school and cruising

[sac2]

hello everyone my question today is how do yall feel about taking a 13 year old out of school to go on a cruise would that be ok or just irresponsible..

[tuliplvr]

How many nights?

[Multitasker]

We are taking our 15 year old out in February for 8 days. We will be visiting the Panama Canal so I'm counting it as educational. This far ahead she will be able plan with her teachers for assignments and most days she will have to devote some time to her studies. I do have concerns that it will be difficult to catch up but the opportunity to go to the Panama during off school time except at Christmas is difficult to do.

I wish you luck in your decision. Happy sailing.

[pach]

I have no problem taking my 13yo out of school. As long as she makes up the work.

 

This year we decided to cruise during the teacher's convention, so she'll only be missing 3 days of school.

[xxbrowns]

One more try with CC being a little funky today...

 

I think it depends on the student and the school. We pulled our then 10 y/o son out of forth grade for 3 days. After seeing the amount of work he had to make up, we said never again. Our school's policy is if your child misses (non-illness) 1 day, you have 1 day to make up the work. Miss 2 days, you have 2 days to make up the work. Miss 3 days or more, you only have 3 days to make up the work and turn it in.

 

My kids are older now, 8th and 6th grade (my older two) and I could never take them out at this level. Keep in mind, my kids really have to work hard and study a lot to get good grades. No two kids are created equal and for some kids, it comes much easier.

 

Good luck in your decision!

 

Chris

[gw2kbust]

I'm 23 years old and looking back at my childhood, my parents never wanted to pull me out of school for any vacation. Finally, I convinced them to take me to Disney with my grandparents when I was 15. In my opinion, it was worth every bit and I didn't get behind on my school work at all. All the teachers were very nice and lenient and helped me finish everything before I left. With that said, each year, school piled more and more work on top of me so it was much harder to get me out of school for a week as the years went on. Your kids will grow up quick and then you'll regret that you didn't take more vacations with them. Pull them out for a few days and go enjoy yourselves. My parents and I still talk about that trip. A few days of school loss was definitely worth a lifetime of memories.

[Hombre59]

Well we were trying to get a December cruise going for our family, but Brevard County Public School officials (Port Canaveral is in our county), said that they will have to be in school up to December 23rd, to make up the hurricane does we lost. What kinda school system requires students to be there the day before christmas eve?? There goes all the planning (but who says they are going on those days!)

[laurspag]

Things vary from place to place, but where we are, the high school tracks not only how many days you miss, but the classes themselves. That included field trips! They are not lenient in the least, and if I took my daughter out of school for a week, we'd better hope she didn't get sick even once.

 

I believe she has school on the 23rd of December as well, but we are in New York.

 

Her school vacations do not line up with the older daughter's college vacations, so we are stuck with July and August, the most expensive time of the year.

 

I don't like it, but what can I do?

[tnf]

As long as the child is a good student and able to make up the work, i say go for it. We have taken our kids on a cruise in nov. for the last 6 yrs. and they have missed up to 7 days of school. But they always make it up before we leave. We just pray they do not get sick and have to miss anymore days in the same semster.

[crusinmama06]

What kinda school system requires students to be there the day before christmas eve?? There goes all the planning (but who says they are going on those days!)

 

Any schools that live in blizzard prone areas...lol. Our kids have to go to school on the 23rd every year because blizzards cancel schools. ;) I guess I never thought about it.

 

And as far as the 13 year old...if the teen is responsible and has good grades, then I would have no problem pulling him/her out.

 

Of course, I just pulled out my 3rd grader on the 2nd week of school. And she misses at least one week/year for a cruise. At this point in her schooling, she has no problems. She knows that if that changes, then there will be no more cruises for her during the school year.

[mtebor]

What a coincidence. My wife and I were talking about this today about this. I am looking at a cruise the week after thanksgiving 2010. My dd will be 13 and in 8th grade by then.

While I am concerned taking her out for a week, I think she will do fine. She is very bright and has about a 93% average for the last few years. My concern is what hassle I will get from the school for 8 days of absences.

[reallyitsmema]

We pulled our son out of school for vacations when he was younger but haven't done it since 4th grade. His school became very strict with unexcused absences so we really had no choice.

 

Once he entered high school, there was no way he could have maintained his grades since he isn't allowed to make up missed labs. So, we have paid the high prices of cruising in June the last few years.

 

If your child's school will work with you and the vacation will not adversely effect grades, then I would go for it.

[silentbob007]

As always, it depends upon the school, teacher, student, etc. When I taught in public school (high school), most parents did not approach this type of planning well. Everyone always talks about "life experience," "learning," etc ... but let's face it ... it's because it's cheaper to cruise at that time. With 80 students every day, it was frustrating to take the hours to compile lessons and work for a student who missed ... then have that student never do it (which was my experience). I'm sure everyone who posts on CC makes sure their kids do the make-up work, but the "pull kids out of school" question always make me groan because of the parents and students I've actually had to work with.

[LaShoe]

I am a Navy brat and let me tell you I don't remember much about what was taught in school, but I can remember a lot about the countries I saw and the people I met.

[cruisePRN]

I disapprove of taking kids out of school for vacations. That's why they have so many breaks during the year. Why couldn't you go during one of those breaks or summer vacation?

[imjoyful2]

I was just going to say yeah that! ^^^ ;) I think it's one of those things that depend on your childs school and your child in general also. Personally, family is a top priority for us, no matter the time of year. :D Learning can be incorporated into everything you do. But then again, I homeschool my kids and am grateful I have the opportunity to do as we want in regards to traveling and such. :p I can tell you, my kids have done more and seen more than most kids their age.

