Today was the last day of class, and my students applauded at the very end.*
It's a good day.
*I must say thank you to my husband for not telling me, "I told you so" when I recounted this story to him earlier. I've been stressing all semester about whether I was teaching a good class or not, and he's had the unenviable job of reassuring me. Well, apparently he was right that I'm a good teacher (or else I'm really good at fooling my class ; ).
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Spousal Social Capital
Today, after reading/editing/commenting on the fifth of the papers my husband has written this year, I realized what a benefit it is to him to have a sociologist for a wife (and for me to have a sociologist for a husband, of course ; ).
Not only can we assess the quality of each other's arguments, in addition to the regular editing tasks (watching for logical organization, comma splices, etc.), but having each other as spouses mean that we have an automatic confidant in the workplace.*
With only my own experience to go on, I'm prepared to say that our mutual career is an incredible asset professionally. And I'm wondering if such "spousal social capital" in the workplace will only become more common as more women have entered, and continue to enter, the workforce.
*Of course, this benefit has also sometimes taken the form of a curse. I remember a specific time period (around completing my dissertation), when I tried to forbid the discussion of sociology outside our department. Not only did this not work very well at all, it caused a bit of friction, since both of our identities are highly tied to being a sociologist, and of course you want to share important things with your spouse. Good times!
Not only can we assess the quality of each other's arguments, in addition to the regular editing tasks (watching for logical organization, comma splices, etc.), but having each other as spouses mean that we have an automatic confidant in the workplace.*
With only my own experience to go on, I'm prepared to say that our mutual career is an incredible asset professionally. And I'm wondering if such "spousal social capital" in the workplace will only become more common as more women have entered, and continue to enter, the workforce.
*Of course, this benefit has also sometimes taken the form of a curse. I remember a specific time period (around completing my dissertation), when I tried to forbid the discussion of sociology outside our department. Not only did this not work very well at all, it caused a bit of friction, since both of our identities are highly tied to being a sociologist, and of course you want to share important things with your spouse. Good times!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Family-Friendly Company
NPR today has a story about family-friendly companies that are allowing parents to bring their young babies (up to six months old) to work.
The companies are finding that women come back to work earlier, which is useful, since approximately 1/4 of women quit their jobs when they have a baby. And the women feel a lot less stress because they don't have to leave their babies at such a young age.
The number of companies allowing this is small (approximately 140 in the U.S.), but the idealist in me has high hopes for the spread of the idea.
You can find the story here.
The companies are finding that women come back to work earlier, which is useful, since approximately 1/4 of women quit their jobs when they have a baby. And the women feel a lot less stress because they don't have to leave their babies at such a young age.
The number of companies allowing this is small (approximately 140 in the U.S.), but the idealist in me has high hopes for the spread of the idea.
You can find the story here.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Pros and Cons of Being a Grown-Up
Pros
- own home
- have nice, new car
- live in a neighborhood where trash doesn't blow down the street, and undergrads don't constantly stream by on their way to class
- have enough money to no longer need to live a hand-to-mouth existence
- have "real" job
- tricksy taxes
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