Hi! I’m planning to offer ceramics classes for kids and teens during the summer for DMS and Non-DMS members but I’d like more information on the best way to plan it with schedules/times etc. If you are a parent, grandparent or guardian, please fill out this quick 5 question survey!
Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
-Amanda Cline
Does anyone know if I can cross post this to other threads? 
Cross-posting is usually discouraged. Folks will see it here
You can (I assume rather than “threads” you mean “categories”).
But we usually recommend against it because most of our browsers use the “latest” feed, wherein whatever has been posted most recently shows at the top, and having the same post show up there multiple times but in different categories is a bit confusing.
It also makes collating responses needlessly difficult.
If you really want it to be seen elsewhere, perhaps a link back to this thread would suffice?
I’m not in the relevant group to answer the survey, however I suggest that you clarify in the survey that minors 15 and under must be accompanied during in the class by a parent or guardian.
That might impact the survey results you get, especially if (non-members) think you’re offering a drop-off/pick-up summer activity.
Not just during the class. Any minors 15 and under must be accompanied at all times by the parent or guardian. A parent can’t have a child taking a class and go do anything else.
You’re so right. I meant that the parent has to be in the class, not just in the building.
Looks like someone’s got to be that guy.
Relevant standing rules:
Minors
- The DMS is not a day care.
- Minors 15 and under must be accompanied closely by Parent or Legal Guardian at all times and are not allowed to have keys to the space.
- Accompanied closely means visual range generally, and immediate reach when near dangerous tools.
- Parents/Legal Guardians are responsible for their children and their actions.
- Minors under the age of 18 must have their liability form signed by a Parent or Legal Guardian.
Emphasis added. Given that our workshop likely wouldn’t even hit OSHA standards - formulated with trained/experienced employees in mind - hosting children in that area is risky for a volunteer-run organization lacking employees to mind the actions of children.
What specific hazards are you concerned about?
Good to know. Thanks.
Thanks for the feedback.
It isn’t just the kids we are worried about. We have a lot of dangerous tools and people working on them. If kids are running around underfoot injuries could happen.
Parents also don’t tend to like it when our members address it when their children are unattended.
I cannot assume that random children brought into the makerspace will have the wherewithal to behave safely in an industrial environment such as ours in the absence of supervision - be it professional or parental.
However, if instructors and parents are willing to adhere to our rules, no problem.
I’m assuming that @synth83 is planning on following the rules and requiring a parent to participate with each child under 16. If that’s the case, I guess I don’t see why it would be a problem.
Speaking of which, did you guys come up with an answer for the high school tour? Real life work me (opposed to fun DMS me) needs an answer ASAP to get this thing in the bag or find a plan B
Yes, no child would be left unattended, anywhere. Proper waivers would be signed and collected ahead of time. I have a background in education, knowledge of waivers (release from harm, consent to photography for promotional purposes of the space) and contracts, etc. Children would not get near any equipment other than at the ceramics space or classroom where they would be supervised at all times. I do not run a daycare and have no interest to. I only seek to strengthen our membership and introduce children to the world of ceramics arts.
Sorry for the furor this caused. I assumed you planned to comply with everything - I simply wanted to suggest that you clarify on the survey.
Mea culpa.
Our current waiver language is phrased such that it is between an adult of the age of majority and DMS (the recent-ish Quiroz v. Jumpstreet8 suggests that such waivers have force, even if they disclaim gross negligence and commit certain errors such as referencing legal entities that are defunct at the time of signing).
If we were going to allow for parental release, they would need to be significantly reworked to act as a permission slip for a parent or legal guardian signing on behalf of a minor child. And while I can trivially rephrase the language to accommodate this function from a logical perspective, that’s not the same as having an attorney validate the language is enforceable.
Were a reasonably airtight release to be magicked into existence tracking, collecting, and maintaining these slips would be an additional administrative overhead for the Space.
And even if the other two hurdles were cleared, this would only address minors 15-17.
Ceramics is presently situated in the 104 workshop, which is a hazardous place. The final location of ceramics in the 102 workshop may be somewhat less hazardous but would still be adjacent-ish to JSM and automotive with transit routes close to glassworking and machine shop.
While I believe it’s reasonably likely that such workshops could be conducted without incidents, the guiding principle here is an abundance of caution in protecting the organization - it’s not the odds, it’s the stakes.
Thank you all for the information. We understand the stakes and the rules and will certainly make sure that we adhere to them if and when a class is suggested.
We can do parent/child joint activity and it can be held in a class room vs the ceramic studio. @Synth83 let’s chat and work together on these possibilities.
I have a portable slab roller that could be moved to a classroom if that would be helpful.