Hey...Teacher...leave those projects at school!!!

[Missy1961]

Why are you acting as though this is some new phenomenon? I did projects at home when I was in school more than 30 years ago. And never once were materials supplied by the school.

And I doubt that schools today can provide these materials. I can just hear the complaints as school taxes go sky high.

 

[okeydokey]

Assigned 9/2 and due on 9/12.

That's an extremely fair timeline.

 

[Southernmiss]

I get being ruffled about projects. My most favorite was the reading fair project ds in kindergarten needed to complete the Halloween weekend we moved to a new house...4 kids, their favorite holiday and a household upside down, but the project got done without ******** about it. That was a lesson in itself to our kids that you do what you have to even when you have perfectly good reasons not to.

 

[RobDoc]

No more attacks or arguing.

 

[tcufrog]

Snap Crackle Pop...

My kids have been assigned lots of projects and they go to private school. My "favorite" was when we took a few days off for an overdue family vacation only to discover that when we got back my older son had 3 days to complete a diorama. The diorama was assigned the day we left and the teacher knew we were leaving and was excited about our trip. Was I excited about it? No, but we made it happen without complaining to everyone.

 

[Aliceacc]

So you were the parent with the good kids!! Multiple times I have had mine tell me at 9:00 that she needs posterboard and markers for a project due the next day. For what it's worth though, she was responsible for doing the project and if she had to stay up until three am, that's her problem. Fortunately, she got to be very good at figuring out what the teachers wanted and liked and managed to get good grades on projects in spite of her procrastination.

Nope, not at all. I too have done the Sunday night runs to CVS for posterboard because one of my kids has a project due Monday. When my kids exercise those reasonable time management skills, it all works out. When they drop the ball, it's inconvenient for me.

But that's the fault of the kid, not the project.

And all this could have been avoided if the young lady in the OP had chosen to work with a partner whose timeline was convenient. To let mom know about the materials she needed in a timely manner. To choose a meal with minimal ingredients. To speak to her partner about splitting the costs.

OR to skip soccer. Or to skip the project.

Or not to take Spanish, or to drop out of school. Or if the parent in the OP had chosen to homeschool.

There are always options.

But I still stand by my contention that the project is in keeping with the curriculum, and that it's a reasonable project with a reasonable time span.

 

[Aliceacc]

Snap Crackle Pop...

My kids have been assigned lots of projects and they go to private school. My "favorite" was when we took a few days off for an overdue family vacation only to discover that when we got back my older son had 3 days to complete a diorama. The diorama was assigned the day we left and the teacher knew we were leaving and was excited about our trip. Was I excited about it? No, but we made it happen without complaining to everyone.

Opps, sorry for two posts; I didn't see this before posting.

Was the teacher really supposed to adjust his/her plans for the week to assign the project a few days early because you chose to take your child out of school for a vacation?? Seriously? And what about the other parents taking their kids out for overdue family vacations?? And the kid in the class who was having his tonsils out? And the kid who was going to miss a few days to attend his grandfather's funeral? And the kid moving to a new house that weekend? Exactly how many people was she supposed to consult before giving each and every assignment?

If the project extended 3 days beyond a family vacation, then I would imagine it's a reasonable timespan for a diorama.

I'm not saying that all projects are reasonable. But these seem to be reasonable to me.

 

[chelynnah]

Opps, sorry for two posts; I didn't see this before posting.

Was the teacher really supposed to adjust his/her plans for the week to assign the project a few days early because you chose to take your child out of school for a vacation?? Seriously? And what about the other parents taking their kids out for overdue family vacations?? And the kid in the class who was having his tonsils out? And the kid who was going to miss a few days to attend his grandfather's funeral? And the kid moving to a new house that weekend? Exactly how many people was she supposed to consult before giving each and every assignment?

If the project extended 3 days beyond a family vacation, then I would imagine it's a reasonable timespan for a diorama.

