Student parents: connect to other parents on campus

 Students with children, eldercare, or other caretaking responsibilities can feel extra stretched, and sometimes isolated.  Talking with others is a great way to discover resources and family friendly events on- or off-campus, set up study-and-play dates (or play dates/study breaks) and to share advice.  

If you would like to join a virtual discussion forum comprised of other caregivers (students and employees), please subscribe to the FamilyResources listserv:  email listserv@listserv.syr.edu a message of:  SUBSCRIBE familyresources FirstName LastName (Please substitute your own name for those last fields, and leave the “subject” line empty).

If you have any questions or need assistance subscribing, please contact Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu

Input needed regarding childcare need

A small, intrepid group has been investigating resources and options for ESF childcare.  

Oakie onesie

Critical questions for those investigating options for ESF include:  "how many spaces are you looking for?  What ages”  Please help move conversations forward, and determine which, if any, funding opportunities might be available, by completing the feasibility survey (Please use ESFid to authenticate) and encourage those in your ESF employee and student circles to do so as well.    Student parents can be particularly hard to reach over the summer, so please nudge them to respond as well. 

 

Whether folks have children, are thinking about when to start families or to foster children, or have other comments to share, aggregated responses will help guide ESF’s next steps as well as answer questions SUNY has asked of campuses (same as above, plus which challenges are impacting each population the most acutely). 

This survey clearly does not address every contingency. Anyone with information that the survey does not seem to address, or is wary of sharing via that venue, I hope is comfortable contacting me directly or referring others to do so. 

 

Related notes:

• We are working on updating guidance for those seeking childcare at:  Any suggestion for childcare https://www.esf.edu/resources/family
• Parents (of any gender identity) and others caring for, or supporting in any way, any family member, friend, or colleague--past, present, or future--consider subscribing to the FamilyResources listserv.  Follow instructions at: https://www.esf.edu/resources/family. 

Is ESF friendly to nursing parents?

ESF Lactation Room: 313 Baker Lab. 258 Marshall Hall, coming Spring 2023!

SU's lactation rooms: see Map

Carer Grant Application. For more information on this trial grant program, click here.

Although lots of ESF kids are nursed, neither ESF nor SUNY have lactation policies in place for employees or students-- it is not addressed in the college's sexual harassment policy, or student, graduate student, or employee handbooks. As such, we did not have an official "lactation" or "mother's" room until July 23, 2013--you may now find it in 313 Baker, with renovations completed over the fall semester. Thanks are due to: Computing and Network Services next door for the more comfortable, easier to clean chair: Physical Plant giving up the room, and for the structural renovations (finishing the walls, replacing the original floor basin with a counter and sink, additional outlet, installing a mirror for checking that all buttons have been refastened); Tim Blehar, HR, for shepherding the upgrades; and the VP for Administration for authorizing the work.

How do we fit into the bigger picture?

New York is among the states that have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location, and that exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws.

Employees have had ample legal support. A 2007 NYS law (see PDF) requires employers to provide new mothers with a private space to either express milk or breast feed for three years after child birth. Employers are also required to give mothers the time to either express or breast feed. The company does not have to pay the mother for that time (but they also cannot dock her if she can use scheduled breaks or otherwise makes up the time; see PDF). A 2010 federal law states that the employer must also provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public for the employee to express breast milk for the child's first year. If these requirements impose undue hardship, an employer that employs fewer than 50 employees is not subject to these requirement.

Putting this into practice was another matter, however. If you were able to schedule when a child could be brought to you to nurse, you were, and remain, free to use almost any place on campus (there are some labs that no one should be eating in; and that should go double for our babes! This is true for the bathrooms!). For those lucky enough to have private offices (ie, faculty, administrators) pumping could and can still be done in the privacy of your office. The rest of us had to be more creative, and were only successful if we had supportive (vs barely tolerant) colleagues. And effective, July 23, 2013, 313 Baker Lab (near the freight elevator) was designated for nursing moms.

According to Tim Blehar, the door should remain unlocked except when in use, so moms do not have to reserve it to nurse, pump, or clean their pumps. HR assures us that the room is available to student and visiting mothers, too. If repairs are needed, please contact Tim, but for general use questions, feel free to contact Heather Engelman.

Syracuse University has also created a series of Lactation Rooms across campus, which have been mapped by Syr Grad Students with Children. See also https://hr.syr.edu/work-life-benefits-and-resources/raising-a-family/lactation-support for locations and links explaining who to contact for each space, and to access those additional resources.

