Taking kid's out of school for cruise: advice?

[IBoz]

Our family has only taken vacation during the school year once. My in-laws live overseas, and they were in the US for a week. DS was in 3rd grade and DD hadn't started school yet.

 

Because of the unique situation, the school allowed this time as an excused absence, and DS' teacher put together a packet of work for DS to work on. He was a little behind when we returned, but caught up quickly.

 

That being said, we take our vacations during school breaks. Yes, it is more expensive, but it is important to us that our kids see school as a commitment that cannot be waived to save money on vacation. I agree that certain vacations can also be quite educational, but they are just as educational in June as they would be in October (and less disruptive to the class and student).

 

Just my opinion, though. That is what my family does, and I certain wouldn't argue with anyone that works out some deal with their own school.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Week long field trips? Happens every year for every grade above 4th at my son's school. 5th graders go to science camp, 6th graders to outdoor camp, 7th graders to Renaissance camp, 8th graders to DC and NYC. We picked this private school for that reason along with others.

 

As a teacher, I always took my 7th graders to Ashland, OR for a week and my 8th graders to DC for a week. It was built in to our curriculum. At public school.

 

And if a teacher took a week long vacation during the school year? I'd be happy to sub for her since that's my job now :). Otherwise, I'd say thank goodness on her cheap little penny of a salary she could afford a vacation anytime of the year.

 

The middle school that my girl goes to has a field trip to DC every year, but I don't know the details, including if it's just the 8th graders. I do know that from time to time, the teachers in the public schools here often take off for workshops, etc. Hopefully, these are something that are useful to the teachers. So often, there are substitutes. My girl is old enough now that she knows when a sub is phoning it in: when the sub tells them to open a book and start writing answers during class time. I can understand when the teacher assigns this type of independent work when she's working with a student or a small group of students. I don't when it's the whole class. I think this is when a well-rounded teacher (with travel experiences and life experiences) shines. Even a sub.

[Onessa]

???

 

I don't understand this statement. The value I place on education has nothing to do with money. It is about learning. . .

 

. . . It is more expensive to travel during school breaks, but we place a high value on education and want our children to do the same. I don't want to send the message that saving money on a vacation is more important than school. . . .

 

Since you choose to ignore ALL other reasons why someone might cruise during the school year, I choose to come to the conclusion that the only thing that is important to you is the $$$.

 

Your statment implies that:

1) the ONLY reason I cruise at time periods when my child may need to miss a few days of school is because I am cheap, and

2) since you will not allow your child to miss school that you place a higher value on education than any of those of us who choose to carefully weigh what works best for our family over bueracracy.

 

I stand by my philosophy that the parent needs to determine what will work for their child -- they should request input from teachers and others who know their child, and should not break laws and avoid lying.

 

But for those of us who have worked to minimize the time off, have asked permission from the principal prior to booking, have followed the rules and regulations of our school and its school board, have followed through with our children in making them understand their responsibilities in respect to the trip, have worked with teachers to pull together work to help keep our children on-track, have worked out excursions and itineraries that maximize learning opportunities -- you need not imply that we are "sending" our children the message "that saving money on a vacation is more important than school".

 

I hope you never are in the position where you cannot take a family vacation because other situations in your life do not allow you to take it during your school district's prescribed times.

[hudvalleycruiser]

Onessa, I agree with everything you've said, and for me, by far the most important aspects of your latest response are quoted below.

 

.... -- they should request input from teachers and others who know their child, and should not break laws and avoid lying.

 

.... have followed the rules and regulations of our school and its school board, ....quote]

 

 

On the flip side, I see Familycruzr's point when the absence occurs at the high school level. When children enter school, they're involved in education of a general nature, especially at the early levels where education is more "child-centered." A few days absence has little (if any) harmful effect upon the overall acquisition of knowledge and skill development, and work is easily made up. However, as the child progresses through the grades, subject matter becomes much more specific and sequential, especially at the upper grades where the focus is subject oriented. Missing 5 days at the 1st or 2nd grade is markedly different from missing 5 days of Calculus.

 

The bottom line is that even for the most responsible of parents, the decision is relative, and what works for one family may not work for another. Those who advised the OP to check with the teacher and/or principal regarding school district's absentee policy and also to determine what effect the absence may have upon the child's "learning curve" did, in fact, give the OP very sound advice.

