WWYD? Teaching in Co-op rant and advice

[cin]

Hi all, I haven't been here much because I've been so busy. One of the many things I've taken on is teaching 2 classes in dd's current co-op.

 

Last year I agreed to teach Galloping the Globe and Five In A Row classes. I found out, when the schedule was posted, that the GTG class was open to kids ages k-7. I got the class list and I had 17 kids ages 4-8 yrs old. And I have had parents complaining that their children's needs were not being met, from day 1. I was suppose to teach map skills & culture to kids who cannot read and write AND kids who were bored to death while we waited for them all in 1 hour. the class was doomed from the start. As was the teacher.

 

The FIAR class was going much better, I thought. Most of the kids are JUST 4-5 yrs, and I did switch to BEFORE FIAR because the FIAR books were too long for them to sit through and the activities were too much for them. They discussed with me the idea of maybe doing a lapbook for this class next quarter. I said I'd like to see one of the units/lapbooks to see if I thought it was do-able.

 

The schedule has been posted. I'm doing a lapbook. No, I did not skip anything. I have NOT seen any of the units. The lapbooks on the FIAR website are for the FIAR books. The BFIAR things are units. I do not know if they are lapbooks. I have 10 students. I am possibly doing 10 lapbooks a week?!?!? I have kids who cannot read or write, and a few who might not be able to glue the stuff down, so it's going to be all ME and the Teacher's assistant.

 

My biggest problem is one of the people who made this decision is one of my good friends. <SIGH> Alot of the people who go to this co-op are friends and acquaintances of mine, so they know me. And this is currently all reflecting on ME. I couldn't pull off the geography class. And now, I will be changing the FIAR class that the kids (and I) are loving. And if I don't change it, any new ones who are expecting a lapbook, because it says it in teh schedule, will be disappointed. WHY did I start this? WHY did I think this would be fun?!?

 

Input and suggestions welcome. What the heck, snide remarks too.

[angela in ohio]

The children deserve for you to be totally honest about what you need for the class to be successful. (Do it for the children! *grin*) Sit down (or email) the person who could change it and tell them the options: (1.) leave the class the way it is, (2.) make it for older or fewer children, or (3.) give you more helpers (probably one for every two children.) And if worse comes to worse, and you are stuck with this, I would do one lapbook every 3-4 weeks.

 

In the future (if I may be so bossy,) I would suggest that you put down in writing a class description with maximum number of students and age requirements. They really should have a form like this anyway; both co-ops I have been in use them.

[RegularMom]

I feel for you. I taught in a co-op once, and it was not a wonderful experience for me either. I'll probably never do a co-op again, after what happened there. It was WAY too much like regular school.

 

But... that's just me.

 

My suggestion would be to draw a very clear line in the sand regarding pre-requisites and age requirements for any future classes you teach. Whatever it is you're teaching, state clearly that the children must be of a certain age, must be able to read to a certain ability, etc etc. You could also consider capping the number of kids in a class.

 

HTH, and hang in there.

[Puma Mom]

What I would do is nicely explain to the person who made out the schedule/description of classes that there is a mistake. You are not planning to do lapbooks. You don't have to give a reason why--it's your class.

 

Any parent who freaks because there aren't going to be the 'promised' lapbooks will either (a) be fine once you explain that the ages of the students make that prohibitive for the time/adults you have or (b) pull their kid out. Whatever.

 

I definitely would not accept being railroaded into doing something that is going to make me insane and grumpy.

[Paula in MS]

Send the lapbook and instructions home in a little ziplock bag to do as homework. It is way too much work in a co-op setting unless you are doing the book and lapbook over 4-5 days.

 

Paula

[Julie in CA]

Did the description specifically say more than one lapbook? If not, then I'd pick one lapbook and make it a very slow progression that carried over from week to week. One lapbook spread out over time wouldn't be sooo bad...

But I'm really *really* sorry you're in this position. It feels terrible when things just don't go as well as you'd hoped.

[Ellie]

What I would do is nicely explain to the person who made out the schedule/description of classes that there is a mistake. You are not planning to do lapbooks. You don't have to give a reason why--it's your class.