On a related note, the Gateway Building was designed with a family restroom (i.e. large enough for a family member to accompany any person requiring assistance and with room for the individuals wheelchair or other mobility device, including a stroller) with a changing table in its basement.

We still have a way to go to develop policies that support all parents, including flextime and part-time options, but its good to know that we have support for moms at so many levels of the administration. That said, additional Lactation Rooms across campus would be a lot more accessible for administrative staff--especially in the winter.

Please note that while the nursing room appears on the "Locations of Women’s and Gender Inclusive/All-Gender Bathrooms", mothers should NEVER be referred to a bathroom to pump or nurse.

Caregiver Travel Grants for pre-tenure, full-time faculty with nursing infants

Presenting at, and attending conferences, is a key means for scientists, engineers, and other professionals to further scholarly activities, build collaborations, and establish reputations in their fields. Nursing parents face unique hurdles in realizing these critical networking opportunities, including age limitations and cost of conference childcare (if childcare is even available/offered), challenges pumping and managing breastmilk throughout the conference, sponsor travel reimbursement restrictions, and the significant financial strain of bringing a caregiver.

We are excited to announce that the Office of Research Programs has launched a trial Caregiver Travel Grant Program to support conference attendance for pre-tenure, full-time faculty, for two years post-birth. (Adjunct positions, post-docs, and graduate students are not covered by this program at this time.). Please not that for the purposes of this grant, "full-time" extends to those who were full-time Assistant Professors but have temporarily changed title or FTE due to an Extension of Continuing Appointment Decision.

Grants will reimburse up to $500 of the caregiver’s air- or train-fare per fiscal year, for the purpose of assisting with the care of a nursing infant during the conference. Designated caregivers can be a co-parent, grandparent, babysitter, or other individual of the faculty member’s choice.

For application materials and additional instructions, please visit ORP.  Applications should be submitted at least one month prior to conference travel.   Reimbursement will occur after the trip is completed.

Support Participation and Advancement of Women in STEMM

On Women's Equality Day (today), National Academies reminds academia to  “continue to drive bias, discrimination, and harassment out of our institutions and society. Despite decades of research, funding, and programs dedicated to increasing the representation of women in science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and medicine, the numbers, particularly in leadership roles, have remained low or stagnant in many fields, especially among women of color. Our [free, downloadable] reports explore the wide range of structural, cultural, and institutional patterns of bias, discrimination, and inequity that affect women, and the steps that can be taken to increase representation in STEMM.”  Historically, these materials are promoted most heavily to marginalized groups.  However, those impacted most negatively by marginalization cannot fix the bias, or the culture that penalizes them for asking, by themselves.   

We all have a role in creating, and maintaining an inclusive, equitable work and learning environment.  Our students learn not only from course content, but by the examples set by faculty, staff and administration in their classroom and team management, policies, and mentorship models.  NAP titles include:  Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors (2020); Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia: Summary of a Conference (2013); Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018), The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM (2019), and Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering (2007).  These, and other reports and proceedings under heading of “women and minoritites”, are available to read online or download here.  Some titles are also available for purchase in ebook or print editions.

Some strategies suggested in these reports include:

• Networking and group mentoring for those in marginalized groups.  The ESF Women’s Caucus will be continuing its networking coffee breaks virtually this fall.  Please let us know your availability and a little bit about you  at  https://forms.gle/2xEqkXLSjzsDbPKx7  Also stay tuned for information from the IDE Committee/OIDE about affinity groups for students, and those newly forming for faculty and staff.
• Recognize that balancing work and family is a universal challenge, with potential impact on retention, equity and quality of work life.  The ESF Women’s Caucus, therefore, invites all caretakers (of children, parents, friends) to subscribe to FamilyResources to share resources, family friendly events on or off campus, or to request information from other list members.  To subscribe, email: listserv@listserv.syr.edu and leave the subject line blank, and message of:  SUBSCRIBE familyresources FirstName LastName.

