General Workshop Policies
The Workshop Committee, the Mini Workshop Committee, and the Saturday Special Committee present these additions to our policies in an effort to answer the most frequently asked questions and make all of our Guild classes as pleasant as possible for all involved. Participants may always feel free to contact a member of the committee if any details of a particular event are unclear. If changes arise, they will be announced at the general meeting and publicized in the newsletter.
Please arrive 15-30 minutes early in order to get set up in your space and be ready to work at the beginning of class. Please plan to stay at least 15-30 minutes later in order to clear your space and help clean the room before we leave. This includes disposing of trash, putting up tables and chairs, sweeping, and cleaning other areas.
The Discovery School has excellent kitchen facilities, including a refrigerator, microwave, and some utensils. It is customary for members to bring snacks/food to share with the group. There is always plenty for everyone. At the present time, the Carriage House does not have the same kitchen facilities. If a class is held there, participants should pack a sack lunch, drinks, utensils, and whatever else they might want for the day. On Tuesdays, a hot lunch is available in the Church Parish Hall for a nominal fee.
Supplies and class materials can be left in the Discovery School classroom overnight; the room is locked and no one has access. This is not the case at the Carriage House, where there are nightly activities for teens. Therefore, if classes are held in the Carriage House, please be prepared to take your supplies home at the end of each day.
We all have different requirements for light and temperature, and it is impossible to satisfy everyone in a class at every moment. So please bring a sweater, even in the warmer months, in case the air conditioning or heating situation is not comfortable for you. Also, please bring a portable lamp, especially in the Carriage House, in case you have a seat where the lighting is not optimal for you.
Chairs vary, but are usually metal chairs with no cushions. If you need a pillow on your seat for comfort or height, please bring that with you.
There is no smoking allowed in any classroom.
As a courtesy to the instructor and to other participants, please refrain from talking while the instructor is lecturing or demonstrating. And please talk quietly at your seat when others are working. We realize that conversation with classmates/tablemates is natural and is part of the fun of a class. However, some students and instructors are distracted by loud conversation and will appreciate a quiet and peaceful environment.
Please put all cell phones and pagers on silent mode and take all calls outside of the classroom.
Only one member of the Workshop Committee will put names on the class list, maintain the list, accept the class fees and assign participants to classes when there is a repeat of a class. He/she will use a receipt book. Each participant will receive a receipt stating the class he/she is in and what has been paid.
If a participant appears in a class and his/her name is not on the committee’s class list, the participant will be asked for the receipt. If the receipt indicates that the error is on the part of the participant, that person will be asked to leave the class unless it is not full and the teacher is prepared for that extra student.
We ask the Guild members to please take the classroom setting seriously. When we enter the classroom, we immediately enter into a special relationship with the teacher and with
our classmates. We are artists, and we are thus in a situation in which we bare a part of ourselves when we create in a group setting. Our art and the words we choose to calligraph all say something about us that we don’t necessarily say to everyone. We trust our teacher to provide constructive critique and to help us to create. We trust our classmates to do the same. Just as a school child is intimidated and inhibited when a visitor comes to observe the classroom, so we are intimidated and inhibited when a visitor appears in a class. Visitors are an invasion of privacy in the classroom, and therefore are unwelcome.
We therefore are asking our members not to visit a classroom unless they are participants in that class. It is not appropriate to come to the classroom while class is in session in order to visit the teacher or a student. It is not appropriate to come to the classroom to do any kind of business with the teacher during class time. It is not appropriate to come to the classroom to check on the supply list for the next class. If the results might be disruptive to anyone, please don’t do it.
If you feel you have legitimate business to conduct with the teacher, please contact the teacher prior to his/her arrival and make arrangements to conduct your business outside of the classroom. Remember that the class participants have paid for the privilege of spending the entire day with the teacher, including the lunch hour. The teacher may be available before or after the class, but in making requests to do business with them, please have consideration and understand that a teacher needs some down time during the course of any teaching effort.
The Workshop Committee members recognize that in the past we have felt that there is no need for anyone other than the teacher to be in charge in the classroom; we realize now that this is incorrect. The teacher is here to teach, and not to manage anything else that goes on in the classroom. The teacher visits many different Guilds, all with different workshop policies. Therefore, the Workshop Committee members view it as our responsibility to be in charge of what occurs in the classroom. We are certain that we have no ability to foresee what problems might arise in a workshop, and therefore we will make no attempt to create a list of “don’ts.” Rather, we will make every attempt to assure that each participant in a class is afforded the privacy expected in a classroom, the time with the teacher that he/she has paid for, and the best workshop experience we can possibly provide.
If we see anyone behaving in a manner that we deem inappropriate for the classroom, we will go to that person and ask that he/she stop. Whenever possible, more than one Workshop Committee member will speak with that individual to avoid any confusion regarding what is said or how it is said. If there is only one Workshop Committee member present, that person will ask any Board Member who is in the class to accompany her in speaking with the individual. If no Workshop Committee member is in the classroom, we request that the Board members present either contact us immediately or accept the responsibility to handle the situation themselves. Again, we want to ensure that everyone in a class has an optimal experience.
Finally, we believe that every member of every committee works hard to do his/her job carefully and takes a committee position seriously. We assume that appointment to a committee indicates the Guild’s confidence in a person to do a job as it should be done. We also hope that it indicates a trust that the job will be done with the best interests of the Guild in mind at all times. So, if any member of the Guild questions the actions of a Committee member, we ask that they go directly to that individual and discuss the issue. If you are not satisfied with the answer or resolution, we encourage and welcome you bring your questions or concerns to the Guild President.
We thank you for your participation and cooperation, and as always, we welcome feedback on all workshops.