Professor breast feeds in class.

[Gardenlady]

Because presumably college age people, unlike babies and toddlers at daycare, aren't constantly putting their hands and fingers in their noses and mouths, are able to wash hands more frequently, and are just generally able to manage hygiene better than little ones can?

At least, one would hope. But who knows, if a brief nursing session is enough to send them into a tailspin, then maybe they can't handle hygiene 101. :waitasec:

 

[Gardenlady]

Even if the business did provide private places for nursing babies, it is my understanding that "lactivists" want to be able to nurse the child at any public place.

Many people who aren't "lactivists", or activists of any sort, want women to be able to nurse a child at any public place.

And why shouldn't they? It's neither immoral nor illegal.

 

[cityslick]

Many people who aren't "lactivists", or activists of any sort, want women to be able to nurse a child at any public place.

And why shouldn't they? It's neither immoral nor illegal.

At some point though, depending on where it's at, it does become a distraction. Perhaps in this case the blame shouldn't be so much on the teacher than rather on society in general and how this country has some sort of apprehension to nudity in general where an exposed breast have folks going crazy.

But as it stands now, it is what it is. The teacher knew it would be a distraction (I can't see why she wouldn't) and yet still proceeded to do it. The point of the classroom is not to have the students distracted. You can go back and say, well that's their problem, but as I illustrated in the above paragraph, it's really society's problem, one that doesn't seem to be going away anytime time.

 

[redheadedgal]

The question is why a large social structure such as a university would not have affordable, accessible child care facilities for the use of both students and staff.

I doubt this woman actually WISHED to teach her class with an infant attached to her breast...she clearly had no other viable choice.

This woman should be able to go to work every day knowing her baby is in safe hands down the hall.

a quick google search shows the univeristy does have child care facilities.

ms pine stated she didn't take the baby to her daycare b/c the child was sick... AU's child care and ms pine's might be one and the same, but i doubt any daycare accepts an ill child if they're not...

http://www1.alumni.american.edu/content.cfm?id=21


and she did have "other viable choices": babysitter, stay home are two.

 

[Gardenlady]

At some point though, depending on where it's at, it does become a distraction. Perhaps in this case the blame shouldn't be so much on the teacher than rather on society in general and how this country has some sort of apprehension to nudity in general where an exposed breast have folks going crazy.

But as it stands now, it is what it is. The teacher knew it would be a distraction (I can't see why she wouldn't) and yet still proceeded to do it. The point of the classroom is not to have the students distracted. You can go back and say, well that's their problem, but as I illustrated in the above paragraph, it's really society's problem, one that doesn't seem to be going away anytime time.

Yeah, I'm not sure why breastfeeding, which doesn't even involve nudity, is so scary or "appalling" (the word one of the male students used) or inappropriate to society. It's just feeding. That's it. And I'll go further and say yes, exposed breasts are nothing to be in an uproar about (remember, say, Ms Jackson's nipple slip during the halftime show? you'd think they had an orgy on live TV or something, the reaction was so over the top :what: ), nor is nudity in general.

So I agree with you that the blame definitely belongs on societal...what? norms? Mores? That's the root of it, sure. But if we say "well, she shouldn't have done it because she knew that society frowns on it", then we are saying that society's warped attitude is okay, and that a nursing mother is the one that has to go out of her way to do something that is neither immoral nor illegal, something that people do millions of times a day - feed a baby.

And if we cry about it on twitter, report it to the school newspaper, decide to make an issue about it BY publishing a story in the paper, then this problem society has definitely wont go anywhere soon.

However, if these students could just have got over their precious "icky" feelings for a few moments, if, say, the paper editor had said "a mother fed her baby? Is this news, really? No story here", if we didn't make nursing mothers feel horrible (turn to a wall, cover with a blanket, go in a nasty bathroom, shame her for having made a tough choice in an emergency), maybe then society could start to get over it.

And if nursing mothers are always made to hide, then how is anyone going to get used to it, and attitudes change? :twocents:

 

[SapphireSteel]

a quick google search shows the univeristy does have child care facilities.

ms pine stated she didn't take the baby to her daycare b/c the child was sick... AU's child care and ms pine's might be one and the same, but i doubt any daycare accepts an ill child if they're not...

http://www1.alumni.american.edu/content.cfm?id=21


and she did have "other viable choices": babysitter, stay home are two.

In Australia it is standard to have "paid carers leave" for this sort of situation.

She probably just compromised, figured hey it's feminist anthropology, use it as a learning experience for my students somehow, work it into a theme...theyve paid tuition, they've got a right to expect me to be there, I'm a mum, my sick baby's got a right to expect me to be there...it's called compromise and working mums do it constantly. In fact I know that sick feeling of being pulled in two places at once and making neither side happy, all too well.

