Black Hawk Down

I learned a new word last week: helicopter parent. Unfortunately I learned it the hard way, a parent complained about an assignment I'd given the students in my American Public Policy course. It was a somewhat innovative assignment (service learning) but by no means an unproved learning method. The idea is that the students perform a given number of hours of community service over the course of the term. The service must be with an organization that deals in some way with public policy. My suggestions were the local Food Bank (poverty/hunger policy) and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (health policy). At the same time, they should keep a weekly journal where they tie in their volunteer work with the things we are reading about in class.
I chose this assignment because I wanted class to be interesting and fun, I wanted the students to learn by doing instead of just reading about things. I tried to impress on them that while this would take time, it was otherwise an 'easy A' in the sense that its not a test, or a paper which would naturally be graded in a more stringent way. I received an email from a parent last week who complained about the assignment, and said he didn't let his daughter work during school. I sent him a reply, where I described what service learning is, why I had chosen it, and how it fit with the course topic. At the end, I mentioned that this assignment counted for nearly a third of the final grade, so it was important, and that if his daughter wasn't in favor of the assignment she should find another class.
Uh. oh. I then got two emails in two days, each more rude and confrontational (he mentioned my tenure status and said he could influence it, he likened me to an 'overzealous Eagle Scout who had bitten off more than' I could chew, he described it as 'social slavery', and remarked that only prisoners are forced to volunteer against their will in this country).
My chair and my dean have spoken with him, and they assure me that I do not have to respond to any more of his emails if I receive them. I am just hoping that I never hear from him again.
I have written many potential responses but I erase them all, mainly because I am trying to take the high road, but it is SO DIFFICULT to not respond when being attacked.

She has not dropped the class.

I offered an alternative assignment: a 20-page research paper on policy implementation (the topic of my dissertation and something I have some expertise in).

I am mostly shocked that parents are involved at all to this degree in a college student's life. What a nightmare. I am also kind of angry that the students may take the paper option, which will increase my burden, and no matter how brilliant these students may be (questionable), the likelihood that they'll make an A on this paper is not high. Mike and I both spent a lot of time editing in the Netherlands, and I have really high standards for written work (whether or not this blog gives evidence to the contrary).

So, last week was consumed with dealing with this situation, which I do not have time for. I feel much better this week, especially because I have not heard again from this gentleman. it did make for MANY an entertaining story at the family reunion.
Mike was in charge of photos for that event, and I am not sure what he managed: the reunion is much different when you are chasing two little buggers around the whole time. We will go through the camera and make a weekend post when we come up for air midweek...