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Entries in Boys' Education (104)

Tuesday
Nov152011

Our Grande Finale Salute to International Men’s Day

With special guests:

  • Geneuvieve Twala
  • Diane Sears
  • Donald Berment

Today we present the final show in our series on International Men’s Day (IMD) 2011 where the theme is:

Giving Boys the Best Possible Start in Life

We start out in Africa going to the home of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, namely Botswana, and finish up in Trinidad and Tobago via the USA.

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Tuesday
Nov082011

International Men’s Day on different continents

With special guests:

  • Glen Poole
  • Cathleen Williams
  • David Hatfield

 

International Men’s Day (IMD) 2011 will be celebrated in over 50 countries around the world on 19 November and the 2011 theme is:

Giving Boys the Best Possible Start in Life

This week we drop in on the IMD coordinators in the UK, the USA and Canada to hear directly from the organisers some of their achievements since being appointed and what they have planned for 2011. The speakers are all entertaining and inspiring as we go across the world to hear from them. IMD is fast approaching as we devote the second of three shows to this important event.

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Tuesday
Nov012011

What International Men’s Day Means to Me

With special guests:

  • Mick Kenny
  • John D Evans  

International Men’s Day (IMD) 2011 will be celebrated in over 50 countries around the world on 19 November and the 2011 theme is:

Giving Boys the Best Possible Start in Life

IMD interfaces with MOVEMBER and also with Universal Children’s Day on November 20 and in focussing on the main challenges boys all over the world face, asks how we can come up with local solutions to global problems.

At Dads on the Air this week we explore what IMD means to organisers in Ireland and the USA. Listeners are invited to share their own thoughts on giving the best start to boys by contacting the IMD coordination team at http://www.international-mens-day.com/ The best solution oriented approach will be awarded a prize certificate for the IMD FLAGSHIP PROJECT.

Across the sea to Ireland

Our first guest today is Mick Kenny, the Chair of Men in Childcare Ireland coordinating a celebration of IMD in Ireland. Mick has been working in childcare for 19 years, for the last 15 years in the early years sector (preschool / kindergarten) and he speaks to us from Kilkenny.

Mick is fortunate to be working in an area he loves. He is working towards his vision of seeing children feel it is normal to be cared for by both men and women.

Hear what the community gains from accessing men for this career and also the benefits to the male childcare workers themselves.

Mick’s efforts to increase the contribution of men in raising boys fits neatly with the IMD theme in 2011 and it is told with a lilting Irish accent.

The IMD Poet in the USA

Today we are honored to welcome back to Dads on the Air John D Evans who is the Illinois Regional Coordinator for IMD in the USA. John is an educator, humanitarian, folklorist, author and poet whose literary work Diary of a Renaissance Man was named Children’s Choice 2008 by the International Readers’ Association, the Children’s Book Council and 10,000 school children.

In talking to John we find out how IMD will be celebrated in the Illinois area of the USA in 2011 as well as hearing something of what was achieved in 2010. We hear about a writing competition that is open to writers around the world.

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Tuesday
Jul052011

Events Of The Week

Discussion of the week’s events:

With most of the team away during the school holidays, we were still able to muster a couple of stalwarts who engaged in a lively and informative discussion on the weeks events. There are many issues affecting parents and children today, that in the past were not a matter of concern or not even on the radar. However with modern technology and modern medicines, our lives have been changed considerably over the years, some things for the better while others for the worse.

How our society deals with some of these issues are the topic of discussion on today’s show, and well worth a listen if you are a modern day parent.

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Tuesday
Jun142011

Psychiatry and One Man's Story

With special guests:

  • Prof. Miles Groth and
  • ‘Tom’.

Our first guest this week is American Professor Miles Groth, who is full professor in the Department of Psychology at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York. He trained as a psychoanalyst in New York, where he has lectured residents in psychiatry on integrating existential analysis with traditional inpatient treatment. He has been in private practice since 1977.