I'd probably make the same decision...I bet she regrets it now though!

Like I said, I sincerely doubt she actually CHOSE to give a lecture with a baby hanging off her. She obviously had no viable alternative apart from stay at home and leave her students with an empty lecture theatre.

:dunno:

 

[Nova]

as i posted earlier -- exactly! that child had no reason to be crawling around all over a lecture hall floor sick or not! irresponsible parenting imo.

since the TA was present, why didn't she run the class? that way "mom" could've stayed home with baby... when i was a graduate assistant, that's what i did when the prof was ill or unavailable or whatnot...

I too have been both a TA (where I frequently took over classes) and a professor. But if I understand correctly, this was a first class with a new professor and a new TA. There wasn't much the TA could have done except pass out the syllabus.

 

[Nova]

Because presumably college age people, unlike babies and toddlers at daycare, aren't constantly putting their hands and fingers in their noses and mouths, are able to wash hands more frequently, and are just generally able to manage hygiene better than little ones can?

At least, one would hope. But who knows, if a brief nursing session is enough to send them into a tailspin, then maybe they can't handle hygiene 101. :waitasec:

Actually, in my experience, college students share every virus known to man. So I'm not at all convinced about their hygiene (but I did learn from them the value of flu shots).

Did I miss a link that says students were sent into a "tailspin"? Thus far, the only person who has implied that was the teacher herself, who resented being the subject of an article.

 

[flourish]

It was the first day of class wasn't it? Let's stick to the facts in this, as someone had mentioned 'what if she were a bus driver'. Well she's not a bus driver or an astronaut, or performing brain surgery or in meetings with busness moguls.
Your occupation and your employer determine your options, so that's between her and the school. I've seen plenty of women breastfeed in the presence of others and they all did so discreetly, as I'm sure did she. My employer allows kids in the work place as long as they're well behaved. No one fell ill, nobody died and no one's life was put at risk. I never said it was appropriate but I just can't get all bent out of shape about it. If you choose to, that's your option. I do wish we'd adopt a more "so what" attitude about it as most of the rest of the world does. When done discreetly, I just don't see the harm.

:clap: :clap:

Sick does not necessarily equal contagious. Ear infections, etc. Nursing is not only the best source of nourishment for a baby, but provides supreme comfort to a fussy, sick baby and the antibodies to fight off future germiness.

I'm all for family-friendly workplaces--I thought it was great when my math prof was really kind about a student bringing her newborn to class with her. My job is family friendly, because it's a safe environment for children. There are limits, like when it may interfere with confidentiality, etc., but I love that many companies are making accommodations for workers (and not just in this respect).

I guess my point is I don't see why this was even a news story or brought to attention at all. Wow, one naive freshman can't deal with breasts being used for what they're made for. A lot of growing up happens in college--perhaps this will be a good learning opportunity for some people.

Finally, I'm proud to live in a community that doesn't freak out about breasts, and where it's not a crime for a woman to go topless--nobody really does it except for at the country fair, but seeing a woman pull up her tee and let her little babe latch on is far down on the list of news-worthy events around here.

:seeya:

 

[Gardenlady]

Actually, in my experience, college students share every virus known to man. So I'm not at all convinced about their hygiene (but I did learn from them the value of flu shots).

Did I miss a link that says students were sent into a "tailspin"? Thus far, the only person who has implied that was the teacher herself, who resented being the subject of an article.

I'm basing my description of "tailspin" off quotes and reactions from the students themselves, one of whom described the nursing episode as "appalling" (a word that, personally, I'd reserve for acts of violence or madness, not feeding a child). Tipping off the student newspaper about it, and tweeting about it during a lecture also signal to me that their reaction was way, way, overblown.

 

[BuzzieCat]

Because presumably college age people, unlike babies and toddlers at daycare, aren't constantly putting their hands and fingers in their noses and mouths, are able to wash hands more frequently, and are just generally able to manage hygiene better than little ones can?

At least, one would hope. But who knows, if a brief nursing session is enough to send them into a tailspin, then maybe they can't handle hygiene 101. :waitasec:

I catch just about everything I'm exposed to, even though I practice vigorous and frequent hand washing. Le sigh.

I don't know. I don't think people should be offended about breast feeding in public places, but IMO it might be seen as unprofessional to breast feed while actually at your job site in the middle of performing your job. That's a bit different than breast feeding in public away from your job on your own time. This professor probably wouldn't have munched on a sandwich or an ice cream cone while lecturing, so why did she think it was appropriate to feed her child while lecturing? IMO the child didn't belong in the classroom, but if she is going to be there, surely she can feed herself some finger food until the class is over.

