Teachers and Babies and Articles, Oh My!
You guys! I’ve been writing other places and I haven’t even updated you. I’m so sorry – it’ll never happen again! OK, it’ll probably happen again, but I’ll try to remember next time.
Earlier this month, I was on The Guardian again (!!!) talking about teacher bashing:
The trouble is that the current teacher-bashing rhetoric plays right into the hands of conservative politicians who want to slash pay and benefits for teachers. Take the 15 March 2010 cover of Newsweek for example: A chalkboard shows the sentence, “We must fire bad teachers” written over and over again with the headline in the center reading: “The Key to Saving American Education”. This rhetoric is difficult to argue with; of course we don’t want bad teachers teaching our students. However, the key to saving American education is not getting rid of bad teachers; it is making the profession more attractive to the good teachers, thus making school more attractive to students.
Read the whole article here.
Today, I’m at Role/Reboot talking about my decision to have kids (eventually) and why its really none of anyone’s business:
Before now, I never wanted to be a mother because I thought that, in doing so, I would have to give up everything. That is the main narrative society gives us as far as motherhood goes, and I don’t buy into it. Originally, I thought that if being a mother meant giving up everything, then I just wouldn’t do it. Interestingly enough, though, marriage has taught me that I can take what society tells me, chuck it in the trash, and make my own life. As a feminist, I’ve made my marriage what I want it to be, and I’m happy. Similarly, I can make motherhood what I want it to be, and be happy with that, as well.
All in all, this shift hasn’t been about changing my mind at all, and I imagine for many women in my situation it isn’t either. It’s been about changing my perception of what it means to be a wife and mother. And maybe that’s more important.
Read the whole article here.
Featured Image Credit: erink_photography
Both of these are great articles! But I have to say, I absolutely LOVED your article in Role/Reboot. So, thank you :).
Thank you so much, Rachel!