Do you get a guilty feeling if you pull your kids out of school?

[goodml]

Yep, I'm sure doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, accountants, etc etc etc learned everything from cruises. Because:

 

"The experiences they have by visiting other countries far outweighs anything they could possibly learn in a classroom"

 

I hope that if I ever have surgery, my doctor learned things in the classroom.

 

I hope that next time I'm on an airplane, the engineer who designed it actually spent time in a classroom.

 

It is almost like those hotel commercials where someone is performing brain surgery and he says, "No, I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at a H****** Inn Express last night!!"

 

"No, I didn't actually go to medical school, but I visited other countries, because what I learned there FAR outweights anything I could have POSSIBLY learned in the classroom"

 

What a nonsensical diatribe. Did anyone here say their children NEVER went to school because they learn so much while travelling?:rolleyes:

[the4ofusandallourfriends]

cruisinqt ~ I'm glad to hear that cruise lines are putting together more curriculum than just fun activities. Have you ever cruised NCL? We're traveling on the Dawn next Sunday and if their kid club program has more educational activities then I may allow my kids to spend a little more time there. I bought several activity books and educational things at the teacher's store near my home to be able to do on the cruise (well, obviously I want them to have fun, too ~ that's what Port Canaveral is for - we're going to Disney that day). But, I'd like to see what other NCL employees from other countries may come up with in the kid club. Any input from you or others who have children and have gone with NCL in the past would be helpful.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

2cruise4ever, I've been on Ncl twice. My kids refuse to go to the kids clubs. My daughter sticks with me and my son sticks with his dad. So, I can't help you there, but if you post a request on the Norwegian board for a "Kid's Crew" schedule, for your particular itineary, someone just might post it or email it to you. I had found one already posted for our last cruise on the Spirit, and I'm waiting for someone to post one for my upcoming cruise. The Alaska cruises have naturalists/commentators onboard. My daughter and I have already highlighted the times in the dailies (which I found posted too), but it would be nice if they had one for the younger ones too. Either way, she won't care. She loves anything 'nature'.

 

If anyone has a kid's crew (9-12 yr. old) for NCL 7 day Sun/Alaska, please let me know.

[islandchicklet]

It isn't that I don't believe that you don't have the best of intentions, I just think it is wrong.

 

I'm getting bored with this thread...lets all call it a truce and agree to disagree....agreed?

 

Please, why don't you come back and give us your opinion when you actually have kids.

 

 

ALL teachers are stressed at some point. I've been teaching for 14 years, and I really like my job; however I've had a really difficult end of school and I've certainly been stressed for the last two weeks! Don't equate feeling stress occasionally with being a bad teacher.

 

I doubt this was in reference to you or the tremendous amount of stress teachers are truly under today....with all the problems in school today....I admire teachers today. Rather I think the comment was directed at a teacher being stressed because of making 'a packet' for a student.

 

And yes, the4ofusandallourfriends, I wasn't referrring to Mrs. Pete. I was referring to sblahars comment about how much stress his wife was under. I was being ugly - which is usually not like me.

[islandchicklet]

P.S. the little ignore button in the right hand corner of a post works wonders - I just used it.;)

[Soxfan05]

Also...

 

you said:

 

"I spend hours researching each port, city and excursion to find the best experience for my family. "

 

 

my response to this is: experience != education (!= means not equal to)

 

Going to a baseball game is a great experience, but not all that educational.

Riding a roller coaster is a great experience, but not all that educational (unless you have someone like me, an engineer, explaining all the physics of it)

Eating dinner at a nice restaurant is a great experience, but not all that educational.

...I could go on and on

 

My point is, a great experience is not always a great education.

QUOTE=sblahars]Also...

 

 

See Sablahars, even you can find education in a roller coaster because you are an engineer, it is your area of expertise. What better way to explain and demenstrate to a student complex physics concepts than with a thrilling ride on a roller coaster!

 

Baseball can be highly educational. The math alone can be a wonderful lesson. Calculating ERA's and batting averages! Wow, I don't think my brother would have grasped the concept of %'s without religiously reading box scores as a kid. Heck, I learned them by shopping sales racks!

 

There are teachable moments every second of the day. It's a matter of recognizing them capitalizing on them.

