Academic parents - welcome to the Senior Common Room of Requirement

[BoffinMum]

Welcome to the Senior Common Room of Requirement. You find yourself in a discreet space with a view over rolling lawns from large period windows, and a roaring log fire, with the College dog asleep in front of it. A number of comfortable Chesterfields and wing-backed armchairs are thoughtfully positioned around antique occasional tables. A selection of reading matter is on the medieval chest near the entrance, including New Statesman, Economist, New Scientist, Nature, Prospect, THES, every conceivable daily paper, Spare Rib and the Socialist Worker. Peters, the College butler (sponsored by a successful alumnus with a top domestic employment agency, so at no cost to the public purse) is on hand to fulfil all necessary demands. This is the place for MNetters of academic leanings, and post docs and student parents are welcome to knock on the door should they require academic or pastoral advice. Sit back, quaff your sherry, Fair Trade coffee or even a smoothie made from fruit grown in the College grounds, and enjoy.

I'm off to get all nostalgic with Spare Rib

I don't think I have ever read a copy of Spare Rib. Isn't that dreadful.

Boffin actually, not that dreadful.

Just marking time in here between College chapel (lovely virtual service with a surprisingly all-female choir, no wonder it was so good) and roast lunch in the virtual Fellows' Dining Room. What gorgeous snowdrops we have this year? Must pop over to Anglesey Abbey to the winter garden at some point to see theirs.

Boffin - are we the only people in here? is it the vacation (now there's a word I haven't used since I left Oxford...)

Obv the others are all writing papers.

Oy! You lot! Stop it!

I'm here. Can I join?

p.s. not writing a paper

Jolly good show. Pre-prandial sherry?

hello jenny; have a tipple of something tasty. I'm writing a paper (well, essay/chapter) but am not writing it at the same time IYKWIM...avoiding, avoiding. Horribly overdue.

think I might hang around here for a bit and read some articles about the inexorable decline of the humanities...

Still not writing a paper time now. Maybe tomorrow?

ha, ha: 'maybe tomorrow'. Story of my life...

Am writing one now and very exciting it is too!

I wish they had cheerleader-style coaching for paper writing like they do for childbirth. "Come on, just push, it's nearly there, you can do it, tha's right, pant, come one, I can see the introduction coming out ..."

if so i would opt to have all my papers delivered by section.

I would be at least 6 months overdue

At least you'd get a bit of toast afterwards!

and there would be no (or very little chance) that the journal (aka the dad) would reject it once it had been produced!

Even better

Did you read that this in THES about the journal of ultimate rejection this week, where all papers are automatically rejected (unsurprisingly).

Boffin - I loved that - you'd have a 100% acceptance rate for articles then, wouldn't you? (if you follow my logic )

now I know why I never get anything done: DD (2) not well for the last couple of days (and a bit 'off' for a week or so before that - cranky, tired) yesterday had high temp, cough, snots so have had her attached to me for much of my 'research' day, only managing to surgically remove put her to bed about an hour back, at which point she promptly threw up everywhere. Poor little mite.

Has anyone else noticed that the rate of publication outputs goes up for male colleagues with small children in inverse proportion to the degree that they go down for female ones? Or is that just my place? I think they go to work more - or perhaps make better use of their time when they are there? Also very good at using kids as reasons not to engage in numerous tedious, time-consuming, but ultimately essential albeit trivial departmental tasks, hence giving them more time to do research (usually because there is a woman at home who looks after kids full-time). I'm sorry; it's not been a good day - sick child, deadlines looming

spot on, drivingmisscrazy. My male colleagues with kids often have to leave at 4 to be home for bath time, and can't possibly do evening seminars. When looking after the kids, they are apt to bring them to work. The mothers, most of whom are part-time so paid for less hours anyway, never leave early and rarely skimp evening duties. And boy do the dads get fawned over.

"And boy do the dads get fawned over" - yes, here too...aaargh. Drives me nuts (I should add that I am the non-bio mum so have never had any kind of parental leave, and am not entitled to any - possibly also slightly touchy on this point...)

Come to think of it, most of my male colleagues with yong kids do the school/nursery run and disappear off at 3 or 4. Not always online later either. How come I don't get to do that?

I have to as dh is not an academic and it cuts my days in half, making doing anything more than the bare minimum of teaching and admim. v difficult.