Pulling teens out of school

[PJNJcruise5]

Enjoy your cruise, and don't worry about school. My husband and I took our kids out of school for about 3 days before thanksgiving. It was easier for permission from the elementary school than the high school. That being said the kids made up all their homework and I am looking forward to another cruise with them. Children grow up so fast, make the most of your time together. Our oldest is now in college and working full time. It will be very difficult for him to travel with us on our next cruise. I am very glad we took him out of school for a cruise when we did. My husbands parents also went, so it was a great bonding moment for generations. Believe me a cruise IS educational. Our kids learned alot. It is good for anyone to travel outside their own country to see what the world is like, to learn the differences in cultures, as well as similarities. It makes you appreciate the great blessings in our own country. I applaud the schools in Pennsylvania for realizing family time is important.

[carriejose]

I have been pulling my boys (ages 17 and 16) out of school for family vacations for years and I will start pulling out my daughters (ages 4 and 3) if needed. We try to schedule family vacations during summer vacation, but if you look at my cruise history, all of our cruises have been during school...My boys will be missing the last 3 days of school this year:eek:

 

Have fun and enjoy your cruise:)

[Ottawadad]

Greetings

 

First off, sorry for the long post, I tend to blab but I wanted to share my own experience.

 

We are heading out on our first cruise in a couple of weeks and will be taking our nine year old son out of school for a week. I have absolutely no concern for what he may miss in class.

 

I am approaching 45 and grew up with a wonderful benefit. A father who worked for Air Canada. For the first 18 years of my life I could travel the world free and travel I did.

 

My dad, when I was in elementary school, approached the school principle to ask about me missing classes to travel. He was told with no uncertainty that I would learn more traveling than I could ever learn in a classroom.

 

Although many trips were exclusively touristy there were times when I would be surprised with an educational element. I was eight years old, visiting Barbados. My dad says "let's go. Where? Just get in the car." Minutes later I was the centre of attention at a local cub scouts meeting. Playing "shirts and skins" I was a glowing beacon since this was only the second day of our trip. Now understand this was the 1970's and I grew up in a moderately small town in eastern Canada. From the time I started school through to graduation there was only one black kid in school. ONE!

600 kids in my high school. ONE! Anyway, back to eight, I had a blast and whether I knew it or not, my dad's smile was for more than just seeing me enjoy myself.

 

On another trip when I was 12 I found myself surrounded by a group of kids babbling at me in a strange language. Yup, dad surprised me again, but no cubs this time. I was in school, not sure if I liked this idea. School on vacation. Ok, I was in Berlin and spending the day in school. I couldn't speak German but many of the kids spoke English. I was somewhat disappointed that I couldn't go back the next day.

 

Listing the many things I learned would make this post even longer, something I'm sure no one wants so I will let you imagine what could be learned by a child while traveling. Yes my dad had the benefit of local contacts (through the airline) to help him arrange these things but this was a time before the internet so I am sure, that with a little effort, wonderful opportunities can be found. Be sure to bring little gifts as souvenirs for the kids.

 

And what if you can't arrange anything in particular? Not needed. If I had a test or project due and my dad was flying out for a meeting somewhere I would leave a day or two later on my own and catch up with him. I was 12 and navigating alone through some of the world's busiest airports, never treated as a UM. I could get from one end of a terminal to the opposite end in under half an hour to make an "illegal" connection if necessary. I was a confident international traveller before I was a teenager. That confidence came from traveling and observing. Now I am not suggesting that you allow kids to travel like this today but simply the experience of traveling will help build confidence as they experience more of the world that surrounds them.

 

There are many opportunities out there that can be turned into learning experiences. Keep a journal, photos, build a web page about the trip. The world is the best school.

 

Enjoy your vacation

 

Dale

[MrsPete]

You've decided that this is a good choice for your family -- that's all you can control. I'd suggest that you say one more thing to the parents: "We need to book by ______ date, so please give us a firm 'yes' or 'no' by _____ date. We're pleased either way you decide."

 

It could be that they are concerned about missing the school days, or it could be any number of other things:

 

Perhaps they're already considering another family vacation, and the girl cannot miss days for both.

Perhaps they would feel "obligated" to reciprocate by taking your daughter on their next trip, and they can't really afford to do it. Or perhaps they simply don't want to have another person join their next trip (speaking only for myself, I want my kids to myself on vacation).

Perhaps she's not really as strong a student as your daughter believes; it could be that she's been stressed about making up work in the past, but sharing that information with her friends would be embarassing.

Perhaps they aren't comfortable with her leaving the country or being on a ship, and they don't want to admit that to you.

Perhaps they're short on cash, and they feel they cannot buy her dresses for formal night or provide her with enough spending money (and we all know that lots of people look like they have plenty of money, but they're really teetering on the brink of disaster).

Perhaps her behavior at home has been less than responsible, and they don't feel that she's deserving of such a trip right now.

Perhaps they have other children, and they feel that it'd be "unfair" to allow this child to take such a trip while the others cannot.

Perhaps they've never been on a cruise, and they have a dream of taking the whole family together -- you know, everyone setting foot on the ship at the same time.

 

Whether they're using school as an excuse or whether it's really what's holding them back, let them do so. It's their business.

 

Speaking for myself only, as generous as it is, I would probably say 'no' to this invitation. As other people said, a cruise isn't really an educational trip -- oh, sure, all travel is educational in a sense, but a cruise is more like a beach trip than a real learning experience. And if they're in high school, their grades will be affected to some extent (even if they're honors students); 15 years of teaching tells me that's just the way it is.

[RatherBFishin]

However, the other girls parents are more hesitant than I am. Can anybody help me with educational benefits of putting their daughter on a ship with me, as opposed to leaving her at home?

 

Are there educational benefits? If the truth is that you're doing it so the girls can have a once in a lifetime vacation (or life experiance), then I'd respect the other girl's parents wishes.

 

That said, I'd let my own daughter go if one of her friends parents wanted to take her. But every parent is entitled to make that call for themselves.