[louanne93]

I've never heard of a week long field trip during the school year, but my child would not be going. There is a HUGE difference between a day and a week. Also, if you really want to know what your kids are learning, look at their standardized test scores. They will tell you much more than their grades.

 

It is too bad that your school district doesn't offer such programs. My son is part of an Academy (a school within the school), that is geared toward kids who are going to college. The week long field trip was a trip to Florida (we live in CA) on a Marine Biology excursion. The kids stayed in dorms and snorkeled for 5 days. They learned all about sea life, and my son saw (and brought back pictures) things he would never see in a classroom.

Several schools in CA. have the DC field trip in the 8th grade. I am sure someone will pipe in and confirm this.

 

I am reading my sons STAR test scores right now (I keep them in my top drawer of my computer desk) and he is in the top 90%. He has an IQ of 135 (even though iq's should never matter). He is a healthy 17 year old who is well rounded in education and outside activities. He is co-captian of the wrestling team (he also travels for that too).

 

As a family, we always put school first.We do not watch tv during the week, we do not drink soda during the week (I think it affects them) and it shows in my 4 childrens grades and STAR testing. When I went to my childrens teachers for independent study, all of them were pleased to give me work to take with us.

 

If you choose to cruise during the school year or during break, Happy Sailings:) .

[louanne93]

OOPS!! Darn double posts:)

[AlbertaGirl2007]

The middle school that my girl goes to has a field trip to DC every year' date=' but I don't know the details, including if it's just the 8th graders. I do know that from time to time, the teachers in the public schools here often take off for workshops, etc. Hopefully, these are something that are useful to the teachers. So often, there are substitutes. My girl is old enough now that she knows when a sub is phoning it in: when the sub tells them to open a book and start writing answers during class time. I can understand when the teacher assigns this type of independent work when she's working with a student or a small group of students. I don't when it's the whole class. I think this is when a well-rounded teacher (with travel experiences and life experiences) shines. Even a sub.[/quote']

 

I am a high school teacher and adore what I do. It's so much more than a job and I love contributing to the development of young adults. But when you hear comments like this it makes me sad. Often, teachers don't choose to go on workshops but are required by their school or board. It may seem like a vacation to some to go somewhere and attend workshops all day but to me it's just like going to school. Of course we learn something....we are educators and have made a commitment to life long learning.

For high school teachers in specialized subject areas, getting a sub who is proficient in your area can be difficult. Hence the need for independant work. I don't know if the sub that will come in will be able to teach my class so I might as well prepare things for them to do on their own or in small groups. It may not be new concepts but reinforcement of something I have already taught. Having a sub teach a new concept is sometimes a waste of time. Teenagers can be so stubborn and even if the sub is amazing, I often return to comments like "the sub didn't explain it well enough" or "you would have made it so much clearer". It's not that subs are not awesome, I could never do it, but kids are creatures of habit. They are used to seeing me everyday, listening to me talk and our routine.

 

For anyone that still has doubts about what a teacher does, I wish you could experience a week in my "teacher shoes". 5 hours of teaching and an hour of prep each day, volleyball practice before school 4 days, a weekend tournament and supervision of some activity (probably giving up my Friday night for a school dance). We may not make a lot of money but making a positive contribution to young adults is priceless!

 

Just MHO

[louanne93]

I am a high school teacher and adore what I do. It's so much more than a job and I love contributing to the development of young adults. But when you hear comments like this it makes me sad. Often, teachers don't choose to go on workshops but are required by their school or board. It may seem like a vacation to some to go somewhere and attend workshops all day but to me it's just like going to school. Of course we learn something....we are educators and have made a commitment to life long learning.

For high school teachers in specialized subject areas, getting a sub who is proficient in your area can be difficult. Hence the need for independant work. I don't know if the sub that will come in will be able to teach my class so I might as well prepare things for them to do on their own or in small groups. It may not be new concepts but reinforcement of something I have already taught. Having a sub teach a new concept is sometimes a waste of time. Teenagers can be so stubborn and even if the sub is amazing, I often return to comments like "the sub didn't explain it well enough" or "you would have made it so much clearer". It's not that subs are not awesome, I could never do it, but kids are creatures of habit. They are used to seeing me everyday, listening to me talk and our routine.

