take kids out of school?

[roomthreeseventeen]

I'm sorry you feel that way and perhaps it is the nature of this post and others before it that had you thinking my post was intended to be rude, but it was not.

That said, as someone who works in higher education, I would respectfully disagree about not finding a link between grammar/spelling and teaching.

Oh, dear. The poster made a TYPO.

 

[letsgobacktodisney]

Here is what I think.. If it is the best time for you to go then by all means take them out of school and go. We are going in October and my son will be a senior and yes he will be missing a week of school...but here is my point....MAKE MEMORIES WHILE YOU CAN!!! We were there in 2007 with my sister in law and her 2 sons and we have since lost her oldest Cody in Iraq at the age of 19. We wouldn't take a million dollars for the memories that were made on that trip!! Had we said, well we better wait until the timing is better..we might not have those wonderful Disney memories with Cody. Life is short....live each day like it is the last. In my opionion, don't put off going because of taking them out of school. Whatever you decide...have a wonderful time! God Bless!

 

[pickle's mom]

Teachers may tell you it is a bad idea because it makes extra work for them, and no one likes extra work. BUT...go for it! You are the parent, you get to make the decisions. Clearly you are concerned and involved and will make sure your kids do the work. I have pulled my boys out twice and will do so again this December. I can't begin to tell you how close these trips bring us, how much it means to us as a family, and how much learning the kids do at Disney. If you get grief... just day 'have a magical day!'

Have a wonderful time!!

 

[cmurray234]

Goodness gracious - this topic always gets ugly, doesn't it?

The truth is that pulling kids out of school for vacation is fine for some and not fine for others. Some kids will be able to make up the work with no problem, some will struggle.

Know your kids and know your school district.

Incidentally, the ability to spell has not a whit to do with intelligence - and I say that as a professional writer. Some of the smartest people I know can't spell - it doesn't mean that they lack education.

 

[doccoc2002]

I am going to go back and read the OP responses but I wanted to put in what I thought in case I run out of time...
Like you I am going to be taking 2 of our 3 girls(3rd is only one TODAY) out of school in Sept(Sept20-Oct1). They will be out for 2 weeks which I have never done. DD#1 will be in 2nd garde(we have taken her out for 6days but never 10), DD#2 will be in kindergarten.
I say go for it! Time flies and in a blink of amn eye they will be in college and won't be going on vacations with you anymore. Work with your youngest a little more at Disney and incorporate lessons while at Disney walking around they both may learn/remember it better than how it would of been taught in the classroom. There are definately a lot of things to learn at Disney. Homeschooling groups go to Disney often as part of their learning cuuriculm.
I know this is a heated debate but you are the parent and you know what is best for your children...We always put aside time during our vacation to do school work. I think you can learn a lot at Disney. I think it is bad enough that we need to ask for permission to take our kids out of school to spend time with their own family which for a lot of families they don't spend anytime together. I understand school is important but I have their assignments ready and we do a a little more while at Disney. Yes, they lose the classroom time but I think spending time with family is important too. Parents should be teaching stuff to their kids along with their teachers. We rely too much on teachers teaching and molding our children when we should be doing it as well.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I'm sorry you feel that way and perhaps it is the nature of this post and others before it that had you thinking my post was intended to be rude, but it was not.

That said, as someone who works in higher education, I would respectfully disagree about not finding a link between grammar/spelling and teaching.

Lol, I, too, work in a college. Thus my personal connection with so many who can't spell. Well, my dad is the doc. Did I say grammar wasn't important? I think that I said that people write differently on MSG boards than they do professionally. I might start a sentence with "and" here, but there? Heck no!

You may find it gratifying to think that you are in some way better than other because you spell better. I tend to disagree. I know people who have taken special courses as adults who could not get past it. It doesn't make them stupid, lazy, or unable to teach their skills. Teaching spelling involves what? Assigning a list and reviews. Not rocket science.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Goodness gracious - this topic always gets ugly, doesn't it?

The truth is that pulling kids out of school for vacation is fine for some and not fine for others. Some kids will be able to make up the work with no problem, some will struggle.

Know your kids and know your school district.

Incidentally, the ability to spell has not a whit to do with intelligence - and I say that as a professional writer. Some of the smartest people I know can't spell - it doesn't mean that they lack education.

Way to go!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

So, jay, what do you teach?

 

[ccgirl]

OK...I will admit that I did not read through all of this. Holy cow I can't believe how long this thread is.....Anyway, We just took my DD out of school for 5 days the first week in May. She was just in 1st grade. Her class has a policy that she gets the homework upon her return to class not before. I totally understood where the teacher was coming from on that. SHe had not taught the material to the rest of the class yet and she can't stop to hand out homework to everyone that was going to be out. Anyway, my DD, a first grader mind you, had so much work upon her return that she was overwhelmed and cried. My DH and myself just said that was the last time we would pull her out. We just didn't think it was fair to her. Sure. we could save money or go when it is cooler but it just wouldn't be fair to her IMHO. This is from a student that barely has to open a book. She got a 99 on all benchmark tests. Ultimately, it is up to you as you know your children best. You mentioned one of them already struggles. Just think of what he will go through upon his return. I see you are from MA too. Check with your district as attendance policies vary widely. Good luck with your decision.

 

[nytimez]

I always figure when people bring up spelling or grammar it is because they have nothing worthwhile to bring to the conversation.

