High School Teacher Breastfeeding in classroom

[autumnfire]

I think there's parts of this story that are missing  (at least it feels that way), but I thought this was an interesting article. Thoughts?

High School Teacher Breastfeeds in classroom

"POYEN, AR -- Poyen is a rural Arkansas town with a population around 290. Folks living in the area call it a quiet place, but inside one classroom at the high school, some say it's anything but quiet.

One student, who we will call "Sally" because she didn't want to be identified, says there's something distracting going on inside the classroom. The distraction? A baby. Students say the teacher has been bringing her infant to class -- on and off -- for a couple weeks after returning from maternity leave.

"Sally" says you can constantly hear the baby crying and it's disruptive to the class. She also said the teacher feeds the infant in the back of the classroom, with students in the room.

She said, "It's a distraction especially since we have a bunch of teenage boys in there."

Over the phone the superintendent says he allows teachers to bring their children to school in emergency situations, but called this a personnel matter, declining to talk about it further.

And some teens in the teacher's class agree with the idea of bringing baby to school saying it's no big deal.

Tyler Rhodes said, "The baby just lays back there and plays with it's toys, every now and then it may cry, but she goes back there and takes care of it."

Chase Rhodes added, "I mean it's a cute baby and I don't think it's a distraction at all."

While the superintendent did decline an on camera interview, he did say parents or students, who have concerns, can talk to him.

We did call a couple of our local school districts, to find out if this is a policy in other classrooms. The PCSSD spokeswoman said they do not allow teachers to bring their babies into classrooms.

The Little Rock School District spokeswoman says they do not have a certain policy in place, but she said it's expected that teachers would not bring their children to school.

If you would like to follow Melissa Schroeder's reports on Facebook, you can click here and like her page."

[carolinagirl831]

I agree, what school would allow this (mainly meaning bringing baby at all)??

I'm all for BF in public, but I do not think this is the place. It seems like a strange story. Bringing your baby to work is not appropriate. and fine if she needs to feed the baby, but doing it in your classroom during class is hardly appropriate.

and before anyone says, oh it's natural no big deal for teenage boys, ha! have you been around teenage boys???

[VillainV]

I can't imagine any situation where a teacher's child in the classroom wouldn't be a distraction to students. IMO this isn't about whether the teacher should be allowed to breastfeed at school, but whether or not the baby should be in the classroom to begin with. I can't imagine taking care of a newborn at work. And just leaving the baby in the back of the classroom? I mean, it's probably nbd when the baby is asleep, but what about when he is dirty, hungry, or needs a snuggle?

If the teacher needs to care for a newborn, then the principal should allow her to take leave for crying out loud!!!

[Deleted]

Nov 14, 2014 14:14:29 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

And it's not about breastfeeding. It's bigger than that.

The headline should really be "Teacher brings baby to work"

That's not a good idea, but it sounds like a REALLY small town and I assume she has no options (skip work or bring baby) and is trying to find reliable child care.

[Deleted]

I'm all for bfing in public but wtf to her bringing her baby to work and letting he/she lay there while she teaches. And lol that such a thing needs to be laid out in a written policy. That lady needs to hire a babysitter or pay for daycare.

[stacyb1983]

Like the OP said, there has to be some part of the story left out. I wonder if there is a shortage of teachers in the town.

[Deleted]

Nov 14, 2014 14:18:12 GMT -5 stacyb1983 said:

Like the OP said, there has to be some part of the story left out. I wonder if there is a shortage of teachers in the town.

In rural Arkansas in a town of 290? Nah, I bet there are loads of teachers and daycare options.

[ladygrey]

Yeah, this isn't about BFing. It's about her not having appropriate childcare in place.

[newgirl412]

I can only imagine the liability factor with having that baby at the school.

[autumnfire]

Nov 14, 2014 14:14:29 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

And it's not about breastfeeding. It's bigger than that.

I completely agree. This was blowing up on my FB newsfeed. Where a lot of women were outraged that people were taking issue with breastfeeding in the classroom. But that's not in my mind the issue here.

[imojoebunny]

My DD's school has a nursery for teachers they can use until the babies are a certain age, I think one year, so they can be on site. Right now there is a set of triplets in there. The school hires a person to work in the nursery when there are babies. It's a small school, so there are not always.

My DS's system has a daycare at the high school that gives priority to teacher's babies.

I don't know why they would need to be in the classroom, unless this child has a specific health need.