In addition, the Association of American Medical Colleges Gender Equity Lab (GEL)  also invites registration for its upcoming webinar, Community Call: Creative Strategies to Address the Gendered Impact of COVID-19, September 3, 2020
3-4pm ET, With so many personal and professional changes to our lives as a result of the pandemic, more attention must be paid to how these changes disproportionately impact women, especially women of diverse backgrounds. During this community call, hosted by GWIMS, discuss with your colleagues creative solutions to the gendered impact of COVID such as caregiving and dependent care issues, working remotely, virtual practices and other topics – this call is open to all. [GEL] recently launched … to assist members with these emerging issues and more calls can be scheduled to meet the needs of the community and share resources. REGISTER.   Submit your questions and resources to discuss on the call.  Questions? Contact Rebekah Corlew or Diana Lautenberger

Mentoring networks resume this fall

Semesterly reminder that short breaks help individuals regroup and gain fresh perspectives, that women benefit Networking and group mentoring as their stress responses moderated by social supports.  Stresses will remain high while there are so many unknowns, so let us know when you could be available (about monthly) to meet virtually* and a little about you so we might group participants at  https://forms.gle/2xEqkXLSjzsDbPKx7  Also, if specific cohorts are already meeting on their own, or would be interested in doing so under a larger umbrella, let’s talk!

* I asked prior to last semester for thoughts about virtual meetings.  The general consensus was “no”, that conversation might be inhibited or people might find it distracting.  However, campus closures necessitated an unplanned experiment with this format.  Participation did drop for most coffee breaks, but there was a lunch cohort that continued to meet every few weeks.  This was invaluable for sharing information across offices, and strategies from working from home, in spaces that hadn't been planned for that.  The were welcome brief respites with friendly folks rather than crabby colleagues (some of whom may, or may not, be kids or partners also plunged into work/school-from-home 😊 situations).  Since many will continue working from home due to continued need to reduce density on campus/lack of physical meeting spaces, and some folks haven’t yet been relocated for planned renovation or surprise ventilation issues, coupled perhaps with child- and elder-support issues, we’ll be continuing remotely for the foreseeable future. 

 

FamilyResources now live!

Childcare and eldercare issues are universal concerns, unbounded by title, gender, sexuality or marital status.   So, after discussion with some others about how better to share resources with employees and students, inclusive of all family structures, and facilitate direct communication among interested parties, we launched:  FamilyResources!  Intended for any parent (or other person caring for, or supporting in any way, any family member, friend, or colleague--past, present, or future) to share resources, family friendly events on or off campus (including online!), and to request or offer advice.

To subscribe, email: listserv@listserv.syr.edu and leave the subject line blank, and message of:  SUBSCRIBE familyresources FirstName LastName

Please note:  this was hatched before the community was plunged into "social distancing" and indefinite landscape-level virtual work and study.  These factors actually increase the need for strong support, so please subscribe and stay connected.

Also, the Women's Caucus is seeking partners interested in co-owning this group.  To discuss, please Heather Engelman, engelman@esf.edu.

Panel: Strategies for Professional Success for Women in Engineering and Science.

The ERE Club hosted a panel discussion November 15, 2017, featuring current ERE graduate student Meghan Mussehl, who studied engineering at the all women's Smith College (with work experience between and throughout); ERE Advisory Council Chair and ERE alumna Meghan Platt, a recent ERE alumna; Kiana Morse, and ESF GPES alumna Hayley Effler, who both work for local engineering firms; and SU alumna Meghan Gilbert, who works for the DEC. Questions were drafted by ERE Club President Isabelle Horvath, who moderated the panel.  ERE Chair Ted Endreny welcomed the panelists, introduced and thanked Ms. Horvath, and then stepped out to encourage more candid discussion. 

Panelists echoed the empowerment brunch’s mention of the importance of mentors, strong role models, and people who told them they could do it.   Each of the panel shared instances where their recommendations were discounted until reiterated by a male colleague or supervisor, one sharing the this came more from within an organization with the common refrain “are you sure?  Did you do enough research?” while male colleagues similar recommendation would be accepted without those questions.  They have been catcalled on jobsites.  Gilbert returned the workforce after “off-ramping” to care for one of her children; Platt went part-time to better balance work and family, and notes that part-time options have become more common, without the “you won’t go anywhere” stigma that used to come with that.  She notes that men also use the flex-time options.  Others shared that particularly in private firms, that with laptops and cell phones, there is quite a bit of work that can be taken home (DEC was the exception;  all work must be done on DEC computers, phones, cameras, as they are subject to seizure through FOIL).  Their closing advice to the students:  say it with authority, believe in yourself, find yourself a mentor. 

