*sigh* i think we are going backwards!

[motherhendoula]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/09/adrienne-pine-defends-classroom-breastfeeding/

Im glad the professor did a good job of defending herself in this situation ...i am shocked and saddened by the overwhelmingly negative responses.   Most people wrote in to leave comments about  she should have used a bottle to soothe her daughter (who had a fever) ...its just so depressing what people DONT KNOW about basic human function!

oy! vent over!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I commented on the article. Thanks for the link. 

[contactmaya]

me too

[lanamommyphd07]

I had to bring baby DD to a dead-week class I taught once when my daycare provider called in "sick". We got there early enough to nurse in the office, but she joined me passing out papers and such and hung out in the ergo. The students kind-of loved it, since DD was an example often in classroom stories. Since it was "lifespan development", and I'd had an open-door policy about kids in class in general, nobody ever raised a stink. In fact, I think they mostly appreciated it. I really feel for this prof--and I'm a bit surprised this hit the news. She was right on. The students should have appreciated a real-life model. That's what the 45k education should be buying.

That said, I got kicked out of a lunch-hour "baby shower" fundraiser for United Way by the mental health center I worked for because DD was there and eating too. Nice. And then they started lurking around my office to see if DD was there for a nurse during my lunch break (which she was) (and then not again). Seems there were a couple of folks working in the higher divisions much like those leaving comments on this article. Sad.

[rnra]

I am fully in support of breastfeeding and recognize that it has many benefits to moms, babies, and societies as a whole.  That said, I really feel like Ms. Pine is trying to make herself into a breastfeeding martyr when she is not one.  The issue here is not that she chose to breastfeed her child.  The actual breastfeeding is not even an issue.  The issue is that she did not behave in a professional manner and neglected to fulfill the responsibilities for which she was hired.  The students in that class are paying several thousand dollars for her to instruct them with her undivided attention.  They're not paying for her to be distracted by a young child that is crawling around, fussing, and nursing.  She's not a random math tutor that is working out of her home--she is a university professor.  Every working professional who has a child knows that childcare emergencies come up, and every working professional who has a child finds some way to deal with them.  

Would it be appropriate for the conductor of an orchestra to bring her sick child to a symphony performance and let the child crawl around on the stage while she conducts?  Would it be appropriate for a judge to bring her baby into the courtroom and then nurse the baby while court is in session?  How about a surgeon bringing her child into the operating room because she couldn't find a sitter?  Can a civil engineer bring a baby with her to present a new road construction project?   The answer is no.  And it's not because the babies are being breastfed, it's because the women would be shirking their professional responsibilities.  

She should have done what every other working parent has to do due to a sick child--find an emergency sitter, call a family member, call in sick to work, cancel appointments, etc.  

[contactmaya]

There is really no comparison. The lecture was delivered. Having a baby there doesnt change that. If it is a little distracting to some students, then they should learn to focus.(im sorry, but i just dont sympathize, because  i myself would be capable of following the lecture, with a baby there or not, regardless of how much money i paid)  It was only done once, an exception.  I dont see this as reflecting on her professionalism one bit. If she were conducting an orchestra, a baby would get in the way, likewise with a surgeon,  but in this situation is different. 

The degree to which a baby is detracts from the professionalism of the job, is different depending on the profession.    

(In any case, I read that the baby was nursed, not crawling around and being distracting.)

[rnra]

You can read about it in Ms. Pine's own words in her blog posting:  http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/05/exposeing-my-breasts-on-the-internet/

The lecture was not delivered in the same fashion as it would have been without the baby there...

Quote:

I sped through the lecture and syllabus review

Quote:

The flow of my lecture was interrupted once by “Professor, your son has a paper-clip in his mouth” (I promptly extracted it without correcting my students’ gendered assumptions) and again when she crawled a little too close to an electrical outlet.

And she did have other options for child care, bringing the child to class was not the only choice...

Quote:

the following class day I found a friend willing to babysit my still-feverish child

[contactmaya]

She found a babysitter the following day, good. Problem solved.

