pulling kids out of school to cruise...

[jennylyn_b]

As a former teacher in school, I never took a sick day or a vacation day knowing that if I missed a school day, it would be so hard at my return to get the students back on track. However, I was always excited for my students to be able to get away with their loved ones and explore new things. Isn't that what growing up is really about? I'm actually one of those strange people that honestly believe the PARENT knows what is best for their child. Yes, parents can make mistakes, but isn't the same true of educators?
Now I homeschooling and a LOVE the absolute freedom for myself and my students/children!!!

Very well said! I'm also a former teacher and now my one student is my dd! Agree completely.

 

[Ashleyfaz]

That's an inadequacy of the subs available in your system. I know our local system doesn't really have any qualifications required for subs other than breathing & not a felon. Some school systems do have subs available with advanced degrees & capable of teaching higher math/science classes.

You're right and I wish there were more people qualified to teach my class. Our admin is ok with us taking off a week for vacation, I just feel guilty

I also have a dh that does not like to take off work a whole lot, so we travel to WDW during thanksgiving so he only has to take 3 days off work instead of a week.

 

[misslizzy1973]

I pulled my second grader out of school for 6 days to go on our Magic cruise last month. I spoke with the teacher first before planning the trip. The teacher actually encouraged us to go! She even extended the class Flat Stanley project so my daughter could do the report on the cruise! My daughter had not missed one day of school this year and made the A honor roll for the whole year. I would definitely pull her out again in a heart beat. Now if she had missed a lot of school days or was struggling in school I would not have taken her out. I am very happy with my decision.

 

[SapphireMind]

I'm going to be pulling my kids out for 3 weeks for a transatlantic in 2014. I'll deal with the school. They're going to learn far more by traveling the world than in a classroom. We'll have school-time while onboard. We'll also do some special projects, like on the Titanic, Lusitania, the countries and provinces we're visiting, etc. There's more to learning than that is in a classroom.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I have not and will not for vacation, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.

And I know loss and how short life can be. My 45 year-old husband died 3 years ago 2 months after I had our son. And we did start taking more vacations after that to spend more time together without our routine to deal with, but also because widowhood can really just plain suck and being responsible for every single thing in our lives weighs me down sometimes. We still just limit it to when she’s out of school. And to her disdain, I still have a learning element to our trips

My daughter is entering 5th grade and is an honor roll student, but works her fanny off for that dealing with Dyslexia and ADHD. Accommodations are in place for her and there are people I pay to help her and pulling her would add work for everybody. Homework is like a marathon a lot of the time. I don’t want to think about makeup work or trying to get work done on a vacation. So, unless she’s sick, she’s there.

I’ve tried to look at her fall break to book, but it moves around each year and I don’t know the dates until late summer, so it hasn't worked out to book on DCL even though we badly want to go.

Thankfully we do get a head start on summer wherever we do travel as she is out before Memorial Day. Her private school only has 2 Teacher's workdays a year max. I can get off work when she is out for summer. We just got back from 8 nights at WDW.

 

[twopeasonepod]

I see so many people who pull their kids out of school for vacations- I'm just wondering how you would feel if the teacher left for a week of vacation?

I'm not saying its wrong to pull kids out as long as they can keep up, but I'm a teacher and would love to go on vacation during the year when it's cheaper. I don't because I'd rather be in the classroom teaching my kids (high school math) instead of a sub.

I hear what you're saying, but it's not a fair comparison. A teacher has a responsibility to many children. A child doesn't have that same responsibility. The jobs we choose come with different hitches and requirements. For example, I wouldn't expect my CPA to go on vacation in April. That is the path she chose. If a teacher was going to a wedding, conference (which btw happens every year at our school), or even a vacation, I would be happy for her. My boys are young, and even at an older age, I don't think they would ruin the opportunity to get into college if their teachers missed a week of school.

Please know that I absolutely respect teachers. My mom was a lifelong educator (teacher, guidance counselor, then when she retired, she worked for another 25 years as the teacher's union liaison). I realize that you have lots of extra work and commitments as a part of your job. I think it's inappropriate for people to expect you to "catch their children up", because they miss school. But at the same time, I see the bigger picture, and that, to me, is that The School of Life has a lot to offer, and I want to show my kids the world while I can.

