Poll: Do you take your kid's out of school...

[madisonswims]

I do pull my daughter out of school. She does do independent study, so she does not miss any of her lessons.

 

I don't feel bad about this because I truly believe that she is learning so much on trips. She is exposed to other cultures, learns about geography, history, different architectures, natural sciences, etc.

[njs]

One of the two who posted in the first 3 pages said that he/she felt it was a decision best left to parents. How is that arrogance on the part of teachers in the first part of this thread? Your argument regarding the arrogance of teachers on this thread doesn't hold any weight njs. Go back and reread what you have referenced.

 

Just want to clarify something. In no post did I mention the arrogance of teachers. Post #130 spoke about this, but I was not that poster.

 

I also apologized in post #126/127 for giving a sarcastic answer to what I thought was a sarcastic question. Not quite sure what else you want me to do. Should I submit my address for a public flogging:rolleyes: Not gonna happen.

Anyway, have a nice day and enjoy your next cruise:)

[dcmarianne]

Oops, sorry! Dupe

[dcmarianne]

No, I don't take my kids out of school for vacation, to save money, or for any other reason.

 

Unfortunately, unlike the overwhelming majority of children referred to on this thread, mine are not straight A students, and they benefit from the time they spend in school. Also, unlike the majority of schools referred to on this thread, our (public) schools are teaching at a level of challenge that does not permit homework to be completed before the lessons are taught. It would also be very difficult to make up a week's worth of work upon return. I would not think of asking my children's teachers (2 for 5th grader, 7 for 11th grader) to assemble a week's worth of work, ahead of time, because we were going on vacation. That seems arrogant, but that is strictly my opinion.

 

We love to cruise and we have found some of our destinations mildly educational, but I can't honestly say that I would equate the experience of a 7-day Caribbean cruise to the amount of education my children receive in 5 instructional days at school. I guess I should feel very proud of our school system!

[VentureMan_2000]

I know in California that schools are paid $70 for each day the child attends school. If they don't attend, then the school does not get paid.

 

If I took my 3 children out of school for a week, I would screw the school out of $1,050. So, not only would I be screwing my kids out of their right to an education, I would be screwing the school my kids attend as well. And it would be teaching them that attending school is not that important. And then, I'm sure, the kids are told to lie to the school about why they were absent to cover for the lie the parents told the school as to why the children were absence.

 

But I suppose self-centered parents don't care.

 

And there are those... that choose to include cruising 101 as part of their home-school curriculum... :rolleyes:

[maddea20]

I swear this is one of the most boring threads I've ever been part of. U either have people writing paragraphs upon paragraphs of y they take their kids out of school for a week or more (uhm who really cares :rolleyes:) or people complaining about the same thing over and over pertaining to teachers and work schedules and the like. Yawn, yawn, yawn. I feel like the thread has gotten nowhere. And on top of it it's just so boring to read some of your posts :confused: . And for the person who may say the predictable sentence of "well don't read it", my answer to that is I haven't been. I stopped on page 3 :p . After that I've been skimming and seeing the same ol same ol blah blah blah. And the poster who said that at post 150 people most have no lives writing all these posts, right u r!

[MrPete]

I swear this is one of the most boring threads I've ever been part of.

 

I though the same thing reading each of your responses.

[RockerWife]

I haven't been on this board for very long but I have noticed there are a couple of posters that are extremely critical and tend to provoke rather than share. I have put both of them on ignore and I can't tell you how much nicer it is to read only the posts of folks who just want to express their opinion in a respectful manner. I'd say I'm pretty set in my ways, but I am interested in other people's opinion (which is why I am here in the first place) and have learned alot since being here. I just can't tolerate the personal attacks on folks who don't happen to agree with these particular poster's opinions.

 

Thanks to those of you who are thoughtful and kind in your responses. I'd cruise with you any day and hope to in the future. :D

[maddea20]

I though the same thing reading each of your responses.

 

Well isn't that Ha Ha funny, cause when I've read posts you've written they're never talking about anything. Basically reading your posts are a waste of time? I don't know!

[MrPete]

Then please don't read them. :rolleyes:

[Catnip]

I though the same thing reading each of your responses.

