SBP Winter 2021 magazine Final 1_29

Girls Division
In Virtual Religion Class,
Males, Females Find a Balance
By Sam Pineda
Three young women in the Girls Prep
Division at St. Benedict’s Prep share a religion
class -- virtually -- with a class of young men
every Thursday at 1 p.m. This class is known as
the Advanced Track Religion 4 class, taught by
Mr. Stephen Adubato. This is also the only Prep
Division class that hosts both girls and boys
together at St. Benedict’s.
When news of the creation of a Girls Prep
Division broke at St. Benedict’s Prep, there was
some debate over its place at a traditionally
boys-only school, even though the intent was to
introduce a co-institutional model, not a
co-educational one.
Now, with many months past, female students
participate regularly in the culture of
Benedict’s. Female student leaders regularly
run Convo. And girls participate with boys,
also presently virtually, in two long standing
activities at SBP -- the Graybee Ministry and
The Benedict News, occupying, in some cases,
senior positions.
But the only class where boys and girls are
learning simultaneously is Mr. Adubato’s
alternative track religion class. Mr. Adubato
runs it seminar-style, encouraging all students
to contribute to the discussion.
Mr. Adubato initially wondered whether his
teaching style might be applicable to girls, since
he evolved it over time to an audience of male
students. “After starting to teach boys, I always
told myself that God spared me from having to
work with girls,” said Mr. Adubato. “I thought
that they would be too difficult to teach.”
Mr. Adubato went on to jokingly comment that
he might be starting to prefer the classes where
he teaches girls. His female students, he said,
show no hesitation in participating in class
discussions or asking insightful questions.
Further, they do their homework on time and
show excitement and enthusiasm in class.
His fears were rendered unreal, but his teaching
style and mindset did have to change. “I also
have to be conscious of my perspective and also
my privilege as a male,” he said. “The girls have
opened up about certain struggles that the boys
don’t have to go through, and sometimes I need
to just close my mouth and listen. I want the
girls to know that as a male I am here to listen
to them and try to understand their experiences,
and that if they ever feel that I’m dismissive or
belittling their experience, that they hold me
accountable.”
In this way Mr. Adubato has been more aware
of his teaching methods.
Mr. Adubato has not been the only one affected
by this change. His male students, he noted,
have also had to work at being more respectful
and aware of talking over their classmates as
they shared classes with girls. The boys have
become accustomed to sharing a class with their
counterparts, he said. So much so that
discussions have been held by the two groups
away from school time about material learned
in class.
The addition of a Girls Prep Division to St.
Benedict’s had been a controversial topic. The
school year has started and everything seems to
be falling into place, Mr. Adubato said.
“These girls are driven, compassionate, strong,
and caring,” Mr. Adubato said. “It’s a gift to
have been asked to teach them.”
37 The Benedict News Vol. 3 Issue 1 Winter 2020-2021