 

I do see the problem here. You are an engineer. I don't know why I didn't realize that earlier. You are a very black and white person. In your field everything is "measured and tested". You're a "concrete" person and very singleminded. When you find something that works, you stick to it. Your education came from a book- in field like yours, it has to. This is what you know.

 

Making a vacation a learning experience and recognizing the potential for education in every day mundane tasks takes creativity and a willingness to deviate from the "norm" and the tried and true. It's just not something that comes naturally to a person who would go into the field of engineering. I'm not saying it's a bad thing but I am saying that is part of the reason that you just can't see the validity of those who are able to make a vacation a truly educational experience. It's just not something that would fall into your comfort zone.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I've been telling my hubby about this thread, especially sblahars' comments. He wanted to point out that as a child, he spent 6 months on a kibbutz in Israel and thought he learned more there about the world than during his time in a classroom. This meant he was out of school for part of a school year. BTW, his mother was a teacher at the private school he attended at the time. He went on to get his degree in Economics from a University of California school -- a very selective school. He ended up marrying someone with a Masters degree (me). As a supervisor in a technology field, he works with engineers every day.

 

Sblahar, if you feel you are being unfairly treated by the posters here, it's because of your blanket statements. As soxfan stated, "You're a "concrete" person and very singleminded." If you read any material about homeschooling, you'll see that these parents try hard to find lessons in wherever they go and whatever they do. I don't have that patience (even though I tend to be patient as a whole, you should have seen me shouting at the boys on the field trip), I try to educate my daughter as I go, too. In fact, before we went to see "Madasdarcar (I'm sure I'm misspelling it) today, I showed her where the island is on a map we found in the Princess cruise atlas. I also tried to explain (after we left) some of the inside jokes directed toward the parents.

[Cruisin' Chick]

There are many ways to educate your child besides school. Yesterday we went to a music store to look at child-sized guitars. My daughter fell in love with an ukelele so we got it. She's practiced some songs since then, along with practicing her piano pieces for that class. She wants to bring the uke with her on our Hawaii cruise (hubby is planning to bring his guitar -- he's been practicing every day). I guess sblahars would have problems with that being educational if she would be missing even a day of school (fortunately we found a cruise that fit entirely within her vacation next winter).

[cruisinqt]

cruisinqt ~ I'm glad to hear that cruise lines are putting together more curriculum than just fun activities. Have you ever cruised NCL? We're traveling on the Dawn next Sunday and if their kid club program has more educational activities then I may allow my kids to spend a little more time there. I bought several activity books and educational things at the teacher's store near my home to be able to do on the cruise (well, obviously I want them to have fun, too ~ that's what Port Canaveral is for - we're going to Disney that day). But, I'd like to see what other NCL employees from other countries may come up with in the kid club. Any input from you or others who have children and have gone with NCL in the past would be helpful.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, I've cruised NCL with my kids before, and they too incorporated educational activities into their curriculum. Just about every child friendly cruise line out there has started having more educational activities for the kids. You have to remember that all of the people watching your kids have a degree in some child related field and the majority of them are teachers. They have come up with some very fun but innovative ways to educate the kids but make it enjoyable.;)

 

What I like about NCL was that before we were scheduled to stop at each port, the day before they educated the kids about that port. Before the Cayman Islands they learned all about Stingrays since that is a very popular thing to do at the Cayman Islands. My child came home from the kid's center telling me that the stingrays gave live birth and that the females were much larger than the males. She knew quite a bit about stingrays and told anyone that would listen when we went on that excursion later.:) Before our stop in Belize they learned all about the rain forests of Belize. They made it fun by making their own imaginary rain forest and then taking a pretend hike through it. Before Cozumel, they learned about the coral reefs and what they could do to help protect them. They watched a film about coral reefs and then painted pictures of the reefs. I still have the pictures my kids painted.