I guess my overall point, cut her some slack.   Her job was done, she delivered the lecture, maybe more speedily, maybe with a couple of distractions (and i repeat, learn to focus) 

The same could not be said of she were piloting a plane, or doing a heart transplant etc

[lanamommyphd07]

ohhh. With the added blogposting provided by rnra...this really, really, should not have hit the news. It's a blip in professordom--but surely not as bad as no-showing a class (I did that once when my office clock broke) or being a put-ya-ta-sleeper. A blanket apology and asking for the class' patience would have gone a long way. If she was running through a syllabus, this must have been a first class? Kind of a sucky first impression then. If I ever had blips like that, I brought cookies as appeasements. I really did. But I really would not have brought the bfing argument into play. nope.

ETA: I mean, I would not have blogged it. nope.

Edited by lanamommyphd07 - 12/24/12 at 5:52pm

[contactmaya]

i like the idea of offering cookies :-)

[lanamommyphd07]

Originally Posted by contactmaya 

i like the idea of offering cookies :-)

Yes! I was teaching in CO, and I used the recipe for 1970s era gooballs (minus the hempbutter, of course). The students thought those were a hoot, and honestly it made a darned fine cookie.

[phathui5]

It sounds like the professor would have been better off wearing the baby during class; it would have avoided the paperclip/electrical socket interruptions.

Would it be appropriate for the conductor of an orchestra to bring her sick child to a symphony performance and let the child crawl around on the stage while she conducts?  

I don't think so. 

Would it be appropriate for a judge to bring her baby into the courtroom and then nurse the baby while court is in session?  

That would be fine with me; the judge is just sitting there.

How about a surgeon bringing her child into the operating room because she couldn't find a sitter?  

That would be awkward and isn't a good example. The professor isn't doing surgery.

Can a civil engineer bring a baby with her to present a new road construction project?

Probably.

[Alenushka]

She should have stayed home with her sick child or arrange for appropriate caregiver.

I would be mad if my professor did it:

1) I am not interested in her child's germs

2) I paid good money for MY education.  The professor is there to concentrate on my education  rather than dealing with her child

3)  How cruel to a poor sick child to be dragged   into the classroom

[rtjunker]

Okay, can we consider that this was a "Sex, Gender, and Culture" class? Um, learning does not happen in a tiny bubble of professor giving perfect lectures, while students studiously memorize what's needed for the test. The entire situation fits so perfectly into what I'd expect to learn in a class like that, including the crazy cultural backlash from the incident, that it seems almost orchestrated to me.

[contactmaya]

Originally Posted by rtjunker 

Okay, can we consider that this was a "Sex, Gender, and Culture" class? Um, learning does not happen in a tiny bubble of professor giving perfect lectures, while students studiously memorize what's needed for the test. The entire situation fits so perfectly into what I'd expect to learn in a class like that, including the crazy cultural backlash from the incident, that it seems almost orchestrated to me.

You make a very good point. In fact, given the nature of the course, i cant even believe there was  a backlash at all, not to mention some of the comments here (especially the ones which say ' i paid alot of money for my education-keep the yucky babies out!) Why would you take a class like this in the first place?  Rtjunker, youre right, it has to have been orchestrated.

[rtjunker]

Just to note, I don't believe it was orchestrated. It just seems absurd to me that this became an issue, especially considering the specific class. It is a perfect example of some of the topics that could be covered in the coursework, or tied into real issues and concerns.

[woodchick]

Something that comes to mind to me:  Have none of us sat through lectures in which the professor was somewhat distracted?  I know I have.  Faulty technology, too much focus on their coffee, annoying tangents off to the side with one student out of 40, half the lecture spent talking about the weather (or some such).

It happens.  This mother made a decision and I personally don't think it was all that awful.  Some people have good days and some people have distracted days.  I think we'll live.

[lanamommyphd07]

Originally Posted by woodchick 

Something that comes to mind to me:  Have none of us sat through lectures in which the professor was somewhat distracted?  I know I have.  Faulty technology, too much focus on their coffee, annoying tangents off to the side with one student out of 40, half the lecture spent talking about the weather (or some such).

It happens.  This mother made a decision and I personally don't think it was all that awful.  Some people have good days and some people have distracted days.  I think we'll live.

 Totally. I've been a student in that situation, and I do believe I could have been accused at some point for delivering a lecture in each of those whoops categories. Especially the coffee.