A co-op "what would you do" question.

[5LittleMonkeys]

I'm teaching writing at co-op. The co-op is designed to be enrichment and although we do have academic type classes we don't assign grades and make sure everyone understands that the classes aren't meant to be used as the sole resource for a subject you are including in your child's course of study for the year. For example, my writing class only meets once a week for 45 minutes, and even though I assign homework, it isn't enough on it's own for middle school writing.

 

So, I have two boys (brothers) in one of my classes that haven't completed the homework from the first 2 weeks. As of yesterday they owe me 3 writing assignments. They participate well in class, are articulate and seem skilled when I call on them to come up with various sentences using different grammar elements. In other words, I don't think there is any reason why they shouldn't be able to complete the homework on their own at home. I've made sure to give explicit instructions and made sure that the work could be completed in about an hour.

 

I made it clear to everyone up front, before sign-ups, that there would be homework. I've sent out messages on our yahoo group reminding everyone of the homework each week, and given out my phone number and personal e-mail in case anyone needs to contact me to ask questions or make comments. I know the mom saw those messages. I told the boys yesterday that I'm sure their mother had them take the class so they could improve their writing and they need to do the assignments in order to do so. I don't think they will complete the assignments.:glare:

 

My question...do I contact their mom? With it being an enrichment co-op - not a class that I'm assigning grades for, should I enforce homework being completed? I'm putting in a lot of time and energy writing lessons plans and typing up and copying large amounts of models and reference papers for the students to use (some of which I saw waded up in the bottom of one of their backpacks instead of in the reference section of the notebook they are supposed to have)...if they aren't going to fully participate I feel that time and money are wasted.

 

Last year I taught preK and K (no homework) and my other classes this year are formal art (no homework) and a grammar stage writing class in which the parents are asking for MORE homework. This situation is new to me...advice?

[MrsMe]

Well...mmmm....my .02, I don't think there should be homework from an enrichment class and if there's already 3 this year? I think it's a lot.

 

I think some people will just say, "it's enrichment" and not a necessity. I mean the family's core is most important at home, and if it's not enough for writing as a core, it would be an "if I have time or want to" sort of thing.

 

But that's me. I'd let it go.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I'm teaching writing at co-op. The co-op is designed to be enrichment and although we do have academic type classes we don't assign grades and make sure everyone understands that the classes aren't meant to be used as the sole resource for a subject you are including in your child's course of study for the year. For example, my writing class only meets once a week for 45 minutes, and even though I assign homework, it isn't enough on it's own for middle school writing.

 

So, I have two boys (brothers) in one of my classes that haven't completed the homework from the first 2 weeks. As of yesterday they owe me 3 writing assignments. They participate well in class, are articulate and seem skilled when I call on them to come up with various sentences using different grammar elements. In other words, I don't think there is any reason why they shouldn't be able to complete the homework on their own at home. I've made sure to give explicit instructions and made sure that the work could be completed in about an hour.

 

I made it clear to everyone up front, before sign-ups, that there would be homework. I've sent out messages on our yahoo group reminding everyone of the homework each week, and given out my phone number and personal e-mail in case anyone needs to contact me to ask questions or make comments. I know the mom saw those messages. I told the boys yesterday that I'm sure their mother had them take the class so they could improve their writing and they need to do the assignments in order to do so. I don't think they will complete the assignments.:glare:

 

My question...do I contact their mom? With it being an enrichment co-op - not a class that I'm assigning grades for, should I enforce homework being completed? I'm putting in a lot of time and energy writing lessons plans and typing up and copying large amounts of models and reference papers for the students to use (some of which I saw waded up in the bottom of one of their backpacks instead of in the reference section of the notebook they are supposed to have)...if they aren't going to fully participate I feel that time and money are wasted.

 

Last year I taught preK and K (no homework) and my other classes this year are formal art (no homework) and a grammar stage writing class in which the parents are asking for MORE homework. This situation is new to me...advice?

 

Sounds a lot like our co-op. Fortunately, I'm pretty much the only academic-oriented HSer in it, so no one else worries about it.

 

Does their not doing the homework affect your teaching of the class, or do you pretty much keep on going either way? If it doesn't matter to the class as a whole, I would talk to the mom—once, informally—about it. I'd let her know they're not doing the homework and ask whether she cares to enforce that or not. I might also say that I'm concerned that they're not getting the full benefit of the class if they don't, but that it's up to her to enforce it if she's concerned. If she doesn't, and it's just those two kids, I'd let it go and just keep on teaching normally.

