ScienceWoman is an assistant professor in -ology. She blogs about the intersection of science and real life - primarily based on her first-hand experiences. Her older posts can be found 
Alice Pawley is an assistant professor of 
From Wikipedia:
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.
Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.
Classes started last week, so the summer has already come to an end in my neck of the woods. It seems kind of silly to have a three day weekend after the first week of class, but maybe that's just me.
In any case, I don't teach on Mondays this semester, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Except that I do teach Tuesdays - all day long. And Mondays are my big teaching prep day - 8 hours of steady work that are supposed to free up the rest of my week for research.
But of course, tomorrow is Labor Day. So daycare is closed.
Which is why it is 10:13 pm on the middle night of a three day weekend and I am frantically writing Tuesday's lecture.
Education & Careers
Comments
I understand. While I still have to collect specimens for Tuesdays lab, everything I thought I could get done today got ruined because this little island shuts down for labor day!
Posted by: Mimi | September 1, 2008 8:47 AM
Oh come on. You were thinking the world cared about women raising children and all? Not in the USA anyway. Labor Day is a day off for those who OFFICIALLY labor - that is, the paid workforce. The unpaid labor is expected to go on as usual, unremarked upon and unnoticed as usual.
For some of the aides who work in my mother's assisted living home (and others like it all over the country), for nurses and doctors, for certain other kinds of workers, Labor Day isn't always a day of rest because those jobs never stop. The difference is we recognize that because we pay people for that work and we value it. Childcare, on the other hand, is still seen as some sort of luxury that special women use to facilitate their whims and desires.
Posted by: Zuska | September 2, 2008 10:51 PM