Working moms have it tough.
There I was: for the fourth time in the first year of my daughter’s life, scrambling around at school because I received a call from my daughter’s babysitter that she was sick.
I couldn’t leave; that wasn’t an option. If I left, that would mean trying to find someone to cover me and messing up everyone else’s schedules, not to mention the stress put on the administration because of this (and who could blame them for being upset?).
Instead, I would have to find someone… anyone who I could trust to go pick up my daughter. But do they have a car seat for her? Do I need to run my keys down to the office so they can drive to my school, take my car seat out, and put it in their car? Did they have everything they need for a sick baby? Am I pulling THEM from their own job?
Never mind the fact that knowing she was sick mentally and emotionally pulled me out of the classroom with worry, feeling the strong necessity to go get her, comfort her, feed her…
This is a struggle that teacher moms (and other working moms) are all too familiar with. I am sure that this type of stuff may happen in other professions, but I am experienced with education, so I can speak only for my fellow teachers and myself.
I was told that teaching was a very family-friendly job. It isn’t, much of the time, but that’s a post for another day. Here are some things that school districts and administrators could do to help their teachers out; I firmly believe that this would help the teacher turnover rate.
Ask women in other countries (outside of the US) what it’s like to be a working mom– it is much more manageable!
Did you know that all human babies are technically born 3 months early? The 4th trimester (first 3 months of life) is difficult because babies are born too soon. They could technically cook in the womb for up to a year, but our brains are so large that women would not be able to give birth if a baby’s head got bigger inside of her.
At minimum, babies need their mamas constantly for those first 3 months.
Did you know that giving birth is considered a serious medical procedure and the minimum length of time that mothers should have is 6 weeks (vaginal delivery) of recovery? Most mamas need much more time. C-section mamas need at least 8 weeks.
The United States only allows for 6-8 weeks of paid time… and for many teachers, that’s IF you have the sick days. If not, they dock your pay. Up to 12 weeks is allowed if you take FMLA, but 6 of that is unpaid, even if you have the sick days.
This is not a complaint post. This is a post that I am hoping will light a fire in teacher mommies around the US and hopefully lead to some change.
I have another post in the works about why mothers’ rights are women’s rights.
I am in a few teacher groups on Facebook and asked if anyone had suggestions for this post. I was overwhelmed with comments from struggling teacher moms. These are real suggestions from real teachers.
1. Provide adequate leave time for working moms
Most women who are having children have not been teaching long enough to have a large bank of built-up sick days. Many states and districts require teachers to use their sick days for maternity leave.
Basically, teachers do not “get 6-8 weeks” at all. They have to use sick days, and if those are gone, they must take a cut in pay.
God forbid, you want to have more than one child.
“Try to time it for the summer! You’re a teacher!”
Tell that to people having fertility issues or people who are trying to time it right, struggle for a few months, then finally get pregnant at the wrong time.
Many European countries and Canada have MUCH better policies, even for fathers. Women can get up to 6 months of maternity leave PAID. Some countries allow women to have 12 months of maternity leave.
The most you can get in the US is 12 weeks. And if you run out of sick days at some point, you better hope that your baby (or you) doesn’t get sick!
Providing sick time for maternity leave and children getting sick is a necessity. Teachers should not have to choose between this or getting paid.
2. Provide time to pump for working moms
“I didn’t breastfeed. I heard it was just too hard to do when you go back to work.”
I heard this many times before my child was born. It is not debatable that breastfeeding is healthiest for our babies. Why does the United States make this so hard?
I thought it was federal law to provide time to pump for breastfeeding mothers. It isn’t. It is up to the states for salaried employees, as only hourly employees are protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
This is the main reason I had to leave teaching. I was determined to breastfeed, and I was able to stick it out until the end of the school year (my daughter was born in September!). What did this entail?
I had to use any time without students to pump. My planning time (only 30 minutes) consisted of me rushing back to my classroom after dropping my kids off, trying to set up my pumping stuff quickly, pumping, packing it all back up, and then running back down to get my students.
My lunch time consisted of me trying to eat extremely fast so I could have at least 10 minutes to pump before I had recess duty. Since we had no one to cover recess because our district can’t pass a levy to keep a decent amount of staff members hired, I literally felt like a chicken running around with my head cut off.
Breastfeeding mothers who work are supposed to pump every 2 hours. Do you know what happens when they do not? Milk supply goes down, it becomes very uncomfortable, milk can leak through your shirt, and you can get an infection called mastitis that some say is more painful than birth itself.
