Friday Fragments, May 7th
A future for developmental coursework? And context for declining birthrates.
What I’m reading…
As my own - and many other - institutions are moving away from offering developmental coursework and towards allowing students to directly enroll in college-level English and math, I found this article from last November still interesting: The Pandemic Will Leave More Students Unprepared For College. Developmental Education Must Help.
Interesting piece by Jill Filipovic on the decline in birth rates in America (for the 6th straight year) which particularly looks at the pandemic context for the most recent declines.
For wealthier couples, some of this gender inequity can be outsourced…those who can afford to pay for daycare and nannies, and perhaps a housekeeper to tidy up. I’d imagine that keeps a lot of marital discord at bay.
It also all came tumbling down during the pandemic.
When suddenly schools and daycares were shuttered, and it was dangerous to have non-family-members in your home, the facade of egalitarianism that lots of two-earner families enjoyed suddenly shattered. When it came down to it, lots of men simply decided, unilaterally, that their jobs mattered more, and lots of women were left frantically trying to figure out the rest of their family’s lives.