Sunday, November 13, 2005
It's Not All Bad
Yale announced last Thursday that it is increasing daycare options and availability for employees of the University. Some say the expansion won't be enough to fill current needs, but it is clear at least that there is pressure on the administration to really support working parents.
Does anyone have more details or comments on the specific plan?
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7 comments:
I don't have any comments on the new childcare plan right now, but I do want to go say that I think this blog is great. A sign that you're on the right track: you're raising hell. A bunch of Yalies are really worked up about it. You're not only raising discussion, you're not compromising on your beliefs. This is hard in an environment where students generally seem to fetishize centrism and try hard not to offend those in power or disturb the status quo. Anyone who thinks that your relatively mild criticisms are "bashing" is freaked out. Don't back down. Don't surrender. "Siempre hasta la victoria."
this is a useful link to the provost's office that outlines the current plans to enhance Yale's child care services
http://www.yale.edu/provost/html/provost_ltr_childcare.html
On a totally separate note I find it very telling that the only way some people seem to be able to engage with this blog is through insults and slander. This site does not ask for you to agree with everything that is written but to engage the often controversial and multifaceted ideas with thought and respect. By mocking its content through inane postings such as the above haiku you as the dissenter lose out. The intended dialogue becomes a monologue if responses fail to address the points under discussion. Stop mocking and engage the issues: agree, disagree, modify, explicate… Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the creators of this site are as interested in the voices of dissent as those of agreement. Whatever it is you have to say find a way of saying it in a meaningful manner.
I hope many outraged parents, parents-to-be, children of working parents, etc. will respond to this ridiculous passage from today's YDN editorial on the daycare plan:
"But in the face of these improvements, we hope potential recipients of the expanded childcare coverage will keep their options in perspective. A certain level of balance should guide the decision to pursue childcare: While the increased options seem likely to make the University more attractive to prospective faculty, staff and graduate employees, we hope potential beneficiaries of this increased coverage will not use this opportunity to ignore the necessary duties of a parent."
Because, you know, high quality and affordable daycare is just an open invitation for parental neglect.
And, of course, when we say "duties of a parent," you know which parent we mean...
I was also really surprised by that statement. It seems kind of unnecessary and a bit ignorant, since many parents need this form of childcare in order to remain in their professions and avoid short-changing their children - that is, in order to be a good parent. I wonder what prompted this commentary?
I agree that the YDN paragraph you quoted is totally inappropriate and uninformed, but I think it's unfair to say the author(s) meant 'mother' by writing 'parent'. On the other hand, you'd definitely call improving childcare a feminist move, right?
I wonder to what extent the new childcare plan is related to the university's diversification of tenured faculty projects. "Many women junior faculty who are also having families in their childbearing ages are at a disadvantage against the men who are not having children." http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=30860.
This blog appears to be losing steam. Why?
I know guys...keep posting!!!
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