Dear
Parents,
I
have decided to cancel the meeting scheduled for next Friday, November 8th. As the
leadership team was trying to identify the items that needed to be discussed,
we realized that they were not things that would be most effectively addressed
in a group setting. We also felt that it would be helpful to clarify some
details about the organization of WCA and how to handle concerns as they arise.
There
appeared to be 2 major concerns that surfaced on our Facebook group early this
week.
1)
How can we propose ideas for
future academic years in a way that they will be considered?
2)
How can we request
modifications to be made to a current class?
First
let me say that I love and respect the fact that we are all actively involved
in our children's educations and have an opinion about what and how we want
them to learn. We are a cooperative education group because we feel like we
want similar things for our kids and can more effectively (and enjoyably) teach
them together. However, it is also important to point out that we originally
started this group to follow the classical education style for teaching, and we
plan to continue with this model for the most part. Here is
a description of their technique from the Classical Conversations website:
Based
on the classical model of education, families meet weekly to introduce new
memory work (or grammar of a subject) and review old memory work using
Classical Conversations’ Foundations Guide as the heart of the curriculum. A
trained tutor creatively introduces the memory work and leads the classroom
time. The memory work is divided into 6 subjects: timeline/history, geography,
math, science, Latin, and English grammar. In addition to the memory work,
students also participate in a fine arts project/lesson, a science project, and
an opportunity to practice oral presentation skills each week.
Although
we have deviated from using Classical Conversations' materials in some of the
subjects, we are substituting curriculum that we feel are superior to CC's
products but fit in well with what we are already doing.
That
being said, we value each parent in our group and want to make sure everyone
has the opportunity and place to share his/her ideas effectively. We have a
leadership team that makes the decisions on the curriculum and methods that
will be used in our instruction. If you have any ideas to share about changes
or improvements we can make in future academic years, please submit them in
writing to Anita. She is not the decision-maker, but one of her
responsibilities is to organize the paperwork and make sure it doesn't get
lost. She will ensure that they are put into my hands at our planning meeting
for the following school year so they can be discussed.
Second, If
you are feeling consistently overwhelmed with the requirements of a particular
class, you have two options. If possible, talk about it with the Tutor of that
class privately. If you are not comfortable doing so, talk with me privately. Please remember that anything shared on
our Facebook group page is not considered "private". I'm not
saying this to criticize anyone because we have almost all done it at one time
or another, but let's try to keep the stuff on our Facebook page positive and
uplifting to anyone who might read it. We want to do everything we can to build
each other up.
Specifically,
there were a few parents who expressed concerns regarding the Presentations
class this week. Please know they are
being considered and the tutors for that class are looking at what changes they
can make and will clearly let the parents know what is expected.
Thank
you for all you contribute, and I look forward to continuing to have a
successful year!
Sincerely,
Mandy Maberry, WCA
Director
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