 

Any parent who freaks because there aren't going to be the 'promised' lapbooks will either (a) be fine once you explain that the ages of the students make that prohibitive for the time/adults you have or (b) pull their kid out. Whatever.

 

I definitely would not accept being railroaded into doing something that is going to make me insane and grumpy.

:iagree:

Even though the organizers are your friends, you cannot teach the class the way they seem to think you can. It would be better to go to them now and tell them what you will be doing. Practice being all sweetness and light at home first.:D

[elegantlion]

Here is your snide remark: How good of a friend is she if SHE is determining how YOUR class will be run?

 

I agree with others that there need to be requirements and age ranges for these classes. Are your classes the only ones for younger children? I've run into that problem before when ds was little. One year there was only one class for his age group and it was more like playtime than an actual class.

 

Do not be bullied into teaching something you are not comfortable with, I would talk with your friend and see if you can reach a compromise. As Ellie said, practice the sweetness at home and smile. :D Also write down your frustrations so you are able to stay focused on the topic.

[Susan in KY]

Input and suggestions welcome. What the heck, snide remarks too.

 

:lol:

 

Just send an email to everyone and tell them because you have had to change books, you will not be doing the lapbook as anticipated. I have found that if the kids love the class, it doesn't matter if you don't do everything as planned, they prattle on about how great it is to their moms and that makes everything right with the world. :-)

 

Sorry about the geography class, though. I taught one a year and a half ago, and made them all do an oral report each week on an animal from a different place in the world, we did some map skills and whatnot. The ones who couldn't read had a hard time, but the rest loved it. The moms knew going into it that if the kids couldn't read, they'd have to help them, and it all worked out okay--but I decided to not lower the class level to conform to the youngest. the youngest just has to do what he or she can to keep up. If the majority love it, that's great and the moms are pleased.

 

Susan

Edited October 29, 2008 by Susan in KY

[cin]

Thank You all for your input. I'm not teaching in the co-op at ALL next term. As it turns out, there were some issues with the FIAR class also. I won't go into it all here, but you just cannot meet EVERY students personal needs. And honestly, it was a PRE-school class. It's not major academic program. <SIGH>

 

In all honesty, I am glad to have this off my shoulders. It turned out to me more of a burden than I ever imagined.

[SonshineLearner]

Can you say that parents must attend the class with their children. You'll do one lapbook, and the children and their parents can all do one each. Really, there's enough room to do a lapbook for weeks! :-)

[Carol in Cal.]

They are kind of 'take it or leave it.'

 

There are always people who want to negotiate everything, and that is normal. After all, we are homeschooling, most of us, at least in part to customize our children's education.

 

OTOH, it can be exhausting to deal with all the negotiations, and I just really don't do it anymore.

 

I teach coop classes, and they are free. If people want to come, they can come. If they don't like what I'm doing, they do not have to come. I pick the curricula and the approach, and I teach it that way. I welcome a diversity of kids, and parents can stay or go, but I'm very clear upfront with

A) What I will teach and when and why and where

B) What the ages are that are welcome

C) What I hope for in terms of a commitment

D) What I do and don't welcome as far as behavior (more about the parents than the children, really. Yes, it is fine if you drop off -- pickup is at XX o'clock. Yes, it is fine if you stay, even with your really cute but somewhat noisy baby. No, it is not fine if you start conversing with some other non-teaching parent in the same room with the class. Not fine at all. Just for example.)

 

I find that in most cases there are people who are really committed to a group and others who are only committed to their children. It is sometimes difficult to balance the two. I don't really engage much in discussions about different kids' needs as they pertain to my class. I'm happy to have information about them, but I treat children well and allow parents to stay and observe, and that's pretty much as far as I'm willing to go. I figure that if I'm clear (and for my classes, my email notes are quite long and thorough, and I answer questions in advance) then no one can say they didn't know what to expect.

 

I do have some attrition, usually from people who only want their children to do something that they LOVE who pretty much quit everything, or from people for whom a conflict developed. I have a mental picture of how many kids it takes to make a viable group, and I accept about half again as many and it all works out great.

 

I feel for you--what a mess!

 

I don't mean this post critically at all, just some food for thought for what actually has worked for me.