Teaching young boys to respect women should start early; but it is never too late to learn. Dion McInnis, father of three sons and advocate of women's rights, held a presentation March 20 called, "Teaching our sons to respect women."

During the workshop, McInnis taught women ways to teach their sons to respect them. "If you can teach your children to respect people, then, therefore, the problem is solved," McInnis said. "Respect is based on equity of fairness and understanding."

"Teaching our boys to listen is something we need to teach them early in life," McInnis said. "Our job, as men, is to encourage our boys to listen, whether we are coaching little league or involved in church programs. Boys identify with coaches. We need to coach our boys. We can help when we identify and make time with boys."

McInnis said listening requires revelation in self-disclosure itself.

"Wherever there is an interaction with boys, we need to encourage them to listen," McInnis said. "Once they listen, it opens the doors for girls and boys to ask several questions and for us to step in and share interaction."

According to McInnis, each letter in the word "respect" identifies: reveal, explain, share, proclaim, exemplify, connect and touch. McInnis advises that if parents follow these procedures, it will help with the benefits of interaction and identification with their children.

Many mothers were present during the workshop. They asked questions and appreciated the specific educational purposes presented by McInnis encouraging the understanding of women in our society.

"To gain respect from our children, we need to learn to appreciate the time and tell our children what is the most important thing we are proud of," said Loretta W. Gurnell, assistant to the associate vice president for Office of University Advancement. "We can help when we identify and make time with our children."

McInnis is a husband, father, administrator at UH-Clear Lake, and president and founder of Her Legacies Foundation, a nonprofit organization that finds, captures, preserves, celebrates and disseminates women's stories and the images they inspire.

To learn more about the efforts of this foundation, visit www.herlegacies.com.

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