ESF opens Nursing Mother's Room, 313 Baker Lab

On July 23, 2013, ESF designated Room 313 Baker Hall as a dedicated room for nursing mothers. After some minor adjustments, the room now has a chair, outlet and occupancy sign, and is only lockable from the interior, meeting NYS Department of Labor requirements for such a room--once they bring in a table. Although this room (after a few modifications) will meet requirements for employers to provide a private place to express milk for infants for their first 3 years, Tim Blehar, Department of Human Resources, assures us that any mom, including visitors and full- and part-time students, is welcome to use it for nursing or pumping.  No one will check the child's birthdate, and no reservations are necessary--just let yourself in, slide the occupancy sign to 'occupied', lock from the interior, and reverse steps when you are done.  Users must provide their own pumps and bring their expressed milk with them in their own cooler or to a food-safe refrigerator.

The administration has pledged to either upgrade the plumbing to a more functional sink and counter and the lock so that it meets ADA requirements, and/or to find an alternate location on campus that has those capacities, and is more centrally located.  They also liked the idea of putting up a bulletin board for moms to share information.  Please contact the Human Resources office at 470-6611 if you notice that this room requires maintenance, or (UPDATE!): Heather Engelman, 315-470-4752, if you have any questions about using the space.

On a related note, there is a changing table located in the newly completed family restroom in the basement of the Gateway Building.

UPDATE:  Administration was unable to locate a better space, so have been repairing walls and readying to replace the floor basin with a counter height sink and cabinet. UPDATE 1/6/14:  Renovations seem complete! Counter and sink are functional, there is a second, more easily accessible outlet, a facade now covers the previously exposed pipes.  They have even added a mirror, which both adds brightness and helps Moms check that all their buttons are lined up before heading back out (boy, that would have been handy for me!)

Free to be ... in combat?!

"Free to Be...You and Me" just turned 40!   I loved the songs and stories as a child, and I was thrilled to hear Darius Rucker cover football hero Rosey Grier's "Its all right to cry"  on a For the Kids CD.  I remember the messages delivered by older kids as they performed the skits during an assembly in the gymatorium.  But I struggled to recall a melody for my then preschool son--who, like William, has a doll.  Unlike little William, who was mocked for his choice, our community supported my child's decision to bring his baby into restaurants and to religious services.  Many applauded his effort to not only care for her, but to include her in activities.   Until he stood up to join the other children in dance and adjusted Karen on his hip, many had not realized that the small, fair-trade scarf was not a blanket, but was converted into a sling, very similar to the one I'd used to carry him and that I still use with his cousin.  Furthermore, no one questioned why such a fair skinned child had such a dark skinned baby.  In the moment that one father offered my child a high five for his future parenting promise, I was overcome with pride and with hope, that when he is a Dad, he has the choice to care for his children as he and his future partner (as all spouses will, indeed, be equal partners) deem best for their family, and they are not hamstrung by societal gender or racial stereotypes.   And that worldwide, there will be no need for programs like Girl Rising to bring attention to the necessity of bringing girls into education to break their cycle of poverty.

I hope some of those stereotypes really are relegated to history, where they should remain as lessons.  My son's current teacher, in preparation for Martin Luther King Day, shared that "It really is gratifying to have to explain the laws he worked to change--our [kids] have absolutely no idea why anyone would ever judge a person by the color of their skin (or hair, or eyes..)."  What a wonderful birthday present for Dr. King!

In related (to gender stereotypes) news, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will announce today and notify Congress that the U.S. military is ending its policy of excluding women from combat with the goal of opening up as many jobs as possible to female troops.  Branches will be examining physical standards and gender-neutral accommodations within combat units over the next few years, and will report their progress quarterly. From an equity standpoint, its about damn time.  However, I'm  wary that  "If, after the assessment, a branch finds that a specific job or unit should not be open, they can go back to the secretary and ask for an exemption to the policy, to designate the job or unit as closed."   This concerns me, somewhat because of its CYA, and don't worry your pretty little head implications, but primarily because if there really are positions that are so dangerous or difficult that not one woman is capable of even attempting to compete to fill it, than how screwed up is our world that there is a need for such a position, for anyone, for any length of time?! 

--he

Surviving Grad School 101: Balancing Work and Family

Rosemary O'Leary began the discussion with her own background:  her mother started work on a PhD once her youngest child started school.  She also shared her challenge of finding good job opportunities for her and her husband (an economist, also with the Maxwell School) where both of them were wanted, and then raising their daughter (and a child from a previous marriage) with two busy research careers. 

