A vent: taking dd out of school for WDW

[va32h]

Regardless of whether the letter is over the top or not, the teacher shouldn't have laughed in front of your daughter. That was rude.

In our case, we take our daughter out of school to go to WDW in early December. We missed last year because my husband was overseas, but in other years, he has gone to the school in person to explain why he cannot take leave over her school break.

I admit - I send him (in uniform) because I figure the principal will have a harder time turning us down. They do dd work to do on the trip.

 

[umbluegray]

Frankly, I think the schools are there to perform a service for US.

If I say my child is going to:

• Learn about different cultures of the world, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase
• Learn about nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.
• Learn about science in Epcot
• Learn about math by managing her own spending money

then that's exactly what's going to happen.

If my child's teacher laughed at me there'd be some serious heck to pay, moreso if he/she laughed at me in front of my child.

This day and age teachers are complaing about the lack of parental involvement. Instead of making a judgement about me trying to talk the teacher into excused absences, be glad I'm involved and maybe even offer to assist me in whatever way you can.

Some teachers seem to forget that they work for us. We pay their salaries. They're there to do a job for us, not the other way around.

Sorry, but I'd be extremely offended, too.

I think your letter was absolutely acceptable. I bet there's a local museum the school visits to learn about nature or science. I bet the teachers don't expect you to laugh at the note and permission slip they send home to you explaining their trip.

 

[NJDisneymom]

I don't care how over the top a letter is, laughing and showing another teacher in front of the student is wrong.

I just sent a letter in with my dd today. I just stated that she would be out of school for such-and-such dates for our family vacation. I didn't even say where we were going, but I know my dd (5 years old) has mentioned it probably a million times, LOL. I asked if possible to send some assignments home and also mentioned that dd would be making a journal of her vacation and to let me know if it would be ok for her to bring it in upon our return.

I actually had a huge fight with a *friend* who is a teacher about Disney being educational. Some people are so anti-Disney that they can't see past the "fun". She has never even been to Disney, but had told me if a student were going on a trip to Disney she definately would send extra work with them as "punishment".

 

[Shagley]

I am not a teacher, but to be honest, I kind of chuckled at the letter too. Not because I think it is over the top, or obsurd, but I was impressed at all the knowledge that can be learned from a trip to WDW. I don't have kids, and had never really thought about it from a learning perspective (I just think about all the fun). Maybe the teacher didn't mean to be disrespectful when she laughed at the letter, maybe it just gave her a new perspective of WDW that she hadn't thought about before.

Okay, probably not - but whatever the reason, it was rude to laugh at the letter in front of your dd.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[eeyore kelly]

The teacher acted inappropriately, no doubt.

The letter is way over the top though. I have a copy of that form letter, and DH and I laughed over it.

 

[sleepyone]

Frankly, I think the schools are there to perform a service for US.

If I say my child is going to:

• Learn about different cultures of the world, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase
• Learn about nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.
• Learn about science in Epcot
• Learn about math by managing her own spending money

then that's exactly what's going to happen.

If my child's teacher laughed at me there'd be some serious heck to pay, moreso if he/she laughed at me in front of my child.

This day and age teachers are complaing about the lack of parental involvement. Instead of making a judgement about me trying to talk the teacher into excused absences, be glad I'm involved and maybe even offer to assist me in whatever way you can.

Some teachers seem to forget that they work for us. We pay their salaries. They're there to do a job for us, not the other way around.

Sorry, but I'd be extremely offended, too.

I think your letter was absolutely acceptable. I bet there's a local museum the school visits to learn about nature or science. I bet the teachers don't expect you to laugh at the note and permission slip they send home to you explaining their trip.

That's exactly how I feel. Thanks for your response you've made me feel better. I was upset at the way the teacher behaved in front of my dd and, I came here to "vent" and felt it all over again from the teachers in this thread.

 

[umbluegray]

That's exactly how I feel. Thanks for your response you've made me feel better. I was upset at the way the teacher behaved in front of my dd and, I came here to "vent" and felt it all over again from the teachers in this thread.

No problem, sleepyone. I'm glad you got some comfort from my response.

If you wanted to, here's a great site you can use to justify the assertions in your letter:

Disney Youth Education Series

Disney promotes itself as a means to "transport students inside and behind the scenes of Walt Disney World® Theme Parks to showcase textbook principles. Disney Y.E.S. field studies allow students to do things they can't do anywhere else in the world!"

