Amy Love

Opinion Editor 

aml7458@psu.edu

Just last month in September, Southwood Highschool in Shreveport, Louisiana was having some challenging times with the students. Multiple fights happened, to the point where even 23 students were arrested. 

There was a problem going on, everyone was aware of that, but it was the parents who stepped up their game and provided a solution. 

A group of about 40 dads got together and created Dads on Duty. Essentially, these dads take shifts at the school and create a positive, welcoming environment. They will greet students with a “good morning” when they enter the school, and just interact with the students in some type of form. It could just be a simple hello or a bad dad joke. 

Dads on Duty has been ongoing for about a month now and it has had a major impact on the school, some students saying it made the place feel happier. 

The fact that these groups of Dads, who had no obligation to do; they did this out of the goodness of their heart. They are not getting paid to do so; they truly get nothing out of this. They simply feel as if this is the best way to help their kids and it seems to be working. 

The whole concept is an idea that should be applied to all schools. This was a small change to the school that made it a more positive environment, which students would enjoy being in more. Small, positive interactions with the students lessened the violence at the school, which is a concept that could easily be applied to more schools, which is what Dads on Duty is hoping for. 

This is a welcoming example that many schools should follow, or at least let in inspire other ideas to create an even more positive environment for the students that attend.