 

What works for them:  They arrange their class schedules on opposite days, so the one not teaching can prepare dinner, chauffer, chaperone, etc., split household duties, and they renegotiate when this ceases to work.

Daughter has been to many meetings and defenses.  Rosemary reserves an hour a day for herself which she spends in the gym (similarly, one of the participants learned to play an instrument); she firmly believes that this helps her be better at everything else, and that its a good model for her daughter.  She doesn't go to all the meetings she would like--sometimes its Larry's turn. Ask for help.  The waiting list for the daycare at her previous institution was 150 families long; they called weekly to check.  She suspects they just got tired of the phone calls and moved her to the top.

 

Specific questions:  How did you survive the time between when your daughter was 10 and 14?  Rosemary shared her remembrance that she had personally loved when her mom had asked her opinion, and the realization that this was true for her own daughter.   Between homework and extracurricular activities and sleep, do kids even do chores anymore?  Time crunched moms often find it more expedient to do it themselves rather than supervising or taking time to teach to do task correctly.  But this ends up a disservice to both.  Rotate responsibilities, and accept that things won't necessarily be done as well for now. When Rosemary was a child,  there were 7 rotating tasks, including "the expediter" who made sure all the other tasks were completed.

 

She asked participants about their particular struggles:  time, staying upbeat, a little time in the gym to keep sane, getting kids through it, too.

 

Two of the participants took the same route as Rosemary's mom, and are now pursuing degrees.  Other successful strategies:  ditch unsupportive spouse (especially if abusive), move into a smaller place with easier upkeep and less opportunities for mooching by adult children. Some solutions don't work for everyone:  Theoretically we could "farm out" cooking and cleaning, but not on most student budgets!  This discussion was facilitated by Rosemary O'Leary, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration; Distinguished Professor and Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership; Co-Director, Program for the Analysis and Resolution of Conflict; and Senior Research Associate in both the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and Center for Environmental Policy and Administration at Syracuse University.  It was co-sponsored by the Graduate Student Association as part of their yearlong series Surviving Grad School 101.

Chatting with Caryl Fish: climate for moms at a small teaching institution and evaluation of non-researchers

Dr. Fish is an Associate Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry at St. Vincent College, the director of its Summer Institute in Watershed Restoration and its  Environmental Education Center, a mother of two, and happily married to a fellow highly educated chemist.  We couldn't resist the opportunity to meet with her after her campus-wide presentation on "Abandoned Mine Drainage:  A resource for Undergraduate Education" and ask about the climate for mom's at a small teaching institution, including how she and her husband solved their "two-body" problem.

 

Here are some highlights:

 

Caryl Fish and her husband Daryl met and married during their doctoral programs at ESF. Caryl came into the program with the intent of finding a position at a small teaching institution, while Daryl was interested in finding a position in industry.  She found her position at St. Vincent first, and with its close proximity to Pittsburgh, they expected that Daryl would have little trouble finding that industry job. This wasn't the case, however, and after he completed his post-doc and joined her in Latrobe, was unemployed until hired as St. Vincent's chemistry lab manager.  Soon thereafter, one of the other faculty members left, leaving the college with very short notice to find a replacement for the upcoming fall course schedule.  Daryl filled the position on a temporary basis, and the position was eventually converted to tenure track.  Their offices are a floor apart, and "it would seem strange not to see him every day."

 

Both of Fish's children were born before she attained tenure.  She took a leave after the birth of her older child, and after the birth of the younger was granted an extra year on her "tenure clock."  Her "marriage is very much a partnership."  Because she and her husband have staggered schedules, they can share care-taking of the kids when they are not in school.  Both Fishes have been involved with their kids Boy Scout troup, and she is currently serving as the den leader.  Daryl led her scouts on a field trip while she visited the campus.

 

Also,  "St. Vincent has a wonderful on-site daycare with a full-day kindergarten" which was an enormous help to them when the boys were younger.  Now that they are older, they still bring them to campus on occasion.   St. Vincent College also hosts the new "The Fred M. Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media", which is partially staffed by students in the early childhood development program.  The local community has also has many family amenities, courtesy of Latrobe native Fred "Mr." Rogers, and the Rogers-McFeely families. 

