Dadlabs travels to Memphis, TN to the 2010 National PTA Conference.  Here they interview dads such as Tony Dungy, J. Michael Hall and Eric Snow.  Episode 654 is brought to you by BabyBjorn.

Daddy Clay: Where do you go to find a bunch of really cool dads? Well the National PTA Conference naturally.
Daddy Brad: Today's episode is brought to you by BabyBjorn. Oexo-Tek certified, safe for your baby, BabyBjorn.
Daddy Clay: So when Daddy Brad and I recently traveled to the National PTA Conference in Memphis, we were pleasantly surprised to see how many dad-related services and initiatives were taking place there at the conference.
Daddy Brad: So today in The Lab, we're talking with the men of the PTA.
J. Michael Hall: Strongfathers is an organization that does father involvement programs in schools and/or train schools to do things that we found to be successful. So what we do is we'll go in and we'll do a "Bring Your Dad to School Day" where the dads come to class with their kids. We help the school be prepared for the crowd that we know to bring in. A lot of schools say we don't think they're gonna come. We know that in working with over 75,000 dads, when the kids send the invitation and the school invites the dads in, they're coming. They come 200-300 dads a day. Nobody in the culture is saying dads have an important role. When we talk about the fact that when dads read to kids, their kids verbal skills go up. That's what we're talking about. We're not talking about fixing guys. They come with strengths. But you use those strengths. Just what a heart of a man wants to do for his kid. So we don't have to change men. Just have to let them know maybe what their dad didn't do for them, and or that schools have changed and so there is a new way to do things for kids.
Eric Snow: Watch D.O.G.S. stands for Dads of Great Students. And the Watch D.O.G.S. program shows schools, primarily elementary, but also middle school and high school, how to invite dads to come in, into the school, and engage them in the educational process. And we show the schools how to ask these dads to take off work, to come in and volunteer and work at least one full day. And last school year, the school year just ending, 2009-2010, we had about 107,000 men nationwide and that's in 38 states, 1656 schools that took at least one day off and volunteered in their child's school.
Tony Dungy: One of the biggest blessings in my life was the dad that I had. I can't imagine not having the direction and the guidance that I got. It's so important, the more that I talk to young men, the more you read the statistics, just how influential not just the moms, but the dads are.
Hall: You know when mom says, "School's important. Be nice to people. Study hard." Moms need to do that. When dad says, "Study hard. Be nice", it has a different weight. So the weight that dad has, when he talks to his kids, works with his kids. Because he comes from a different direction, he plays a huge role in the education of his kids.
Snow: All kids like to have that reinforcement of positive male role models. And our program has more than doubled in the last two years.
Daddy Brad: If someone wants to get their school sign up with the Watch D.O.G.S. program, how do they do that?
Snow: It's real easy. They can go to www.fathers.com/watchdogs. In the middle of the page, they can sign up for a training session and that is free. We're asking the dads to commit at least one day during the school year, take off work, come in, volunteer a full day, and then just. They need to wear their tennis shoes. And they need to wear comfortable shoes because they're gonna work hard.
Dungy: You've got this responsibility to work. You have a job, hopefully that you enjoy. But you know you've got to provide for your family. That job takes you away from your family at times. Where is the balance? Where is the tradeoff? I know in our job, in professional football, we grew it into a 12-month, 14 to 16 hour a day job. We just kind of let it take over. And that's been the same way with a lot of jobs, in a lot of fields. And you just have to say, at some point, I've got to make my family a priority. There's got to be things I can do. But you have to think about those kind of things and you have to try to let your kids know that they are a priority.
Daddy Clay: Very cool to see dads as a central part of the conversation there at the PTA conference.
Daddy Brad: Yeah, and speaking of dads, be on the lookout for an upcoming episode on the Million Hours of Power.
Daddy Clay: We want to thank our sponsors for this episode, BabyBjorn. Oexo-Tek certified, safe for your baby, BabyBjorn.
Daddy Brad: So what do you think about these programs that we've profiled here today. Would they work in your community? Are they already in place? Comment on this video and let us know or go to DadLabs.com and join the conversation.
Daddy Clay: Thanks very much for joining us here in The Lab. We'll see you next time. And while you're at it, go volunteer for the PTA.
Daddy Brad: Get a free calendar.