Dr. Groth studied at Franklin and Marshall College and Duquesne University, and completed his PhD at Fordham University. He is the author of three books, and co-editor of Engaging College Men: Discovering What Works and Why, chapters in five books, twenty-six articles and fifty book reviews in nineteen different peer-reviewed journals. He is past editor of the International Journal of Men’s Health co-founding editor with Diederik Janssen of Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies.

Professor Groth will be in Australia soon to present at the Australian Institute of Male Health and Studies’ first Male Studies Symposium in Adelaide in June, at the Adelaide Convention Centre, where his topic will be ‘The Boy is Father to the Man’. As part of his presentation, he will speak about the state of the nuclear family, in particular the missing father and the effects of this on boys’ lives.

We then speak with “Tom” (not his real name for legal reasons), who tells his own story of how he was dispossessed of his children, by a legal system that he once foolishly believed to be fair and just, as it adjudicated the sensitive issues surrounding parental separation.

He made the mistake of trusting a system which has built a huge industry out of personal misery, and appears to have as its main objective the need to create the greatest amount of conflict possible, in order to fleece the greatest amount of the family wealth from warring parents.

Not taking it laying down however, “Tom” has embarked on a personal mission to warn an unsuspecting community, of the destructive practices employed by the divorce industry, and tells of the tactics he is using to expose such practices. Well worth listening to, especially for all those who are at a point where perhaps they feel there is nowhere else to go, and that there is nothing they can personally do.

Editor

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Tuesday
Apr192011

White House Council on Boys to Men

With special guests:

  • Tom Golden and
  • Jack Kammer.

This week on Dads on the Air we talk to two members of the recently established “Proposal for a White House Council on Boys to Men”, Tom Golden and Jack Kammer from the USA. They are two leading members of a multi-partisan Commission of thirty-four nationally-known scholars and practitioners, who have submitted a proposal that President Obama create a White House Council on Boys to Men.  

The mere presidential announcement of a White House Council on Boys to Men makes visible an invisible crisis. A White House Conference on Boys to Men to present “best practices” within one year after the Council is created, will prove invaluable to the future well- being of our Men.

Designed to tackle a nationwide crisis of boys and men, the Commission identifies the following five main components:

  • Education. Boys are behind girls in almost every subject, especially reading and writing. Yet boy-friendly programs (e.g., recess and vocational education) are being curtailed.      
  • Jobs. Our sons are not being prepared for jobs where the jobs will be. Yet women rarely marry men in unemployment lines.    
  • Fatherlessness. A third of boys are raised in father-absent homes; yet boys and girls with significant father involvement do better in more than 25 areas.    
  •   Physical health. Life expectancy has gone from one to five years less for males than for females, yet federal offices of boys and men’s health are non-existent.  
  • Emotional health. Boys’ suicide rate goes from equal to girls to five times girls’ between ages 13 and 20, as boys feel the pressures of the male role.  


Each of the five crisis components is potentially handled by a different department of the government; therefore coordination and prioritisation is best handled at the White House level.

With a Short-Term Investment of One million dollars, the Long-Term Savings will add up to Many billions of dollars. (For example, boys who are cared for become men who care for–men who pay taxes for schools rather than drain taxes for prisons.) The quality-of-Life Savings will be Priceless.

Tom Golden, LCSW is the author of two books about men’s unique paths to healing. The first is titled Swallowed by a Snake: The Gift of the Masculine Side of Healing and the second is called A Man You Know is Grieving: 12 Ideas for Helping Him Heal From Loss. Tom has given workshops on this topic in the U.S.,  Australia, Canada and Europe. His work has been featured in the NY Times, the Washington Post, on CNN, CBS Evening News, ESPN, the NFL Channel and others. Tom serves on the Maryland Commission for Men’s Health and lives outside Washington DC.

