Educational letter for school excuse/taking the kids out of school

[Coconut36]

I fail to see how complying with a request from the school regarding the process for having vacation absences excused is in any way an attempt to avoid consequences or accountability for the choice to travel during the school year. I have to fill out a pre-arranged absence form to have our trips count as excused for my son. The OP has to write a letter that everyone involved knows is fluff. Why is following school policy in one case right and the other wrong?

OP, that letter is much to long and unprofessional for your purposes. Think short, sweet, and to the point with less of a travel brochure tone. If the teacher or principal wants more information about a specific element of the trip they can either research it on their own or ask you to provide further details as needed.

She isn't complying with a request from the school. She is doing something that a guidance counselor SUGGESTED she could do to possibly get the absences excused. This does not appear to be the policy of the school or district..simply a suggestion by the counselor to maybe get the absences excused.

The letter is ridiculous in it's length and content regardless of it being "required" or not (and it isn't nor is she complying with their policy as this isn't a policy based on what she has stated) and needs to either be dropped by owning her choices as a parent or fixed so it isn't so silly and overdone.

 

[Coconut36]

It might have been a not smart parent who wrote it, not sure. It was posted on a Disney blog and part of it came off of mouseforless. Both public blogs. They may be dumb. Who knows?

And yes I was asked to provide the letter so regardless of who thinks it is ridiculous, if it gets my kids absences excused, that's exactly what I am going to do.

I was given the opportunity to get this classified as an educational trip.

And actually the guidance councilor, in my case, is getting a copy of the letter as well since she is the one who told me to write it, just in case the teacher needs to confer with her about it.

And I am sure, if the teacher laughs about it or even laughs about it with other teachers because of how "ridiculous" it is, I DGAF to tell you the truth. As long as my kid's absences are excused and he gets his packet of make-up work, they can laugh until Christmas break.

I think our school gives you the work after you get back but I can't be sure because my kids have never been absent. I don't know what the procedure is. But from talking to my stepson's mother she said her son always got work given to him after he comes back from an absence.

I am just shocked at how many ppl have responded to this thread. To tell you the truth, I posted it asking for help coming up with the information for the letter and yet DOZENS AND DOZENS of ppl posted a response that had nothing to do with what I was asking. They simply posted to tell how stupid they thought such a letter was. Really? You think your opinion on what I do makes a difference to me? It doesn't. If I was asking you HEY WHAT DO THINK ABOUT WHAT I AM PLANNING ON DOING...then I might care about how stupid you think it is. That's not why I posted this. I wasn't soliciting opinions or advice, just assistance. And everyone has a right to post their opinion on a message board, but some ppl feel so self-important that they think every conversation will benefit from their 2 cents on the matter. SMH

And THANK YOU to those of you who were helpful in me finding the links and pages I needed to formulate the letter.

The thing is..in it's current form I don't see them feeling it is worthy of an excused absence. It reads very much as a copy and paste from travel and Disney websites and doesn't demonstrate any true learning. If you really want it to work then you need to write a more appropriate letter and YOU need to write it. Get some tips from existing letters but stealing a letter someone else wrote..public or not is poor form and reflects poorly on you and could influence their decisions. From what you have posted this will NOT guarantee an excused absence..it just might make them consider it as such. Again..I go back to the fact that you made a decision to pull your child from school for a trip..making up crap and copying stuff from online to try to alter the consequences teaches a poor lesson to the children regarding the choices that are made and the consequences that go with them.

The comments regarding how poorly worded or written the letter is and regarding the use of such a letter at all are really to your benefit to read and review. Your letter is very clearly a copy and paste of others work and that is bad news to submit to a school..kids get expelled for copying and pasting from others or taking entire written content from a source and claiming it as their own. It's really no different in your case and I don't think it takes much to see it is clearly not written in your own words and is taken from other sources.

 

[Scurvy]

<sigh> One can lead a horse to water, but one can't make him drink it. Don't turn in that ridiculous letter. If you must turn in a letter, just say you are going to WDW and believe there will be many educational experiences. End of story. If they make the absences unexcused, so be it. If they take you to truancy court, so be it. If you DO have to go to court (which is HIGHLY doubtful since school districts don't have the funds to do this, even though the letters they send out sound scary), NOTHING will happen. It's really not a big deal.

It's better to take the hit and be honest than to make up excuses -- seriously! You don't want to be known around the school for the next several years as "the parent who sent THAT letter." The school will never take you seriously after sending in a letter like this in the event something else comes up over the next few years where you may have to defend your children.

I agree with this, except for the bolded. It must vary by area, because here people actually do get called to court fairly often. I've known a couple of people who had that happen. Before it gets to that point you get a visit from a social worker. I've known several people who had to deal with that. The schools really don't want it to get to that point, though, and they will count most things as excused as long as parents fill out the proper form or send in a note or doctor's excuse. (After a certain number of absences the social worker vist becomes mandatory, and after that court does, which is why I know so many people who have had to deal with those.)

I do agree though that the letter is way over the top. It would be a topic of conversation - and standing joke - in the teacher's lounge for years to come if someone sent it in to any school I've worked with. The parent who sent it in would be "That Parent" forever. Less in more in this case. Send in a simple letter, mention that WDW can be educational and at most add that the child will be exposed to other cultures, be expected to handle money or keep a journal about the trip. If the school needs you to expand on that, they will ask you to do so.

