Join us for a book launch of Teachers Pumping in Schools: Feminized Bodies, Firsthand Accounts, and Advocacy & a teacher panel, where you will learn about the key problems teachers in Minnesota and across the US face when they pump at work and what can be done to create more systems of support.

Teachers Pumping in Schools is the first book written in the US about the experiences of K-12 teachers who are balancing full time work and infant-feeding. This is striking, given teaching is 87% female identified, with an average age of 42, and one of the largest professional career sectors in the U.S. In addition, there has been a common (mis)conception that teaching is a family-friendly career choice. Come learn more about the experiences of teachers and what can be done to improve structures of support.

4-4:30 Interactive arts activities + Mingle w/ food
4:30-5:15 Book overview and panel
5:15-5:30 Mingle
*Kids welcome for all 🙂

This book launch is co-hosted by the Institute of Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Elise Toedt frames the struggle of pumping at work in the context of American capitalism, which has historically devalued reproductive labor (like giving birth and caretaking for children). Toedt challenges the individualist mindset that can cause guilt for parents and instead encourages a structural interpretation of struggles to "balance it all" as a parent, looking at how systems cause personal struggles.

Three main findings are shared from Toedt's study on the experiences of lactating teachers.
1: The division of labor and the rules for the profession of teaching are in direct collision with the division of labor and rules for lactation because reproductive work like lactation is not appropriately accounted for in our concept of productive work and so time, space, and policies are sometimes "add ons" but not systemic norms.
2: The organization of time, space, and policies do not often fit the needs of lactating teachers. This often results in the difficult choice to stop bodyfeeding (or at least pumping) earlier than desired.
3: Lactating teachers in the study often experienced negative emotional experiences pumping at work, including loneliness, stress, and anger, revealing their misfit status in the current school structure.

Toedt will discuss specific actions that can be taken by individuals, schools, and districts as well as larger national changes that would make pumping at work feasible for American teachers.

A teacher panel of K-12 teachers will share stories of their successes and challenges of pumping in Minnesota schools as they navigate time, space, and policies and their recommendations for change. In addition, teachers will reflect on the experience of being a parent and a teacher in the Twin Cities, in two roles that emphasize caretaking.

It will be a great place to connect with others interested in this topic, and a place to normalize a range of experiences in early parenting as teachers.

This is a free and open event.
Snacks and beverages provided.
Children are welcome; we'll have a coloring activity area in the room.