A few areas of interest...

• Arts & Humanities - U.S. history, studies of various cultures
• Life Management - leadership & critical thinking skills
• Natural Science - marine sciences and conservation, animal behavior studies, use of the scientific method and problem-based learning to develop an action plan for real-life conservation plans, biodiversity study of plants and animals found in the world's tropical wetlands
• Physical Science - study of science and technology creativity; physics concepts of optics, acoustics, and magnetism in a real-world context; physics concept of mechanics and basic properties of force, motion, and gravity; integration of technologies and computer systems used to create the "magic" behind entertainment technology and its application to daily life

Interestling enough, the courses are taught at the various parks at WDW, just as your letter stated.

BTW, it looks like we'll be at WDW at the same time.

 

[goofytime2000]

I'm not a teacher...yet (currently studying to be a band director)...but if I recieved that letter I would proably get a chuckle out of it too. For one, very few people would actually write a letter like that, and two, it's an over-justifcation of a family vacation. In my choosen media, there is no way to make up what is missed in class. You can practice outside of rehearsal yes, but what is missed is all of the little adjustments that are made during class, not to menition that the sound of the ensemble changes when someone is missing. I would proably just tell the student to notice all of the music that disney uses (lets face it, they use a bunch) and to enjoy the trip!

Now, I do agree that the teachers actions where inapropreate, and I would upset too if I was the parent. It might not be a bad idea to call the school/teacher and express your feelings toward said teachers actions. As I said, I would proably get a good chuckle and smile out of the letter, I would not openly laugh infront of the child, nor share the letter in full view of everyone. If you do get in touch with the school, I don't feel that you need to get nasty or anything, but rather just display your disgust and in-approval of the actions.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I started a thread related to this topic a while ago. I'm sincerely sorry that you feel persecuted by teachers both at school and here - perhaps my old post may offer another perspective. I don't condone disrespectful behavior, but I also think I may know where the laughter came from - sheer frustration. It seems that students and parents here on the DIS are much more responsible than the general public. My original post follows:

Taking kids out of school? Please read!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I posted this earlier in the Tips forum, but as the issue comes up here often, I figured it merited its own thread.

I am a teacher - used to teach 9th-12th grades, now teach 7th - and I've come to hate hearing that students will be gone for vacation. Why? Many, many students ask for the work, but only once in 9 years has a student actually handed in the work that I assigned.

When a student or parent informs me of an upcoming vacation, I put in at least an hour of extra work, figuring out which days the student will miss (we're on a rotating schedule, so this is a pain), copying and compiling notes, handouts, and assignments, and then annotating them with explanations of which to complete first, which items should be kept and which handed in, etc. Except for that one case, everyone has returned with blank (or lost) papers and NO idea what the class is currently doing. Then I have to help the (usually unwilling) student play catch-up and sometimes even deal with parents who claim that the low report card grade was a punishment because their child missed class (not, of course, because they did not complete the work and/or failed subsequent tests).

Last spring, a student told me she'd be gone for the entire month of May to visit a parent who'd been serving in the armed forces out-of-state. Understanding how important this trip would be for her, I forgave all her assignments except one research task that she would add to a group's project upon her return. I also reformatted (to be compatible with her dad's computer) the notes she'd need to study for our final exam and e-mailed them to her along with detailed instructions on the research task. Despite the fact that she had a month to do the work as well as computer access, she never bothered to print out the notes or even find out what topic she was to research. She returned 3 days before the Final completely unprepared and asked for an extension - how on earth could I grant it?? In addition, her failure to complete her part of the research task left her group with an incomplete project. Her average nosedived at the end of the year, where she had no chance to bring it back up.

As a parent, I understand the value of family time, and understand that you can't always go during school breaks - however, if you do take time off from school, PLEASE make sure your children complete the work that their teachers went out of their way to prepare. It will help keep the kids on track academically - and maybe help us teachers be less curmudgeonly as well!

[/rant] (Thanks for listening!)

A new case this year: an A+ student went to the South Pacific for a month. His parents are college professors and asked for work while they were gone. Because he is so advanced, I told him to simply review the two text chapters the class would be covering and be sure he could answer the questions at the end in a verbal "quiz" upon return and create a poster or collage exploring the themes of the chapters. I typed this out for him, e-mailed it to his parents, and gave him a paper copy of the directions. When he came back, he couldn't even identify the correct chapters in the textbook, let alone answer any questions, and forget the collage. He regaled his friends with stories of the beach and arcade, though. When I called his parents they apologized for the lack of work, saying that they were all "too busy" to get it done. No offers to make up the work, either.