 

For anyone that still has doubts about what a teacher does, I wish you could experience a week in my "teacher shoes". 5 hours of teaching and an hour of prep each day, volleyball practice before school 4 days, a weekend tournament and supervision of some activity (probably giving up my Friday night for a school dance). We may not make a lot of money but making a positive contribution to young adults is priceless!

 

Just MHO

 

It is role models such as yourself that have made my oldest son (17) and daughter (13) want to be teachers.

[Onessa]

. . . For high school teachers in specialized subject areas, getting a sub who is proficient in your area can be difficult. . . . .

 

When I was a Junior in high school, the sole chemistry teacher for the school district had a major heart attack the day before school started. They hired a retired Home-Ec teacher to "fill in" for the first full semester. It was a disaster!

 

My DD (6th grade) has had a number of subs over the years that are outstanding, others that were merely babysitters, and one that the school district will no longer hire. Being a substitute teacher is the one job that I imagine is even more difficult than being a regular teacher :) !

[CanadianTwosome]

When I was a Junior in high school, the sole chemistry teacher for the school district had a major heart attack the day before school started. They hired a retired Home-Ec teacher to "fill in" for the first full semester. It was a disaster!

 

My DD (6th grade) has had a number of subs over the years that are outstanding, others that were merely babysitters, and one that the school district will no longer hire. Being a substitute teacher is the one job that I imagine is even more difficult than being a regular teacher :) !

 

WARNING: This post got totally out of hand... grab a drink and use the bathroom now, because it could take a while... :p

 

Interestingly, my mother was a home ec teacher, and her first degree (before education) was a B.Sc. in chemistry. You want to know the breakdown of the food you're eating and how it is processed and used in your body, she's the one to ask! ha ha ha When she returned to teaching after my father died, her first job was in a high school where she taught science and home management. The kids loved her - as they did when she was able to resume teaching home ec years later. Once there, though, she ended up banking an entire year's worth of sick leave because she hated missing a day so much - at the grade 8 level, she had a different class from within the district every morning and afternoon, and since subs generally aren't home ec majors, she would inevitably be a week behind on any class she missed. My point is, I doubt it was the home ec part that made the substitution a disaster... but it IS typical of teachers being expected to instruct in subjects with which they do not have either practical experience, or in some cases just current experience.

 

My niece had a math teacher in grade nine that was actually a gym teacher. Now, I'm sure there are gym teachers in the world who have minored in math... but I guarantee that this particular teacher did NOT. When she came to me for tutoring, I consistently corrected notes that she had copied from the board. I explained concepts to her that the teacher had gotten wrong, and in one case, when she spoke up in class about the angles of a triangle adding to 180 degrees, her teacher said, 'I'll look into that.' It was a pretty sad state of affairs. If she hadn't had me to come to, I have no doubt that she would have failed the class.

 

I have had some truly excellent educators in my life. I gave my daughter a book for Christmas that is full of quizzes, and she gave me one, in which she asked me the name of my favourite teacher... it took me a while to decide! I finally settled on my grade 2 teacher, who was not only a wonderful teacher, but a genuinely beautiful person that none of her students will ever forget. On the other hand, I've had some incredible duds. I had a physics/computer science teacher in high school that knew his material so well, he couldn't teach it. The only kids in the class that understood anything he said were the ones that didn't actually need instruction, if you know what I mean. I had to get a tutor for cs and still barely passed... and yet my first undergrad degree was a combined math/cs. I've also had many math teachers that had similar issues - having never had trouble with math themselves, they found it difficult to break it down for the students that didn't naturally understand it... thankfully (for me) I was one of those that 'didn't need instruction'.

 

The bottom line is that I learned that while education is vital, I cannot count solely on the education system to bring it to me or my child. Hence, missing school to gain experience in another area of life that I believe is important is acceptable to me. The idea that I do not value education simply because I'm willing to let my daughter miss a few days out of an entire year is ludicrous, and I get tired of hearing it.

 

There. I think I covered everything I wanted to say... My apologies for any body parts that fell asleep while reading this post!! :)

[Finbar127]

Please, no flaming, but I have to ask. Of all you parents who pull kids out of school for vacations, how many of you actually make the kids do their schoolwork while on vacation? And, please be honest. No one here really knows you, so tell the truth.

