My name is Jason Milam. This is a blog to discuss how American society is evolving, like all things do, but leaving our sons by the way side. It is our job as fathers and influential men, in impressionable young mens lives, to be the guiding examples of who our young men should be. Our education system is geared to girls strengths, our society empowers young girls to be whatever they want to be, and demonize our boys for being who they are and how God designed them to be.
After that first paragraph, most of you have already made a snapshot judgment of who I am. “Just another man in this world trying to not encourage our young girls to get ahead in a mans world.” Let me just stop that thought process there. I am a father of 3, an 8 year old boy, a 4 yr old and 5 week old girls, and I’m married to one of the strongest women I know. I am fully aware of the struggles that my daughters will go through as they grow, and the struggles they will have to go through trying to get ahead in a mans world. My objective as a father of daughters is to encourage them to be whatever they want to be, let no one tell them they can't do something, and that they deserve the same treatment, pay, opportunities and respect as men in our society. My hope for them is to look to their mother as a successful entrepreneur, strong role model of independence and know that they can do and have anything in this world. I want my daughters to not settle for anyone or anything, but know that her mother and I will lift them up and encourage them to look to find what they want (whether that's a job, a husband, a goal) and know that they can do it all, and Mommy and Daddy are here to lift them up and encourage them every step of the way. I do not believe that the lifting up of one sex needs to demonize and bring down the other sex, on either side. On the other hand though, I cannot negate my responsibility as a father of a son and not teach him to be, what his DNA tells him to be, a MAN.
This blog will speak to what I see as a bystandard watching my son grow up, and seeing how the world looks at him. His personality, that might be a little more wild, tough, brash at times. Being surrounded by girls that are calm, thoughtful, sweet, and a world around him that prefers the latter.
We as men need to support our sons and boys in our community. Teach them to harness the person they are, to instill respect into them for those around them, and to be the best version of themselves, and to make this world a better place. This starts with us. So many men now a days lead more by a 'Do what I say', and not as a 'Do as I do' attitude. This is even if they are involved at all. Sometimes men think there job is to physically protect and monetarily provide for their family, and that's where it stops. When in actuality our job doesn't start until we walk through the door and provide a loving example in our household of being a husband, father, and community leader. We have a responsibility to live this life as an example. We cannot hope to better our sons futures if we don't stand up and lead. I never ask my son to do something that I wouldn't, or don't, do myself.
I'm going to leave you all with some stats that bother me so much. These stats just show how we are failing our young men in this up and coming generation, and we have do do what we can, where we can.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics:
- Boys are 30 percent more likely than girls to flunk or drop out of school
- When it comes to grades and homework, girls outperform boys in elementary, secondary, high school, college, and even graduate school;
- Boys are four to five times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD);
- Women outnumber men in higher education with 56 percent of bachelor's degrees and 55 percent of graduate degrees going to women.
According to the U.S. Department of Education:
- Boys make up two-thirds of the students in special education and are five times more likely to be classified as hyperactive.
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