Advice Needed - Program Melt-down in the works

[I FANCY YOU :) and VOTTO]

Hi everyone,

I'm a student in a program that is designed for people who work full time. We meet two week-day evenings a week for four hours, and then for 6 hours on Saturdays. Almost everyone in my class does work full time. Many of us have spouses and children.

To make a long story short, the program has been a near-nightmare from the start (August 2006) with instructors who didn't seem to know their material ("Well I think that's piriformis."), material not even being covered (aren't we supposed to learn Origin and Insertion in Kinesiology? Ours was anatomy plus palpation), miscalculation of hours missed in the first semester, and schedule changes galore. We are on our third coordinator since we started. The newest one took over January 1. Myself and my fellow classmates are getting fed up.

Anyway, recently our new coodinator told us he made a mistake on the calendar, and gave us 4 days notice for an event that we are required to attend on a non-class night. Part of the event is during the time that many of us work. The announcement went over like a ton of bricks, let me tell you. I started to argue in class, but it seemed as if no one else had an issue with it so I shut up. THen I learned that LOTS of people had an issue so I wrote the following to our coordinator.

I'd like to know if this sounds OK. Part of me worries that maybe he will see this post, but really it doesn't matter since I'll be sending him the email anyway.

Here it is: (It's lengthy. sorry)

[Mr Massage Coordinator Man],

This is not meant to be a confrontational letter and I hope it does not come across as such. However, I’m writing because I think you ought to know what is going on in class. Ever since the semester started there has been a growing undercurrent of anger “in the ranks.” If something is not done quickly and our concerns are not addressed, then I am afraid you will have a real mess on your hands. I’m trying to give you a heads-up before too much doo-doo hits the fan, if you know what I mean.

Let me start by briefly saying that a lot of us like you a lot. We think you’ll do great things for the organization of the program. It’s obvious that you know your stuff. I for one like the fact that you expect us to work hard, be on time, and pay attention in class. And I think that in your rush to take on all of your new responsibilities and get things in order in a program that is full of problems, maybe you’ve not had time to stop and think about your students.

I know you’re a busy guy, so I’m going to get straight to the bottom line and most recent event that has us upset.

The fact is that many of us (your students) feel that you do not respect us or our time.

This stems most recently from the fact that you announced an event we are required to be at only 4 days in advance. And it’s obvious that you plan to penalize us if we cannot attend. You already know that I have changed a scheduled massage (needed to keep me functioning, not just for relaxation)to attend the event. However, to do so means that I will miss 2.5 hours of work (I’m just waiting for my boss to reprimand me) and an hour of class on Thursday. Instead of having my massage Wednesday and then being able to come home and take a hot bath or use ice as my therapist often recommends, I’m going to have to come sit in a classroom right after my massage on Thursday, not to mention having to run around and get dinner before class. Plus, my husband will miss more than an hour of work because we share a car. A good number of others in the class have to change their plans for Wednesday as well. Some of them are far more upset than even I am. I overheard a few of them saying that they would be making calls to the powers that be at [massage school name] to complain.

I’m a firm believer in the chain of command, and I really wish that we could all have sat down and really discussed our concerns before it came to this.

We understand that you put the [event] on the wrong month on the Calendar, and God knows we all make mistakes. However, from our point of view, you are penalizing us for a mistake that you made. I, and I’m sure many of my classmates, would really appreciate if you would consider making Wednesday an optional event. If that is not possible then many of us feel the event should be completely cancelled. Those of us who have to give a certain amount of notice at work before we take time off should not be penalized 5 hours of time from the massage program.

At this point I plan on being there on Wednesday, but to be honest I’m so upset, angry, and stressed about this whole thing that I won’t be able to give massages (lest I inadvertently work too deep and hurt someone). Today, I’m dealing with quite a bit of pain as well and had to cancel a massage that I was supposed to give. Hopefully by Wednesday I’ll feel better.

As for the other issues that have come up about our disappointment in the program, I feel it would be better for others to bring them up because they are not my issues per se.

