| Million Father March to School on the First Day |
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| Monday, 25 August 2008 05:00 | ||||
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This initiative started in the Chicago Public Schools, where fathers are encouraged to bring their child/ren to school on the first day. St. Louis Public Schools jumped on board with this initiative -- due mainly to a track record of poor attendance on the first day.
We needed a way to not only get the children to school, but to encourage the one family figure who is all too often absent from their child’s schooling- the father. Now, we realize that not all fathers can make it -- so we encourage grandfathers, uncles, big brothers, and any male mentor. It was sensational witnessing the dads/men escorting their children to class from the school or playground. They were lending extra hands in the main office for registration, escorting other peoples’ children to class, and helping out at lunch time by serving meals and wiping off tables. This was fabulous. Interestingly enough, I overheard teachers making such comments as, “I didn’t know Bill had a dad,” or “I didn’t realize Candace had such an impressive father.” Educators often make assumptions about the family life of their students in urban schools. Many assume there is no father figure, when in fact, one may be very present and active. We continue to make the mistake of thinking that if parents do not come to the school, “they don’t care.” In the African-American community, the family is the bond that holds everyone and everything so tight. What troubled me this past week when school opened, was the number of teachers and administrators who were impressed—and surprised--- by the fathers who showed up. Although they may not attend PTO meetings, or every school play, the families in urban settings care as much about their children as families anywhere, and want the best for them, too. Let’s stop underestimating the power of the African-American family---and more importantly, lets put to rest all of these assumptions about the African-American fathers or father-figures. They are real, active, and yes…they care. Thoughts? I’d love to hear from you.
 Paula Knight is Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction K-12, for the St. Louis Public Schools.
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Comments (2)
Let's Be Real
written by titansrst@gmail.com, August 26, 2008
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.
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Thank You!! written by worrilld@bellsouth.net, August 26, 2008
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.
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