“The only way for both women and men to get ahead is to make parental leave not just paid, but mandatory. That's the only way to fully destigmatize it.”
—Great article from NYMag on maternity leave. So good, it brought me out of a blogging hiatus. (Howdy folks!) Yes, we should all be pissed that parental leave isn’t as expansive here as it is in other countries.
As many of you may now, I'm going to have a babby (soon!)
My students’ parents already know- I’ve told them at conferences, IEP meetings, etc… but I would also like to write a formal letter- letting parents know when I’m planning on return, introducing my sub, etc…
I’m not the best at writing, so I went online to see some examples and found many people saying that teachers shouldn’t write a note home? This is the job of the administration?
What do you all think? And have any of you ever written a letter? What did you include?
Such a relief
I sent out my maternity leave email last night explaining how long I’d take off with regards to the dayhome. I was so nervous people would be upset that I was taking more than 4 weeks off. I have decided my last day will be July 1st, my due date, and I won’t be returning until September 16th. I don’t get paid any leave as I am self-employed so it is all we can basically afford.
I was going to work until I went into labor but I really would like some alone time with Addy first. Hopefully her and I will get a few days to hang out and get things ready for the new baby.
I also told the parents that I need a non refundable check by August 1 if they’d like to keep their spot and families are already asking me to hold their places! It will be sad though as one of the little girls is going off to full day school (she’s 5) and another one is going on mat leave with her mom. But we all live so close that we will still hang out. Anyway, I am so relieved that everyone is happy about my letter and that I have an almost full guaranteed dayhome with previous clients and with new clients already asking to be waitlisted for the fall!
This is really embarrassing.
That the United States, one of the biggest and most powerful nations in the world, does not offer paid maternity leave is ridiculous. We try to bill ourselves as the best and the most progressive, yet in the case of our women we are lagging behind almost every country in the world, including the ones we often look down upon.