Jack Kammer, MSW, MBA returned to school at the age of fifty-four to earn Masters degrees in Social Work and Business Administration. He did so to document, highlight and take action on male gender issues and the social problems that arise when those issues are ignored and mishandled. He specialises in the Race and Gender effect on marginalized African-American men and boys in urban settings. He is also the author of If Men Have All the Power How Come Women Make the Rules: and other radical thoughts for men who want more fairness from women and Good Will Toward Men: Women Talk Candidly About the Balance of Power Between the Sexes. He has a new book (2009) for boys and young men, titled Heroes of the Blue Sky Rebellion: How You and Other Young Men Can Claim All the Happiness in the World.

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Tuesday
Mar012011

The Dad Factor

With special guests:

  • Dr. Richard Fletcher and
  • Dr. Jonica Newby.

Our first guest this week is Dr Richard Fletcher, who leads the ‘Fathers and Families Research Program’ at the Univer­sity of Newcastle and is the author of ‘The Dad Factor’. In the 1990’s he pioneered the study of Men’s health and Boys’ health and founded the community-based group, Fathers Against Rape, to conduct workshops with teenage boys in schools. He developed the Engaging Fathers Project at the University of Newcastle and worked to have it implemented in communities nationally.

As a lecturer in the university’s Family Action Centre, he designed and deliv­ered courses and seminars to teachers, nurses, occupational therapists and medical students. In his PhD, he researched fathers’ attachment to infants and children. He is the convener of the national fatherhood research network. He is also the co-editor of the book ‘Boys in Schools’.

Next we speak with Dr Jonica Newby, who is a former veterinarian turned reporter / producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s flagship TV science program, ‘Catalyst’. While her days of trying to read the minds of furry patients are long gone, her fascination with the lives of animals remains. Before joining Catalyst, she provided the original research and concept and wrote and presented a five part feature series for ABC TV on the domestication of animals, called The Animal Attraction. She is also author of an ABC book of the same name, and a contributor to various science media across the country.

Her ABC book (formerly titled as The Pact For Survival) was recently made into a documentary feature for Britain’s Channel 4. The book has been reissued under the title The Animal Attraction to accompany the screening of the five part series.

In her follow up to ‘Fatherhood: the Male Pregnancy?’,  Dr Jonica Newby presents ‘Fatherhood: Secrets of the Superdads’ and catches up with our new dads to find out how they are coping with their first year of fatherhood, as we ask the question: can science tell us what makes a good dad?

In part 1 of Fatherhood, Dr Jonica Newby followed three dads-to-be, testing their hormones and their humour - as they made the transition to fatherhood. It revealed the biological changes that turn human males into caring dads, and examined couvade syndrome - a sort of sympathetic male pregnancy.

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Tuesday
Feb222011

Celebrating Our Boys, Men And Fathers

With special guests:

  • Jason Van Genderen and
  • Stephen Toon.

First up we speak with Jason Van Genderen, Creative Director of Treehouse Creative, a communications and design studio – based in Gosford, Crows Nest and Melbourne — who talks about his film ‘The Unspoken’ written as a tribute to his father who is dying of lung cancer, which was awarded the runner-up prize at Tropfest 2011 .  

This year’s batch of brilliant short films, selected 16 finalists  from more than 700 entries. The main event was held last Sunday 20 February in The Domain, Sydney and public viewing sites were set up across the nation – Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, Surfers Paradise and Perth – giving all Australians the chance to be a part of the anticipated 150,000 strong live audience.

Each year, Tropfest’s competition attracts aspiring filmmaker’s worldwide, eager to share their stories and craft with the public. 2011 had a distinct international flavour – entries flooded in from all corners of the globe and one of the Finalists came all the way from South Africa.  

