a change I wish I could make

[mom4fun]

Why doesn’t main stream schools see the value in travel? Much of the financial issues with travel is wrapped around the need for us to be a Slave to the school calendar. I think every child should be allowed and encouraged to travel in some educational way 1-2 weeks, during a time period of the family's choice. There is so much to be learned outside of the classroom and I think it is so unfortunate that so many can only travel during school breaks because of this attitude of the school systems. This has caused a supply and demand issue that makes travel out of reach during those time periods. Many of the recent discussions on these boards come down to this issue. Who do you email on this one?

 

[Metsoskil]

United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Twitter Account: @ArneDuncan

Or, you could send snail mail.

The Department's U.S. Postal Service mailing address is:

U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202

 

[Plaid Princess]

I think every child should be allowed and encouraged to travel in some educational way 1-2 weeks, during a time period of the family's choice. There is so much to be learned outside of the classroom and I think it is so unfortunate that so many can only travel during school breaks because of this attitude of the school systems.

So true!

 

[TheLanes]

Just not sure a cruise is really all that educational. That's not stopping me from taking my kids out once a year to vacation, I'm just not going to call a Disney cruise to the Caribbean "educational"!

 

[DeniseMarie526]

I think you can make any trip educational. My son will be doing a report on cruise ships in general. Not necessarily about the entertainment value but of the logistics of it. He will also try to interview a few cast members about life on board.

 

[TheLanes]

You can certainly try!

At least our schools allow us to take the kids out with advanced notice. We sign a contract and still have homework to do.

 

[jjje]

Depends on yhe school I guess. I just took my kids out of school for a week and some of my son's teachers remarked on what a great educational opportunity it was for him.

 

[tvguy]

No disrespect, but I have never understood why it is necessary to take kids out of school for a vacation. The public schools here are out 14 full weeks, surely there is one week you can find in those 14 that will work. If it is worth it to their education, it is worth the effort to save the money for the extra cost by not going during a non-peak week.

 

[sbtrfly74]

Im taking DD10 out of school for 1 week before Xmas and though I was beyond worried about it since I booked the trip almost 2 yrs ago. Our teacher at orientation was more than OK with vacations during the school year as long as they made up their work with in three days.

Im still going to ask her for work ahead of time (since the reason they dont give work is no one does it anyways) b/c DD will be out a week for the cruise and then another week for Xmas Vacation and I will hope her teachers will give me some work to do ahead of time.

Now as far as DD17 in college classes, it was almost impossible to schedule her classes around their schedule and the cruise but I managed. She will end classes on the 11th and we leave on the 13th.

 

[sunshineNJ]

I completely agree with you. I did take my kids out of school but they are in college now and I know the public schools have really cracked down on it. I

 

[luvmy2kids]

tvguy

My husband is in the travel industry and his vacation is purely seniority based. He has been with his company 6 years now and has never been able to get a summer week off. Before this company he was with a similar company for 10 years and again was never able to get a summer week off. Unfortunately, some may not be able to get a week off from their job

Just giving an example as to why some may have to go during school.

 

[danfromca]

Why doesn’t main stream schools see the value in travel? Much of the financial issues with travel is wrapped around the need for us to be a Slave to the school calendar. I think every child should be allowed and encouraged to travel in some educational way 1-2 weeks, during a time period of the family's choice. There is so much to be learned outside of the classroom and I think it is so unfortunate that so many can only travel during school breaks because of this attitude of the school systems. This has caused a supply and demand issue that makes travel out of reach during those time periods. Many of the recent discussions on these boards come down to this issue. Who do you email on this one?

Start with your local school board and proceed to the state level.

Contrary to popular belief, the Federal government (department of education) has almost no say on these issues - they are handled almost entirely at the state and local level.

Talk to members of your local school board. Talk to your state legislators.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

We've taken our kids out of school on an average of 1 week every second year and school has never complained but instead asked us to sign an absent form ahead of time. Usually they give small assignments such as a diary to fill and some math. And on that note, we'll be on the Dream next week

 

[Lauriejl2]

No disrespect, but I have never understood why it is necessary to take kids out of school for a vacation. The public schools here are out 14 full weeks, surely there is one week you can find in those 14 that will work. If it is worth it to their education, it is worth the effort to save the money for the extra cost by not going during a non-peak week.