After pumping every four hours (not two!) at work and feeling like a burden to everyone because of it, I decided that I never want to do that again.
You can check your state’s laws here.
Mothers need time to pump. All states need to pass laws that allow this to happen.
3. Grace when you have to call in for a sick child
It’s a tight spot to be in. You’re being pulled two ways.
All teacher moms are familiar with the dreaded 6 AM call to your administration (on top of having to write sub plans while taking care of your kid).
“My baby has a fever. I need a sub.”
You are met with frustration and something like, “well, hope we can find someone to cover you!” on the other end (what other job is like this, honestly?), leaving you feeling bad about calling in. You then have to text your coworkers and become an annoyance to them, as they have to run copies off for you if you can’t make it in.
Kids get sick. ALL OF THE TIME. Children under 5 are constantly ill. You’re gonna run into this!
School districts should not make teachers feel guilty for staying home with their own sick child.
4. Childcare stipend or on-site childcare
Childcare is expensive. Some teachers feel like most of their paycheck goes to childcare.
There are some private schools that exist that have on-site childcare. This would help solve the pumping issue stated above; these teachers are able to go in and breastfeed their babies when it’s needed. They can also check on their kids and not have to worry about getting them to school, a sitter, etc.
Or hey… here’s an idea! Let’s pay teachers a livable wage so they can pay for childcare and still have money left for bills, self care, or other activities.
Many teachers quit the profession because they have one or more child, and their teaching salary barely (or not at all) covers childcare costs.
Make childcare accessible or pay teachers a decent amount.
5. Let teachers leave their jobs at work.
Don’t expect teachers to answer calls and emails 24/7.
Don’t require all of the extra events, meetings, conferences, etc. past contract time that teachers do not get paid for.
Many professions require similar hours, however most of these jobs are paid much more. My own mother is Vice President of a university. She works nights, weekends, and crazy hours. She is, however, compensated financially. Teachers are not.
Pay teachers a livable wage so doing all of this seems worth it! Or do not require all of the extras.
6. Provide enough planning time
Imagine a profession where 50% of your job duties are not doable during the workday. Planning, organizing, grading, etc. are frowned upon when they are done while students are in the room.
This goes along with #2. I cannot get many duties done during planning because this is when I have to pump.
If I had a bit more time, I could definitely get many more things done. I know that many teachers feel the same.
The pressure would be lifted to get things done quickly if we had more planning time. This would also help with #5, as teachers could get their work done at work and not have to take it home. This results in more time with their kids and family, time to go to their own kids’ events, etc.
Give teachers more planning time. This is a necessity to get the job done correctly and would result in much higher job satisfaction.
7. Job Sharing Opportunities
This was one that came up a lot in the suggestions I received. It works quite well for teacher moms, and probably other working moms!
Half the pay and half the duties… this is ideal! Two teacher moms could split the work and have time for their own kiddos.
Provide job options that are more family-friendly.
8. No penalties for attending kids’ programs and conferences
As teachers and working moms, it is difficult to make it to your own child’s events, conferences, and programs since they take place during the school day.
As working moms, we put on programs and events for parents to come to many times. Why can’t we have time to go to our own children’s activities?
This includes conferences. Many times, conferences overlap, since they are in the evening hours. I have heard that many teachers can’t make it to their own child’s parent-teacher conferences because their’s are all scheduled on the same nights/times, and it’s mandatory for them to be there.
Let teachers do things with their own kids.
9. Let pregnant women use the restroom
I was 4 months pregnant and I had 3 hours before I could take another restroom break. We had just had lunch and there was a baby pressing on my bladder.
There was no one to cover me. I had to rush to the ER that night and wait for 3 hours because I ended up getting a urinary tract infection from holding my bladder so much during the day. Most of you know that this type of infection is dangerous for pregnant women and babies in the womb.
This should be a fundamental human right for everyone, but this should be an absolute guarantee for women who are pregnant. Everyone knows that pregnant women have to pee a lot.
If there is a pregnant woman in the building, create a system or easy protocol for when they have to go to the bathroom… one that does not make them feel guilty or like an annoyance.
Let teachers use the restroom when they need to go.
As teachers, we love our students and our jobs. Many working moms probably do, as well.
We also love our own children. If the government and school districts could work harder to make it easier for women with families, I truly believe that teacher turnover would improve significantly.
Have more suggestions or any comments? Let me know below!