One of the homeschooling groups that I belong to formed a cooperative about a year and a half ago. My family does not participate in the cooperative because it is not the best fit for us. As a family, we would prefer to barter skills with another family. Exchanging knowledge in a more one on one basis feels comfortable and less stressful. It is also more flexible for us that way.
Co-ops, as they are more commonly known, come together because a group of parents got together and decided to volunteer their talents and experiences and "teach" a class. One parent may be strong in math and another may be fluent in a second language. Some older children can even teach a class. For example, if someone has a teenager who took dance lessons as an itty bitty, that teen may want to teach a group of 5 to 7 year olds some dance steps.
For those parents who are not hosting a learning activity, it is important to be present to be responsible for your own child(ren). Co-ops are usually not an experience where you can drop off your child(ren), run errands and pick them up in a couple of hours. Medical issues, behavior issues and meltdowns happen to the most angelic of offspring. It is also important to be available to provide any possible assistance.
When you choose to participate in a co-op, it is a commitment. Most co-ops operate in block sessions. For example, a co-op may run a series of classes for 6-8 weeks, break for a period and then start up again for another 6-8 weeks with new classes.
Most co-ops are free. Other may choose to charge a "tuition" fee or ask for a small fee to cover materials.
Cooperatives are not for everyone. Visit a co-op class before deciding to join. Get to know some of the members and understand the philosophy and/or expectation of everyone involved.
Co-ops aren't as bad as you make them sound....
ReplyDeleteCo-ops aren't bad but, it is true, that they aren't for everyone:)
ReplyDeleteWell, I am going to throw in my 2 cents. There are so many different types of co-ops, and so many different flavors of homeschoolers, it's too big a subject to generalize. Things look a certain way to families based on how long they have been schooling, what their children are like and their ages, what their goals are, and numerous other factors.. I can't even imagine them all! Co-ops have been lifesavers for some families, and it really depends on the needs of the family and the type of co-op.
ReplyDeleteThe type of co-op you all have in Claremont sounds like what I think of as a, "beneficial exposure" co-op... a co-op where the goal is not to become proficient in any one area, but to expose children to various areas of interest and activity, along with the social factor. This is usually nice for very young children whose academic needs can be met in a small amount of time each day, or in four days a week instead of five, or in some other less structured fashion, depending on the family. There's time to participate and dip the toes of children into many different subjects that stimulate their little brains and imaginations. Parents cannot lean on the co-op to actually educate their children to a certain level of knowledge or proficiency in any area, but then, that was not the goal of the group or meeting together in the first place. The children gain a "liberal arts" type of exposure, enjoy group activities, and get to do & learn some neat things together while forming relationships. It's amazing what children can retain in such a pleasant setting. Drawbacks or cautions associated w/this type of co-op might be for families who are having a hard time accomplishing the basics in academics and aren't home enough to be consistent. No sense in teaching a child African drumming if they never learn their multiplication facts, and let's face it, that happens at times w/families who are over-committed outside the house in so many extras that the children don't get their basics. Of course, many families can accomplish both.
There is another type of co-op (among probably many other types) in which all the participating families are using the same curriculum or generally the same scope and sequence in educating their children. So, the co-op day is not a "lost" day of academics each week, which may be the reason that many older students (with larger work loads than younger homeschoolers) cannot participate in the "beneficial exposure" type of co-op. In the type of co-op where the families have agreed upon a course of study or curriculum to complete, and the day together each week is a reinforcement of the past week's work, and a chance for the next concept to be taught, experiments to be done, etc. One parent may take on instruction of say, chemistry, and manage that. The students and their parents work on the coursework four days a week, and then more instruction for the next "leg" of the curriculum occurs on the co-op day. Sometimes students (particularly older students) have to "answer" to the co-op teacher in that area, but not always--the group decides how they want it to work. This type of co-op would be feasible for our family at this stage of our homeschooling journey, even though I like both types of co-ops, and probably many others. With older children in the mix, larger school load, and other activities to which they must be driven, etc... any co-op we would be part of regularly would have to be part of our school work.. part of the goals needed to graduate and meet the goals the child/we have for them. Other than that, there is just no time. This type of co-op also helps parents who feel like they cannot juggle the older kids' coursework well enough, or aren't knowledgeable enough to teach the content effectively. We have met this need through using The Potters School online www.pottersschool.org, but there are various ways to do it, and in other areas of the country, it is commonly done through the type of local co-op I have described. In this area, the only co-op like this of which I'm aware is Classical Conversations. It is an excellent program, but difficult to "jump in" if you have not done a strictly classical education (latin, logic, etc) up to the point that you jump in.
I am sure there is much more to say than I have thought about, but there are 2 cents for what it is worth. I read Vanilla's post very quickly and maybe I missed it, but I didn't sense a disapproval of co-ops, just a statement that it was not for her own family. My only thought when I read the post was that there are so many different ways co-op can work for different families, that it would be tricky to write a post about co-ops since they really all are different, and the author may only have been exposed to one thus far (it sounded like).
Anna