MU STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT WORK/FAMILY BALANCE FROM REAL MOMS
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The modern woman has many work and family life choices, and each woman's balancing act is unique. How do young women and men, who have not yet faced these options in their own lives, learn about the pros and cons?
By taking Psychology 351 -- Psychology of Women at the University of Missouri Columbia, guided by instructor Laurie Mintz, associate professor of educational and counseling psychology. For the nine years that she has taught the class she has included a motherhood panel to give her students the chance to meet real moms and compare the perceptions they've gathered from their textbooks.
This semester's panel, to be held next week, includes a single mom, a full-time working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a mom who works part time and a step-mom who chose not to have children of her own.
"All of the women on this panel are really balancing this motherhood thing," Mintz said. "The basic philosophy of my class is that we can learn from individual women's experiences. Each woman on the panel has chosen something different for herself and can talk about how things are working out."
The mothers on the panel will discuss and answer students' questions about their experiences with motherhood. In the past, topics the students asked about have included what it feels like to be a mother, the hardest part of motherhood, how household chores are divided, sex life changes after a baby and any regrets the women have about their life choices.
"The panel has historically been one of the students' favorite classes of the semester," Mintz said. "They can read about motherhood in their textbook and I can lecture all day long, but this open, honest talk with real people about why they chose what they did and how it's working for them allows the students to learn first hand in a memorable way."
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The motherhood panel occurs every semester. If you would like information on how to contact a student who observed this panel or more details about attending the next panel, please contact the News Bureau at (573) 882-6211.
Contact: Teressa Tignor Gilbreth, senior information specialist, (573) 882-9144, [email protected]
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