Brothers4Science is a year-round after-school program that combines science exploration with leadership development for approximately 50 minority middle school boys. Currently the program is run in partnership with three schools across Chicago— Ariel Community Academy, Mollison Elementary School, and Emmett Till Elementary.

It’s amazing to see how much the boys of Brothers4Science (B4S) at Till Math and Science Academy have become more comfortable with science concepts—and even more comfortable with each other—since we first began in February. In the past weeks of B4S, the group has had struggles and successes, frustrations and breakthroughs, and a lot of fun learning. Not a session goes by that’s not filled with the students’ laughter. Directing their abundant energy toward engaged learning has been our main task, and has manifested in a lot of different ways.

We’ve really tried to focus on journaling at Till, writing journal entries once per session. At first, the boys were very reluctant to express themselves in their journals, perhaps partly due to their notion of writing as a non-masculine activity. Breaking this stereotype has been a constant goal as we continue to focus on journals, since one of the aims of the program is to improve not just the boys’ science skills, but their communication skills as well. Continue reading →