Call me Dr. Mom

Ok, some might call me a little old school since I look forward to the day when I can stop working and stay at home with the kids. Although, in today's society, especially in this financial climate, my early 'retirement' is probably not reality. Growing up my best friend's mom was a teacher at our elementary school so it was very convenient for her to keep tabs on the kids during the day while also making a living. In younger grades this is very common. Young mothers as teachers. As the grades progress, however, women become less scarce in the education field.

Here is an article about a college professor who was grateful for her flexible 'teacher' schedule, but couldn't figure out why only 14% of doctoral-granting universities are headed by women. This hard working academic professional and mother of three wanted to look deeper into why her colleagues were mostly men.

According to her article, she wasn't surprised by her findings. Most women who were on their way to becoming tenure (the gate to academic leadership, awarded after 7 years, aka job security) but the demands of having children (pregnancy, nursing, care taking, etc) required too much energy and time to continue working.

Maternity leaves left these professionals in the dust and behind in the latest and greatest technologies and teaching methods. These women interviewed did not blame the workplace or their children, they simply admitted that both jobs require too much energy to give 100% to each.

Lesson to be learned ladies? Yes teaching can be a good career choice for the wanna-be stay at home mom. The schedule works and like everyone says, summers off don't hurt either! However, having children and raising a family requires a lot of work. compromises need to be made, no matter the career, so make sure you are willing to sacrifice and multi-task like you've never multi-tasked before!