 

We also asked about how faculty are evaluated at this predominately undergraduate institution.

 

Faculty at St. Vincent have higher teaching loads than at research centered institutions, often 12 credits per semester.  While her faculty does not have a graduate program, all seniors are required to complete an independent research project, and she supervises about 1/5 of these (there are 4 other faculty). Faculty are evaluated first on teaching effectiveness, a second criteria associated with teaching, and then on professional development. Research fits into this third category.  There is an expectation that faculty will publish, but there is not the pressure to do so in the most prestigious journals as is common at research-centered institutions.  Successful grant writing, community efforts and participation in symposia are also considered in evaluation, but are probably not as highly ranked as more traditional publications.

Balancing work and… (Social life, family, personal time, sleep….)

Undergrads, graduate students, faculty and staff met over dinner to discuss what we'd like to spend more time on, less time on, and any suggestions we have that have helped us do so.  Here are a sampling (not necessarily in the order that they were discussed):

1.  Prioritize, and lower your standards on items that don't really matter (like the punctuation in this email!)

2.  Cultivate good relationships with the office people, and those in the know in the dining halls.  They are the ones who know procedures, shortcuts, how to process which paperwork and in what order it needs to be done.  And, in an emergency, they are the ones who know how to bail you out.

3.  Try to set aside some cookies in the freezer--then you can bring a variety the next time you need to bring something somewhere.

4.  Laundry is overrated--if its not really dirty, don't wash it yet.  But find a way to keep it out of the clean pile so it doesn't get forgotten.

5.  If you don't know where to go, ask someone rather than getting bogged down with it.

6.  Don't feel bad about not going to the gym when you'd really rather be getting your exercise out of doors.

7.  Find people to do things with.  Our little lists made us realize most of us want to be more physically active, several would like to dance more, and there is an African Dance class on Wednesdays at the Westcott community Center. This kind of builds on a pre-dinner discussion:  some of us knit, others would like to learn--we foresee some lessons in the future. 

8. Pleasure reading:  Book clubs have merit, but require you to have read a specific book or portion thereof in a specific amount of time.  Instead, get recommendations of books that friends have enjoyed, and put aside 15-20 minutes at the end of the day.

9.  Find a (or several) delivery place.  Because so many of us are already overtasked, we planned that those who could would bring something to contribute, and those that couldn't would bring a few dollars.  We pooled the funds and ended up with an almost complete meal, and some nice discussion with some folks we wouldn't otherwise have had the opportunity to meet. 

We did get a little off the track of the balancing theme later in the discussion, but since some of us wanted to spend more time with friends old and new, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

This potluck supper was coordinated by the Graduate Student Association and the ESF Women’s Caucus.

Balancing work and family

Ironically, family issues kept a number of interested parties away last night, so I have summarized our discussion. and have provided a preview of the October program (Thurs. Oct. 23, 5-7 pm, Nifkin Lounge, family friendly potluck supper!)

So, what does it take to balance work and family?  Participants reported:  organization, flexible scheduling, a sense of humor, family planning, reliable child care, a supportive partner, and good friends or family with whom you can share some adult conversation while the kids play (which we witnessed first hand, as our three youngest participants alternately colored quietly and ran laps around the Lounge!).  We also noted the trend of parents waiting longer to start families, both here and abroad, and touched on the continuing trend of teen parents, and speculated on the class and educational differences between the two groups.

The discussion focused most heavily on social support of child-rearing, which is much advanced in Scandinavian countries, just starting in Korea where birth rates have been declining, and actually somewhat ahead of the US.  The Korean system permits a small stipend for parental leave during the first year (currently about 20% of the average salary); only 78 dads took advantage of the program last year while thousands of moms used their maternity leave.  The next version of this policy looks toward making the leave a percentage of income rather than a flat rate.  In the US, the leave permitted by the Family Leave Act is unpaid, and thus is only really available to those of higher income.  European models are far more family-friendly and either support parental (maternal or paternal, often the family's decision) care for children during their first year or longer or adequately funded daycare facilities until children reach school-age. 
 

We'd like to thank Heejae Kim, who took the time to look up the statistics of the new Korean programs and the Sadler Memorial Garden Committee for letting us scavenge for produce for the potluck.  As a result of your generosity and JoAnne Ellis's creativity, we enjoyed ratatouille and a platter of delicious sweet peppers and beans.  Cooperation in action--how fitting for a balancing themed semester!