 

Holy Smokes!!!!!!! When I read this, I burst out laughing so loud, my cat came running in to the room to see what was the matter!!!! :D :D :D

[Catnip]

No, I don't take my kids out of school for vacation, to save money, or for any other reason.

 

I would not think of asking my children's teachers (2 for 5th grader, 7 for 11th grader) to assemble a week's worth of work, ahead of time, because we were going on vacation. That seems arrogant, but that is strictly my opinion.

 

We love to cruise and we have found some of our destinations mildly educational, but I can't honestly say that I would equate the experience of a 7-day Caribbean cruise to the amount of education my children receive in 5 instructional days at school.

 

I agree with you! I read so much about pulling kids out of school to go on a family vacation is OK because "they learn so much about other cultures". That makes me laugh! Most of the Caribbean cruising is spent in the pool, on the beach, in the kids club, etc. Actually how much time is spent with a child on a tour of the towns looking at architecture or going and talking to the "locals" to learn about their culture? Not much, I'd wager a guess.

Now, if you're talking about Europe, you might make a valid point about touring churches & exploring the famous cities, and children learning a little on those cruises.

 

this is just my own $.02 worth..........not trying to incite a flaming war or anything. Just posting my own opinion, like everone else here has done!

[karen sharpe]

I have to pipe in here. My wife and I have pretty strong feelings that when our 2 year old starts school our off season vacations will stop and we will just have to grin and bear it.

 

I don't have a problem with one or two days missed for travel but an entire week does, IMHO, seem to send the wrong message to the child about the priority of education. There are far too many other distractions to schoolchildren today that diminishes the priority of education without Dad and Mom adding to it.

 

I'm sorry if anyone finds that offensive; however, it is just my opinion.

 

AJ you are one lucky boy to have such dedicated , loving parents who have a clear vision of important priorities in your growth! I'm sure you will grow into a well grounded, well educated young man.:)

[halos]

This really belongs as a family decision. My kids are grown and if I had to do it all over again, I would have taken them out periodically.

 

Hindsight is 20/20 and I agree with you 100%.

I regret being so anal as to think that taking them out of school would be detrimental.

It certainly wouldn't have been for my kids.

This should be a family decision. Each family and each child is a different situation.

[halos]

I wish all of you who knew how hard it is to catch up a child who has missed a week of school. Children who miss a day often miss 2 teaching days.

 

Everyone is going to do what they think is right and I agree it is up to the parents.

 

 

It depends on the child.

 

My oldest missed close to 3 weeks of her junior year of high school for a school sponsored study in Costa Rica for her Spanish class.

She kept up/caught up with her other classes just fine.

The teachers at our high school understood what a wonderful experience this would be for the kids and worked a little harder at getting these kids the work they needed for their other classes ahead of time. Was this an inconvenience for them?? Yes, I imagine it was. The bottom line is that these teachers knew this would be good for the kids, so they worked a little harder with no complaint because they want what's best for the kids.

My DD's experiences in Costa Rica were no different than if she had vacationed there with me, the only difference was she lived with a CR family so she was submerged in the language...other than that, they did 'touristy' things while there.

This was an amazing experience for her. It opened up the world for her. She went off to college and took a semester abroad and spent time in Costa Rica again in a Peace Corps camp and lived in a shack for 2 weeks helping work a farm with a Costa Rican Family that didn't even have elecricity. She'll graduate college this year and has a job with Americorps for a year (at least) until she decides to go to Grad school.

All this came from her experience in Costa Rica the first time...when she was taken out of high school for nearly 3 weeks.

You can NOT get this from sitting in a class room.

 

I totally understand younger parents. I was in your shoes and didn't know any better. If your child is excelling in school, there is NO harm to pulling them out to experience life and the world.

I wish I'd have pulled mine out of school. Your views change as you get older...your views CERTAINLY change when you actually HAVE kids as opposed to prior to having any.

I can recall the time BRR (Before Rug Rats) when I would repeatedly say "I will NEVER....."

PFFT!

Things change once the baby arrives, and as they grow AND as YOU grow, your ideas, opinions and choices will resemble nothing of the ideas and opinions you had when you were younger.

My advise to all young parents is don't be too anal. It's not worth it in the big picture. Just relax and enjoy your kids. They grow up all too fast. :)

[caesar68]

I am not sure if my other posting will go through so I will keep this brief...

