Ask Courtney

Dear Courtney,
A friend of mine is taking an online class with me. He has decided that we should work on the assignments and quizzes together. It has turned out that I do all of the work and the assignments fall on me to complete both mine and his. How do I  stay friends with him but I don’t have to do all of his school work?
-Annoyed Friend

Dear Annoyed;
First of all tell him that you refuse to do his school work, if he doesn’t comply with your request, then cut him off, or hide from him in a place where he would never dare to venture, such as the library. If he still won’t listen to your complaints, just talk to him face to face about it and voice your opinions in a non-demanding way. In fact, just for the heck of it prepare a couple minute long Powerpoint presentation complete with visuals. But seriously, friends shouldn’t hurt friends especially over something so crucial such as school. Maybe make a request that from now on to keep tension away from the two of you that you both do the work separately. He or she  may hate you for that, but would he really remember two years down the road or would he thank you for saving his grades, and maybe his chances of going to post-graduate school.
-Courtney

Dear Courtney,
I have a job where my manager calls me into work while I have class. I gave my manager my class schedule and told them that I can not work during those times. My manager seems to think that I can just skip class and come in whenever they want me. I am working 40 hour weeks and having to miss class time. My grades are starting to decline. What do I do?
-Overworked and Overwhelmed

Dear Overworked;
I’ve had a situation similar to this, except my boss called me after class. I was getting ready to head home, and she was asking me to work that night. I unfortunately said yes. Big mistake, especially with a heavy school schedule the next day. But in your situation, I’d say politely confront your manager about it. Explain the situation to him or her, and if you happen to be paying for classes out of pocket explain to them that you’re paying out of your own pocket for these classes so you deserve to get your money’s worth. After all why would you be paying for these classes if you were forced to work all week? If they still continue to schedule you for classes a couple of weeks later, ask your teacher if there is any possible way to make up missed points and explain the situation to them, and then confront your manager about it again. If they still continue to schedule you during classes, quit. After all, there is probably a better opportunity out there for you, and after all what’s the worst that can happen? Hate to break it you but your boss can’t fire you for quitting. Also like I said, there is probably a better, higher paying job for you out there that you couldn’t apply for while you were still under your managers thumb. If you don’t want to quit, and its not too late into the semester see if the same class is being offered at a different time, and then switch times for the class, and write a note to your manager as well as leave a copy of the schedule on his desk in a place where it can’t go into hiding that way he can’t miss it even if he tried. Yet first just try talking to your manager first to see if some arrangement can’t be made, or a compromise reached.
-Courtney