A mathematics professor in Georgia gained massive appreciation on social media for helping take care of a student’s baby in class after the student couldn’t find a babysitter.
A student in professor Nathan Alexander’s class at Morehouse College in Atlanta arrived to a lecture with his baby on March 1. He carried the little girl to class because he couldn’t find a babysitter and didn’t want to miss the lecture.
Unexpectedly, Alexander offered to lend a hand with the child so that the young father could take notes.
Nick Vaughn, another student shared about the incident on Twitter. Hashtagged #Respect, the tweet said: “Student came to class today with his child due to no babysitter or anybody to watch her while he was in class.
“My professor NATHAN ALEXANDER said, ‘I’ll hold her so you can take good notes!’”
The tweet has been liked over 170,000 times and over 40,000 people are talking about it.
Other pictures shared on social media show the baby strapped to Alexander’s chest in a baby carrier. His hands were cradling the child, while the father was engaged in a serious conversation with the professor. The board behind them showed some complex mathematics equations.
“In fact not only did he teach the entire lecture with the child in his arms but also stayed after class helping those with questions about today’s lecture with the child still in his arms as seen in the pictures,” Vaughn tweeted.
Another student who missed the class retweeted Vaughn’s tweet, saying “@professornaite is one of my favorite professors!! Genuinely cares for the students and sacrifices his personal time always to help in any way possible. nothing but respect (Ps. Sorry I wasn’t in class today lol).”
Alexander’s Twitter profile mentions him as someone who believes in both education and justice.
“I use mathematics to engage in & write about social movements, collective action, education & justice,” his profile states.
The professor retweeted Vaughn’s tweet and thanked his students for their love.
Recently there was another story of a professor winning praise for holding a student’s baby while teaching at Arkansas State University. In May of last year, Kristen Black, a Biology major, asked Dr. Bruce Johnson if it’d be all right to bring her baby—8-month-old Izzy—to class, as her babysitter had to go to work.
Black couldn’t afford to skip class, because she was struggling with the classwork.
“I can leave if she cries,” Black told Dr. Johnson.
Being a caring professor, Dr. Johnson granted Black permission. Black then brought baby Izzy to the lecture hall, and amazingly, Dr. Johnson went above and beyond his duty.
In a photo posted by Kelly Damphousse, chancellor at Arkansas State University, Dr. Johnson is seen holding Black’s baby while teaching physics.
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