Sorry, I've just got to vent!

I start teaching a beginner Lampwork class on Monday & it is now Friday, the last business day before class.  I have already ordered LW kits, glass, & metal surface protectors/gas can holders.  Then the art center office manager calls me to inform me that one student is having her wisdom teeth pulled on MON & how can she make up this time?  B/c if I can't do right by her, her mother is pulling her out of both classes [levels 1 & 2]!!!

The mother [student is 18] signed her up over a month ago.  A wisdom teeth extraction is elective surgery, right?  She could maybe have it done on, say, Tuesday, right?  But NOOooooo...  She's choosing to have the surgery on the first day of class that involves fire & lots of safety introduction & introductory technique, etc.  A class you can't miss.  CRISIS.

I offered to teach her the class at my home studio 45 minutes away on whatever day was convenient.  I still haven't heard back.  But I am angry.  This has already happened w/ 3 other students in a newbie LW class at a LBS.  One was for the first day of class & I made the same offer.  But it cost me ~5 hours of my time w/ an adult ADD student who can't keep her mouth shut no matter what.  She made it sound like she was actually out of town, but she wasn't in fact.

The other two students went on vacations during class #3, & the LBS owner forced me to make up that class w/ them at my studio.  There was clearly a misunderstanding about students & missed classes policy.  If you sign up for a 4-week course, it's up to you to get your butt there.  It is not my problem if you decide to take a vacation!  Nobody is paying me for the extra hours to teach you b/c you didn't show up for the actual class time.  I'm making next to nothing for teaching, & then you want me to teach for FREE???   That's crazy.

So here we go again.  Please tell me that my perspective is not so far out of line.  How would you  handle this?  Now I can't stop grinding my teeth... 

sher

clearly they are taking advantage of you. if you are supposed to teach a 4 session class then that's what you are committed to doing. I would not make up the time unless you are paid for it.I would have a policy that missed classes can be made up in the next session that you happen to be teaching.

It's definitely not your problem if the student has paid for the class and then can't make it for whatever reason.  The host should have a policy posted, and if they don't then you should draw one up as part of any contract you negotiate with them.  

When a student misses one of my classes I will make the handouts available to them, but I make it clear that I don't have time to demonstrate the missed projects to them - they have to catch up on their own AND present the finished pieces to me on the final day. 

 
Good luck!
 

 Almost as bad as the student who took a four hour class, did 6 projects (4 of which weren't on the "official" class project list), waited for 45 minutes in the LBS for extra tumbling and firing during another class, signed up for another class, called before the store closed the same day to sign up for anOTHER hour private class, hugged me and thanked me profusely for what they did, then called the next day to complain that they were unhappy with the class and wanted to take it again for free.

I agree that if someone signs up for a 3- or 4 session class, it's their responsibility to get there for the class. I MIGHT make an exception for a true emergency (hospitalization comes to mind), but otherwise, I agree that they are basically asking you to teach for free. I'd make a crystal clear policy for the next class, if you choose to teach at that facility again. Can you afford it if Mom pulls the kid?  

Set your policy upfront and stick to it - no makeups, no refunds, whatever - they are YOUR classes.  Keep in mind you limit the people that will take your class with those or frankly any restrictions.   However, teaching requires dealing with people and people cancel appointments, make other plans, have expectations, talk too much, spill coffee, etc...if you're not ok with all of it, maybe teaching isn't for you.

I've taught for years, now I'm surprised when everyone shows up and acts normal for a few hours.
 

Final Resolution: the art center tracked down the mom after I called again to get some answers.  Mom had decided it was easier to reschedule tooth surgery than drive, etc.  Of course, it didn't seem like she had any intention of letting us know!

This problem has drawn my attention to the lack of protection for the teacher in the contracts we sign w/ the art center.  The contracts specify what the art center expects from the teacher in some detail, but NOT what the center will provide.  Nothing about when we get paid for what, what happens w/ student cancellations, just nothing on our behalf.  I'm thinking those contracts need another paragraph or two, right?  B/c if I'm signing a semester contract, I want in writing what I get for my efforts.  That's SOP for business.