Jason started out making comedies but is building a reputation for emotional short films. His film ‘My Town is Broken’ about urban decay in Gosford, won an award at the Sydney Film Festival in 2008 for films shot on a mobile phone. Another film “Mankind is No Island’ about homelessness won the first Tropfest New York in 2008. He also won 3 awards at the Geelong 24 hours Shoot Out Film Festival in 2007  

Our second guest is Stephen Toon, Director of Consultancy & Community Programs, AIMHS,  Australian Institute of Male Health and Studies – talking about ‘From Boyhood to Manhood’, Stephen has extensive experience in working with men and boys and in developing and delivering a range of male health, preventative mental health, suicide prevention, and personal development programs. These programs have been taken up by government, and NGOs, and have spanned health, education, and welfare sectors. 

Stephen has been responsible for the State-wide rollout of the highly successful Men in Communities Program (awarded the South Australian government, Dr Margaret Tobin Award for Excellence in Community Mental Health Education). He has played a pioneering role in the development of men’s health in South Australia and has been a commentator, educator, and male health consultant in much demand.  

Currently, Stephen is conducting research for the University of South Australia, concerned with establishing an evidence base and developing a best practice framework for conducting group work with men. He is also a PhD candidate in the University of South Australia’s Centre for Regional Engagement. 

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Tuesday
Nov162010

International Men's Day 2010

With special guests:

  • Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh
  • Samuel Nii Teiko Tackie
  • John D. Evans and
  • Cathleen Williams.

At a time when governments consider it their noble duty to send our young Men off to fight and die in far away foreign wars, supposedly in order to fight for the human rights of others, these young Men’s own human rights are being cruelly abused at home by their own governments.

Back home, it has become fashionable and acceptable, to engage in both overt and covert male-bashing, which is used to manipulate and massage community attitudes, and in so doing, paving the way for the subsequent removal of a Man’s children, home and savings.

However community outrage is growing, as it starts to question the validity of the spin, which supports the abhorrent government policies, that are decimating their families and destroying their men.

Many groups of enlightened Men and Women around the world are calling for better scrutiny, of the destructive anti-male propaganda, that is inflicting so much damage. These groups work hard at organizing the celebration of men, and drawing attention to the important roles Men play, in the shaping of the physical and emotional health of the next generation.

Today we dedicate the program to International Men’s Day, which is one such global occasion, used to celebrate the positive contributions and variegated experience of being male.

Our first guest is the founder of International Men’s Day, Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, of Trinidad and Tobago. The citizens in Trinidad and Tobago were the first to celebrate IMD on the 19th November, 1999. The event was conceived and coordinated by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, history lecturer from the University of West Indies, and the first event was held at the Families in Action Headquarters in Port of Spain.

Dr. Teelucksingh chose the date partly to coincide with his father’s birthday, whom he felt was an excellent male role model, and also because it was the day in which the football team in his country created a level of unity which crossed gender, religious and ethnic divisions. He added, “I realized there was no day for men… some have said that there is Father’s Day, but what about young boys, teenagers and men who are not fathers?”

Our second guest is Samuel Nii Teiko Tackie, who is the President and Founder of Ghana Fatherhood Initiative Foundation (GFIF) and National Coordinator of International Men’s Day in Ghana. He is married and together with his wife has two wonderful children. Ghana Fatherhood Initiative Foundation (GFIF) is established to promote and encourage Committed, Available and Responsible (C.A.R) fatherhood in Ghana. It hopes to complement the efforts of mums and encourage dads who are dedicated and available to their families.

Samuel started GFIF in 2007, after doing some personal research on the effects of father absenteeism in the family. His aim was to create awareness of the social issues and family breakdown that arose from father absenteeism. At the same time fathers who are involved and present in the life of children need to be appreciated and encouraged to keep up with the good work. And for those who are yet to be fathers there is a need for education.

Our next guest is John D. Evans, who is an educator, humanitarian, folklorist, author, and poet whose literary work, Diary of A Renaissance Man, a component of The Evans Poetry Collection was named Children’s Choice 2008 by the International Reading Association, the Children’s Book Council, and 10,000 schoolchildren.

