I have a third grade class full of little boys, soon young men, who are taking me to the end of my rope. Yesterday, one of their mother's came in to speak with me about him. Apparently, she's tired of his behavior; at every school, he goes through stress with the teachers about him.
As she was sitting and talking to myself and the boy, I was looking at his face and it dawned on me --- he needs a father. Not much of a revelation, I guess. But I take for granted what a difference this makes. The mother can only do so much.
Several of my students' mothers will work with me on helping modify their boys behavior. But somehow, i can tell that at times their words don't stick. Boys need men.
We praise and celebrate the hard work of single mothers, and rightly so. But unfortunately, sometimes we minimize the crucial role of fathers. I know, almost without a doubt, that these boys' lives would be dramatically different if fathers or other positively influential men were involved.
That's all i can say about this at the moment. But I'll have other thoughts soon. Some might argue with me a bit. I can only say what I've seen.
