The smiles on the children’s faces were enough to tell Franklin Academy Principal Patricia Overstreet and Edward Yeates, founder of Father’s Child Ministries, that they’re onto something good. Tuesday morning, the two paired up for the second year in a row to bring fathers into a place they’re not always seen — the classroom.
Following breakfast with their children, more than 50 men stayed behind in the cafeteria to listen as Yeates gave a PowerPoint presentation stressing the importance of developing good habits, from how men treat their wives to brushing their teeth while the children watch.
“They mimic us,” Yeates explained. “The little things we do are so pivotal.”
Yeates, who rides a motorcycle, said his 1-year-old son will often crawl up to him and make motorcycle sounds. Even at that young age, he wants to be like his father.
So far, Yeates is only holding the workshops at Franklin Academy and Fairview Elementary, but he hopes to eventually spread his message throughout the Columbus Municipal School District.
There is a stigma that only mothers should be involved with a child’s education, but fathers are just as important, he said. Their presence is as integral a part of a healthy school as good nutrition or physical fitness.
Parental involvement as a whole, by both fathers and mothers, is critical, Overstreet said.
She feels so strongly about the issue that she has issued a “Three Hour Challenge” to the parents of each of the 425 students enrolled at Franklin. Every parent is being asked to spend at least three hours volunteering at the school this year. Duties can range from monitoring the lunchroom to reading in class, watching over recess or almost anything.
“Our door is always open,” Overstreet said.
Though she sees a lot more mothers than fathers in the classroom, she’s starting to see more involvement from men, and she feels programs such as that which Yeates has organized will help. In addition, the school has other opportunities for parents to get involved, from things like the springtime father-daughter dinner to parent-teacher conferences, which will be held Oct. 17.
Alexius Jones said he was glad he decided to visit his son, Alexius Jones Jr., and his daughter, Kimberly, in their classrooms Tuesday morning. His son, in particular, seemed excited by the prospect, but he didn’t realize how much it meant to the 7-year-old until he arrived at the school. Apparently, when he decided to drive and let his son take the school bus, the child determined he had changed his mind and wasn’t coming at all.
“He was upset, but his whole attitude changed when I walked in the door,” Jones said.
When Jones was growing up, his parents weren’t together, and his father was busy with work, but he remembers how he used to call and ask him about his grades and homework. Now a parent himself, he tries to stay focused and provide a home for his children while remaining closely involved in their lives.
As a parent, and a special education teacher and athletic coach at East Oktibbeha High School, Daniel Henderson has seen both sides of the equation.
He took time off from work to attend Franklin Academy’s fatherhood breakfast and spend time with his two children, KeNya Johnson, 7, and Roderick Johnson, 5.
Fathers, in particular, are often seen on the athletics fields but not as much in the classroom, he said. Mothers are seen as the passionate, caring parents, while fathers are often cast into the role of disciplinarians.
“It boosts confidence when they know someone cares,” Henderson said. “Just come to the school and peek your head in the door and let them know you’re there.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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