 

I know it's frustrating to put in the work and feel like it's going to waste, but if it's just those two kids, I would chalk it up to their loss, not mine.

[kokotg]

I think if you're already sending out reminders in the yahoo group then the mom already knows about the homework and is choosing, for whatever reason, not to make them do it. So contacting her individually would probably not do any good and be awkward for both of you to boot. Assuming the fact that they're not doing the homework isn't a distraction in the class, I'd let it go.

[Jenny in Florida]

I think I'd chat with the mom, maybe let her know that her kids haven't turned in the work and ask about her expectations for the class? Maybe let her know that the class may be of limited help to her sons if they don't do the assignments at home? Since it is billed as enrichment, I don't think you can get too huffy about it, but I would want to make sure you and the parents are on the same page.

[2_girls_mommy]

People do co-op classes for all kinds of reasons. If the reasons are for enrichment and social time, then they may not value the homework. It may be enough for that family for them to glean a little while they are there.

 

We participate in a co-op. We are a very academic family. We do a full curric at home. One hour at co-op there was no other class available for my 5th grader other than a full science class using a 6th grade text and with homework. We are already doing a full science curric at home, but I figured it was better for her to go in there and do some science and glean from that class than to do something on her own that hour. So I talked to the teacher and let her know that dd may not do all of the homework, but that I would have her read the book each week. The teacher was ok w/it as long as she would read it and be prepared to participate in class discussions. She doesn't want kids doing the labs that aren't prepared, and I understand that.

 

So far, the homework has been minimal, and my dd has been able to keep up with it and with her work at home. But my curric at home was carefully chosen. So it comes first if a time crunch occurs. Could be something like that...

 

Otherwise, I would just carry on with the class, and keep encouraging them.

[freesia]

I would speak with the Mom just in case the boys haven't communicated with her that they have homework. Otherwise, if it doesn't effect your teaching of the class, in an enrichment co-op situation like yours, I would let it go.

[Seasider]

Hmmm... If I'm that mom and I made the choice for my kids to take the class and I paid money for it... I'd expect teacher contact.

 

Maybe you can email her a progress report? Better yet, try a phone call, especially if there's any chance the kids are intercepting the emails. I don't mean to make them sound devious! I just mean that maybe it's a family email account and she assumes they are keeping track of their co-op messages.

 

Do you live in a state that requires a portfolio review at the end of the year?These written assignments, if completed, would be something she'd want included.

 

I would contact her, but I would be prepared to accept a "whatever!" type of response, as long as her kids' refusal to do the work isn't slowing down your class or inspiring others to neglect the assignments. She just might tell you how thankful she is, that her kids have misled her about what's expected of them, kwim?

[Mommyof4ks]

:iagree: with PP. People go to coops for different reasons. I would probably email the mom directly the assignment for this week, and if the boys do not bring it, then you have your answer. Either way, I would not worry about their participation in homework assignments. Mom may have them doing their own stuff at home, and these assignments are too much extra for them.

[sassenach]

This is what I'd say to the mom, "Hi there, I just wanted to touch base with you about the writing class. Your boys haven't turned in any of the homework assignments and I just want to know how you'd like me to handle it. If you're not worried about it, that's fine with me. They're great class participants and I can tell you're doing a lot at home with them. If you'd like them to turn in the homework, I can enforce the deadlines more strongly with them. I'll also get you a list of assignments for the semester, so you can enforce things on the home front."

 

When it comes to co-op enrichment classes (I teach and run a co-op), you need to allow the parents to be in the driver's seat. Her purposes for having her boys in the class may be being met just by their classroom participation. You need to be ok with that. The only time I have assigned homework (art history), I allowed the parents to create the parameters for the assignment. Some kids came in with 2 sentences, others had full reports with visuals. I trusted the parents to create the appropriate level of assignment for their kids and it all worked out great.

[Tess in the Burbs]

This is what I'd say to the mom, "Hi there, I just wanted to touch base with you about the writing class. Your boys haven't turned in any of the homework assignments and I just want to know how you'd like me to handle it. If you're not worried about it, that's fine with me. They're great class participants and I can tell you're doing a lot at home with them. If you'd like them to turn in the homework, I can enforce the deadlines more strongly with them. I'll also get you a list of assignments for the semester, so you can enforce things on the home front."

