December 9th, 2008
Men of Distinction
by M. F.
Men of Distinction is a program created by Mr. Braden, an outstanding teacher and mentor here at Stratford. Men of Distinction is a program for the young men in grades 9th – 12th. In order to participate you must be “seriously dedicated and committed to it,” says Maurice C. I had a chance to interview Mr. Braden and 4 of the young men involved in this program, and this is what they had to say.
I asked Mr. Braden, “What made you start Men of Distinction?” His response was, “It was a part of my purpose on why I am at Stratford and there is a great need for our young men to interact with positive role models and to help build self esteem and self image.” The next thing I asked was, “What were your intentions when you started M.O.D.?” His response was,”To provide an outlet for young men to express themselves, to grow, mentally, physically, and socially. And to expose them to opportunities they may other wise not experience. Our organization’s motto is ’brother building dreams, achieving excellence, and restoring the male image.’”
I also got to interview some of the wonderful young men involved in this program and here are some of the questions I asked.
1. What made you decide to join Men of Distinction?
2. Do you think it is a good program for young men your age?
3. Do you enjoy being in M.O.D?
4. What do you hope to get out of this program?
5. What would you tell young men who want to join Men of Distinction?
6. How long have you been in M.O.D?
7. What kind of activities do you all participate in?
8. Have you ever won the Tie to Greatness Thursday award?
9. Would you like to spread a program like this to other schools or do you just want keep it at Stratford? 10. Would you recommend someone to this program?
When I asked Michael R. what made him decide to join Men of Distinction he said,” I really don’t know, I guess to try new things.” He then said, ” I think it is a good program, but it should start in middle school.” I then asked him what he hoped to get out of this program and he said, ” To learn how to carry myself as a man and become more organized.” I then interviewed JeWayne R. and asked him the same questions. His response to the first question was, “Mr. Braden told me about Men of Distinction and it sounded like something I wanted to be involved in, so I joined.” I asked him if he thought it was a good program for young men his age and his response was, “Yes it really is, it keeps young men active after and during school.” When asked what he hoped to get out of this program he said, “To better myself as a man and also in many other ways.”
The last two young men I interviewed were Ra’Drell W. and Maurice C. After talking to them I found out that both young men enjoy being in the program and hope to get more out of it. When I asked Ra’drell if he thought it was a good program for young men his age he said, ” Yes, because it helps us get out of that street/ hood state of mind and become a man.” He then told me that he wants a chance to go on in life and call himself a man. He has been in the program for 2 years and has never won the Tied to Greatness award. I asked him if he would like to spread the program to other schools and he said, “I want to help any other guy, because it just might give them the confidence on achieving excellence.”
The last one was Maurice C. I asked him what made him decide to join MOD and he said, “I felt that I could join MOD to become a better man and have a little more to do activity wise.” Maurice has been in Men of Distinction since day one and he has never won the Tie to Greatness award either. He said he looks foward to winning it one day. I then asked him if he wanted to spread a program like this to other schools and he said, “Honestly, I would like a little bit of both because it is a great program but it’s not for everybody.”