 

It's not just NCL that does this, most all of the cruise lines are doing this. The only ones that aren't doing it are the cruise lines that don't get as many kids on board such as 14 day cruises or world cruises. The longer cruises don't cater to kids because there just aren't that many kids on board. But the cruises that tend to have lots of kids on board are now trying to incorporate an education into the whole kids center experience. That pleases the parents and keeps them coming back which is the goal of the cruise lines. I think another reason the kids are starting to get more of an education in the kids center is because of the influence of the workers there which are mostly teachers. I just read on Carnivals web site that they are now instituting a daily reading program in their kids centers. Education in the kids centers on cruise ships is a huge thing right now.:)

[2Cruise4Ever]

cruisinqt ~ thank you so much for the details. I got that same impression after I read NCL's web site. But, it is nice to hear about from someone who has experienced it first-hand. Look for my review after we get back on the 19th. I'll include an entire section about the kid club.

 

 

Again, thank you :)

[suzsummit]

Because of your comments we were all better able to share with one another 'why' we cruise with our children. I think those of us who vacation with our children are rewarded in many ways.

 

But as the thread orginal name was... "Do you get a guilty feeling when you pull your kids out of school?" I think we all feel a twinge of guilt whenever we do anything that concerns our children. That's what makes a good parent, worrying about our kids and being able to reflect back.... And to be honest to sblahars I made many comments before I had children about the way they would be raised or how I would do things. I think it only took a mere weeks till I threw all those thoughts out the window and learned to just trust my heart.

 

And to everyone else on this thread -- maybe it's time to start a new one called... the things I taught my children while cruising.

 

-see you all on the new thread:)

[Chucksta63]

Because of your comments we were all better able to share with one another 'why' we cruise with our children. I think those of us who vacation with our children are rewarded in many ways.

 

But as the thread orginal name was... "Do you get a guilty feeling when you pull your kids out of school?" I think we all feel a twinge of guilt whenever we do anything that concerns our children. That's what makes a good parent, worrying about our kids and being able to reflect back.... And to be honest to sblahars I made many comments before I had children about the way they would be raised or how I would do things. I think it only took a mere weeks till I threw all those thoughts out the window and learned to just trust my heart.

 

And to everyone else on this thread -- maybe it's time to start a new one called... the things I taught my children while cruising.

 

-see you all on the new thread:)

Thank You!!!!! Nicely Put!!!!

See you over on the new thread!!!!!

This thread needs to be locked now!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I think we all feel a twinge of guilt whenever we do anything that concerns our children. That's what makes a good parent, worrying about our kids and being able to reflect back....

 

Well Said!!!!!!!

[elaineof6]

Yep, I'm sure doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, accountants, etc etc etc learned everything from cruises. Because:

 

"The experiences they have by visiting other countries far outweighs anything they could possibly learn in a classroom"

 

All else being equal, there's a very good chance that the person who included global learning in his/her education will be viewed as a better potential employee. With our knowledge increasing so much every day, and the new technological advances, the world has gotten smaller. that is, places like Azerbaijan or Pago Pago aren't days and oceans away, they're clicks or phone calls away. A person who has a global understanding will stand out as a more rounded individual. Many professionals get recruited while in their internship, or in their final year of study, or shortly thereafter, to participate in work in other countries. Believe me, the ones who go on these missions get quite a bit of mileage out of that travel at resume and interview time.

 

My chldren had the unique luxury of living overseas for six years (the youngest was born outside of the US). As a military family, we were constantly surrounded by people from other cultures, who spoke other languages, ate other foods, had other ideas. My children benefitted from this knowledge.

 

In fact, the two in college right now were able to use their global experiences to make themselves more marketable when it came to winning scholarships and getting accepted into more selective programs.

 

I do not seek, nor do I require, the permission or approval of anyone from this board on the decisions my spouse and I make regarding the timing of our family vacations.

[Gabsabunch42]

To the original poster, I definitely felt guilty about pulling my daughter out of school for a trip. But for several personal reasons, we are choosing to cruise in September over Labor Day. We are going to tell the teachers before we go, but she will have to make up her work when we get back. She will attend after school tutoring also, which will make up some of that time/lesson learning. To Sblahar, you are just ridiculous and as previous posters have stated it is none of your business when or why we vacation. This post was for parents to parents. Please keep your judgements to yourself until you qualify. Thanks!

[Tomm]

Travelling to other countries and adding to his life's experiences can also be considered to be highly educational and motivational.