 

When it comes to co-op enrichment classes (I teach and run a co-op), you need to allow the parents to be in the driver's seat. Her purposes for having her boys in the class may be being met just by their classroom participation. You need to be ok with that. The only time I have assigned homework (art history), I allowed the parents to create the parameters for the assignment. Some kids came in with 2 sentences, others had full reports with visuals. I trusted the parents to create the appropriate level of assignment for their kids and it all worked out great.

:iagree:

[Catwoman]

I think I'd chat with the mom, maybe let her know that her kids haven't turned in the work and ask about her expectations for the class? Maybe let her know that the class may be of limited help to her sons if they don't do the assignments at home? Since it is billed as enrichment, I don't think you can get too huffy about it, but I would want to make sure you and the parents are on the same page.

 

This is what I'd say to the mom, "Hi there, I just wanted to touch base with you about the writing class. Your boys haven't turned in any of the homework assignments and I just want to know how you'd like me to handle it. If you're not worried about it, that's fine with me. They're great class participants and I can tell you're doing a lot at home with them. If you'd like them to turn in the homework, I can enforce the deadlines more strongly with them. I'll also get you a list of assignments for the semester, so you can enforce things on the home front."

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

[Harriet Vane]

I completely disagree about allowing the parents to be in the driver's seat for an enrichment class. I have taught many group classes over many years and have received many compliments on the quality of my classes.

 

As a teacher, the most irritating thing I have ever dealt with are parents who do not understand a few basic courtesies:

 

--The parent is not the teacher. The parent is not doing ANY of the work of preparing or teaching. Therefore the parent is NOT the teacher's co-teacher.

 

--If you make a commitment to a group, whether that be soccer or art or a writing class or whatever, you should fulfill what is expected for that group. Doing so is part of group manners. If you do not want your child to fully participate in the group, then don't sign up, because your child will slow everyone else down. The entire group will end up accommodating your child, and that is not fair OR the teacher will move at the group's pace and your child will be lost and bewildered, which is not fair to your child.

 

If you clearly communicated that your class includes homework, and they agreed to those terms, they should do the homework.

 

I would talk to the mother, at the very least because you have no idea what her understanding is. Assumptions will not help either of you. This talk does not have to be "laying down the law" but just making sure that she understands what you expect and that you know what she wants for her kids.

 

Of course, if she wants her children to blow off their commitment to your class, there is very little you can do about it. Just move at the pace you planned with those that are doing the homework, and let the mother pick up the pieces with her own kids who will not have the same opportunity to learn and practice those skills.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I completely disagree about allowing the parents to be in the driver's seat for an enrichment class. I have taught many group classes over many years and have received many compliments on the quality of my classes.

 

As a teacher, the most irritating thing I have ever dealt with are parents who do not understand a few basic courtesies:

 

--The parent is not the teacher. The parent is not doing ANY of the work of preparing or teaching. Therefore the parent is NOT the teacher's co-teacher.

 

--If you make a commitment to a group, whether that be soccer or art or a writing class or whatever, you should fulfill what is expected for that group. Doing so is part of group manners. If you do not want your child to fully participate in the group, then don't sign up, because your child will slow everyone else down. The entire group will end up accommodating your child, and that is not fair OR the teacher will move at the group's pace and your child will be lost and bewildered, which is not fair to your child.

 

If you clearly communicated that your class includes homework, and they agreed to those terms, they should do the homework.

 

I would talk to the mother, at the very least because you have no idea what her understanding is. Assumptions will not help either of you. This talk does not have to be "laying down the law" but just making sure that she understands what you expect and that you know what she wants for her kids.

 

Of course, if she wants her children to blow off their commitment to your class, there is very little you can do about it. Just move at the pace you planned with those that are doing the homework, and let the mother pick up the pieces with her own kids who will not have the same opportunity to learn and practice those skills.

 

I think it depends very much on the group involved. Your style wouldn't fly at our co-op at all. Our kids don't even have to go to class if they don't want to (though they're not allowed to disrupt the class). If I tried to teach a class with those requirements, not one single kid would take it, and not one single parent would care.

 

For the most part, though, I think you basically said the same things we did: If the kids blowing off the homework don't affect the class at all and the mom doesn't want to enforce, ultimately, there's not much the OP can do.

[Harriet Vane]

I think it depends very much on the group involved. Your style wouldn't fly at our co-op at all. Our kids don't even have to go to class if they don't want to (though they're not allowed to disrupt the class). If I tried to teach a class with those requirements, not one single kid would take it, and not one single parent would care.

 

For the most part, though, I think you basically said the same things we did: If the kids blowing off the homework don't affect the class at all and the mom doesn't want to enforce, ultimately, there's not much the OP can do.