I've become so disillusioned about family vacations because my (long-term) experience tells me that parents who claim their child will learn from them typically either are lying or simply don't follow up. I really like the idea upthread about keeping a folder for the absent student and simply handing it to them to make up afterward rather than set myself up for the frustration (and yes, genuine anger) ahead of time.

Again, this is not meant to flame anyone here. I'd love to have students and parents like many I "meet" here on the DIS, but the reality is that most are nowhere near as conscientious.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Arrgh... I meant to include the location of that old thread in case you're interested in reading what others had to say:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=430585

 

[CEDmom]

We're planning on taking DD out of 2nd grade in Dec 2006 for a WDW trip. I have no idea what our district's policy is but I really don't care much. That being said I think the letter probably should have ended just before listing the specific educational opportunities - that was the point at which it was over the top. Honestly, like others have said going anywhere can be educational.

As far as the teacher laughing, yeah that was innapropriate but she's human just like the rest of us. I guess if you can see that the letter is a little out there than it wouldn't come as a surprise that the teacher's reaction would be as well. For your child's sake just let it go.

 

[d4est]

Very well said, MickeyMonstersMom. OP, please forgive me if I offended. I certainly didn't mean to (hence the "no flaming...").

In hindsight, I also wish I had added that it was very wrong and rude of the teacher to laugh in front of your daughter.

I think a lot of the frustration comes from what MickeyMonstersMom said. When teachers are asked to prepare work for a child's vacation, it takes time. When that work is discarded or disregarded, it is frustrating. While there are some GREAT parents out there who are genuine in their requests, many are only making empty promises.

I teach 11th grade Social Studies. I have 75 students that I am responsible for. (Much more than the usual 25 or 30 that elementary teacher have) Over the course of a school year, the number of students who take "extra" time for vacations really adds up. That makes for a ton of extra work that I am asked for. I don't mind, that is until the work is never turned in! That is when I get frustrated.

As for the *friend* OP mentioned, did you kick her when she said she would assign extra work as punishment? This *friend* shouldn't be teaching, IMHO.

 

[Trinity721]

Well I don't know about the teacher laughing... but i don't think she should have done it in front of your DD.

I can attest that WDW is an educational trip. My senior year 1999, as part of an AP Environmental Science class we learned tons of applicable educational things. We also tested the water and soil quality at all of the parks. I'd been to WDW before, but taking it in from an educational perspective definitely made me appreciate it more.

 

[Gillian]

It is a funny letter, but the teacher could have been more sensitive.

I'm sure a lot of teachers don't realize how much their students remember and are affected by their actions & words. Even at the high school level!

Recently a friend & I compared notes about one HS teacher, who is now a guidance counselor. We both had experiences where she spoke abrubptly/rudely to us, but probably thought nothing of it. Years & years later we remembering being hurt by her comments and feel she shouldn't be counseling kids! She wasn't a teacher that everyone hated, but she spoke to us as if we were adults and could handle her sarcastic/obnoxious comments (one about weight, one about eating). Well, we couldn't!

 

[Bob NC]

I don't see how a teacher could *not* laugh at that letter. C'mon, they are teachers, they aren't super-human.

 

[sleepyone]

I think that it's important that you show her that your child has learned. Use the Disney journal pages on this website or come up w/some cool project that can show this teacher that Disney can be a wonderful learning tool. It doesn't have to be anything major. Get a passport at EPCOT, have it stamped, etc. and have your child write one fact about each country that was visited. W/AK, do the whole kids booklet thing that they give you ... and take photos of the CM's teaching your child about what's in the book (our most memorable was the what animal was here part!).

LOL...Thanks, I have had lots of print-outs ready for a while now: the journal pages, maps for our drive, maps of the parks, the various greetings for the countries in Epcot, etc. Regardless of what others think, I do plan on making this an educational exprience and DO plan to get dd to do her work if the teacher sends it ahead. My dd is very curious and is already wanting her print-outs and plans on buying a passport from her own budget .