[gogispu]

Ok, here's another perspective. I am planning on pulling my kids out of school for a week before Thanksgiving for a cruise. I am also a teacher and am taking a week off. I teach Spanish and fully believe that we are truly a global community and one of the best ways to get this thought across is to see it in action. By traveling, kids get to experience that. Now, from a teacher's perspective, depending on the student, I create assignments that are in keeping with their cruising experience. many of my students do cruise the caribbean and have to keep a journal (in Spanish) and do an oral report on thier return. they also are responsible for bringing back the daily news, compass etc. depending on what ship they are on (in Spanish) and bringing back a newspaper from Cozumel etc. Can't think of a better way to have them have to use their Spanish

Anne

[Soxfan05]

After all of these tropical storms and hurricanes, I have to add and EMPHATIC NOOOOOO! We only have 2 feasible school vacations a year along with summer vacation- which is hurricane season!!!

[llecamus]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input on this subject. It's funny, I've been perusing Cruise Critic for over a year, and even with our upcoming family cruise, I never thought about looking under "Family Cruising"! This is something that I've wrestled with, not so much the guilt, but trying to anticipate any problems we might have, as well as how to prepare the school that we will be doing this. I'm glad to see that the majority of you who have been in this situation have had positive support from your school system. I don't anticipate any issues, but I have already drafted a letter to the assistant principal, and the counselors involved. I think after the first day or two, when I've been able to meet the teachers and get all the proper contacts, then I will finalize my letter and hand it out. My issue is mainly that school will only have been in session for about three weeks when I take my girls out for the week. I'm just glad to read other's experiences, so that I can have an idea of what to expect.

[SleevesEnd]

Wow! I just read ALL these posts! Thanks to all the posters for the great dicussions and ideas for future cruises and trips!

 

I will say one thing though, sblahars was right (IMHO) about one thing. A lot of the posts SOUND (when reading them late at night, all at once) like people ARE trying to rationalize taking the kids out of school. We shouldn't fall into that trap.

 

It goes back to the very first poster who asked how they could do it without feeling guilty. Maybe we can't. As a parent I, for one, feel a twinge of guilt when someone (the school, a teacher, other parents, family and yes, even a poster) questions a family decision I made that's not the "norm". It's true a cruise during the school year can be cheeper, less crowded, educational, the only option or all of the above ... but that's not the point. We do what we feel is best for our unique families for our unique reasons. Bottom line, I take my daughter out of school for vacations, including cruises, simply because it feels right for us.

 

So, to the OP, if it feels right, do it! In 47 years NOTHING that I've ever done that feels so right has been a decision I've regretted.

 

Well ... if you don't count the time we were on a cruise to Puerto Rico and I had one too many Pina Colodas and jumped on the table and ...

[cruisinqt]

You're right, some of the posters did rationalize taking their kids out of school. I think it's a natural reaction to being attacked and being called "bad parents" by sblahars. When someone who is not a parent, has no experience in parenting, and is posting negative comments to parents in an area designated for "families" people tend to get a little upset.:rolleyes:

 

I think the comments were definitely fueled by strong emotion, some guilt, and a bit of rationalizing. But overall, the message I get out of all of this is there is no cut and dried perfect answer to the question. Some parents feel guilty, some don't. Some parents have complete support from their schools when they take their kids out for a short vacation, others get lots of flack from the school. Each situation with each family is unique and none of us should judge them because we don't know them or what their circumstances are. Tomorrow I've scheduled a meeting with my children's principal to go over their vacation plans for this fall. I do this every year and have full support from our school and their excellent teachers.:)

[karen_cpa]

After another long day of teaching summer school in 100º heat - I would please ask that if you do plan on taking your child out during school, to please give the teacher adequate notice!!!!! A student handed me a note on Friday saying he had to leave early - and he would be gone the following Monday and Tuesday. As you can imagine, I was not pleased as I had no time to put together work for him. And truth be told, if the child is in summer school, obviously there is an issue - I am not sure that removing him for a family trip to Disney is definitely the best of plans.

 

I can also appreciate the fact that some subjects lend themselves better to outside experiences than others. I teach MS/HS math, and I can tell you - there is very little that can be done a cruise that relates to the topics being studied. Things like factoring quadratic equations and the pythagorean theorem aren't readily reinforced in the cruising experience, so please do not make the blanket statement that a cruise is educational. It may be in certain areas, but not for everything. Also, the students nowadays are under increasingly more pressure to do well on standardized tests. Here in NY, students are required to take a math assessment every year from 3rd to 8th grade. Even a week or two of missed work can have a negative impact.