 

[AZMermaid]

In my district, we are only allowed to take 2 Fridays a year off- after that we are docked 1.5 days. If (after the first 2 Fridays) we have a doctor's note, child getting married over 200 miles away or we are in a wedding 200 miles away, it can just be considered 1 day. Two years ago, the districts high school's graduations were all at noon the Friday before our last day. Nope- not excused, the teachers got docked 1.5 days to go to their own child's graduation.

We are also not allowed to take the day before or after any school break (MLK day, President's day, Spring Break etc) without a doctor note- so no extending a long weekend. Well, you can- but are dock $200 for it, which is 1/5 of my paycheck- so yeah, you are basically charged for 2 days.

So, as much as I would LOVE to vacation off season, it doesn't happen. We also get out the Thursday or Friday before Memorial Day, so we often vacation that first week off.

 

[NY Disney fan]

I have pulled my daughter out of school to compete in martial arts tournaments because I feel those are learning experiences but I would never do it for a cruise. I don't judge anyone for doing it. You have to do what you have to do.

 

[DitkaFan]

High school teacher here and I could not agree with you more. Very well stated!! I teach in a top tier school in a Chicago suburb. I have students miss often for family vacations, sports tournaments, college visits, etc. Some students manage this fine, but for many students they do not have the maturity, organizational skills and/or ability to recover from an extended absence. For these students such an absence will often result in at least a drop in a letter grade.

And in the grand scheme of things.. I would say who cares to a letter grade drop or 2

 

[alaskanabbott]

we have taken the kids out of school many times for family vacations. I have 6 kids in grade 4, 8, 10, 10, college freshman and college junior. The only one who doesn't skip school for trips is the college boy, since he has a very intense curriculum. We always schedule trips at a time that is #1 cheap and #2 least amount of time off school. We try to limit missed days to 5- leaving the Friday after school and returning Sunday night we can get 9 days of vacation with only 5 missed. You know your kids best. If they can handle the missed work and a week of missed classes then there is so much benefit to taking your child on a family vacation! We know families that take their children out for a few weeks for hockey tournaments, cheerleading events and even hunting.

 

[ilovedevin]

We are taking our son out of school for our 15 day Hawaiian cruise. Personally I think that he will learn so much more than he would just sitting at school those 15 days. Not only will he have to do the homework that his teacher provides us while he is gone, but he will also get to learn first hand about the Hawaiian culture. He also has a travel journal that while on vacation he has to write in everynight prior to bed. Once one is filled up I put it away and he get's a new one. When he grow's up I am going to give them all to him so that he can relive our family's memories and adventures.

 

[luv2sleep]

We are taking our son out of school for our 15 day Hawaiian cruise. Personally I think that he will learn so much more than he would just sitting at school those 15 days. Not only will he have to do the homework that his teacher provides us while he is gone, but he will also get to learn first hand about the Hawaiian culture. He also has a travel journal that while on vacation he has to write in everynight prior to bed. Once one is filled up I put it away and he get's a new one. When he grow's up I am going to give them all to him so that he can relive our family's memories and adventures.

Which line/ship?

 

[Footnotegirl]

Our daughter is only 16 months old right now, but we have every intention of taking trips when the opportunity presents itself and not based on the school year.
My mother was a teacher, DH's mom was a teacher, and I have two sister in laws who are teachers. DH and I both took vacations with our family during school times (in my case, during weeks when my mom wasn't teaching due to different schedules between my school and the school system she worked for, in DH's case with just his dad) with full approval of our teacher moms.
Yes, education is important. But so is learning at its most spontaneous, when we learn for pleasure and out of our inquisitive natures and a sense of wonder rather than out of rote and by rule. What an interested kid can learn at Animal Kingdom at WDW, while kayaking through a tidal marsh on a DCL cruise, touring a castle on an Adventures by Disney trip or just camping out in the middle of nowhere blows out of the water what they could have learned in that same time sitting at a school desk.
Also, honestly? I don't care if my daughters grades take a hit as long as her learning doesn't. I had abysmal grades through middle and high school and yet managed a 3.7 GPA in University and a 3.8 getting my Masters degree. No one has ever asked to see my high school grades since I applied for college, let alone my middle or grade school report cards in the 'real world' and quite frankly, they never will.
Of course, this is different for every child. I am sure there are reasons that some kids simply can't be pulled out of school for their own good. But the decision should be based on the child, and not on the school.

