Teachers Pumping in Schools

Teachers Pumping in Schools chronicles the daily, visceral experiences of US teachers balancing infant feeding and full-time work.

Based on interviews with K-12 teachers expressing milk at work in the United States, the author uses poetic inquiry to bring to life the journeys of teachers as they navigate time, space, and policies related to pumping and to parental leave. Teachers Pumping in Schools documents teachers sharing their joys, frustrations, advice, and movements to change the structure of schools to become more friendly to the bodily needs of lactating employees. Perspectives from public health officials, school administrators, and community experts further contextualize the problem of insufficient scheduling, inadequate space, and the lack of parental leave often encountered by lactating teachers. Grounded in feminist and social reproduction theories, the author illustrates how theory can be a practical tool for reimagining everyday practices within the current patriarchal, capitalist design of schools.

This forward-thinking volume is essential reading for researchers, activists, and educators interested in feminist theory, social reproduction theory, poetic inquiry, arts-based research methodology, and social justice education.