 

Just my thoughts!! Hope this didn't come across as disrespectful - just wanted to show the other side of the coin, too!

[SleevesEnd]

Also, the students nowadays are under increasingly more pressure to do well on standardized tests. Here in NY, students are required to take a math assessment every year from 3rd to 8th grade. Even a week or two of missed work can have a negative impact.

 

Not to worry ... we plan our entire LIVES around the state tests!

[cruisinqt]

Karen, I agree with you that both the school and teacher need advance notice. In fact, school hasn't even started here yet, our vacation isn't until the first week in December, but I'm meeting with the principal tomorrow so everyone will be notified in advance of our trip.;) If I had a child in summer school who's behind in school already I would by no means take him out of school for a trip. That's why I said that each situation is unique and this is not something everyone can do.

 

You are correct also about math not being something that kids could learn about on a cruise. They can learn many other things but certainly not math. I didn't mean to imply that kids could learn every subject while on a cruise. I only said that "cruises are educational" and I stand by that statement. If I said "cruises teach you everything you learn in school" that would have been a "blank statement" that would have been incorrect. But cruises are educational and you can learn a lot while on them. I truly believe they can be educational if parents put a little effort forth to make them so. As you said, I don't want this to come across as disrespectful or confrontational. I just wanted you to understand the parents side also.:)

 

SleevesEnd, I couldn't agree more! It seems like everything comes to a standstill and we hold our breaths when those tests come around.:eek: Fortunately for my kids their father is an engineer and a math whiz. I would say that he is a big help when they have problems with math but they seem to have to inherited his genius with math. That's a good thing because I really stunk in math, especially when it came to geometry.:o

[izzymommy]

I know there are a ton of posts here, but I must chime in anyway! I would take my child out of school in a heartbeat for almost any kind of travel experience. She's not in school yet (19 months old), but already she's been on 2 cruises, out of the country twice and to 6 different states! Traveling is such an amazing experience, so unique and different than anything they can learn in a classroom. I would even take my child out for extended periods at a time if the opportunity arose. My husband I both were teachers and I still see no problem with it. As a teacher I would have been happy to prepare the necessary papers for the student and would have been thrilled that they even asked! Being a good teacher means you see educational opportunities in every situation. A great teacher would be glad to oblige, but maybe that's the problem these days (another post for another forum). Actually, having been teachers we are painfully aware of the sad educational limitations that the physical classroom provides (but, again, that's another post!). As for scheduling trips for the summer, well I don't agree. Summer just doesn't always work, sometimes it's cheaper other times (and yes that's totally valid), sometimes summer is too crowded (darn it we're spending our hard earned $$ and we want to enjoy it), sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate (ever been to Madrid in August?), and what about enjoying local festivals or events ( Mexico's day of the dead or tulip time in the Netherlans) I just don't think there is anything wrong with scheduling things for my preferences. Call me selfish! Family vacations are so important and have provided me with some of my best memories. I look so forward to more with my new family now! Being pulled out of school made me feel special (rather than just being left by my parents). So my answer is "No, I would not feel guilty to pull my kids out of school, infact I would feel guilty if I didn't!" :)

[cruisinqt]

izzymommy, I couldn't agree more! We are in a society today that promotes selfishness and me-ism. Everyone thinks that they should leave their kids behind and have fun without them because they "deserve a break today." I can't tell you how many times people have told me that they leave their kids behind all the time. Well I'm not going to! I think quality family time is more important than just about anything else. ;) And thank god we have some really wonderful teachers and staff at our school that believe the same way we do. There really are teachers out there that are pleased that you're spending quality family time with your kids and helping them to see the world. A ten year old in my nieces class got pregnant and had a baby last month at age 11. :eek: My nieces teacher said the biggest problem with children today is that the family structure has fallen apart and the parents aren't spending any quality time with their kids. That's why the kids are doing such outrageous things. I say, by all means, spend quality time with your kids and don't worry about other people's opinions.:)