The catalog did clarify their refund policy for the students, when they could cancel & what amount they would get back.  Up to a certain point, they get 70-80% in the form of a tuition voucher for a future class, then no refund after the second class.  But nowhere is it stated what I would get if a student cancels.  That reminds me -- there's a mandatory faculty meeting coming up in FEB that I better have notes ready for.

Thanks for the tips, folks.  Which leads me to the question: do you have contracts made up which you present to your employers?  Would you be willing to share the general content?

sher

I teach at a community college, so there is a course outline, covering what will be taught in the class and the learning outcomes, and the college's standard contract, with basic information like my hourly rate, and how many hours I will get paid for, the course code etc.  The college has a minimum number of students required to run the course (I believe it's 8), but that's not in the contract - it's just their policy.  Once the course is a "go" it doesn't matter if anyone drops out.  I still get paid on the basis of the contract, and no deductions are made for the student(s) who dropped. 

(On a side note, I have had it happen that a student signed up for my course who, for whatever reason, was incapable of doing the course work.  Within an hour I knew I would have to spend an excessive amount of time dealing with that one student, and would have had to ignore the others in the class.  In that instance, I took the student aside and diplomatically explained that this course was not for her and sent her home.  I asked the course co-ordinator to give her a refund.)

You definitely need to get clarifications on what the centre provides to you.  If it's not in writing in the contract,  then it needs to be in writing in a separate letter, an addendum to the contract or a facility policy.  Is there a faculty handbook that you can get access to which might have more info?  Even just asking for answers in writing to these specific policy questions would be helpful.

It's a good idea to specify the minimum and maximum number of students.  The maximum I will teach is 18.   I don't use helpers for any classes I teach and that's as many as I can handle by myself.

HTH!
 

Dianne,

Much appreciation for sharing your info.  What courses do you teach?  Are they held in a silver/soldering type of room?

Somewhere there must be a faculty handbook that I should have recieved [& may have, I just don't recall].  But for example, the center changed check-writing companies last fall & didn't tell us anything.  I only found out from the night receptionist that faculty checks & staff checks were now being issued on different dates & for different time spans.  So I taught two 4-weekers in a row, but got paid at 6 weeks for one, & at twelve weeks for the other.  ACK!  I guess that was b/c their official semester was 12 weeks long?  Crappy way for them to save money.

I would love to able to get a following here so that I can teach w/out worrying down to the wire every time that my classes will run.  I've been doing them w/ a minimum of 3 students, & generally getting only 3 or 4.  Altho' they have a dedicated room, this center is not particularly well known for their jewelry classes, but they're big in ceramics.  I think a lot of teachers have come & gone of their own volition, so I have to figure out a way to attract enough students to keep 'em coming back & to pay some bills.  Just conjuring up course content that might catch someone's eye has been tough.  Who knows what the population who get this brochure in the mail might want???

sher

Sher -

I teach introductory and intermediate wire courses.  I've taught in all kinds of different environments at the college.  I started off in the silversmithing room, which was great, because we sat around a huge table and it was a relaxed and social way of teaching a class. The students actually connected with each other a lot better, and were more open to comparing their work. Currently I teach in the jewellery studio, where they have proper benches set up.  But I've also taught in lecture rooms where all we had was flat tables.  I think most of the students prefer the flat tables, because that's what they would use at home. 

I advertise the classes on my website, and when I was doing shows I would promote the classes through the shows as well, because invariably I would find someone in the crowd commenting "Oh I could do that!"   Since the customer is always right, I'd agree and hand them my card... A lot of LBSs are doing their own classes now, so advertising through them is no longer a viable avenue. 
 

. . . invariably I would find someone in the crowd commenting "Oh I could do that!"   Since the customer is always right, I'd agree and hand them my card...

 Oh fabulous reply!  I'm stealing it for my cache of "gee-what-do-I-say-to-that?" responses.

Recently I was at the Anitque Market in the Indy Arts section in Chicago; I happened upon a wire worker who's products were a frothy mass of very delicate [28ga, I think] wire and beads.  The work was charming and I asked how the form held up.  Her chilly reply was that it held up just fine.  0-kay, thank you!

WBF 8)