[MariaoftheSeas]

I'm now 27 and my parents used to take my out of school for vacation. I had good grades. I dont' think it is a problem to take children out of school for vacation. A week is not that long to make up the work

[akcruz]

As others have said it depends on the child. We took my DD out for 3 days when she was in 5th grade and after that she asked us not to do it any more. She felt like she was behind for the next 2 months. During high school she never wanted to miss even 1 day for a long weekend or when she wasn't feeling well. The thought of making up the work overtook her desire to go away. She is now in college and very responsible for herself and doing great.

 

Now on the other hand, my DS is in 8th grade and due to the teachers convention here in NJ and election day EVERYONE takes their kids out of school the first week in November (they miss a whole day and a half in our district), so nothing gets accomplised that week. So, we are taking him out this year and going on a cruise. He is not the same student as DD at all and I know we will have a struggle to make up the little bit of work he will miss, but considering what has happened the last few years now that they have election day off we decided to take the chance.

 

I do know, however, that if we want a family (all 4 of us) vacation it will have to be over the summer and starting next year when DS is in high school things will definitely be different.

[hoop4321]

we just pulled our 12 year old out of school for 2 days for a cruise. The only problem we have had, was a teacher accidently gave him zeros for the days he missed. All was repaired when she realized he wasn't there those days. She does not want him to do the quizes as they were a group project. I would not take him out further in the school year. Last year he missed a week of school due to a funeral, and he fell behind in pre algebra. It took him the rest of the 9 weeks to catch up and bring his grade up to a b. A little stressful for him.

 

However, I would take him out a few days befor the christmas holidays begin. When he was in private school, they did nothing the week before a holiday break. Now that he is in public, the 3 days before seem to be no work, have fun, watch a movie kind of days. I wish you well with whatever you decide.:)

[wrp96]

It really depends on the child, the school and the teachers. I missed 2 weeks of school when I was in junior high due to my father's death. I had no problems making up the work in almost all of my classes, most of my teachers were very understanding. Unfortunately one of my teachers was an absolute terror and my parents had to get the school board involved to prevent her from failing me.

 

My brother who was in high school however had a hard time making up the work, not due to the teachers, but due to his own work ethic.

[michelle6213]

As an educator, we have to realize that parents work demands do not necessarily fall in line with school schedules. It is my policy to focus on families and their needs, and try to make my classroom work with that. Children learn so much from visiting other countries and unique places that I could never teach in the classroom. I try to make the destination a part of the homework.

 

It is one thing to get a note from parents that my child will be gone, but if a parent calls and detalis the situation and asks for homework upfront, as much in advance as possible, I will try to get it all to them well before they leave.

 

Try the personal approach, even if they are not at the elementary level. Just because you are parent of a middle schooler or high school student, doesn't mean you cannot pick up the phone or stop in when appropriate and talk to each teacher. It goes a long way to show the level of commitment you have as a parent.

[danp]

See dont pick on New Jersey because the schools here are closed for the first week in November.Why?Teachers convention week.So the cruises out of New Jersey and New York will be loaded with kids from NJ.

[dirtgirl]

I would absolutely never do it now as both kids are in high school. There is so much to miss when you are gone for a week. Now if your child is a genius, it may not be an issue. :rolleyes: Neither one of my kids would even want to miss a day of school, let alone a week. Neither would I when I was their age. I won't compromise their education for a cruise. Honestly, they aren't all that educational, unless you are perhaps doing a Panama or a Med cruise. Going waverunning and climbing Dunn's River don't qualify as education! (We have done both - great fun as a family, but not a replacement for school). This is just my humble opinion. YMMV

 

One of my kids would be severely compromised by taking him out of school. It's just not worth it for me.

[reallyitsmema]

As an educator, we have to realize that parents work demands do not necessarily fall in line with school schedules. It is my policy to focus on families and their needs, and try to make my classroom work with that. Children learn so much from visiting other countries and unique places that I could never teach in the classroom. I try to make the destination a part of the homework.

 

It is one thing to get a note from parents that my child will be gone, but if a parent calls and detalis the situation and asks for homework upfront, as much in advance as possible, I will try to get it all to them well before they leave.

 

Try the personal approach, even if they are not at the elementary level. Just because you are parent of a middle schooler or high school student, doesn't mean you cannot pick up the phone or stop in when appropriate and talk to each teacher. It goes a long way to show the level of commitment you have as a parent.

The personal approach will not work if the absences are unexcused and the teacher is not allowed to give work to you. I will not go into my son's school and show I am commited to breaking school policy.

[BobbyK]

As a teacher and a parent I'm see both sides. For two years my sons were on different school tracks than I was on. The only way we could vacation was to take a trip during my time off. I cleared it with the teachers and made all the arrangements. Well, so much schoolwork was sent that we spent four to five intensive hours each and every day doing school work. It really put a dent in our vacation. For the second year I did tell the teachers (it was elementary). However, my youngest son made a point of telling his teacher he would see him on Monday. Of course that wasn't the truth. By the time I was aware of this it was to late to do anything about it. Truthfully, as a parent, I was happy to not have that burden. As a teacher, if I need to prepare work ahead of time, I will arrange for a review of the basics (like math flashcards). However, the bulk of the work will be keeping a journal, collecting post cards, keeping track of mileage, etc. Being that your daughter is 13 I'd check and then the teachers. Missed labs, tests, etc, may make it really tough.