Again, [Mr Massage Coordinator Man], I know that things are very busy for you right now and that the calendar mix-up was an honest mistake. I’m sure you remember what a delicate balance it is as a student in this program to make sure school, family, work, and other obligations are met. Four days of notice for a required event just throws a wrench in everything for all of us, and I just felt it was important that you know what is going on and what is being discussed.

Thanks,

Kemilyna

 

[deduceit]

My personal opinion is that it's a very nice letter. My professional opinion is that it's too wishy-washy.

If you want to make anything change, you need to send a fact-based letter, leave out the personal remarks, however kind they are. The personal stuff makes it seem like a request, one that you will not be bothered too much over if they just ignore you.

Once you have a short, direct and fact-based letter, you need to get several other people to sign it with you, and then mail it, with copies to the other instructors.

If the intent of your letter is just to communicate frustration, I'd leave it as-is, but be aware that things will likely not change.

 

[Miss Blue & Riley too.]

Breathe,

I was hoping you'd respond because I know you are a person who is very good at expressing yourself. I, until recently, have never been one to stir anything up (even at the expense of my feelings or beliefs). It's just been within the last few months that I have learned to speak up and let my views be known at all! Even still I was worried that this letter was too mean and demanding - ha ha. Apparently not.

Thanks so much for your quick response. I'd love to hear any other advise.

Kemilyna

 

[irland1553]

Hey, Breathe!

Know it's off topic but had to tell you that I love your new moniker as "Muscle Squisher!"

Ah, the fond memories we have from this forum!

Squish on!!!

Sherry

 

[Alek]

Hehe, not afraid to call it what it is, Sherry. :

Kemilyna, I'm going to try to post this really quick, since I know you're on a time crunch. It's pretty messed up (formatting,) but it might help you with your ideas a little. Your critical facts are in your lead-in to us, but not really found in the body of your letter. I've removed some of the completely irrelevant, though nice, statements in your letter. I've put my observations inline, in bold, and italicized some of the more important points you've already made. If it looks like jibber-jabber, please feel free to disregard. :

I'm a student in a program that is designed for people who work full time. (Their target market. This is important. You chose the program because it sold you a package that promised to be adapted to the scheduling necessities of the full-time employed. )We meet two week-day evenings a week for four hours, and then for 6 hours on Saturdays. (A large time investment, for which you have already had to make special arrangements.) Almost everyone in my class does work full time. Many of us have spouses and children. (Ditto most of your class. Special arrangements.)

To make a long story short, the program has been a near-nightmare from the start (August 2006) with instructors who didn't seem to know their material ("Well I think that's piriformis."), material not even being covered (aren't we supposed to learn Origin and Insertion in Kinesiology? Ours was anatomy plus palpation), miscalculation of hours missed in the first semester, and schedule changes galore. We are on our third coordinator since we started. The newest one took over January 1. Myself and my fellow classmates are getting fed up. (These are your facts: Turmoil in a program where the majority of participants MOST need stability.)

Anyway, recently our new coodinator told us he made a mistake on the calendar, and gave us 4 days notice for an event that we are required to attend on a non-class night. (special arrangements need additional notice.) Part of the event is during the time that many of us work. THen I learned that LOTS of people had an issue so I wrote the following to our coordinator.



[Mr Massage Coordinator Man],
I’m writing because I think you ought to know what is going on in class. Ever since the semester started there has been a growing undercurrent of anger “in the ranks.” If something is not done quickly and our concerns are not addressed, then I am afraid you will have a real mess on your hands.

(I’d write this succinctly to address the specific issue of the one class gone awry. He is aware of the schedule problem, he created it. He can’t possibly think it’s all fine. Don't be afraid to call a spade a spade.)

Let me start by briefly saying that a lot of us like you a lot. We think you’ll do great things for the organization of the program. It’s obvious that you know your stuff. I for one like the fact that you expect us to work hard, be on time, and pay attention in class.

(Nice, but irrelevant. You gave him your tuition money to run a program, not to be a nice guy.)

The fact is that many of us (your students) feel that you do not respect us or our time.

fact that you announced an event we are required to be at only 4 days in advance. And it’s obvious that you plan to penalize us if we cannot attend.


