Leadership

Empowering Middle School boys to take charge

By Jan Abernathy Chief Communications Officer

“The Middle School years are a good time to develop leadership skills because children are looking to show that they are relevant and competent, and that they can contribute meaningfully to the world,” says Ophelia Ma, Head of Middle School. “Our boys are asking the big questions: Who am I? What am I passionate about? What can I contribute and how do I connect to others while doing that?”

Ms. Ma says Browning boys have a desire to make the world a better place. On this point, Joan Gillman, science teacher and Middle School advisor, concurs. Ms. Gillman advises the Green Team club, of which roughly a quarter of Middle School boys are members. “If there’s an environmental problem, they want to see action. In this way, they are changemakers.” Whether it’s picking up trash around Central Park before school starts, donating money to an organization that helps supply clean drinking water, or raising environmental awareness with the student body, this all-division club’s Middle School members are serious about its mission. Several of its leaders, including its treasurer, social media managers, and communications manager, are all Middle School students.

The group is responsible for the all-school Biodiversity Day, which was held this year for the first time since 2019, and is designed to be appropriate for all ages of students. From a scavenger hunt in Central Park, to seed planting, to an escape room (partially designed by a Middle School student), the event is largely planned by students for students, with the assistance of adult advisors.

For those who want to develop their leadership skills while working inside the School, Student Council offers our Middle School boys the opportunity to “take initiative and also learn how to fail because they need to understand how much is required to make things happen,” says Pete Weiss, a Middle School history teacher and advisor, who also advises Grade 5 and 6 Student Council. This year, the students in those grades were interested in exploring lunch options. “We discussed how the project had to go beyond the students telling our food service providers, ‘This is what we want and this is what we don’t want.’ The boys did a great job of pulling together a sample of offerings and asking other students to

What does leadership look like?

vote for the things they liked and to make new suggestions. They then made a presentation to our vendor. In this process they got to learn about how meals are planned and the various considerations that go into the meals before they reach the students’ plates.”

Student Council is open to any Middle School student without having to stand for election. Megan Ryan, Dean of Middle School Student Life, says that Browning is continuing to examine this model to see how students can best bring about real change and run their own projects. “Right now, Student Council does service projects, but as our focus on student life grows, we’ll be looking to guide the boys towards building the leadership skills with each passing year in a developmentally appropriate way.” In her second year as Dean, Ms. Ryan is studying assemblies, advisors, clubs, and sports for further opportunities through which boys can connect, explore their passions, and lead. She noted that assembly guest Robert Anthony from the Challenged Athletes Foundation was recruited by Grade 7 boy, Charlie F. ’28, and she hopes to see more boys get actively involved in assembly planning.

Benjamin S. ’30: Exploring Culture

Middle School students are also able to create their own clubs. Grade 5 student and Jewish Culture Club founder Benjamin drew inspiration from his sister who led a similar club in her middle school. “We started off with two people and we’ve grown to about seven more. We’ve learned more about Jewish culture through reading and food.” Benjamin adds that being on the Student Council and on the math team is giving him the experience he needs to participate even more as he goes through Browning. “You can see what you need to do to build things over time; these clubs prepare you for life.”

Austin C. ’27: Healthy Competition

Austin, a Grade 8 student, counts math, chess, and violin among his passions, and as an advanced math student, he participates in math competitions with Upper School students. “They can be role models for me, and I get to see what high schoolers do,” he says. Faculty engagement also makes boys more able to find new interests, he says, adding, “Teachers here are really passionate about what they teach. Ms. Gillman works so hard to make science interactive,” he says of the Green Team advisor. Austin also serves as the group’s treasurer.

Ninis T. ’28: Passion Projects

Browning’s size isn’t an impediment to boys exploring their passions, says Ninis. “If a teacher knows that you’re really interested in something, they’ll be able to help you pursue it,” the Grade 7 student says. “For example, last year when I wanted to start a middle school newspaper, teachers helped me. And this year, Mr. Weiss and (English chair) Ms. Vonnegut helped me make the club bigger.”

Ms. Ma, who will be entering her second year at Browning this fall, looks forward to enhancing leadership opportunities for Grade 8 students as they approach Upper School, while at the same time watching the boys’ obvious appetite for passion projects throughout the Middle School grow. “The key is honoring student voices,” she says. “Middle School boys are going to bring up a lot of ideas and opinions, and we just need to put ourselves in a position to hear them.”

• MS Newspaper

• Green Team

• Chorus

• Rock Band

• Shakespeare Play

• Hand Chimes

• Taste of Home

• Sports (soccer, track, and baseball)

• Yearbook