KIM LABAW
BEING A WOMAN, WHAT MAKES YOU POWERFUL IN THIS COMMUNITY?
"So I think right now being a woman is a powerful thing anyway but in this community, I would say what makes me powerful, talking about being powerful is really hard for me just because growing up, that’s not something we did. So I would say, what makes me powerful in our community are the roles I play; I’m a teacher, I’m a mother, I’m a coach, I’m an athlete and being in the health and P.E department… I’m typically only working with men. And so to be a voice in that is really beneficial and really helps bring in that perspective in our community. Being a female in again the P.E department, I am a role model for a lot of the younger women that I teach, the same thing with coaching, just being that, hopefully, positive model is just I think what helps me be that positive contribution within our community today."
DO YOU THINK WOMEN'S VOICES ARE BEING CONSIDERED IN SOCIETY TODAY, WHY OR WHY NOT?
"I think women’s voices are becoming louder and people aren’t able to ignore as easily as before and I think that’s a great and beautiful thing. For so long, women have been stifled and disregarded, and I still think they are like there’s still a lot of progress that needs to happen but there’s a lot of progress that has been made. I think women are becoming more confident in their voices and that’s a really powerful thing. The societal norms that have been established over the decades have been that problem of just squashing that growth and that creativity, those voices. I think we still have a long way to go but people are still able to break down those barriers, screaming from the roof and I think that’s a powerful thing."
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A MOTHER? DOES IT MAKE YOU PROUD? WHAT ARE SOME ISSUES YOU FACE ON A DAILY BASIS?
"Being a parent is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life but at the same time, its the most rewarding and beautiful in my entire life. With that said, balance is everything, even for me now, finding balance in my life being a teacher, a coach, a spouse, it’s really hard. The ages that my kids are now, they still have a lot of needs, they can’t really take care of themselves 100% yet. And so for me, being needed and being wanted constantly during the waking hour, even at night, I mean I don’t sleep either. Its hard to take a step back and find that time for you, ask “okay, what do I need” and how can I fulfil those needs without impacting negatively to those people around us. I mean the expectations of having a full time job as a teacher and then going home to another full time job as a mother like nobody is going to apply for a job like, “oh you’re on call for 24 hours a day” it required heavy lifting and cleaning up gross things all the time. You don’t get to sleep, you don’t get paid like nobody is going to apply for a job like that. But at the same time with all that chaos that goes on, I can’t put into words the amount of love we feel as a mother. So I’m not trying to make it sound negative because it is so beautiful and so amazing and I signed up for it. It was something I knew and that you can prepare all you want but you just never know until you’re in it and its happening and its beautiful to watch my little guys learn and grow, be thoughtful and kind and sensitive little people that they are, you know?"
"Another thing that I want to talk about is that women need to support each other. One thing that we see a lot is that especially as a mom, people judging the way you’re doing things like, “Oh, you let your kid eat that”, “Oh you let your kid watch TV?”… well if it gives me one minute where I cannot think around anything and I cannot how anyone crawl on me, then yes, I am going to let kids watch tv or whatever it might be. We as women have different needs depending on our situation and I think we as women need to help support each other in saying those decisions are okay. Like, “oh you want to go to work instead of staying home with your kids” that’s awesome! good for you. Maybe you really enjoy your job and it keeps you balanced. And so, I think that support needs to start in our core of women in addition to reaching out and joining with allies."
"I know Mrs LaBaw as a strong woman. She's probably the only women I’ve known who teaches health as it's always been a man who teaches. For us girls, it makes us at least comfortable just talking about specific topics. I remember brainstorming first why I wanted to interview you, especially staff and teachers, I was like oh ya, I know Mrs LaBaw and later on came to think that it would be so cool to interview a teacher that’s a mother in our community and has kids, that go to school. So, just the core of being a mother in this community leads me to think that Mrs LaBaw is a strong woman in many aspects, in our community."
- Sandeepa Das
