My Daughter, My Colleague

In my own life, there’s a split: Science and outdoors vs. teaching and literature. My daughters seem to have divided those interests between them: Rhiannon studies plants and carries a backpack, while Emily’s finishing a PhD in literature. Because I seem to write more about hiking than teaching, it’s Rhiannon who’s appeared most often in this Blog.

But when I think about teaching, it’s Emily I call. She’s the one in our family who’s gone straight through school without a break, ever since kindergarten. She’s the one who resists learning plants. She backpacks with us sometimes, but she’s not a fanatic. At twenty-seven, she has long since passed me educationally. Proud as I am, there’s a bittersweet feeling, too: Why didn’t I do a PhD? In dividing up the two main strands of my life, my girls should each go much further professionally than I have.

Emily has always had skills the rest of us lack. She’s the one I’ll consult on hair care or clothing. Long ago, I attended a far-off editing conference. Emily, then twelve or fourteen, helped plan my wardrobe for each event, packing clothes and accessories in labeled plastic bags. Where did she learn such things?

This spring, I drove to Oregon right after finals. As soon as I reached Eugene, I settled into Emily’s big red easy chair. She was teaching a Shakespeare class. She’d created some excellent overheads to illustrate paraphrasing and analysis, based on speeches in Hamlet. No one ever taught her these skills, she said, but it was clear her students needed the help.

This is just how I teach, seeing a need and coming up with a handout to teach it. Despite my twelve-hour trip, we spent the next hour discussing teaching. Sometimes we’ve even collaborated on handouts. She’s there when I need help on a literature idea, or when I need someone who understands campus politics.

Talking shop is one of the pleasures of having a daughter who’s also a colleague. Admittedly, we teach different things and in different places, but it’s all English. Emily is working on a PhD in Renaissance Studies; I’ll never do a PhD. But I’m ahead when it comes to teaching experience. She’s never had to deal with teaching five classes at once, as I do at my community college – not yet, at least. And if she gets a good job at a small liberal arts college – if – maybe she’ll never have to deal with that teaching load.

And now I ought to stop posting blog entries and plan my lessons for fall – but first I need to consult with Emily.