Gs to Gents

Everyone has a general idea of the perfect gentleman...but like most opinions, there needs to be some solid substance behind the idea. In Gs to Gents, a program produced by Kathryn Douglass, manager of Covenant House Michigan’s two community service centers, participants aged 16-19 learned the meaning of being a true gentleman.

Douglass was inspired by MTV’s version of Gs to Gents, staring actor and singer Jamie Foxx and knew the youth would be able to relate to the program. Gs to Gents was a feature of the theme Boys to Men – a program intended to “strengthen the moral fiber of the young men who attend the Covenant House Life Skills High School.”

Even though funding has been low at CHM, Douglass was able to round-up the local community to assist in making the one-week program a success. “You know, it was some what difficult since there wasn’t any money available, but those obstacles didn’t stop me. It’s very important for this generation to know what a real man is and how he behaves and we can never assume that the youth already know this.”

Male teachers and staff at Life Skills, along with men from the community volunteered their time in order to teach and mentor the youth. Besides learning how to be the proper gentleman, students were given an extra incentive to win the competition by gaining the most participation points; a new suit and a “$100 money market certificate as an introduction to his first mutual funds saving account.”

During the week, participants earned points for doing tasks such as: “arriving to school on time, following classroom rules, completing class assignments, having good hygiene along with cooperation and courtesy towards others.” In order to make the program even more competitive, students lost points when they were rude, disrespectful, used profane language or left school early. At the end of the week, a full day workshop was presented to the young men with segments focused on: using proper table etiquette, the importance of proper values in family life, dating, business and even appropriate sportsmanship.

When program participant David Wade was asked why he participated, he said, “I wanted to learn how to be a gentleman, you know the proper things to do like table manner or how to treat a lady.” When asked what was an important lesson he learned and how he used it in normal activities, he exclaimed, “One of the speakers taught me how to manage my money …how to put aside a part of my money so I would have it available before paying bills or spending it on other stuff.” Shaking his head, Wade commented that he no longer buys “expensive shoes” but rather saves instead.

The workshop concluded with male teachers and other faculty conducting a group interview with one-by-one with each participant, asking questions like: “Can you tell us a man in your life that you admire?”; What gentleman qualities do they exhibit?”; What are your goals for the future?”; and “How do you feel this program will benefit you?” Group participants also took a final exam with the program’s winner being 17-year-old Demetrius Brown.

Participant Tadar Harris said, “I liked everything about it (the program). I was never really taught how to be a gentleman but you know, these different steps have helped me to become a better man.” He continued and said, “It sharpened my grooming skills even more too. Now, I’m into cologne and I even use the hygiene package to this day.”

“Sometimes, we tend to think that our reality is the reality of everyone. But these kids, they come from difficult situations and made it here to make a change in their life. I personally donated $100 as an incentive, used Target gift cards from Christmas to provide lunch for participants and did whatever I could to make it work. It was all worth it to see the evolution or rather transformation of these young men and how it changes their life tremendously,” commented Douglass.