It is probably also a super small school, given the town is only 290 people. They may not be able to recruit teachers easily, so is might be a perk they are willing to provide to keep a good teacher. I doubt their classes have nearly as many students as a city school would, giving the teacher more time to teach and hold a baby.

The BF wouldn't be a concern at all for me, but the distraction from teaching would be more a concern. A kid like my son would have been fine. A kid like my DD, no way.

[Deleted]

Sometimes I'm fairly certain none of you have visited (let alone lived and worked in) a tiny, tiny town.

[Marmee]

Nov 14, 2014 15:33:54 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Sometimes I'm fairly certain none of you have visited (let alone lived and worked in) a tiny, tiny town.

I grew up in a town of 7000 & my mon taught in a one room schoolhouse in the town 5 miles away . . I don't have a problem with this but I think "life" including work should be more baby/kid/mom friendly in general. It's a big reason that despite having a profession I choose not to work in it.

[Deleted]

Nov 14, 2014 15:38:12 GMT -5 Marmee said:

Nov 14, 2014 15:33:54 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Sometimes I'm fairly certain none of you have visited (let alone lived and worked in) a tiny, tiny town.

I grew up in a town of 7000 & my mon taught in a one room schoolhouse in the town 5 miles away . . I don't have a problem with this but I think "life" including work should be more baby/kid/mom friendly in general.

7,000 is a "big city" where I'm from. My hometown has 500 people, and I didn't live in town.

[sent]

Nov 14, 2014 15:38:12 GMT -5 Marmee said:

I grew up in a town of 7000 & my mon taught in a one room schoolhouse in the town 5 miles away . . I don't have a problem with this but I think "life" including work should be more baby/kid/mom friendly in general. It's a big reason that despite having a profession I choose not to work in it.

LOL I read "290 people" and thought "Is this a one room school house?"

[thatgirl2478]

Nov 14, 2014 15:45:00 GMT -5 deej said:

At the school I used to teach, one of the teachers brought their newborn in lieu of childcare. This was mere months after the announcement that we weren't allowed to do anything that wasn't student focused during class as it might be distracting (i.e., if the kids are taking a test, you could no longer use that time to check papers).

I think the issue is bringing the baby to school, not the breastfeeding.

that's ridiculous! 

[gibbinator]

Nov 14, 2014 15:42:10 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Nov 14, 2014 15:38:12 GMT -5 Marmee said:

I grew up in a town of 7000 & my mon taught in a one room schoolhouse in the town 5 miles away . . I don't have a problem with this but I think "life" including work should be more baby/kid/mom friendly in general.

7,000 is a "big city" where I'm from. My hometown has 500 people, and I didn't live in town.

Yeah our town where school was had 1500, and we didn't live in town. Not easy to fill professional positions in such a place.

[Deleted]

I read somewhere else that this woman continued to teach at 8 months pregnant with ribs she broke coughing with pneumonia.

I don't think she's got her baby at work because she doesn't care enough.

[wavepool]

My principal has let me bring O to work a few times, just for an hour, or my h has dropped him off for the last ten minutes of the day before (on days O was sick) so h could get to practice. The kids loooove it. He's definitely a distraction! I can't imagine regularly teaching class with him in the room, even as a tiny baby.
Like many have said, has to be a case of no other options for a teacher and "Sally" thought it was more than that.

[amyrushing]

Actually, as a student who just graduated, I can clear up a couple matters: 1.) She brings her child every now and then, not every day. On the day the picture was taken of her (not the one above, the one from the news), she had a doctor's appointment and no one to babysit. 2.) Two students complained. Two. Everyone else was just fine, as our small school has a very tight-knit, family-like atmosphere. 3.) She did this very modestly and completely covered. The students had already been taught the lesson and were given an assignment, and, the way her classroom is set up, their backs should have been to her. One student said she didn't even know it was happening because she was working, not looking around the room and playing on her phone. This teacher came to school last year pregnant with two cracked ribs when she just got out of the hospital for getting sick because she wanted us students to pass our end of course exams. She lead our Robotics Team to a spot in Regionals with the hours she spent outside of school working with us. She is the reason that many students who would not otherwise consider college continue their education with her help and encouragement (this is a small rural school, and most students are not expected to continue their education beyond high school). She has helped me personally get into my dream school and has prepared me for college science classes. She is not paid enough at this small school for all that she does for all of her students in and outside of class and definitely not enough to simply not show up. She does the best she can every day. If you will read the FOX16 news article, you'll see that the parents and students from the school who know the situation are taking up for her as a teacher and a mother. But that wouldn't make nearly as good of a story, would it?