Business as Usual: Reflections on Life as Mothers and Educators during a Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic marks a major turning point in contemporary history. Teachers and those in the education field face unique challenges regarding the balance of family and work obligations, coping with the stress of preventing infection, and helping students understand the multitude of social and political events that are occurring simultaneously with the pandemic. It is important to record our lived experiences to provide insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the history of education in the United States. This poster presents the findings of self-study reflections of four women in four different stages of their personal life and careers in education. Our major findings show that each woman experienced various pressures concerning parenting, balancing family and professional obligations, and navigating the world of academia. We no longer feel like we can separate being a mother and an educator. Instead, we all feel the pressure to be both the best mother and best educator at all times simultaneously because whether in a pandemic or not, life must go on-business as usual. We hope that this research leads to future studies with regard to the impact and changes the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the teachers and teaching in K-16 settings.