 

We do. We just completed a cruise in December and have another one planned for next December. We made sure our kids completed their assignments before they returned to school. The trick with young children (ours are 6 and 8) is to schedule the school work during times when there is nothing else going on (ie. waiting at the airport, on the plane, during afternoon breaks, before dinner, etc).

 

She's heard every excuse in the book, but the reality is, very few parents care about the educational aspect of taking a vacation. <snip> And be really honest, how many of you parents really take the time to discuss cultural issues when on a tour of an island?

 

We don't. We take vacations to enjoy family time together. Our kids are naturally curious and ask questions while we are out and about on the islands. We do our best to answer them. If they get an educational benefit out of it...great. If not, we are not going to worry about it. Another poster mentioned that before you know it your children will be grown, out of the house, and involved in their own affairs. The time they spend with their family while they are young is more valuable than any lesson taught in a classroom.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I must have been very tired when I wrote my last post. I meant to say that the middle school she will be going to. She's still in grade school. She has had some great subs and some that just tell them to copy out of the book...and then yell at them if they don't copy word for word.

[IAO]

I can easily say my family does discuss cultural and historic aspects of our location when we are on a trip - cruise or otherwise. It need not seem like a lecture nor does it have to be running commentary. When we were in Nassau, our kids learned all about Junkanoo from our cab driver as well as some history of the island. I know it was retained because they mentioned it later on. When we go to Cozumel, we will be taking our kids who will be 6 and 9 to Tulum (which my husband and I have already done) to learn a bit about Mayan civilization. We do discuss the things we have seen during the excursion and afterwards.

[CanadianTwosome]

I think it's important to note, not all learning on a vacation need be cultural. There are things that can be learned through experience that might be difficult to teach just through explanation. For me, one of the best learning experiences my mom ever gave me was in Nassau. We had been off the ship and to the straw market and had a lovely day, then on the way back to the ship, there was a boy about my age selling crocheted hats on the pier. I bought a (hideous in hindsight) purple plastic one. When we got back on the ship, and my mom took a moment to talk to me about the fact that I was on a cruise ship on my Christmas holiday, and he was on a dock selling hats. It took a while for it to sink in, but eventually I 'got it'. I consider the lesson I learned that day to be one of the most important of my life. I am grateful for everything I have, and always will be. I definitely did not learn that at school. :)

 

So, now, my husband and I both take every opportunity we can to 'teach' our child. It doesn't have to be on vacation, but travelling does afford opportunities to learn that we do not have at home. Some of those opportunities are cultural, but some are just 'life lessons'. I think all learning is important and valuable. :)

[abitaturbodog]

I've avoided this thread like the plague...(I've always taken my children out of school for vacations and am not concerned what other people think.):p

 

Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that there's an article in the February issue of Cruise Travel magazine supporting taking kids out of school for a cruise. It's pretty informative if anyone can get their hands on it.

 

Now I will go back to avoiding this thread....:p

[lddam]

....Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that there's an article in the February issue of Cruise Travel magazine supporting taking kids out of school for a cruise. ....

 

Gosh, now there's a shocker. Imagine that...a magazine dedicated to the cruising industry supporting taking kids out of school for a cruise. I'm sure they were entirely objective.

[Onessa]

Gosh, now there's a shocker. Imagine that...a magazine dedicated to the cruising industry supporting taking kids out of school for a cruise. I'm sure they were entirely objective.

 

I havent read the piece and it appears that this poster (Iddam) also has not, but still feels qualified to comment upon it? I would be interested in a critique of its content from someone who has read it!

[CC Help Michell]

I havent read the piece and it appears that this poster (Iddam) also has not, but still feels qualified to comment upon it? I would be interested in a critique of its content from someone who has read it!

 

I read it. It appears on the last page of the magazine, where they publish submitted articles under the heading "Cruise Views," and it's basically a trip report from a woman who took her son out of school last May to do a HAL cruise in New England. I didn't read it as containing any "opinion" from the magazine's editors endorsing the practice or anything like that.

 

Like many posts here, it was really just the author explaining what she did to make the trip educational, the shore excursions they did, and why she felt it was worth her child missing a week of school.

[dancergirlmom]

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