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In a conversation with several professors today, the topic of students’ kids came up, and I realized that it’s a much bigger issue than I appreciated.
As do many campuses, we have a policy disallowing unattended minors on campus. But the issue at hand was minors accompanied by their parents. What do you do when, say, a student asks if their 5-year-old can sit in class that day with them?
Clearly, the unaccompanied-minor policy wouldn’t apply; the parent is with the child.
This may not be a major issue at the Williams Colleges of the world, but in the community college world, it’s a constant.
One professor noted that she has an online class this semester in which her students are obligated to attend a certain number of events of a particular kind, either on campus or closer to where they live. In conversation with one student who mentioned a childcare issue, the professor mentioned that one upcoming event was going to be held in a kid-friendly setting, and that the student could bring her child. The student responded so enthusiastically that the professor decided to pass that information along to the rest of the class. Six different students showed up to the event with children in tow, all of them grateful for the opportunity. The professor was surprised at the number, and at the gratitude they expressed. One of the students said she had been considering dropping the class because she couldn’t figure out how to get childcare for enough events; this was a game changer for her.
Others chimed in with stories of students showing up to class frazzled and apologetic, asking if their kid could be allowed to sit quietly and read or color or play on an iPad. I thought back to my own classes, in which the occasional young visitor was actually a blessing. I taught politics, and sometimes the discussions could get a little heated. On the rare-ish occasions that someone brought their kid to class, I’d make a point of announcing at the beginning that we had a young visitor and so we should be especially careful to watch our language. The constraint forced the students to be a little more thoughtful about how they expressed arguments, which was actually refreshing.
Admittedly, there are some classes in which it would be a terrible idea. For a figure-drawing class with nude models, for instance, a “no children allowed” rule is entirely reasonable. Some lab or studio classes wouldn’t work. Clinicals are out. Depending on the subject matter that day, almost any class could be inappropriate for kids on any particular day; certainly there are acting monologues or film scenes that I wouldn’t want a young child to sit through. College classes are built on the assumption that students are adults, so sometimes they engage adult subject matter. And should the child become disruptive, the professor needs to be able to ask the parent and child to leave, regardless of subject matter.
All of those granted, though, I’d hope that most of us would be OK with the occasional young visitor. Parenting is hard, and many of our students are single parents without the money for professional childcare. Some places have drop-in childcare for students, but most don’t; it’s remarkably expensive for a college, and the liability insurance is nothing to sneeze at. And even for places that do, they may not have it at night or on weekends.
Many students would be afraid to ask, assuming that the answer would be an angry no. This might be an area in which some carefully phrased guidance offered early in the semester could make a major difference. “If you need to bring your kid to class on a particular day, please let me know, and bring a quiet activity for your kid. You’ll be responsible for supervising your child. FYI, the subject matter we discuss on Oct. 23 wouldn’t be appropriate, so don’t do it that day.” Something like that, with the ability to pull back if the demand is so much that it becomes unmanageable.
Students as parents are regular enough now that we shouldn’t be surprised.
Wise and worldly readers who teach, have you found good ways to accommodate students who are parents?