Mr. Evans has written several volumes of poetry over the last decade capturing over 200 years of African American poetry. Mr. Evans will coordinate the participation of individuals, organizations, institutions, and communities throughout the State of Illinois in connection with the worldwide observance of 2010 International Men’s Day.

We close the show with Cathleen Williams, a successful and multi-talented professional, who is the Executive Producer and Chief Executive Officer of an empowering and informative New York-based cable television news-magazine and contemporary forum, I’m Just Saying, that airs weekly. A public speaker, and trainer in health care, education, parenting, diversity, and personal development, Ms. Williams is the author of a unique parenting book, Single Mother: The New Father, Volume I: Sports, The Mother’s Playing Field.

Cathleen holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Delaware, a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and a Master’s degree in Health Law from Seton Hall School of Law in New Jersey. Ms. Williams is a member of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and the New York County Lawyers Association.

We leave you with an extract from one of his poems that John D Evans recited on today’s show, which was truly a moving moment. It is an excerpt from Book Five of The Evans Poetry Collection, “Diary of a Renaissance Man: Axioms, Aphorisms, Art, and Poetry” by John D Evans.

“With veins that run deep in my soul
Vessels more precious than pure gold
A being so uniquely defined
Beauty that cannot be denied
Full of life
Hope
History
Of goodness
Grace
Destiny
From a perfect model molded by
Mighty, masterful hands
An awesome creature
No small wonder
I am a man”

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Tuesday
Oct052010

Concern For The Nations' Boys

With special guests:

  • Maggie Hamilton

  • Melinda Tankard Reist

  • Julie Gale and

  • Dr Arne Rubinstein.                                                                          

Following years of neglect, there finally appears to be a ripple of concern, for the wellbeing of the nations’ boys. Growing up in an era that sees their fathers portrayed as either bumbling idiots or violent abusers, it is difficult for boys to find a role model to be proud of, or a place where they are honored.  

Our program this week consists of the recorded presentations made by four outstanding speakers, at a recent function held at NSW Parliament House, who dealt with the concern held by many, that we need to improve the support for the next generation of young men.  

First up we hear Maggie Hamilton, ‘What Is Happening To Our Boys’ , who as a well known author and social commentator, speaks about her new book, and the many reasons why we should be concerned about the way we support our boys, as they deal with the social pressures, new technologies, drugs and alcohol, peer pressure and porn, which affect them.   

Next we hear Melinda Tankard Reist, ‘Collective Shout’, who is concerned about the level of exposure to pornography and other social interests, and how some marketing influences negatively impact on our childrens’ view of the world.  

This is followed by Julie Gale, ‘Kids Free To Be Kids’, who is also concerned with the health and wellbeing of our kids, and how children are portrayed in advertising - i.e. What they wear, how they’re posed.  

Finally we hear an informative presentation by Dr. Arne Rubinstein, ‘Rites Of Passage’, who is the Co-Founder and past CEO of the Pathways Foundation, a Not For Profit organization that runs the National Award Winning Pathways to Manhood program in schools and communities around Australia. This program for teenage boys and their fathers is a contemporary Rite of Passage that aims to inspire the boys to have a vision and reach their potential.   

Dads On The Air is proud to have been broadcasting Men and Father’s issues for the past 10 years, and will celebrate our 10th anniversary, and persistence in the face of many adversities, on next weeks show. This now makes us the world’s longest running radio program, dealing with father issues.  

We hope to have many of our past contributors on the program, and look forward to your company, as we celebrate the success of the past 10 years, and proudly move into the next decade.

While it is difficult to be a lone voice in the wilderness, our mission will not be accomplished until the wilderness of political and media ignorance, is conquered, and our children’s human right to enjoy the love, care and protection of both parents, is guaranteed, and enshrined in legislation. 

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Tuesday
Aug102010

Equal Parental Involvement

With special guests:

  • Professor Thea Brown and

  • John Stapleton.
                                                                                

This week we have an interesting interview with Professor Thea Brown, from Monash University, who speaks about her paper “Shared parenting and parental involvement in children’s schooling following separation and divorce”.

