Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the "National Conversation on Fatherhood" initiative President Obama announced in June. The forum was jointly hosted by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Department of Education. This partnership marks a critical step in bringing dads/men to the table in Obama's important push for better, more effective school-family partnerships: it connects those of us working in the rapidly growing fatherhood movements (note the plural) with our Educational leadership.

In the video clip, Duncan adresses what I believe is central to the success of Obama's school/family initiative. I call it 'the two-way street of father-involvement': we must simultaneously challenge dads/men to show up more in schools and challenge educators to be the ones welcoming them in the door. This goes against not only historical and cultural legacies that perpetuate the stereotype of education/schooling as women's work, but it also challenges families (men, women, kids) and educators all to step into, not away from, discomfort. 

At the forum, I asked Sec. Duncan what he and the others on the panel can do to educate the educators about the importance of dads/men in schools. Below are a few responses, some in the video clip and some not, worth highlighting:

1. Secretary Duncan said fathers must move outside their comfort zones and get involved with their children, perhaps in ways they didn't interact with their own fathers.

2. The Superintendent of Manchester, NH schools, Thomas Brennan acknowledged that administrators, teachers and other staff have not been taught to value fathers and their role in education, and that he himself has not considered that some fathers may not feel welcome in schools.

3. Sec. Duncan said, "We as educators haven't done a good job with this two-way street idea." He insisted that that if we want children to fulfull their academic potential that the only way to do it is by incorporating families, and that means including dads/men.