The stories I hear from my colleagues in academia with kids living at home are something else, especially if they are young. For those on tenure track, the pressure to succeed in the face of such uncertainty is staggering. Some places, like my home university, have extended tenure clocks for those who may need it and have mobilized support groups.
There will be, of course, the inevitable faculty members who simply can't understand why non-tenured faculty on research tracks with children living at home are struggling so much. After all, in their day they did not have all the legal provisions and extra protections that young faculty have today. Or just put the kids on a schedule! Scheduling is the key to success in everything! Sound familiar? Wouldn't you like those folks to see how working and homeschooling goes if their grandkids or grand nieces and nephews came over and spent a week with them?
Faculty who think that way are thinking from a highly privileged place. No one in academia in recent memory has faced the kinds of challenges COVID-19 is presenting the world. Our industry is upended and like so many things, nothing will ever be the same.
The message for these times is: Don't do things the way we've always done them.
From here on out, here's how we support each other--especially our colleagues with kids at home--during these times.
There will be, of course, the inevitable faculty members who simply can't understand why non-tenured faculty on research tracks with children living at home are struggling so much. After all, in their day they did not have all the legal provisions and extra protections that young faculty have today. Or just put the kids on a schedule! Scheduling is the key to success in everything! Sound familiar? Wouldn't you like those folks to see how working and homeschooling goes if their grandkids or grand nieces and nephews came over and spent a week with them?
Faculty who think that way are thinking from a highly privileged place. No one in academia in recent memory has faced the kinds of challenges COVID-19 is presenting the world. Our industry is upended and like so many things, nothing will ever be the same.
The message for these times is: Don't do things the way we've always done them.
From here on out, here's how we support each other--especially our colleagues with kids at home--during these times.
- Figure out how to collaborate efficiently and effectively.
- Keep everyone in publications. There's no better time than the present to work together and show a track record of collaboration that will help you get research funding in the future.
- Find ways to collaborate on research ideas that address the problems of the now. Adaptability is key to getting through this period.
- Ask our parent colleagues what they need to succeed and help them. If they don't know, help them figure it out.
Above all else, it's everyone needs to know it's OK to NOT be as productive as you normally are these days. At the same time, it's an opportunity to be productive in different ways.
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