STEM Week, Day 2: A Little Bit More on the Women and STEM Discussion

In the December 21st edition of the Careers section of the Chronicle of Higher Education there’s a column from Rex Sayers (a pseudonym) about the effect that having children can have on the career paths of those in academe. His belief is that having children of your own can make you a better teacher, even if it lowers your productivity (read: writing and research) and impacts your career path.

That brings me to the effects of a new baby on an academic's ability to practice his or her craft, a topic on which there has been much debate. I am here to affirm that those effects are real and primarily negative. Before this latest birth, I had been working at a pretty good clip. I had a high teaching load, so it was hard to find time to write during the day, but I had developed a routine of putting the kids to bed and knocking out a page or two before my own bedtime.

Not anymore. Not only have we lost the luxury of a consistent bedtime, but in those seemingly rare moments when I do find myself with a free, childless hour in which to work, I'm simply too fogged to produce.

The reason that I think teaching appeals to many is that it’s a family-friendly career. Your breaks will typically be the same as those of your children; your child can be in your workplace with you; you can be a part of your child’s life while at the same time participating in your profession. Given that the primary caregiver role still tends to fall on the mother, it’s easy to see why women would choose teaching as a career.