 

It's true that it does depend upon the group. Some groups truly don't want those boundaries, and I choose to not be involved in such groups.

 

We are on our eleventh year of homeschooling. My kids have participated in several co-ops and enrichment clubs, as well as Park District sports and classes. I have had many, many conversations with frustrated teachers (whether Park District or art classes or the various co-ops) who have expressed the same frustrations that I laid out in my post. It is really not reasonable to expect someone to do the work of planning, preparing, and teaching, and NOT help with that work in any way, but still expect to be able to comment on and modify willy-nilly.

 

Think about it--if you have folks over for dinner, and have prepared a gorgeous meal that is tasty and balanced and nutritious, how would you feel if those eating started telling you that you should have prepared the food differently, or chosen different entrees? Or shopped at a different type of store? It's rude.

 

It feels just as rude to a teacher. The exception, obviously, are situations in which a child has special needs of some sort.

 

In the OP's case, she communicated in advance about the homework expectations and no one objected. She planned her classes based on that tacit agreement to do the homework. If they did not intend to do the homework, the least they they could have done is communicate that ahead of time.

 

If no one does the homework, then they will not master the skills in the way she planned or the pace that she planned, so her planning is rendered useless.

 

If only some do the homework, then some will move forward in their mastery much more quickly than others, which also creates a group that is difficult to teach.

[justasque]

Well...mmmm....my .02, I don't think there should be homework from an enrichment class and if there's already 3 this year? I think it's a lot. I think some people will just say, "it's enrichment" and not a necessity. I mean the family's core is most important at home, and if it's not enough for writing as a core, it would be an "if I have time or want to" sort of thing. But that's me. I'd let it go.

 

I completely disagree with this. The teacher made it clear up-front that there would be homework, and the parents and presumably kids decided to take the class. They made a commitment. If they wanted the homework to be optional for them, they should have discussed that up front. If they are currently having issues that prevent them from doing it, then they should discuss that with the teacher. It does not matter one iota to me how this class fits in with other things they might be doing. It does not matter whether this class is critical to their education or a frivolous "extra". Communication is a basic courtesy. If they can get to the class, they can communicate about the homework.

 

Same for sports, and scouts, and field trips, and anything else you commit to. If you sign up for it, you make your issues clear up-front, and if things change, you communicate that as promptly as you can. To do otherwise is incredibly disrespectful to the teacher and to the other families in the group and to others for whom there wasn't space because you're there.

 

Could the teacher make allowances if the circumstances warrant it? Yes, of course! But there needs to be communication about it.

 

So yes, OP, I think you should, nicely, discuss the situation with the mother. How you decide to handle it from there will depend on her response, and your co-op's philosophy on such things.

[TravelingChris]

I have thought co-op classes at a co-op that included choices for how to label your class- credit, not credit but academic and pure enrichment were the three basic choices. I was teaching a credit class. Even with that, I had kids who did not do the work- their grades showed it. How did I respond? WIth one kid who wasn't doing any of the work, I did talk with the mom. It turned out that it wasn't just my class that was a problem- she actually thought my class was very good and was going to use the same material at home,= but he was having medical issues and withdrew. With some of the other kids, I didn't talk with the parents, They got their grades, they were all 8th graders and up and most knew that their grades would suffer if they didn't do the work. They did.

 

In terms of enrichment and doing work outside of the class, I consider enrichment classes to not really need extra work as homework. My dd is taking a writing class as an enrichment class and also is taking an English class. The English class has homework. The writing class only has homework if you want it. That is a creative writing class and it was just an extra my dd wanted to take. BUt then the teacher designed it as a class for kids who wanted to do some creative writing, not for homework. Now that isn't always true because in band class, there is an expectation of practicing.

[Harriet Vane]

I completely disagree with this. The teacher made it clear up-front that there would be homework, and the parents and presumably kids decided to take the class. They made a commitment. If they wanted the homework to be optional for them, they should have discussed that up front. If they are currently having issues that prevent them from doing it, then they should discuss that with the teacher. It does not matter one iota to me how this class fits in with other things they might be doing. It does not matter whether this class is critical to their education or a frivolous "extra". Communication is a basic courtesy. If they can get to the class, they can communicate about the homework.

 

Same for sports, and scouts, and field trips, and anything else you commit to. If you sign up for it, you make your issues clear up-front, and if things change, you communicate that as promptly as you can. To do otherwise is incredibly disrespectful to the teacher and to the other families in the group and to others for whom there wasn't space because you're there.

