Boys Becoming Men: Creating Rites of Passage

by Lowell Sheppard
Spring Harvest Publishing
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Creating Rites of Passage

What is wrong with our boys? Why aren't they doing as well in their studies as girls are? Why are so many being caught up in drink, drugs and crime? Why do so many find negotiating the journey into adulthood such a difficult task? Why do so many seem to reach physical maturity but not emotional maturity as well?

Lowell Sheppard, former National Director or BYFC and the father of two sons, looks at the whole issue of bringing up boys and suggests that we have abandoned one of the most vital tools - the use of puberty rites of passage (PROPs). Boys, he argues, need the combination of adventure, belief and ceremony that PROPs provide to help them understand and accept their arrival into adulthood - and for the rest of the community to recognise their arrival as well.

Pinpointing the crucial times in adolescence when PROPs should be used and drawing on the ideas of other cultures, he suggests how to plan a PROP, who to involve and how to adapt it to suit a boy's individual personality and talents.

This is a book for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, youth workers, pastors, teachers and anyone else who has an interest in and concern for the next generation. It is practical and accessible but written with a passionate concern for boys and their future.

For more of Lowell's thoughts on Rites of Passage, visit his PROP blog at http://planningaprop.blogspot.com.