Do you always attack people personally when they express an on-topic opinion? I think you're entitled to feel as you do -- and I happen to agree that spelling is not an indicator of intelligence.

But I think anyone teaching a child should be able to spell, and teach good spelling and good grammar as part of the child's education. Is that really such a bad thing?

I'm glad you know so many "doctors, chemists, IT people, Psychologists," but that doesn't make your opinion any more "worthwhile" than mine.

 

[matty624]

Lol, I, too, work in a college. Thus my personal connection with so many who can't spell. Well, my dad is the doc. Did I say grammar wasn't important? I think that I said that people write differently on MSG boards than they do professionally. I might start a sentence with "and" here, but there? Heck no!

You may find it gratifying to think that you are in some way better than other because you spell better. I tend to disagree. I know people who have taken special courses as adults who could not get past it. It doesn't make them stupid, lazy, or unable to teach their skills. Teaching spelling involves what? Assigning a list and reviews. Not rocket science.

Wow! You really think that? Ah well, you must have had some pretty awful teachers! Poor you...

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Do you always attack people personally when they express an on-topic opinion? I think you're entitled to feel as you do -- and I happen to agree that spelling is not an indicator of intelligence.

But I think anyone teaching a child should be able to spell, and teach good spelling and good grammar as part of the child's education. Is that really such a bad thing?

I'm glad you know so many "doctors, chemists, IT people, Psychologists," but that doesn't make your opinion any more "worthwhile" than mine.

Lol, you must know smarter ones than I do!

I didn't attack anyone. I attacked a behavior. That poster said they had nothing to add, and just posted to be spiteful. (to point put the issues with others.)

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Wow! You really think that? Ah well, you must have had some pretty awful teachers! Poor you...

Nope. I had great teachers who understood tha spelling is just learned by practice. Attacking spelling isn't attacking teachers, lol.

The presumption that spelling is somehow an indicator of intelligence or ability offends me. If you can live with that one you are a far different person than I am.

 

[matty624]

Nope. I had great teachers who understood tha spelling is just learned by practice. Attacking spelling isn't attacking teachers, lol.

The presumption that spelling is somehow an indicator of intelligence or ability offends me. If you can live with that one you are a far different person than I am.

You really believe that the way to learn spellings, despite there being a wealth of evidence that proves it otherwise, is by practice alone? Practice is only one part of becoming a proficient speller.

I agree with you though, spelling ability is not necessarily an indicator of intelligence.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

You really believe that the way to learn spellings, despite there being a wealth of evidence that proves it otherwise, is by practice alone? Practice is only one part of becoming a proficient speller.

I agree with you though, spelling ability is not necessarily an indicator of intelligence.

You're talking about phonics. Phonics and spelling are very different.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

well, there are spelling rules, too. maybe he meant those. I count them as just memory tools, too. You learn the rules and if you are thinking you can get it right many times.

I know one friend who teaches who is dyslexic. She is a great teacher. I know that of all my kids I have 4 who spell well, 2 who don't and 1 is still to see. They all work hard at it. I could spell easily as a child. My husband couldn't. My brother does ok, my sister is a classic dyslexic. She has a PhD and is prominent in her field. She has an editor to double check much of her work.

I teach, but I don't look down on my students even if the have a difficult time with my material or a skill such as spelling. I have been at it long enough to know that many, many, many surpass me. It comes from teaching in a good school, I guess.

 

[Planogirl]

How did this turn into an argument about spelling?

Again back to the subject of pulling kids out of school, what exactly is the argument? You either think it's OK and do it or you don't. Neither side is wrong, it just depends on your circumstances. I don't agree with home schooling just because we can't take vacations at a certain time though. That to ME is so minor in the overall scheme of things.

 

[Zuzu03]

How did this turn into an argument about spelling?

Again back to the subject of pulling kids out of school, what exactly is the argument? You either think it's OK and do it or you don't. Neither side is wrong, it just depends on your circumstances. I don't agree with home schooling just because we can't take vacations at a certain time though. That to ME is so minor in the overall scheme of things.

Planogirl, you know how these types of threads always disintegrate.

 

[Suellen]

FWIW ~ I wish more people knew how to spell. It drives me crazy.

To the original topic ~ I believe you know best what to do for your child. It also really depends on your district.

I am taking my soon-to-be Kindergarten-er out of school the second week to go to MNSSHP. She is however advanced and I am not worried about her missing the "standing in line" practice ~ or the learning your last name session ~ or even the how to count to 10 practice.

If you can't tell I think the curriculum is ABSURD!

 

[Blanche_Neige]

OK, you may berate me for being a horrible mother if you'd like...
We have a trip planned for Sept 25-Oct2. My sons (then will be) 15 and 11. Has anyone ever taken kids out of school for 5 days?

DS15 will be a sophomore, and a very good student BTW, however DS11 struggles sometimes. We debated about taking them out of school but summmer vacations do not work for us and spending time together as a family is important to us too.

So, has anyone ever done it and had it work out well?

Wow you got lots of responses!!!

Here is my 2 cents, GO FOR IT!!!

BTW I just booked a vacation for Sept 25 to Oct 3 (5 days WDW + 3 day cruise) with my 3 DS (8, 8 & 10) and yes they will miss school, but they will catch up.

They only way we can afford to go on vacation is during low season.