To me, family time is very important. Many parents work and don't get to spend a lot of time w/their children. And, even in summer when the kids are on vaca., not every parent can get off of work to take a vacation at that time.

EXACTLY!

Even though it might be 3 weeks notice, I don't plan 3 weeks out ... I plan each week the week before it happens.

I sent it so far in advance because there is so much coming up in the school's calendar: field trip, teacher work day, etc...

Ignore the comments and don't think twice about it. You make the decisions when it comes to your family and you'll be making wonderful memories that your daughter will never forget. In 30 years, she prob. won't remember what she did on XYZ day in school but she will remember that on that date, her parents took her to Disney.

Thanks

 

[Disneymomofsix]

I started a thread related to this topic a while ago. I'm sincerely sorry that you feel persecuted by teachers both at school and here - perhaps my old post may offer another perspective. I don't condone disrespectful behavior, but I also think I may know where the laughter came from - sheer frustration. It seems that students and parents here on the DIS are much more responsible than the general public. My original post follows:



A new case this year: an A+ student went to the South Pacific for a month. His parents are college professors and asked for work while they were gone. Because he is so advanced, I told him to simply review the two text chapters the class would be covering and be sure he could answer the questions at the end in a verbal "quiz" upon return and create a poster or collage exploring the themes of the chapters. I typed this out for him, e-mailed it to his parents, and gave him a paper copy of the directions. When he came back, he couldn't even identify the correct chapters in the textbook, let alone answer any questions, and forget the collage. He regaled his friends with stories of the beach and arcade, though. When I called his parents they apologized for the lack of work, saying that they were all "too busy" to get it done. No offers to make up the work, either.

I've become so disillusioned about family vacations because my (long-term) experience tells me that parents who claim their child will learn from them typically either are lying or simply don't follow up. I really like the idea upthread about keeping a folder for the absent student and simply handing it to them to make up afterward rather than set myself up for the frustration (and yes, genuine anger) ahead of time.

Again, this is not meant to flame anyone here. I'd love to have students and parents like many I "meet" here on the DIS, but the reality is that most are nowhere near as conscientious.

Do you also experience parents not making children complete makeup work when their children are sick/hospitalized? I have always made my children complete all work, even if they are too sick to do the work and have to finish some of it when they go back to school. My DS was hospitalized for psychiatric reasons in January. He was supposed to complete all work while there but did almost none of it (the teacher took the time to gather a week's worth of work which I took to the hospital). We then spent MLK day doing the work before he went back to school because I know kids don't need to get even further behind by not having what work is sent home done. It is just disrespecful to the teacher. I know this is slightly off topic but wanted to agree with you about the time you have to spend for students out of school.

 

[Pinnie]

I just returned from a teaching conference where one of the presenters was a researcher in family development. He surveyed a kindergateners in a very well off Michigan school district and found that 65% of them had already been on a cruise.

He also found out that only 20% had ever helped out carving a pumpkin and 10% had ever helped bake a cake.

What does this have to do with this thread? Are we becoming a society of "vacation parenting???". Hmmm???


pinnie

 

[Christy]

My background is in education, and I grew up admiring my mother who conducted trainings for educators around the US. One fundamental principle of education is that children learn and retain knowledege best from natural experiences. Any beginning El. Ed. course book will show the learning pyramid depicting this fact. That being said, a trip, such as one to WDW, can be a wonderful learning experience for a child, but I think the key is the parents' involvement in the learning process.

On a side note-I think our local school system is wonderful, and as a parent, I do whatever I can to support our teachers. So no flaming please!

When we went on our trip in December, my daughters' teachers were thrilled for us and more than happy to provide assignments. BUT, I ensured that my daughters did their work and were learning while we had a fantastic vacation!!

 

[crazymomof4]

I haven't read all of the posts here (I've got to go get ready for a yard sale tomorrow--Disney $$!)

I just wanted to say that when I wrote the letter telling the teachers of my DS's that we would be taking them out to go to WDW, I focused on letting them know that I would do all that I could to make sure that my sons do not fall behind as a result of the missed days. I think a teacher appreciates hearing that you are supportive of the education that she has scheduled for your child. Some teachers will agree with the eductional aspects of WDW and some will not. Since it is debatable, I chose not to bring it up.

PS- I would be insulted if a letter of mine was laughed at. She should not have done it, at least not in front of your child. As a teacher, she should know that kids will notice that type of thing and WILL report back to their parents!