Unhappy Parents

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I teach third grade and sent home the information about Classcraft to parents.  I have three parents who won't let their kids be part of it.  After taking her daughter out of Classcraft, I have one mom who is still unhappy.  Any ideas?

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What are they unhappy about?  Without knowing, it is hard to make a recommendation.  If your admin is on your side with this, I would have them sit down with the parents and you and have a discussion about the benefits of classcraft.

Great Suggestion Douglas

Educating parents on how Classcraft works is an excellent way to get the most out of their involvement and to prevent any misunderstandings about the game’s purpose.

Being proactive and starting a conversation with parents is a smart first step. You could hold a parent-teacher night or send home a handout that explains the game and the many benefits it brings to the classroom. 

An in-person meeting is a great opportunity to demonstrate the game as it would unfold in a typical class. You can also show each parent how their child is performing by showing the Analytics (if you’re using Premium).

The parents are religious and think the game is anti-God. They don’t like the graphics or the fact that the characters have powers. They feel that taking her out of the game would not be enough that she would still be exposed to it in my classroom even if she’s not a member of the game.

Hi Gina,

I hate to bump an older thread, especially if it's a bit of a sore spot. But I am super curious to hear the progress on your situation. 

 

Four of my 24 students can’t participate so it has put a dent in the overall use of the program. I hesitate when using it, their team was impacted, and it makes using quests difficult. Some parents spoke to my principal so he called me in and questioned me about it. I didn’t get any credit for trying something new in a school with behavior difficulties. I am still using it and the 20 other students love it. I am trying to navigate the best I can.

You can shift team members around to rebalance characters so the teams 'missing' players get at least 1 of each type.

I've had students opt out in the past. I just balanced the teams as best I could. However, it was never at the parents request. One student said she loved watching us use it, but just didn't want to do it herself. Could have been for religious reasons, but I didn't ask. However, I haven't had anyone opt out in the last two years. I teach 6th grade. 

Very helpful share. I hadn't considered this could be an issue, but will make sure to allow students to abstain if they wish without pushing for an explanation.

I know this is an old post, but I came across it today and wanted to share a couple of my thoughts as well. My coworker and I also had a parent who came to us with some concerns this year. He was mostly concerned about the possibility of increased screentime, which is slightly different from the original poster's parents' concerns. It was helpful for us to bring the parents in and explain our purposes/expectations for using Classcraft on our team. For your situation, it might also be beneficial to share the story of the new logo with the parents. The story of the logo has so much good information about the core values of Classcraft and how it relates to education and gamification. I realize these kids probably have moved on from your classroom by now, though. Either way, I wanted to share my thoughts! Good luck!

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