Professor Brown was appointed as Professor of Social Work in 1988, serving as Head of the Department, the Director of International Programs and Deputy Head and is now Professor, Research.  Her most recent research focus has been on separating parents and their children, on family violence and parental separation and divorce and on services supporting separating parents.
 
Professor Brown, speaks about the important need for Governments to act, in order to ensure that non-custodial parents continue to be involved with their childrens’ progress, especially in the area of their education. She points out the unacceptable policy differences in this area, which vary from State to State and from school to school.
 
We also spoke briefly with John Stapleton, who is in Thailand at present. Unfortunately the phone connection was not very good, and eventually dropped out. We hope to speak with John again in the near future. 

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Tuesday
Aug032010

A Vision Of Justice

With special guests:

  • David Dufour and

  • Coral Slattery.
                                                                                

An interesting program this week, where we discuss just some of the many issues facing Men and Fathers in 2010. First up we speak with American film maker David Dufour, Mediadads, who recently came out to Australia, to record material for a documentary he is making, about what it means to be male in 2010. Now back in America, he speaks about the interesting experiences of his journey.  

An organization of volunteers that has put an immense effort, into providing a continuous supply of updated information regarding the many ramifications of poor Family Law legislation in Australia, is the Family Law Reform Association.   

We speak with the secretary of this worthy organization Coral Slattery, and discuss some of the issues facing fathers. In particular the way the education system deals with the sensitive problems facing fathers, when they attempt to obtain access to their childrens’ educational progress.

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Tuesday
Jun012010

What's Happening To Our Boys

With special guest:

  • Maggie Hamilton.

Like a breath of fresh air, it was delightful to have Maggie Hamilton, celebrated author, teacher and publisher, join us on the program this week, to speak about her latest book ‘What’s Happening To Our Boys’ .    

With this new book, Maggie takes a good look into the trails and tribulations facing our boys and young men in the early part of the 21st century. As always, this well researched book is a must buy for today’s parents, who often find themselves struggling with the competing influences challenging the parenting of their sons.  

Maggie leaves no stone unturned, as she delves deep into how boys and young men deal with the many issues they face in a modern technological society, while also stressing the importance of a dad or other good male role model in their lives.  

Unfortunately Ken Thompson was unable to contact us to provide a scheduled update of his bicycle trip around Europe, where he is searching for his abducted son Andrew. However we look forward to hear the latest news of his experiences next week.  

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Tuesday
Nov172009

International Mens Day Special

With special guests:

  • Dr. Elizabeth Celi
  • Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh
  • Diane A. Sears
  • Jason Thompson
  • Frank Crump and
  • Uma Challa  

We dedicate the whole of this weeks’ program to International Men’s Day, which is finally and deservedly starting to get more recognition and traction around the world. Warwick Marsh, from Dads4Kids who is the Global Coordinator for IMD, set the scene last week on Dads on the Air when he spoke about some of the events taking place in Australia and around the world to celebrate this important International event.  

Our guests this week are from 3 different continents, representing millions of good and decent men around the globe, who currently witness themselves being publicly and relentlessly maligned on a daily basis. While there are exceptions to every rule, these should never be used to misrepresent the whole group in the way we now see men being portrayed.  

We commence our International lineup of guests with Australia’s Dr Elizabeth Celi from Quality Living who is the keynote speaker at the  IMD function to be held at Australia’s Parliament House in the Nation’s Capital, Canberra, on the 19th November. Dr. Celi is a strong supporter of the rights of men to be treated as an equal in a modern society, instead of having to face the daily injustices that confront them in many sectors of our community.   

Next we speak with Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh from Trinidad in the West Indies, who is the founder of IMD and described the event in the following manner, “International Men’s Day is about addressing the challenges and problems that men face; improving gender relations between men and women; promoting gender equality; highlighting positive male role models – not just movie stars and athletes – but “everyday working class men who are living decent, honest lives”; and creating a safer and better world”.  

