Fathership is leadership SM
A Father of Five
As a father of six, I have come to understand the importance of having men who are either experiencing what I am, or those that have already gone through the stages I am in and pass as a base of support.
I have constantly reached out to my own father, men at church, pastors, men I have worked with with questions, problems, horror stories. I sit back and then think of men who are fathers who never had a father to learn from, who don't have friends who are fathers, who don't know where to go, who to speak with to help them through the journey of fatherhood. I have been told this is a reason why many young men give up on fatherhood and leave, thinking, "my kids better of without me." Unknowing how wrong they are. A teenager told me last Christmas, "My father beats me, but I am thankful that at least I have a father." This comment is not as rare as you many think. One out of ever three children are without a father, for boys its two out of every five. we need to help these men to become the father they want to be, the father their children want them to be. The need is great to help these fathers to be fathers, for without them our children are dome. Fatherless children are twice more likely to end up in jail, 71 percent of high school dropouts are fatherless, and 85 percent of behavior issue in schools are from fatherless children, (Statistics on Fatherless Children in America). |
Research in Fathership
Research over the past decade has listed the root causes of several problems facing the American youth is the lack of a healthy father (or father figure) within the home. Doctors, professors and various authors have concluded that our society is suffering from the lack of men fulfilling their roles as leaders in our homes and in our communities. (learn more about Fathership) We will look at a few areas that have led to the lack of men becoming a health father and therefore lacking as a leader within their own home, to their families, and to the community at large. Then we will address various leadership development skills a man needs to become the leader he is designed to be and how to pass those leadership skills onto his own children and those of the community who are lack their own fathers. Fathers in America need to learn skills in coaching, communication, encouragement and mentoring. Fathers are an important in both male and female children as they grow into adulthood. Students inevitably fail; it’s part of their learning and development, the greater results come from a father figure coaching them through these failures. Fathers also need to provide encouragement during these times. Children need to be taught lessons about life and fathers can use teachable moments to communicate these lessons. They also need to become good communicator by being good listeners when their children come to them with needs. Fathership is Leadership: Fathership is Leadership SM is a program designed to help young men who are fathers or about to become a father to learn the basics of fatherhood, baby care, mentoring, how to teach using "learning opportunities." Fathership is Leadership SM will be completed in three stages or three categories. They are: 1) eduction opportunities, for a lack of a better word, workshops, but these workshops will be informal and be centered around a social event (i.e. basketball game) 2) a mentoring environment, linking men together with someone who "be there, done that" who could understand what the father going through. Provide advise or just listen to. Men need to vent also. 3) Conferences, two conferences per year hosted by local churches to provide opportunities for both formal and informal training in fatherhood, provide encouragement, share ideas of mentoring and training their own children and recommendation for tools and materials to help men face the daunting task of fatherhood. |