You already know that I have changed a scheduled massage (needed to keep me functioning, not just for relaxation)to attend the event.

(He likely can’t concern himself with this. Massage is “optional.”)

However, to do so means that I will miss 2.5 hours of work (I’m just waiting for my boss to reprimand me) and an hour of class on Thursday.

Plus, my husband will miss more than an hour of work because we share a car.

(This is a VERY IMPORTANT POINT. His scheduling problem is not only affecting YOUR employment, but quite possibly your spouse's.)
A good number of others in the class have to change their plans for Wednesday as well. Some of them are far more upset than even I am. I overheard a few of them saying that they would be making calls to the powers that be at [massage school name] to complain.


wish that we could all have sat down and really discussed our concerns before it came to this.

We understand that(—doesn’t matter if you understand, it is a colossal mistake.) you put the [event] on the wrong month on the Calendar,

However, from our point of view, (…..your POV goes unstated it is the intent of the letter, what follows is fact: ) you are penalizing us for a mistake that you made. I, and I’m sure many of my classmates, would really appreciate if you would consider making Wednesday an optional event. (Don’t ask, tell. Wed must be an optional event, it must be moved to give sufficient notice, --customarily 2 weeks for a mandatory event, or it must be cancelled.) If that is not possible then many of us feel the event should be completely cancelled.


Those of us who have to give a certain amount of notice at work before we take time off should not be penalized 5 hours of time from the massage program. (This part should also be stated more strongly. “For those of us enrolled in this program due to obligations to employers, insufficient notice on your part could jeopardize our livelihood.” Etc.)

At this point I plan on being there on Wednesday, but to be honest I’m so upset, angry, and stressed about this whole thing that I won’t be able to give massages (lest I inadvertently work too deep and hurt someone). Today, I’m dealing with quite a bit of pain as well and had to cancel a massage that I was supposed to give. Hopefully by Wednesday I’ll feel better. (While it is of great concern to you, your stress and pain is not his problem, legally or otherwise. Concrete detrimental issues caused by his mistake ARE his problem. If you are given the ultimatum to miss the program or lose your job, he has caused financial harm to you. In this instance you need to get out your contract with the school and see if last minute changes are addressed, or if you have an “as is” clause in the school tuition contract. As it stands, the program you contracted for sounds substantially different than the one you were promised… especially considering sub-standard “educators,” schedule confusion and the lack of consistency on hours promised.)

As for the other issues that have come up about our disappointment in the program, I feel it would be better for others to bring them up because they are not my issues per se. (It is your place. You are self-appointed spokesperson for the group by sending this letter with content above. It’s not a bad place to be. Use it. Just make it about facts, not emotions.)

Again, [Mr Massage Coordinator Man], I know that things are very busy for you right now and that the calendar mix-up was an honest mistake. (Doesn’t matter if the mistake was honest or sneaky. Leave this out. No wiggle room. It seems harsh, but it’s really just being professional… which is what you expect this program to be, yes?) I’m sure you remember what a delicate balance it is as a student in this program to make sure school, family, work, and other obligations are met.(Again, irrelevant. It is your responsibility to work out your delicate balance. It is his responsibility to create a stable schedule so you can plan.) Four days of notice for a required event just throws a wrench in everything for all of us, and I just felt it was important that you know what is going on and what is being discussed.(This is the key point and bears repeating at the end. Leave off the part after the comma. “We require sufficient notice in order to comply with the requirements of this program. Due to financial and work obligations, we would like to make a formal request that any mandatory classes, or classes that will affect the outcome of our grades and training, be scheduled and posted at least 14 days in advance.” … or something to that end. )

 

[bkylyt990]

P.S., you should CC the director and the owner(s) of the school also.

Also, it should all fit on a single page. Multi-page letters of complaint tend to lose their "oomph."

 

[wag mayonsE]

i don't like the letter. not specifically your letter but the idea of it. first of all your instructor isn't going to care that you're missing your massage. i'm sure he's not going to care about you missing work or what your boss is going to do either. what i would do is tell this guy that 4 days is not enough notice for something mandatory and is it possible that something else can be arranged for you to attend in place of this event? if it's not, you'll have a decision to make on whether you should/can go or not and then suffer the consequences if you don't attend.

good luck with this one. hopefully school is finished for you soon!