 

Could the teacher make allowances if the circumstances warrant it? Yes, of course! But there needs to be communication about it.

 

So yes, OP, I think you should, nicely, discuss the situation with the mother. How you decide to handle it from there will depend on her response, and your co-op's philosophy on such things.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[justasque]

I think it depends very much on the group involved. Your style wouldn't fly at our co-op at all. Our kids don't even have to go to class if they don't want to (though they're not allowed to disrupt the class). If I tried to teach a class with those requirements, not one single kid would take it, and not one single parent would care.

 

That's OK if it's set up that way - in that case, the teacher wouldn't "assign homework", though they might make suggestions as to explorations and/or activities the child might wish to undertake at home. The key is the up-front expectations of both teacher and student/parent should mesh.

 

For the most part, though, I think you basically said the same things we did: If the kids blowing off the homework don't affect the class at all and the mom doesn't want to enforce, ultimately, there's not much the OP can do.

 

I disagree. At this point, she can discuss the situation with the mom. That's an important step that hasn't happened yet. After that, if there are still issues and there are no burdens to take into account (special needs kid, parent on deathbed, etc.), then she should discuss it with whoever is organizing the co-op.

 

Options include asking the student to bow out of the class as they won't be able to participate fully, providing additional help to the students in figuring out what the issue is (time management? writers block?) and helping them to find strategies to overcome it, discussing with the other students/parents how they feel about the situation and how they think that kind of thing should be handled, etc. Some of these would require the blessing of the co-op as a group.

 

(For middle school students, sometimes little things like taking a minute after class and asking them about their plans for the week, and brainstorming when they should plan to do the work, can help a lot.)

[kalphs]

I empathize with your situation. :grouphug:

I've had a similar experience with my Tolkien Literary Analysis Class.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Thanks for chiming in everyone.

 

Your opinions have helped me look more closely at how I want to deal with this.

 

Just to clarify for everyone : Our co-op is enrichment but we do have some academic classes that light homework is assigned; Latin intro, TN. History, science, Photography... Everyone at the set-up meeting voted for me to teach the writing classes (some begged) and knew up front that I was going to run it more like an academic class that homework would be assigned for.

 

I will go ahead and e-mail her asking if she is aware that they haven't turned it in and ask how she would like to proceed. I'm certainly not going to die on that hill though if she doesn't want to encourage them to do it. ...Maybe I'll adjust my lessons to include in class writing. They won't be able to get out of that.;)

 

Edited to add: I don't want them to leave the class. Based on their writing sample at the beginning of the semester they really need this exposure.

Edited September 25, 2012 by 5LittleMonkeys

[Forget-Me-Not]

In the future, I might make completing homework a requirement for continuing the class (at your discretion to allow for things like family emergencies).

[amyk]

You could also try motivating the boys with points or rewards for finishing assignments (for the whole class, not just them). This is what I did last year when not everyone turned assignments in and it worked pretty well. You can also decided what to award points for to focus on what you want them to focus on.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sounds a lot like our co-op. Fortunately, I'm pretty much the only academic-oriented HSer in it, so no one else worries about it.

 

Does their not doing the homework affect your teaching of the class, or do you pretty much keep on going either way? If it doesn't matter to the class as a whole, I would talk to the mom—once, informally—about it. I'd let her know they're not doing the homework and ask whether she cares to enforce that or not. I might also say that I'm concerned that they're not getting the full benefit of the class if they don't, but that it's up to her to enforce it if she's concerned. If she doesn't, and it's just those two kids, I'd let it go and just keep on teaching normally.

 

I know it's frustrating to put in the work and feel like it's going to waste, but if it's just those two kids, I would chalk it up to their loss, not mine.

 

:iagree:

[Wendi]

I'd mention it to the mom. "I enjoy having your sons in my class! Their contributions to discussion really add a lot. I do think they'd get more out of the class if they completed the homework assignments, though. Are they doing a lot of writing at home already? Will they be doing the homework for this class?" If she says, it's just enrichment, I don't care if they do the homework, then you know you can stop asking them for it. However, I think it's kind of odd to have some kids in the class doing the homework, and some not. But if that's how your co-op works, then I guess kids will get used to it. (I can't imagine signing my kid up for a writing class - even "enrichment", that has a brief writing assignment each week, and not expecting him to do it, but that's just me. It would be like signing him up for a drawing class, but not expecting him to draw.)

 

Wendi