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GSAT ads and dead beat dads
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
We are not given to knee-jerk reaction in beating up on men for their many shortcomings, because hopefully we understand a little about the historical and social dynamics which help to shape behaviours and norms, even when they are undesirable ones.
But we found ourselves despairing somewhat on Father's Day last Sunday when we reflected on the state of Jamaican fathers and still saw little signs that much had changed.
In particular, we were struck by a supplement carried by the Observer, with a large number of advertisements congratulating students who had won a place in their chosen high schools, from the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).
More than two-thirds of the ads were signed by mothers, with no mention of a father. We know from experience that no proud mother would place a GSAT congratulatory ad and leave out the father's name, if he was even half-way decent. Moreover, we also know that there are mothers who would still add an undeserving father's name, for the sake of the child.
So the anecdotal lesson we learn from the missing dads in those ads - and we stress that it is not scientific by any means - is that more than two-thirds of students are growing up in households without a father. What a burden women must therefore be bearing.
The Observer is currently putting together a second edition of congratulatory GSAT ads for those who missed the first one. We will see if that trend runs true for this one as well.
In the interim, we wonder what it is going to take to bring men back home, and more importantly, what it is going to take to get our men to play an effective role in the lives of their children.
The announcement by the Registrar General's Department that two-thirds more fathers are adding their particulars to their children's birth certificates is, perhaps, a good sign that all hope is not lost. The 'bedside' policy seems to be working and we commend the Department on its insight.
We are also in support of the proposal to mandatorily add the father's name to the child's birth certificate. A lot more men, some in high places, will find it won't be so easy to get away from their responsibility to their children born in or out of wedlock.
This practice of men not having to care for their children or for children not having their father's name, a relic of our slave past, must come to an end. It is 171 years since the complete abolition of chattel slavery when slaves were encouraged to breed to restock the supply of labour and the children belonged to the plantation owner and received his name. How long is it going to take to put that completely behind us?
As a society, we have to keep encouraging our boys, the potential fathers, to be responsible men. Efforts, like that started by Fathers Inc and its team led by Professor Barry Chevannes, need to be more fully supported. It might be our own ignorance, but of late we have heard very little about such groups. We are quite aware of the tremendous difficulty in keeping such voluntary but well-meaning organisations going.
All said, we are not yet ready to give up on men. And we are not being naïve in hoping that one day we will have 100 per cent of fathers signing with mothers in these Observer GSAT ads, even if that is only symbolic.
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