Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

Despite the negatives that might surround him, André Matthon stands resolute in his goal to break the cycle of disillusionment and hopelessness threatening to overcome many of Jamaica's youth.

At 17 years old, Matthon already sees himself as a role model and an agent of change and plans to use this to his advantage.

The Bridgeport High School deputy head boy said he wants to become a teacher, not because he sees it as an easy paycheque, but as a tool with which he can impact the lives of young men like himself.

"That is my dream and I will make it happen," he told The Gleaner yesterday outside the doors of the Eastwood Park Road New Testament Church of God in St Andrew, where the seventh annual boys' conference was being held.

Matthon says he has had a taste of leadership in his role as deputy head boy at his school and finds that though it can be difficult, it is something he was born to do.

"I find myself shouting a lot because they (the students) are not complying with the rules. Some of them tend to be very stubborn," he said.

"But I see where I have had a positive influence on them and I believe I can make a difference in their lives."

He continued: "The teachers at Bridgeport have assisted and inspired me a lot. I think that the best thing I can do to show my respect to them is to go back there (after college) and to impart to other students what they have given to me."

Some 500 boys from secondary schools across Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine turned out for yesterday's conference, where they were treated to a riveting motivational talk from consulting psychologist Dr Leachim Semaj.

Semaj, in his speech entitled 'Motivating Our Boys For The 21st Century', gave the students some fundamental tips on becoming respected men in today's society.

He told the boys that it was up to them to change their circumstances by changing their attitude and behaviour. "If you want things to change, you have to do something," he said.

"You run things. No one can stop you from learning if you want to learn; the same way, no one can force you to learn if you don't want to."

Endangered species

Semaj further told the young men that they were becoming an endangered species as women were overtaking them in most areas, including education.

"We are in trouble. At primary and secondary school, the girls are outperforming the boys," he said. "Boys drop out more, boys are suspended more and boys are expelled more."

He added: "For every four students in a tertiary institution, three are female, one male. At the Norman Manley Law School, for every five students, four are females."

Semaj implored boys to think seriously about what kind of man they wanted to become.

Meanwhile, most of the boys attending the conference enjoyed it, calling it life-saving.

"The presentation, overall, to me was a good one because seeing what is happening to our boys in the society, it is good where you can find persons who still have hope in us boys to call us together in one place to show us how valuable we are to society," said one student.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com