 

[aladdinwa]

Well the deed has been done. I emailed the following last night. It is long, and addressed only to our coordinator. If changes are not made, it will be sent to his supervisors (in a shortened form). I strengthened many of my statements but left in some of the nice things too. I did not want him to feel as if this was a personal attack as he can be defensive at times.

I feel good about this, whatever may come of it. These things needed to be said. If, worst case, I get booted out of school then so be it. I know a few good lawyers. Anyway, here it is (in all of its lengthy glory). I didn't get the 1-page suggestion 'til it was too late.

[Current Coordinator],

I’m writing because I think you ought to know what is going on in class. Ever since the semester started there has been a growing undercurrent of anger “in the ranks.” If something is not done quickly and our concerns are not addressed, then I am afraid you will have a real mess on your hands. I’m trying to give you a heads-up before too much doo-doo hits the fan, if you know what I mean.

Let me start by briefly saying that a lot of us like you a lot. We think you’ll do great things for the organization of the program. It’s obvious that you know your stuff. I for one like the fact that you expect us to work hard, be on time, and pay attention in class. And I think that in your rush to take on all of your new responsibilities and get things in order in a program that is full of problems, maybe you’ve not had time to stop and think about your students.

I know you’re a busy guy, so I’m going to get straight to the bottom line and most recent event that has us upset.

The fact is that many of us (your students) feel that you do not respect us or our time.

This stems most recently from the fact that you announced an event we are required to be at only 4 days in advance. And it’s obvious that you plan to penalize us if we cannot attend. You already know that I have changed a scheduled massage. However, to do so means that I will miss 2.5 hours of work and an hour of class on Thursday. Plus, my husband will miss more than an hour of work because we share a car. A good number of others in the class have to change their plans for Wednesday as well. Some of them are far more upset than I am. I overheard a few of them saying that they would be making calls to the powers that be at [main massage school office] to complain.

I’m a firm believer in the chain of command, and I really wish that we could all have sat down and discussed our concerns before it came to this.

We understand that you put the [event] on the wrong month on the Calendar. We all make mistakes. However, by requiring us to attend an event at such short notice you are penalizing us for a mistake that you made, just as we have been penalized for the mistakes that [previous coordinator] made last semester. This is unacceptable.

This is a program designed for working people. We have already made a huge time investment because we are passionate about this field. That does not change the fact that we must make a living while we are in school, and many of our employers require more than 3 days notice for time off, even if it is just leaving work early. Therefore, the event on Wednesday needs to be optional, or, if that is not possible then the event should be completely cancelled. We should not be required to choose between our livelihoods and missing 5 hours of school.

At this point I don’t know if I will be there on Wednesday, but to be honest even if I am there, I’m so upset, angry, and stressed about this whole thing that I won’t be able to give massages (lest I inadvertently work too deep and hurt someone).

As for the other issues that have come up about our disappointment in the program, I believe that most of them have been brought up in the past. Of course, the issue with [previous coordinator's] handling of our hours last semester is a huge problem that, to my knowledge, has not been resolved. Those of us who went over our allotted time missed need to know how that will be handled.

The quality of instruction has, at times, been an issue as well. We have mentioned that before [everyone's favorite teacher] arrival in the middle of the semester, [a certain class] was a disaster. While palpating [first coordinator] didn’t seem to really know how to find some of the more difficult structures. Origins and insertions were mostly overlooked throughout the entire class. Currently, [another class] seems to be going down the same road. With 14 years of experience I’m sure that [current teacher] is a wonderful massage therapist. She certainly seems the type I would love to receive a massage from, but she seems very uncertain about the material she is teaching. She was even asking us questions at times about the material that she was supposed to be teaching us.

As for your teaching, like I said it is obvious that you know your stuff, but please listen to us when we tell you that your teaching style sometimes confuses us. Please do not tell us that something is wrong when it is not only to turn around and say “just kidding.” This has been brought up many times in class, and when you do not acknowledge our concern in this area (or any other), it makes us feel as if we don’t matter. And, in the end the fact is that as tuition-paying students we are paying your salary.

Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and I know many of us are dissatisfied enough to discourage others from signing up for the program next year. In fact I would be hard-pressed to find one of us who would absolutely recommend it to anyone at this point.

Again, [current coordinator], I know that things are very busy for you right now and that the calendar mix-up was an honest mistake. I’m sure you remember what a delicate balance it is as a student in this program to make sure school, family, work, and other obligations are met. Four days of notice for a required event just throws a wrench in everything for all of us.

I hope that you will take the time to consider this, as some of my classmates feel you will not and have decided to go “over your head.” We are serious about learning, and eager to become the best massage therapists that we can be, but at this point our anger and regret that we have been put in this position again and again is affecting our ability to learn. Please feel free to call me about this. I’ll be at home on and off Monday, [home phone number].

Thanks,

Kemilyna

 

[Chas B]

Sounds good Kemilyna, you gave him some facts and concrete complaints to work with.

I hope you get the results you want. Would you mind keeping us posted? I'm interested to see how it turns out for you.

 

[kysteves]

I heard back from our coordinator, and things went very, very well. Of course we have yet to see what actions will be taken in the future, but I have confidence that things will get better.

He thanked me for brining these concerns to him. He views them as opportunities for improvement. He even appologized - something that he'd not done until now.

-The event mentioned in the letter will not be required.
-He did defend his instructors, saying that this program has a 15% higher pass rate on the national exam than the national average.
-He will stop teaching in a confusing manner immediately.
-The issues from last semester have been resolved in a very satisfactory way.

He said that he cares very much about each of us and then called me on the phone to be sure we understood each other correctly. It was a really good conversation. He said he was proud of me for stepping up to the plate and he was very glad I'd brought these things to his attention.

I seriously doubt this will need to go any further (to his supervisers), but am prepared to take it to that level if necessary.

I'm so glad that I did this. For once I feel like I've really been true to myself and spoken my mind without being appologetic for it. This is a huge step for me.

Thanks again, Breathe and others, for responding. It means a lot just to know there are people who care.

Thanks,

Kemilyna

 

[KeiraJasmin]

Bravo, for taking the stand you did, and stating the case for everyone. Lets hope things improve for you & the rest of your classmates. Keep us all posted

 

[Sally says...]

*sob* my baby's growing up t022

just kidding! :

Seriously, wow! Good for you! And what a fantastic follow-up! You should be super-proud of yourself!

 

[Mister C.]

he

You go Kemilyna!!
That's so cool that you can voice your opinions and concerns!
I am just so happy for you!!! Hopefully now things will improve for you and your classmates,and your learning experiences will be more enriching and you will just enjoy learning without all the added stress and headache-after all,massage school is supposed to be fun,right?

Keep Smilin'! t023 t006
Johnny

 

[Pompal 09.]

That's awesome Kemilyna, I'm so glad that things went well for you!

 

[Henry H]

great news! glad it went so well for you. hopefully this continues through the remainder of your program.

 

[~21 weeks prego!~]

Awesome, awesome, Kemilyna!

That took courage. And it will make such a difference to your classmates if he follows through. Massage School can be tough, but you will make it through with flying colors if the atmosphere/comraderie/instructors are all working together.

Keep us posted -- and, bravo, once again!

Sherry

 

[v.s]

t041 Yay, Kemilyna! Adding my congrats to everyone else! I'm also impressed with your coordinator's response. He listened, instead of argued with you. That says a lot!

 

[Daddybear]

Just a quick update. We had an awesome class yesterday. Our coordinator treated me just like always, and was still his fun self. I was so relieved. There was very little discussion about my letter, though he did appologize to everyone.

I figure if my classmates feel they need to discuss things more, they will bring it up. As far as I'm concerned, things are resolved.

Thanks again everyone,

Kemilyna

 

[Pompal 09.]

Glad to hear it. And my, how you have just grown!!!!! t038

 

[vighnesvaran]

Yes, at age 30 it's good to realize one can still learn and grow. Thank God or I'd be in a mess. Just call me a late bloomer, I guess.