Written by: Yusur Al-Salman, Redefining Traditional Project Lead The proverbial phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” has been resonating with me recently whenever I encounter the challenging experiences of parents in higher education. The proverb’s origins trace…
Spring Reflections I – Healthcare Access for International Student-Parents
By Yusur Al-Salman, Redefining Traditional Project Lead Redefining Traditional aims to unsettle the meaning of traditional student experiences to including non-mainstream experiences postsecondary student experience, specifically that of student-caregivers and student-parents. Throughout our journey, the small insights and anecdotes that…
Friendship and (Student-)Parenthood: A Short Guide
By Yusur Al-Salman, Redefining Traditional Project Lead If socializing has become something you equally dread and look forward to, you’re not alone. Many people are having mixed-feelings about return to in-person settings and interacting more frequently with large number of…
In conversation with Kyla Everall: Supporting Student Caregivers at University of Toronto’s Libraries
By Yusur Al-Salman, Redefining Traditional Project Lead Between the rising costs of childcare and the COVID-19 pandemic, entering parenthood as students seems more challenging than ever. And yet, there is growing effort to accommodate the practical needs of student-parents and…
Celebrating Black History Month: Events, Resources, and More!
First celebrated as a week in 1926 by African-American Professor Carter G. Woodson (known as Father of Black History), Black History Month is celebrated annually in the U.S. and Canada from February 1st – March 1st. It grew from a week to become a month-long celebration of the legacy and accomplishments of Black people and communities. In honor of…
Community Repost: Juggling Fatherhood and Academia
This is a re-post from the Intersections blog at the Family Care Office at the University of Toronto (learn more here!). By Gabriele Simmons– Blogger at Intersections Fathers have a huge role to play in their children’s lives. In anticipation of…
Wrapping Up the Fall term of 2021 at Redefining Traditional
Through our blog posts and weekly Facebook posts, Redefining Traditional sought to amplify marginalized voices within both the student-parent communities and the parenting community at large. We aimed to expand the definition of Redefining Traditional parenting experiences beyond the academic…
Connecting with Indigenous Motherhood Resources
By Yusur Al-Salman, Redefining Traditional Team Member “What I want for my daughter is the complete opposite of how I was raised. It means unlearning every colonial rule in relation to parenting and families and reigniting traditions that have been torn away…
Pathways to (Redefining Traditional) Parenthood
By Yusur Al-Salman, Redefining Traditional Project Member
Hello everyone! My name is Yusur Al-Salman. I’m a graduate student at OISE, in the Adult Education and Community Development program. I’m the newest member joining Redefining Traditional Initiative, and I wanted to share how my journey led me to it.
Uncertainty has followed most of us diligently into this academic year. I only recently started remembering what it’s like to plan for the coming month, instead of the coming week. In addition to that, I don’t know what pre-pandemic Canada looks like. I landed in one of the evacuation flights in spring of 2020 and it [still] doesn’t make sense that I was seeing snow in April. But the slowness of life at that period allowed many feelings and plans to simmer, between half-thoughts and half-actions. And as life picked up pace now, I find myself carefully opening a tightly shut Pandora’s box. I now allow fears and more distant plans to come up once again, to be acknowledged and discussed. One such plan is motherhood.
Finding Academic Success and Balance as a Postsecondary Student Parent
Written by J. Sparks – Redefining Traditional Team Member
“How do you do it?” As a postsecondary student parent, other parents have asked me this question. When you are a parent, the idea of taking on more responsibility by going back to school can feel discouraging. “How can I do it? Can I be academically successful and take care of my family?” I had asked myself these questions and deliberated before enrolling in graduate studies as a student parent.