In a photo that has now been retweeted more than 70,000 times, a professor holds a baby so his student could take notes. Why is this so notable? Not only because it’s such a sweet image, but because it illustrates the deplorable lack of childcare or any kind of safety net for young families in this country.
Here’s how it went down. Wayne Harper, a young man with a five-month-old baby girl, couldn’t find childcare but couldn’t miss his Algebra class
When the professor heard of all the commontion about the photo, he deflected the praise to his student, saying,
“part of my role and goal as
educator is to provide opportunities for students. We work to build a community in class.”Although Alexander is the one in the photo, he said the episode really shows the hard work that Hayer puts in every day.”He works two jobs, is afull time student, is involved in leadership programs at school and is a parent,” the professor said. “This photo serves as a reminder of what parents have to do every day and how important it is to have affordable childcare.”
We need more teachers like this.