As an educator, I can assure you that I have not come across any research stating that a week out of school to spend quality time with family has negatively impacted a child's success later in life....Relax.:o

[halos]

Hey Angel!

 

How's thing's up north! I see you have another cruise out of NYC!

 

Hey Pete!

Things up north are COLD.

Yes, another cruise out of NYC..need my head examined! :eek:

It was cheap when we booked...an offer we could refuse. :p

[nikkin]

I remember long ago ..we took our son out of 3rd grade for a week at Disney.. They gave him so much work to do .. I wanted to cry for him. It was a crazy amount.. He would have to spend most nights for hours doing it. I never took him out again.. and do his credit .. he has also said in past he didn't want to go on trips while school was in session.. cause he would get too far behind..

[lyttleone1977]

Really, how is taking a child out of school any different then a child getting sick and being out of school for a week or two? When I was a kid I got mono, and was out of school for two weeks. I had to get caught up my school work, but there was nothing that was taught during that 2 weeks that prevented me from excelling with my education. Is a week really going to effect what my child will learn in their life?

[Knights on the Beach]

I am not sure if my other posting will go through so I will keep this brief...

As an educator, I can assure you that I have not come across any research stating that a week out of school to spend quality time with family has negatively impacted a child's success later in life....Relax.:o

Very well put!

[cruzin w chris]

i would take my kids out in a heartbeat. i do my best to avoid it as i cannot have summer vacations in my line of work due to extremely high volume at work. so if i cannot get the time off when the kids are off then i have no problem whatsoever taking them out for whatever period of time i need to. my second altewrnative is to coincide a cruise with some days off they may have but if thats not possible then yank em out i say !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[athomemom]

This is a tricky subject, because each child is an individual. If your elementary school agechild is not experiencing difficulties in the classroom, I say Go For It! They can make up any work they miss, and this is a learning experience. Some of you may say that a vacation is not a learning experience, but I believe it can be. I would caution parents about when they take the week. The best times to take off are: the last 6 weeks of school, the weeks straddling holidays, the 4th or 5th week of school, and the week report cards go home(usually not much grading). The worst time to go are the first few weeks of school, around planned assessments/ tests, and standardized tests. Also- the middle of a grading period! This is when most assessments/ grading goes on. Remember to stress to your kids how important school is, and make up any work missed. You may also want to ask for additional activities to complete that are above and beyond the required work.

By the way, don't tell the school what you are doing... it may be unexcused. Say it's a family emergency/funeral etc...

[kgk]

I remember long ago ..we took our son out of 3rd grade for a week at Disney.. They gave him so much work to do .. I wanted to cry for him. It was a crazy amount.. He would have to spend most nights for hours doing it. I never took him out again.. and do his credit .. he has also said in past he didn't want to go on trips while school was in session.. cause he would get too far behind..

 

After reading all of these posts - your post reminded me that this is the same thing my DD said HOWEVER, she said it after our last cruise taken between Christmas and New Years. We had the time off. But she still had tons of homework, assigned to her by several teachers. I had to write a note to the teachers to ask for permission for my daughter to get out of homework while on vacation !!! We'll still forgo taking her out of school (now that she is in HS), but have no regrets about pulling her out before HS.

[verdi73]

I know that this is a difficult question. Some parents have no choice to do vacations during the school year, and the choice is definately easier if you child is an honor roll student. However, under the No Child Left Behind Education act, student attendance is considered a second indicator of a school passing or failing. In other words, the school can meet the first indicator (test scores, etc), and not the second indicator(attendance), and that school will be labeled a failing school.I know it seems harsh, but that is the reality of today's education system. We all need to realize that accountability is a two way street.

[lemonade shaker]

We usually go during Spring Break so the kids don't miss school. My DD will have to miss one day this year because of travel. However, as a middle school social studies teacher I don't have a problem with pulling kid out for such a trip. My wife is a first grade teacher and she feels the same way. This is a great educational experience. You are seeing the culture of other countries. On the cruise we are taking this year I actually will have 5 of my students on the ship. What they learn on this trip could never be learned as well in the classroom. By the way my DD teacher is her mother. So you could say she will get some private tutoring on this trip. :)