I think I could write a paper deconstructing this myth.
But off the tips of my fingers, I would say that there is a lot of
blurring between the role of teacher and that of mother. Knopp Biklen, in
her book _Schoolwork: Gender and the Social Construction of Teaching_
describes how teachers and mothers (she looked at middle class elmentary
schools) act as if in competition with one another rather than the allies
the school discourse claims. (children as resource in short supply?)
As a teacher I admit that it feels gratifying to be "seen, recognized,
honored" by a student who as an adult can grant that recognition less
ambiguously and with more cultural capital than a child. And I am aware of
at least some of the problematics of speaking this way-both as an
elementary school teacher and as a mother (plus the doctoral student
identity)-so this will certainly sound confused.
A state I enjoy in small, steady doses.
Kathie
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Life's backwards,
Life's backwards,
People, turn around.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Sinead O'Connor and John Reynolds
Fire on Babylon: Universal Mother^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~kegoff/index.html