She Works, He Doesn't - Discussion Questions 1-3

The irony of Laurie Earp's decision to go back to work after her child is born comes from the statement made in the opening paragraph. She imagined herself having a part time job, which would enable her to spend long afternoons with her children. Her decision to enter the major working world caused her to become the "Alpha Earner" of the family. This was ironic because many parents, if not all parents, of the generation always saw the male as being the "primary breadwinner."
An Alpha Earner is when the female of the household provides the high income for her family rather than the male. This situation is occurring more frequently due to the fact that in this economy careers will have highs and lows, therefore causing couples to "take turns being the primary breadwinner." This is both a positive and negative turn of events. For some couples, such as Dan and Lynn Murray, after the wife has the children, she realizes she prefers working in the office where she can control the environment. This also allows Dan to stay home and provide for their five children. While some families show that this can be a positive outcome, statistics show it can be negative when choosing a mate as well. Economist Maria Cancian from the University of Wisconsin states that women who have high paying careers are now seen by men as a "good catch." This shows that personality is no longer what people are looking into when choosing a mate. It's unpleasant to know that the people of today are beginning to focus on more financial stability than the personality of the individual.
In these types of situations when the female begins to bring in more income than the male, there are typically two reasons for it. Either it was planned, or the husband was laid off. In situations where the husband had a decent job and was laid off, the decline in household salary is unexpected. This causes money tension in the house. It is proven that when a family knowingly has the "Mr. Mom" situation, tensions are lessened in the household. The family is able to adapt easier than the family of the unexpected job termination because the decline is something that they can prepare themselves for.

Response to Second-Grade Teacher by Katy Bracken

When Katy Bracken first introduced herself, she was very confused as to what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She was in a way wandering through life, unsure of her next step, with no long-term plans for her future. After giving up waitressing, she stumbled across a teacher's aid position and, after being hired, fell in love with the job. She states in the end of this reading that she was "redeemed by teaching." I believe this meant for her that her life had taken a drastic turn for the better. Her life had been redeemed in a sense that she knew what she wanted to make of herself, she had long-term plans for her future, and it did not matter to her what her dad thought of her decisions.
After Katy had taken the head teacher position, she had mixed emotions about beginning the challenging occupation. A few years had gone by, and she began to realize that the nerves she encountered at the end of the summer right before school started were completely normal. Once everything was normal again, she noticed more and more her love of being a second-grade teacher. I consider this love to be due to the "mutual adoration" between her and the children. She adores the love that arises from the kids she is with day in and day out. Her "ability to be affectionate has also been deeply influenced by the job."
Katy Bracken has also learned so much from becoming a head teacher of the second grade. She stated that the children "teach her" and make her "less nervous". It seems that by the end of the reading all of her previous pressures from her father to become a successful medical teacher had vanished. I believe this is directly reflected from her new found teaching passion. She had also discovered that her previous passion of dancing was not nearly as important to her anymore.
This reading has proved that work will take us in unexpected directions throughout life. Sometimes we just have to go with the flow and trust our instincts on what is right and wrong. As this story shows, it could possibly alter your life for the better.