I'm not saying that all projects are reasonable. But these seem to be reasonable to me.

I took her point as being if the teacher knew it was being assigned the day they left why not communicate that to them. They could have worked out ideas and plans while they were away and hit the ground running with it when they got back. I didn't take it that she meant the teacher should have changed the project dates

 

[Aliceacc]

I took her point as being if the teacher knew it was being assigned the day they left why not communicate that to them. They could have worked out ideas and plans while they were away and hit the ground running with it when they got back. I didn't take it that she meant the teacher should have changed the project dates

That would have been incredibly kind-- had the teacher remembered exactly which student was going on a vacation on which date.

I teach over 280 kids this year. Things like vacation plans are hard to keep straight on a case by case basis.

 

[chelynnah]

That would have been incredibly kind-- had the teacher remembered exactly which student was going on a vacation on which date.

I teach over 280 kids this year. Things like vacation plans are hard to keep straight on a case by case basis.

She said the teacher was aware and excited for their holiday, so in context it would make sense.

Also many parents I know who are taking them out for longer than a day either expect some homework to be assigned or ask for it and make some time (often on the journey down and back) to see it gets done so they're not behind when they get back. So perhaps that's been their experience in the past...

 

[CarolAnn856]

That would have been incredibly kind-- had the teacher remembered exactly which student was going on a vacation on which date.

I teach over 280 kids this year. Things like vacation plans are hard to keep straight on a case by case basis.

The poster did say that the teacher knew about the trip. As a teacher, I would have definitely given the family at least a heads up about the upcoming project, even if I wasn't prepared to hand out the actual directions before the day I assigned it. I probably also would have given the student a little extra time to complete it. I agree that the teacher didn't do anything wrong, but I would have handled it differently myself.

 

[Aliceacc]

And that advance notice is fair to all the other kids, the ones not going on a vacation, but for whom extra time would come in handy?

Sorry, but I just think this whole mentality of "I'm a special case" is getting way out of hand.

We all make choices. But choices come with consequences.

 

[indimom]

Besides working as a group, which is valuable learning...
I always thought these types of projects were meant to allow creativity and individualism. You don't get that if you are buying the supplies and doing the work in class. Every group is going to end up looking like every other group. The projects will all mirror each other because they will use the same supplies and will be seeing what the other groups are doing in class.

In this case, I would assume that part of the project is RESEARCHING the cuisine in order to choose a recipe (or three). If the teacher brings in ingredients for three items (or six or nine) that's pretty limiting on the kids' learning about the cuisine.

Do I love group projects? Nope
Do I love projects that take time outside school? Nope

But I also don't like cleaning my house or punishing my kids or haggling or.....
Just because I don't like it doesn't make it wrong or impossible or impractical or....

 

[Kimberlyann11]

Nope, not at all. I too have done the Sunday night runs to CVS for posterboard because one of my kids has a project due Monday. When my kids exercise those reasonable time management skills, it all works out. When they drop the ball, it's inconvenient for me.

But that's the fault of the kid, not the project.

And all this could have been avoided if the young lady in the OP had chosen to work with a partner whose timeline was convenient. To let mom know about the materials she needed in a timely manner. To choose a meal with minimal ingredients. To speak to her partner about splitting the costs.

OR to skip soccer. Or to skip the project.

Or not to take Spanish, or to drop out of school. Or if the parent in the OP had chosen to homeschool.

There are always options.

But I still stand by my contention that the project is in keeping with the curriculum, and that it's a reasonable project with a reasonable time span.

Oh - I wasn't trying to argue or address OP's project at all. I was just amazed that your kids actually had you buy supplies prior to the night before.

 

[CarolAnn856]

And that advance notice is fair to all the other kids, the ones not going on a vacation, but for whom extra time would come in handy?

Sorry, but I just think this whole mentality of "I'm a special case" is getting way out of hand.

We all make choices. But choices come with consequences.

