With Our World in Metamorphosis, Those End-Of-Summer Butterflies Remain the Same
- Allan Shedlin
- 18 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Allan Shedlin
Grampsy and Founder, Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote a version of the following post as a commentary for The New York Times 16 years ago. We've since renewed the end-of-summer butterflies theme a few times, most recently, as a Daddying post just last year.
For reasons that may be obvious, we've decided to share the 2025 version again this week, as another Back to School season begins in a country undergoing a horrifying metamorphosis. It saddens me beyond measure that the negative forces impacting our lives, referred to a year ago, continue to be substantially amplified.
It feels increasingly like we are in a world "on the brink" in a country under siege. All the more reason to be especially supportive of the teachers and parents on the front lines as home and school become increasingly important as stabilizing forces. While those metaphorical, end-of-summer pollinators may bring some anxiety to the students, parents, and teachers returning to classrooms across America, they may be just the kind of "normalcy" they need for now. – Allan
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following Daddying blog post first published on August 13, 2025:
Those End-Of-Summer Butterflies May Never Go Extinct
By Allan Shedlin
Grampsy and Founder, Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)
We’ve all been there – daddies and mommies alike. And if we allow ourselves to revisit how we felt as we began a new school year, we’ll likely remember a mix of excitement and anxiety. Some of us may even remember the butterflies we felt in our stomachs.
As students, we probably gave very little thought to how our teachers were feeling – those entrusted to optimize our learning. Those who cared for and about us. As a former student, teacher (graduate school UP to nursery school), school principal, education consultant, writer, daddy and granddaddy, I’ve lived it from various sides over many decades.
But as the bell rings on a new school year, something is profoundly awry in our nation – in the towns, cities, and states in which the school doors open. It is well-documented that reduced funding will impact some students more than others. But the uncertainty, worry, and fear are having a disquieting impact on all educators, students, and families.
The attacks on curriculum and research, as well as draconian funding cuts, threats of gun violence, attacks on immigrant students and their families, and the proliferation of technologies, like AI and smartphones (and how to deal with them), cause insecurity and unease at a time when security, safety, stability, and predictability are most needed to assure optimal learning environments so that schools remain safe harbors during manmade storms hitting the education community. Storms that, like those fueled by climate change, are coming at us with greater intensity and frequency than ever before.
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Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)
The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) 2027 Call for Entries is rolling through the summer on FilmFreeway! Submissions will be accepted through November 23rd, so, plenty of time to create your films or videos demonstrating the importance of having or being an involved Dad/dad figure, including Instagram Reels, Tiktoks, music and dance videos!
Since 2022, we've received submissions from 60+ countries and we're excited to present another amazing collection of the best daddying stories told by students (3rd grade-undergrad), Dads/Granddads, Moms/Grandmoms, dad figures, parenting podcasters, and indie filmmakers from around the world! Check the D3F website or our FilmFreeway page for more inspiration, submission details, and Atticus Award winning films from previous years!
SAVE THE DATES: The 6th annual, virtual Daddying Film Festival will take place on Eventive, January 11-20, 2027, and our LIVE Daddying Film Forum, at American University in Washington, DC, will screen select Atticus Award winners, finalists & more Jan 29-30, 2027.
Allan Shedlin has devoted his life's work to improving the odds for children and families. He has three daughters, five grandchildren, a great grandchild on the way, and numerous "bonus" sons, daughters, and grandchildren. Trained as an educator, Allan has alternated between classroom service, school leadership, parenting coaching, policy development, and advising at the local, state, and national levels. After eight years as an elementary school principal, Allan founded and headed the National Elementary School Center. He has written about education and parenting for major news outlets and trade publications, as well as appearing on radio and TV. In 2008, he was the first male honored as a "Living Treasure" by Mothering Magazine and founded REEL Fathers. In 2010, he advised the Obama White House on Dad engagement and fatherhood policy. In 2017, he founded the DADvocacy Consulting Group. In 2018, he launched the DADDY Wishes Fund and Daddy Appleseed Fund. In 2019, he co-created and co-facilitated the Armor Down/Daddy Up! and Mommy Up! programs for veterans and their children. He has conducted daddying workshops with Native American pueblos, veterans’ groups, penitentiaries, Head Start centers, corporate boardrooms, and elementary schools. In 2022, Allan founded and directed the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F). In 2024, he was named to Who’s Who. In 2025, Allan was honored with an "Official Citation" from the Maryland State General Assembly "In Recognition for All You Do for Dads, Granddads, and Kids of All Ages." He also was named 2025 “Father of the Year” by the Fathers & Families Coalition of America. In 2026, he was honored with the Dr. Charles Augustus Ballard Pioneer Award and induction into the International Father and Family Practitioner's Network Spirit of Fatherhood Hall of Fame. Allan earned his elementary and high school diplomas from NYC’s Ethical Culture Schools, BA at Colgate University, MA at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and an ABD at Fordham University. He considers his D-A-D and GRAND D-A-D the most important “degrees” of all.
