Men Can Make A Difference

Written by Michael Robinson

“Children with involved fathers, on average, do better in school, have a greater motivation to succeed, have higher self-esteem and more confidence in unfamiliar settings, and are less like to be delinquent or abuse substances like drugs and alcohol” (Battaglia, 2006, p.2).

In 1992, The National Center for Fathering's Gallup Poll found 96.8% of those responding agreed that fathers should be more involved in their children's education. An additional finding revealed the importance of fathers to a child’s academic success. In that same 1992 National Center for Fathering’s Gallup Poll, 54.1% of the respondents agreed "fathers today spend less time with their children than their fathers did with them." One seemingly effective way to assist fathers in their efforts to increase their engagement has been to encourage their participation with their child's school.

Inviting fathers, step dads, uncles, brothers, nephews, male cousins and other significant male role models to observe their children or family member classrooms has been an effective tool for many public school districts throughout the country, most notably the Prince George's County Public School district (PGCPS) located in Prince George's County, Maryland. PGCPS boast nearly 10,000 fathers participated in its first annual Men Make A Difference Day. The event was held on October 13, 2008 which was a Federal holiday, but one in which local public schools were open.

The benefits for children when fathers and other significant males are engaged in their academic lives are indefinable. Many fathers are aware their presence makes an enormous difference in their children performance in school. However, most will suggest they have not had the opportunity to become engaged in their child’s school. For example, 38% of working dads stated they would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids (2007 survey by CareerBuilder.com).

Some additional facts regarding fathers and male role models:

1. Forty-eight percent of working fathers have missed a significant event in their child's life due to work at least once in the last year and nearly one in five (18 percent) have missed four or more.
2. More than one in four (27 percent) working dads say they spend more than 50 hours a week on work and nearly one in 10 (8 percent) spend more than 60 hours.
One in four (25 percent) working dads spend less than one hour with their kids each day.
3. Forty-two percent spend less than two hours each day.
4. Thirty-six percent of working dads say their company does not offer flexible work arrangements such as flexible schedules, telecommuting, job sharing and more (2007 survey by CareerBuilder.com).