Yes, we all make choices, and as a teacher, I try to choose kindnes, flexibility, and compassion. I believe that there would have been nothing unfair about telling the student that when they got back they would have to do a diorama of XYZ so they could start thinking of ideas, giving them the rubric / directions when they returned, and then giving them an extra day or two to turn it in. I'm not saying you should do the same, but that is how I, prrsonally, would have handled it.

 

[Southernmiss]

Opps, sorry for two posts; I didn't see this before posting.

Was the teacher really supposed to adjust his/her plans for the week to assign the project a few days early because you chose to take your child out of school for a vacation?? Seriously? And what about the other parents taking their kids out for overdue family vacations?? And the kid in the class who was having his tonsils out? And the kid who was going to miss a few days to attend his grandfather's funeral? And the kid moving to a new house that weekend? Exactly how many people was she supposed to consult before giving each and every assignment?

If the project extended 3 days beyond a family vacation, then I would imagine it's a reasonable timespan for a diorama.

I'm not saying that all projects are reasonable. But these seem to be reasonable to me.

I didn't take the post about the diorama as a dig on the teacher, but just an explanation that yeah we all have had school projects that come up at inconvenient times. Just like life happens. But we have our kids do them any way without expecting special treatment. Because that's the adult thing to do.

 

[Jaime4004]

Not really getting the animosity towards the OP. It was a post venting about projects outside of school. The project still got done, just a vent. I happen to agree, I hate school projects, especially group projects. In 16 pages, my mind has not changed, I still find them mostly useless. And if they aren't useless, do them during school. Of course, I also find homework useless, so there's that... The excuse that "it's always been done that way," doesn't work for me. Things change all the time, often for the better. My kids still do the projects, but I can exert my right to vent about it. Other people vent about other things that wouldn't bother me, don't feel the need to attack them over it. One of my three is now homeschooled and finishing school around 2pm is a beautiful, liberating thing.

 

[mickeyboat]

Yes, we all make choices, and as a teacher, I try to choose kindnes, flexibility, and compassion. I believe that there would have been nothing unfair about telling the student that when they got back they would have to do a diorama of XYZ so they could start thinking of ideas, giving them the rubric / directions when they returned, and then giving them an extra day or two to turn it in. I'm not saying you should do the same, but that is how I, prrsonally, would have handled it.

Another way to look at it is that the teacher didn't mention the assignment before they left because she didn't the student to worry about the project the entire time he was on vacation.

 

[piccolopat]

Yes, we all make choices, and as a teacher, I try to choose kindnes, flexibility, and compassion. I believe that there would have been nothing unfair about telling the student that when they got back they would have to do a diorama of XYZ so they could start thinking of ideas, giving them the rubric / directions when they returned, and then giving them an extra day or two to turn it in. I'm not saying you should do the same, but that is how I, prrsonally, would have handled it.

I believe that when asked, teachers should provide the student with information on the work and assignments they will miss on vacation if at all possible. If the details aren't available when the student leaves, perhaps arrangements can be made to email them once they are. I don't think the student should get extra time to complete an assignment because of a vacation since that is always an optional choice. An exception might be if they are away for an entire week and I assign something on Monday that is due on Friday. I would give extra time if they were out due to illness or a death in the family since those are not something anyone can plan for or control.

 

[msjprincess]

I believe that when asked, teachers should provide the student with information on the work and assignments they will miss on vacation if at all possible. If the details aren't available when the student leaves, perhaps arrangements can be made to email them once they are. I don't think the student should get extra time to complete an assignment because of a vacation since that is always an optional choice. An exception might be if they are away for an entire week and I assign something on Monday that is due on Friday. I would give extra time if they were out due to illness or a death in the family since those are not something anyone can plan for or control.

I think it depends on the school. In our district, work is not given before vacations because vacations are considered an unexcused absence. So a teacher would not be allowed to do that.