Mothers in the classroom

[DrsWithoutBorderCollies]

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Hi all,

CSU is creating a policy on how to allow mothers with infants access to the classroom without increasing the risk of classroom disruption. For background, babies have been banned from our classrooms for the past couple of years, and we (the students) are trying to find a middle ground with the administration that doesn't restrict the mother's access to education (especially since we have a mandatory attendance policy and TBL is becoming one of the primary formats in the new curriculum).

I've been meeting with the mothers at our school who are providing input on this policy, and we would like to know if any of your schools have policies regarding motherhood in vet school that we could model this policy off of.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[breezywonton]

At UT, there's no specific rule when it comes to children in the classroom. Admin has sent emails politely saying to "limit classroom distractions including children" but they aren't banned. What we do have though are rooms outside of the main classroom where people can go and still have live access to the lecture. The room is right across from the main lecture hall, but if you have a fussy child or something you can go sit in there and still be able to listen/watch the lecture. Attendance isn't mandatory for most classes though and our lectures are recorded, so I know a lot of moms just watch at home.

Some mothers at the vet school also proposed an on campus child care thing, but it doesn't seem like it will get approved due to legality/logistical problems.

 

[DrsWithoutBorderCollies]

At UT, there's no specific rule when it comes to children in the classroom. Admin has sent emails politely saying to "limit classroom distractions including children" but they aren't banned. What we do have though are rooms outside of the main classroom where people can go and still have live access to the lecture. The room is right across from the main lecture hall, but if you have a fussy child or something you can go sit in there and still be able to listen/watch the lecture. Attendance isn't mandatory for most classes though and our lectures are recorded, so I know a lot of moms just watch at home.

Some mothers at the vet school also proposed an on campus child care thing, but it doesn't seem like it will get approved due to legality/logistical problems.

Thank you! Those are all aspects of the new policy being rolled out, so I'm glad we're on the right track.

Do you know if the school typically points mothers towards any resources? There seems to be a general lack of support for mothers here, so if we could lay a foundation for future students, that would also be a fantastic step in the right direction.

 

[battie]

1. Love the username.

2. UIUC as of 21 didn't have any specific requirements, but none of the parents in my class tried to bring their babies to class that I can remember. That includes the one dad as well. The vast majority of our classes were not required attendance however.

3. I would not be shocked if a daycare system is not set up. The cost alone probably wouldn't be worthwhile if it's subsidized by the school, pending the sort of daycare laws in the state.

 

[DrsWithoutBorderCollies]

1. Love the username.

2. UIUC as of 21 didn't have any specific requirements, but none of the parents in my class tried to bring their babies to class that I can remember. That includes the one dad as well. The vast majority of our classes were not required attendance however.

3. I would not be shocked if a daycare system is not set up. The cost alone probably wouldn't be worthwhile if it's subsidized by the school, pending the sort of daycare laws in the state.

1. Thank you! I am very proud of it
2. I don't think anybody WANTS to bring their baby to school. The parent is bound to be more distracted than anybody else in the classroom, and vet schools are rigorous programs that require a lot of engagement. But our classmates are being put in a tight spot by the attendance policy's rigidity and the way life's flow can upend the best-laid plans.
3. I also don't think a daycare system would ever be on the table. The current plan is for rooms to be available with windows into the lecture hall so families can be sequestered from the rest of the class (much like the setup at UT). These meetings have largely been to anticipate and discuss potential issues with this arrangement, so they can be addressed early.

 

[pp9]

But our classmates are being put in a tight spot by the attendance policy's rigidity and the way life's flow can upend the best-laid plans.

livestream lectures in a way that allows ‘attendance’ to be verified? Zoom, teams etc would work for that. In this day and age, we (or at least many new mothers, including myself) are not going to want to bring our new babies into a room of 100 people from an infectious disease standpoint alone, nor would we want the usual baby care activities to distract our classmates.

Honestly being forced to attend lectures in person at this stage, whether with my kid or not, would be a waste of time as I wouldn’t be paying much attention at all. Virtual attendance would be more beneficial for everyone. It wouldn’t work as well for TBL but it’s still an option.

 

[MomVet]

Hi all,

CSU is creating a policy on how to allow mothers with infants access to the classroom without increasing the risk of classroom disruption. For background, babies have been banned from our classrooms for the past couple of years, and we (the students) are trying to find a middle ground with the administration that doesn't restrict the mother's access to education (especially since we have a mandatory attendance policy and TBL is becoming one of the primary formats in the new curriculum).

I've been meeting with the mothers at our school who are providing input on this policy, and we would like to know if any of your schools have policies regarding motherhood in vet school that we could model this policy off of.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi all,

CSU is creating a policy on how to allow mothers with infants access to the classroom without increasing the risk of classroom disruption. For background, babies have been banned from our classrooms for the past couple of years, and we (the students) are trying to find a middle ground with the administration that doesn't restrict the mother's access to education (especially since we have a mandatory attendance policy and TBL is becoming one of the primary formats in the new curriculum).

I've been meeting with the mothers at our school who are providing input on this policy, and we would like to know if any of your schools have policies regarding motherhood in vet school that we could model this policy off of.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I don’t think our vet school has any official policies, but as a faculty member who had 2 infants (now preschool age) through a high teaching/clinical load in a service with 0 redundancy, I’ve brought my kids to work. I don’t make it a habit, and I don’t if it was my scheduled mandatory part of my work, and I don’t ever bring my kids if I’m on clinics.

However, if I’m filling in for someone else for didactic rounds or teaching a lab on a day childcare falls through and I absolutely cannot call out because there is no one to replace me, my kids have come with. I’ve put two toddlers in a dog kennel with a dog bed and toys and an iPad showing bluey while I gave rounds for an hour. I’ve brought my older kid with me who sat in the corner playing quietly with her toys while I taught a 4hr lab. That kid has heard my spiel so many times she could probably teach it now. Its hard. There is no way to have 100% bomb proof childcare. I pay over $2000/kid/month for 10hrs of care 5 days a week for reliable center based care. However if kids get kicked out for sickness, it’s not possible for me to find someone last minute every time. For the actual day kiddo is sick, my husband has been able to take off work (obviously I wouldn’t take sick kid to work with me). But there is usually an extra day they’re not allowed back even though they’re totally fine and their infection risk to my students is probably not more than my own infection spread. I’ve pumped while on clinics working with students and performing surgery. The demands of a mom as a vet or vet student are impossibly hard.

Could the school have a few isolated rooms where kids are allowed? If the required attendance sessions are such that the entire class is not attending at the same time, could there be a room nearby that a classmate could watch kiddo just during mom’s session? If the required session is a lecture, have it streamed to that room so that it’s not a distraction for the rest of the class? And for non-lab type interactive discussion sessions, allow for creation of baby friendly groups that wouldn’t mind the distraction of baby in the event they must come along? That group may have to work for longer or meet outside of designated time to finish. I would gladly volunteer to be facilitator for baby friendly group and hold baby for mom.

I don’t think it’s professional for any mom to expect to provide their own childcare while completing vet school and expect the school to accommodate that, just as it would be unprofessional for me to expect to provide my own childcare as a vet while concurrently working as a clinical vet. But I do agree that the school accommodating emergency contingency plans for mandatory attendance sessions would lessen the stress considerably for student moms. It might not work out every time, and I don’t think it needs to be policy that the school is required to make it work. However, it would be the kind, and imo the right thing to do.