Comments for Million Father March to School on the First Day at http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk , comment 1 to 2 out of 2 comments http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:58:29 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/index.php/hotchalk-blog-by-paula-knight-urban-insider/313-million-father-march-to-school-on-the-first-day#comment-7143 I am an African-American teacher, 51 years old and male. I applaud what happened in Chicago, but I am dismayed by the opinions posted about the presence of African-American males in the lives of their children. Yes, many, many, many such fathers care and provide a huge backbone to the family structure. But this backbone is all too often missing, wiped out for a variety of reasons. Yes, drugs and crime claim to many of our young black men. But more disturbing is our propensity for fathering children to numerous women and failing to financially or emotionally raise that child. Absurd is that the problem has become the fodder for comedy routines. More over, many of our black men wear this disgrace as a badge of honor. What that leaves are boys with no role models to hug them, to praise them, to counsel them, to show them right from wrong. A study of elephants a decade ago showed that the killing off of adult male elephants left their male offspring without role models to show them the responsibilities of being male. These orphans ended up becoming a rogue set that created havoc in their regions. This is what happens to our young boys. I have been the surrogate dad to so many of these boys. Being a Grade 2 teacher I get them when they are just beginning to ask questions as to why things are as they are. There is so much hurt in these boys' eyes, as is in their mothers' eyes. To me, the real backbone of the African-American community are mothers and the many grandmothers who delay their retirement years to help raise the fruits of mislaid seeds. Then these boys are labeled and too often live up to the self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. We need more days like the one in Chicago all over the country. But things won't change as long as we celebrate NBA and NFL players who set the tone by fathering many and taking care of few....and I am not talking money here. - titansrst@gmail.com Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:28:46 +0100 http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/index.php/hotchalk-blog-by-paula-knight-urban-insider/313-million-father-march-to-school-on-the-first-day#comment-7141 Traditionally it is the mother who is active in schools, white, black, latino, or asian. The media would have us all believe that uninvolved African American fathers or males is the norm and we buy into it. Thank you for showing that African American fathers care, they were just waiting on the invitation to come in. I can remember as a child that the teacher always referenced that our mother needed to sign this or that. My class was majority caucasion (again this presumption exists no matter the race). One day I asked, well can my father sign it too, or just my mother because I did not understand why the teacher always said "Ask your mother..." The question surprised her and from that point on she would say mother or father. I am proud to say that my father is a retired educator, 30 of those years as a principal of a high school and has served as a surrogate father to many young people in our small town community. Again thank you for your commentary. - worrilld@bellsouth.net Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:35:39 +0100