We then speak with Diane A. Sears, IMD Coordinator in the USA, who puts it this way, “We must work together as a team. International Mens Day provides us with a great opportunity. Strong fathers create and sustain efficiently functioning family units which positively shape the minds and souls of our children – our future – our bridge to the future. After all, isn’ t it really about our children?”  

The person responsible for Global Promotions, who is also the Historian and Coordinator for IMD is Australia’s Jason Thompson and our next guest, who would like to take this opportunity to ask individuals and organizations who are planning an event to contact him with the details at: soulgany@bigpond.com

The following guest is Frank Crump from the USA and UPI Education, who with  IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® have entered into a partnership in observance of International Men’s Day 2009 on Thursday, 19 November 2009. UPI Education is asking students, faculty, and administrators to observe International Men’s Day 2009 through one moment of silence beginning at 11:19 A.M. (EST) and ending at 11:20 A.M. (EST) to commemorate and contemplate the sacrifices and contributions that Men have made throughout the world. UPI Education is also soliciting essays, articles, and poems from students and adults which identify the positive male role models that have influenced their lives. These essays, articles, and poems will be published on IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®’s blog.  

We conclude our program interviewing  one of the hardest working and passionate promoters of equality and justice for all, Uma Challa from India. Uma Challa is the IMD Coordinator for India. She made the point that, “International women’s Day is celebrated the world over every year but we also need to have a celebration every year to recognize and honor men: our fathers, brothers, partners, sons, male friends and colleagues; for the numerous services they render and the innumerable sacrifices they make to ensure the health and well-being of the family and the society.”

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Tuesday
May192009

The Rite Journey

Andrew Lines

With Special Guests:

  • Andrew Lines and
  • James Adams

Rites of passage and initiation into adulthood through ceremony and the passing on of wisdom from men to boys has always been a fundamental part of indigenous and tribal cultures but is strangely lacking in the West.

Andrew Lines is a high school teacher from South Australia who has devloped a unique boy’s education initiative which has evolved over the last 10 years. The program is called The Rite Journey and is implemented over a year in the school setting for boys around the age of 14 and is now being adopted in a number of private schools. There is also interest from the public sector. In looking at the racist, sexist and homophobic views that some of his students were expressing, and in the grip of reading Stephen Biddulph’s Manhood, he decided to question how this came about and found a lack of male role models, mentors and teachers in the boys lives.

Following our tradition of tracking Australian family law reform closer than any other media outlet, this week we move on to talk to James Adams from Fathers4Equality about the issue of perjury in the Family Court. He argues that the common practice of making up allegations against the father in the Family Court is a form of child abuse.

In a recent press release Fathers4Equality argued that the Chief Justice Diana Bryant’s personal push to take out the perjury elements in the Family Law Act is a case of poor judgement.

He says: “The Chief Justice of the Family Court, Diana Bryant, has recently launched an extraordinary attack on Australia’s internationally regarded 2006 Family Law amendments, by writing to the Attorney-General and asking him to urgently repeal important provisions within the amendments.

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Tuesday
Apr072009

DOTA Goes Spiritual

With special guests:

  • Archbishop Barry Hickey and
  • Fighting Father Dave.

The mainstream churches have long ignored the many issues confronting fathers in Australia today, so we decided to take a look at the issues of fathers and the various churches.

Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey has written that the absence of fathers is the biggest family and social problem in our society. “If Father Christmas was offering me gifts, I would ask for peace in every family and a father at the heart of every family,” he was quoted as saying in the publication Perth Now. “The absence of fathers is the biggest family and social problem we face today. It is the biggest cause of lifelong difficulties for fathers, mothers and, most of all, for children.”

“The absence of fathers is bigger than anger, aggression, alcohol, drugs, crime and under-achievement by children because it is the biggest single contributor to all of them. This is borne out worldwide by every large-scale, long-term study of family. I know that Father Christmas isn’t going to solve this problem for me, but I keep praying for it,” Archbishop Hickey said.