 

[ThePicketts]

I'm going to be pulling my kids out for 3 weeks for a transatlantic in 2014. I'll deal with the school. They're going to learn far more by traveling the world than in a classroom. We'll have school-time while onboard. We'll also do some special projects, like on the Titanic, Lusitania, the countries and provinces we're visiting, etc. There's more to learning than that is in a classroom.

Be careful. You'll get the homeschooling bug.

 

[sippican]

I have continued to follow this thread with interest and am enjoying the wonderful, passionate comments. I agree with the benefits of learning first hand and family bonding. These can both be accomplished equally as well during time outside of the school calendar.
With a few rare exceptions such as a parent who has an inflexible work schedule, or an itinerary that is unique (a TA or canal trip), I still say the majority of parents pull their kids during school for two reasons; it's cheaper, and less crowded. We've done it with our own children, and continue with our grandchildren. I really doubt they learn a heck of a lot zooming down the ski slopes in the Rockies (they ski a lot from home) or trekking through Disney (again), but we sure do love beating the crowds and getting better airfare. It sounds better to say we primarily do it for the kids, but in truth, we pull them out of school rather than vacation times for grown-up reasons, and I'm ok saying that.

So if your trip can be scheduled during times outside of school, and, if not for financial work schedule or crowds , I'd really like to hear why you pull them (not being sarcastic, genuinely interested).

 

[Tower]

We pulled all 3 of our kids from school on both DCL cruises as well as Disney vacations. November is DW's birthmonth and we like to go away with her and make it special for her. (She is a mom after all and deserves a break!)
We will not take them out for longer than a week, so a 14 night TA will not work for us at the current scheduling, but we focus on the school calendar as to when there might be a PA day for the kids to add to the vacation.
In 2 years, we will go on our 3rd DCL cruise, but we're aiming that one at the last week of August due to DS being 14 by that time and starting high school. Grade school absentee is ok, not high school in our opinion.

 

[MJ6987]

I would say that unless they are coming up to crucial exams or whatever, then they are really not going to miss much in school for a week. And, they will probably gain so much more in life experience and emotional wellbeing on a week's cruising than they ever will in a week at school!

 

[ThePicketts]

I totally agree that crowds and cost is a big factor in taking kids out of school. However, that may not be the root cause. Smaller crowds = a potentially easier and pleasant FAMILY experience. Cheaper cost = maybe being able to go at all or being able to do excursions. I would never do any vacation in any peak period because it is so less stressful.

 

[jennileigh]

... I current do not have any children, but I remember growing up always taking a week off of school to go down to Disney.. my senior year in high school I was in school for 2 days then left to go on the Wonder and the parks for a week.. I think it was a lot easier back then to do it - my mother always made sure I bought school work with me especially since aside from my senior year we would go down in October/November.. as a family we never went on vacation during the summer - my father worked in construction and those were his busiest days..

 

[twopeasonepod]

So if your trip can be scheduled during times outside of school, and, if not for financial work schedule or crowds , I'd really like to hear why you pull them (not being sarcastic, genuinely interested).

I like this question! I, too, am interested. Inquiring minds want to know!

As mentioned previously, I pull the boys out 2-3 times per year. For a lot of days. Unique sailings are my reasoning (TA/PC), but we are also pulling them out a week early for Christmas because the DVC points are so crazy at that time of year. However, we do go skiing in Tahoe during their Spring Break -- no need to miss school for that.

I imagine that people will have similar responses to yours (and mine), but if not, I'd love to hear it!