My daughter's teacher did. The difference is, is the teacher a teacher because she loves to help children learn or for the paycheck. We were lucky enough that my daughter's teacher loved to help children learn.....
That's hard to do when they're not in class.
Part of the problem is that no single child exists in a vacuum.
If I knew that Kelly would be out the week of October 10 because she was going to WDW, then perhaps I could jiggle my plans so that I didn't teach factoring that week-- factoring is very tricky and you really need to see it to understand it. OK, so I change things so Kelly won't miss it. Of course, it does throw off my monthly planning, but I love to help children learn....But wait! Johnny is going to WDW the next week. Oh, well, back to the drawing board...The week after that, there are days off for religious observances. This is a topic that requires me to have 4 or 5 full period classes in a row if I have any hope of getting the kids to really understand it....And Keith will be there the next week....And the week after that, kids are being pulled out for the band trip...The next week we lose a day for election day...The next week it's Veteran's Day...The next week Kia is going to WDW...The next week is Thanksgiving. The next week several kids are out because they went to WDW for vacation and are still there...I don't even have to tell you how impossible it is to tackle anything once December hits. Lots and lots of kids are going to WDW...
And the week after that, there are lots of short periods because of assemblies; you simply cannot teach factoring without a chunk of time. And if I wait until January, it's flu season and I know that attendance will be spotty.
So when am I supposed to teach factoring?
Of course I'm going over the top. But my point is that it's not as simple as good teachers wanting to help kids learn after a Disney trip and bad teachers not wanting them to learn. There's much, much more to my job than ensuring that your son or daughter can catch up after taking a week off for vacation.
My class notes are not made up ahead of time. I teach a topic and do a sample problem. Then we do another one, a bit harder than the first. Then a third. Then, as a class,we come up with "process" notes to describe how to tackle that sort of problem. The notes are in the kids' own words, (with an occasional clarification from me so that they're still accurate.) Then we do another problem, a little trickier than the others. And we adapt those notes. Which problems we do are a function of the indiividual kids in that class-- if they're struggling with the topic, they'll see different problems than the class next period that doesn't struggle. And if that happens, they'll get different homework, and the whole week will unfold differently for those two classes.
And even kids who do get the notes miss the thought process that provided them. What makes me a good teacher is not my notes... as I said, the kids supply the notes. It's the gentle nudges that take them from not having ever seen a topic, to the light bulb starting to go on, to a better understanding to mastery.
The notes aren't the reason that happens, they're the result of it.
If a kid misses a week for any reason, I tell him to get the notes after his return, and then plan on several sessions after school to help him get caught up. But, as much as I wish it were otherwise, I know that it's going to take a whole lot more than a few extra help sessions to get that kid caught up. He's missing the whole thought process that brought that particular group of kids to the point where they came up with that particular set of notes. And my extra help sessions won't be limited to him alone; I'll also have some of those other 185 kids, as well as the occasional kid I don't teach show up. And some of the kids I taught last year will show up. So my extra help will be some factoring, some quadratic equations (because if I taught factoring last week, that's the topic I'm on this week.) And some geometry. And some SAT prep. And because I'm a teacher who cares about kdis learning, they're all welcome to my extra help sessions. So it's not going to be one on one for the kid who spent a week at WDW. And every single day he spends not being able to factor is a day he gets a little further behind on those quadratic equations. And if he doesn't understand them, he's going to really struggle when we hit the verbal problems that turn into quadratic equations next week. That's why those other kids are at extra help; they were there for the original notes, and want to fine tune their understanding so they don't get behind.
Of course I care about my kids; it's why I went into the profession. And I'm good at what I do after all these years. My single failure this year was a kid who missed too much school. (No, not WDW, some serious non-medical issues). As much as I was rooting for him, he simply missed too much school; he didn't know the material. When he did show up for class, he didn't know the material that the other kids knew, and didn't get any further ahead. I was able to get every one of the other 185 or so kids through. I gave extra help every single day... but you had to be in school to get it. I was in school early... but you had to be there. I answered questions via email... but you had to know what to ask. ("Can you explain factoring?" is not a valid question.)
It's not just about good teachers who want kids to learn. It's also about parents who want their kids to learn that exact same material. I'm bad at a lot of things, but I am a really good teacher!
But I can't do my job if the kids are not in class. And if there's a teacher who tells you that a couple of worksheets can take the place of what's going on in class, then I think you should run, not walk, to the principal's office to find out why.
Go to WDW and have a great time. It's none of my business. I'll happily teach any and all kids who show up for my class. More than that I cannot do.
But my family won't be going until next summer. We go during Value season, when the prices are closer to reasonable. And we get to the parks early (to avoid those crowds we also hate) and spend the afternoons in the pool. And, come September, I'll be back in school, trying my best to be that teacher who "loves to help children learn."
Where do you live, so I can apply to work there? Teachers in our city have been asked to go without a raise three years in a row now, and they are paying more money out of pocket for their insurance. Not to mention class sizes are increasing and the teachers are not even guaranteed to have a job due to a budget deficit. "Do more, with less" is the motto.
I had no idea there would be this much blow back! *facepalm*
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