 

[redheadedgal]

In Australia it is standard to have "paid carers leave" for this sort of situation.

i don't understand what australia has to do with all this... :waitasec:

 

[redheadedgal]

There wasn't much the TA could have done except pass out the syllabus.

then it's a short class and the students go home with nothing to talk about and begin their reading and ms pine wouldn't have felt so "exposed"

a win win situation for everyone !

 

[Shelby2]

I think the students were more distracted by using their cell phones to tweet about the situation. The woman finished the lecture, though I'm not sure all the kids heard all of it, what with all the tweeting, etc.

 

[Shelby2]

i don't understand what australia has to do with all this... :waitasec:

I think she thought that the US had the same length of maternity leave that Australia has. The US has an extremely short period of maternity leave compare to other countries.

 

[Nova]

I'm basing my description of "tailspin" off quotes and reactions from the students themselves, one of whom described the nursing episode as "appalling" (a word that, personally, I'd reserve for acts of violence or madness, not feeding a child). Tipping off the student newspaper about it, and tweeting about it during a lecture also signal to me that their reaction was way, way, overblown.

I believe you, of course. I must have missed those links.

I am entirely in favor of allowing the professor to breastfeed in an emergency (and I'm using the word "emergency" VERY loosely). I just think she should have seen this as a "teachable moment" rather than rushing to squash the attention paid to it.

I understand that as un-tenured faculty, she didn't want to be known forever on the internet as the Breastfeeding Professor, but the paper offered to conceal her name. Under that agreement, she had the perfect opportunity to discuss the cultural issues that attach to breast feeding and to do so in a way that reflected her political philosophy.

I think she failed as a teacher here, certainly not as a mother. (I don't think the failure rises to a punishable level; I just wish she had handled it better.) And I think the more upset her students were, the more they NEED to watch somebody breastfeed.

 

[Cappuccino]

I think its ridiculously unprofessional for a teacher to be feeding her child in front of the class. The whole breastfeeding thing is a red herring here, I fully approve of a mothers' right to breastfeed her child in a public place. However, I don't approve of teachers sitting eating themselves while teaching a class, nor feeding their pet while teaching a class, nor feeding their baby whether by bottle or breast.

And just to make it worse, she apparently brought a sick child into a classroom full of students. Great.

A bit of common sense here - if your child is sick and your child care arrangements fall through at the last minute, there is only one sensible option - take the day off work.

 

[Nova]

I think its ridiculously unprofessional for a teacher to be feeding her child in front of the class. The whole breastfeeding thing is a red herring here, I fully approve of a mothers' right to breastfeed her child in a public place. However, I don't approve of teachers sitting eating themselves while teaching a class, nor feeding their pet while teaching a class, nor feeding their baby whether by bottle or breast.

And just to make it worse, she apparently brought a sick child into a classroom full of students. Great.

A bit of common sense here - if your child is sick and your child care arrangements fall through at the last minute, there is only one sensible option - take the day off work.

I understand your points and they are all well made.

But I should add that while I don't know how things work in her department at AU, at many universities, students are basically "class shopping" on the first day of class. Cancel your class and you may find you don't have enough students left to justify the course.

Now the professor didn't say this was an issue, but it would have been at many universities. It was her first class on her first day of her first term teaching at the university, IIRC.

And she may well have thought she could get through it without needing to feed the baby. Personally, I still don't see why that's such a big deal.

I agree with you that if done on a regular basis, then we might compare it to eating, drinking, texting and other activities a professor should set aside to focus on her class. But this does seem to have been an improvisation.

 

[Cappuccino]

Its still not acceptable. I understand students are class shopping, and I understand how awkward it is to ring up sick on your first day at a new job. If the father of the child couldn't take the day off work and stay with the baby, or wasn't around to do so, she had to take the day off sick.

If I was a class hopping student, which I have been, and the teacher brought her baby into class on the first day, (with or without breast feeding), that would be the end of that class for me.

Not to mention that the child was sick, and on that basis alone should not have been brought into a lecture hall full of students.

 

[gitana1]

I catch just about everything I'm exposed to, even though I practice vigorous and frequent hand washing. Le sigh.

I don't know. I don't think people should be offended about breast feeding in public places, but IMO it might be seen as unprofessional to breast feed while actually at your job site in the middle of performing your job. That's a bit different than breast feeding in public away from your job on your own time. This professor probably wouldn't have munched on a sandwich or an ice cream cone while lecturing, so why did she think it was appropriate to feed her child while lecturing? IMO the child didn't belong in the classroom, but if she is going to be there, surely she can feed herself some finger food until the class is over.

BBM. What's the difference? Either the issue is people are freaked by the dreaded naked breast or even the thought that said breast is being sucked on by an infant under a blanket, or they are distracted by a child being fed anything during a lecture.

For some reason, despite many protestations about distraction, germs, etc., I get the feeling this is really more about subconscious feelings that breast feeding is a sexual act, even when people do not think so consciously.