Fighting Father Dave is Parish priest, community worker, martial arts master, pro boxer, author, father of three. His website is www.fatherdave.org. Author of Sex, the Ring and The Eucharist, is the only Australian in the Holy Order of the Anglican Church who has ever had to box professionally in order to raise the funds to keep his ministry going. He is known as “Sydney’s Fighting Father,” who combines his work as a Parish Priest with a ministry to street kids, heroin addicts and other ‘undesirables’ from the underside of Australian Society. He uses boxing and the fighting arts to teach young people self-control.

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Tuesday
Dec232008

Take Heart

Ken Thompson

With Special Guests:

This is our second-last show for the year, so best wishes of the season to all our listeners. First up we talk with Ken Thompson, the NSW Deputy Fire Commissioner, who has come to understand what many men in this country experience through the loss of his son Andrew. Andrew John Thompson, now aged four, was illegally abducted by his mother Melinda Thompson (also known as Melinda Stratton) from Australia to Germany in April this year. This is a criminal offence under the Family Law Act. The Family Court has ordered that a warning must be issued stating that no one is to approach Melinda Thompson and that any information should be provided immediately to local police and/or Interpol. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Andrew and Melinda should contact local Police, Interpol, or the Australian Federal Police on +61 (0)2 6126 7777. If you wish to assist Ken Thompson in the search for his son by taking part in an email-circulation effort, please call +61 (0)417 416 024.

Maggie Dent is an author, publisher and a parenting and resilience specialist. She writes a free email newsletter that promotes the healthy raising of children. This week we play Maggie’s keynote address from the Men’s Advisory Network Second National Conference held recently in Fremantle, Western Australia. Titled Dear Boys: About the Healthy Mothering of Boys, her poignant and often hilarious keynote explores the vital role in boys’ lives of healthy mothering. It is especially helpful for mothers and teachers who are confused by the boys in their lives. The impact of abandonment, avoidance and misunderstanding can shape a boy for the rest of his life in very negative ways. This will show you how to engage, connect and enjoy these interesting lads from early years to adulthood.

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Tuesday
Apr082008

Women Who Speak Out For Men

Barbara KayWith Special Guests:

  • Barbara Kay and
  • Malia Blom.

Barbara Kay is a columnist for the National Post, Canada and the author of such courageous and widely-circulated male-friendly articles as On domestic violence, no one wants to hear the truth, The plight of divorced dads and The last white ribbon.

Malia Blom is executive director of the Boys and Schools program in the USA. Boys and Schools is dedicated to improving the lives and futures of boys. Their outreach efforts focus on raising public awareness regarding issues related to boys’ health and achievement. The Boys and Schools program is a project of the Men’s Health Network, a non-profit educational organization committed to improving the health and well-being of men and boys.

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Tuesday
Dec252007

The Best of 2007 - Part 2

With special guests:

  • Dr Warren Farrell, famous social commentator and author of best selling books including Father and Child Reunion: How to Bring the Dads We Need to the Children We Love
  • Dr. Amy J.L. Baker, US author of Adult Children of Parental Alienation Syndrome: Breaking the Ties that Bind. The world’s first study of child victims of Parental Alienation Syndrome
  • Terry Hicks, a special father who loves his child unconditionally, and has dedicated his life to help protect his son, David Hicks from harm and appeals for “a fair go” for his child
  • Christina Hoff Sommers, author of Who Stole Feminism and The War Against Boys interviewed at the Boys and the Boy Crisis conference in Washington DC
  • Eric Burch, US serviceman and musician

Plus the Dads on the Air speech given at the Lone Fathers National Convention at Parliament House in Canberra in August 2007.

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Tuesday
Nov272007

Post-Election Variety

With special guests:

Plus an Australian Federal Election wrap-up and post-mortem.

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