Ill give u just one example of why its necessary for some people to take kids out of school to vacation ..... Seniority! I have very little seniority where I work so I end up getting a "summer vacation" in may or september or October . So its take my kids out of school to vacation or not take vacations . For a long time I would not pull them out and we just did not take vacations . Then I got skin cancer and got a wake up call of how short life can be and 1 week together making memories is worth it to me to pull them out for vacations

 

[Wadekind]

Trying to say a family vacation has the same educational value as spending 6+ hours a day in a classroom with a professional educator is at best self delusion. Depending on the grade level and what proficiency testing the child is expected to pass that year you could be hurting them.

Depending on the age, if a person is honestly diligent in keeping the child up to speed on their classroom work while also providing "educational" instruction related to the vacation then why go anyway? At least one adult and the child will be spending several hours a day on "vacation" doing school work.

The truth is it's about money not education for 99% of the people that want to take their kids out of the classroom for vacation. This is part of the cost of having children. Most people adjust by going on less expensive vacations or saving longer for when they can go on a vacation where they can take a break from everyday life including school work.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Ill give u just one example of why its necessary for some people to take kids out of school to vacation ..... Seniority! I have very little seniority where I work so I end up getting a "summer vacation" in may or september or October.

Yep. It's so easy for those with a regular 9-5 office job to forget that many professions require off peak travel (Most notably, those who make your peak season travel possible)!

 

[tvguy]

Ill give u just one example of why its necessary for some people to take kids out of school to vacation ..... Seniority! I have very little seniority where I work so I end up getting a "summer vacation" in may or september or October . So its take my kids out of school to vacation or not take vacations . For a long time I would not pull them out and we just did not take vacations . Then I got skin cancer and got a wake up call of how short life can be and 1 week together making memories is worth it to me to pull them out for vacations

I still respectfully disagree. DW and I work in jobs where vacations are forbidden outright in February, May, July and November. 8 of the 14 weeks my kids were out are in those time periods, and we will had no problem.
But, full disclosure, DW and I decided we would do everything we could to to not have our kids miss school, even scheduling every doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointment around school hours. Both made it from K thru grade 12 without missing a minute of school for those appointments. So not missing school was a higher priority in our household.

 

[Ofinn]

In the 5th grade my parents pulled me out of school for 3 weeks to do a Washington DC/Boston/Williamsburg/Gettysburg/New York/Phili trip. The school had no problem with it. I still have the journal I made and shared with the class. I learned more on that trip that I ever learned in a history class, and I still have great memories of the trip at age 40. My kids are homeschooled mostly because we want to travel during the offseason. If schools were open to giving kids time off to travel I would gladly send them to school. My dh and have jobs that don't allow us time off during holidays so that is another factor.

 

[Ofinn]

I still respectfully disagree. DW and I work in jobs where vacations are forbidden outright in February, May, July and November. 8 of the 14 weeks my kids were out are in those time periods, and we will had no problem.
But, full disclosure, DW and I decided we would do everything we could to to not have our kids miss school, even scheduling every doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointment around school hours. Both made it from K thru grade 12 without missing a minute of school for those appointments. So not missing school was a higher priority in our household.

In the long run I don't think your kids are going to be any better off than kids that missed a few days of school. K-12 is a very short time in a persons life. Perfect attendance is nice, but really doesn't determine how successful a person is going to be.

 

[HookedonMagic]

This is a topic that I've always felt should be a personal family decision. I didn't realize people had such strong feelings for AND against.

In our case, because my DH is an ER doc who will always have to work holidays, we've taken our children out of school for vacation almost yearly. AND for those that insist this means we don't value education...our now 24 yr old DD graduated from high school with a 4.0 unweighted gpa, attended undergrad on a full-ride athletic scholarship and then graduated fom Oxford with a Masters. We not only value education, we've worked hard to insist on academic excellence. We just happen to also value family time and travel. Our DS, btw, is only 10, but a 4.0 fifth grade student and talented golfer.

Bottom line, I agree with the OP...travel can be a part of a well-rounded child's education. School academics are certainly very important, but not more so than family time on vacation. AND, I'll stick with my first statement...it's a personal decision for every family. Not sure why we need to judge. Cheers!

PS. I do feel that families who pull kids for vacations need to be very considerate of their children's teachers. They need plenty of notice before you go and a small gift of thanks for their help when you return is always appreciated.