 

[Colleen27]

She isn't complying with a request from the school. She is doing something that a guidance counselor SUGGESTED she could do to possibly get the absences excused. This does not appear to be the policy of the school or district..simply a suggestion by the counselor to maybe get the absences excused.

The letter is ridiculous in it's length and content regardless of it being "required" or not (and it isn't nor is she complying with their policy as this isn't a policy based on what she has stated) and needs to either be dropped by owning her choices as a parent or fixed so it isn't so silly and overdone.

I took that as the counselor informing her of the school's policy - submit the note and the powers that be will excuse the absences. There may or may not be an actual test of educational validity involved; it seems like some schools just want the paperwork while others actually apply critical judgement to what is supplied. But without the letter they cannot evaluate the reason for the absences at all.

I agree with you about the content of the letter. A more to-the-point and personalized communication would be more appropriate to the situation.

In letting my my DD10's teacher know about our upcoming trip we talked about her getting a chance to practice her Spanish (6th year) and Japanese (1st year) at the Kidcot stops in Epcot, about her interest in manatees and the time she likes to spend talking to their caregivers in the Seas pavilion, our plans to take the Behind the Seeds tour through the greenhouses, and other info specific to DD's age, studies, and interests. If I had to present a letter those are the things I would mention, not a generic, travel-brochure listing of potentially educational rides and attractions, some of which we might not even take the time to experience. It doesn't matter how educational Hall of Presidents and Universe of Energy are; we only catch the former once with each new president and never find time for the latter so my kids aren't getting anything out of them being there.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think a lot of people here are missing that the OP was ASKED by the school to provide such a letter. If you think it's absurd, you should probably be taking it up with the school, not the OP.


I really wish more people would read the threads before being so quick to jump in and criticize.

We understand she was coerced (i.e., worse than just asked). The letter in Post 122 is just extremely over the top.

 

[lizanne]

If the school asked for or suggested the letter I don't see any problem with providing it, then let them make the decision.

But, if I didn't feel it was an educational trip I don't think I would write it.

I also think you should be able to write your own reasons for considering this an educational trip. You should be able to do that, after doing some research or drawing on your own previous experience at WDW.

The school/teacher/principal/counselor may ask your kids what they learned on the trip and if you don't see or expect your kids to see any educational value in the trip, what position does that put your kids in.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The thing is..in it's current form I don't see them feeling it is worthy of an excused absence. It reads very much as a copy and paste from travel and Disney websites and doesn't demonstrate any true learning. If you really want it to work then you need to write a more appropriate letter and YOU need to write it.

Exactly. The PARENT needs to write why the PARENT feels the trip would be educational and THAT student/child absence should be excused.

I wouldn't expect that letter in that form to garner any type of exemption or understanding.

Plus, even if done in little segments, plagiarizing is still plagiarizing

 

[Goofypop]

My cousin took her kids to Disney and sent in a letter explaining how this was going to be an educational trip for all of the kids, even her 10th grader. It was a well thought out and lucid explanation of the educational benefits of the trip and explained her position on the matter quite well. One of the teachers sent her back a letter saying that it would be perfectly fine for her child to miss his class. And to have fun on the trip. He also stated that since this is an educational trip and in no way a purely fun family vacation that he expected a 5 page essay detailing the trip and everything that was learned in order for any of the make-up work to count. I remember telling her not to write that letter to the teachers but she did anyway.

 

[Green Tea]

I actually didn't use a form letter. I started with the form letter that was posted here but when a PP posted for me a blog link where a Disney blog has made a post explaining how all the Disney parks are educational and what parts of them are educational, I used the blog post more than the letter.

I asked for help with it because I didn't know what to say. I couldn't say what was or wasn't educational at Disney, but I do now.

Since the school asked for the letter I am giving them the letter. She didn't say it had to be an original letter written by me in my own words. There were no specific details.

Let me post a copy of what I am using here so you can all see what I concocted from the form letter and the blog post.

OK< here it is, it's long.


TO: (Principal name & Teacher name)

FROM: (Parents name)

RE: (Child’s name) Disney vacation dates 10/27-11/5/11

Please be advised that (Child’s name) will be out of school during the week of October 27th through November 5th. We ask that their absences be excused.
The reason for (Child’s name) absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that the kids will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

There are so many educational aspects at WDW. It’s teeming with history, geography, culture, science, math, economics, science and more!
Some things (Child’s name) will learn about:

Epcot World Showcase: Children can explore the different cultures of the world in the 11 various World Showcase Pavilions of Canada, United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Italy, Germany, Japan, China, Norway, Mexico, and America. My children will be able to learn about the architecture, languages, diet and dress of each country. They will also be able to talk to the cast members in each country. The World Showcase cast members are actually from the country in whose pavilion they work! They can learn about the flags, learn to say hello in each language, learn capitals and more!

American History: Children can learn all about the U.S. Presidents by witnessing the The Hall of Presidents presentation at the Magic Kingdom. This show highlights every U.S. President from George Washington to current President Barack Obama. The show focuses on the role of slavery in America and tells how early leaders debated slavery from the Constitutional Convention to the Lincoln-Douglas debates. They can witness the American Adventure Show in the American pavilion in Epcot and learn about the beginnings of the United States of America. This show combines film footage and Audio-Animatronics of dozens of historic figures and is as moving as it is educational. Listen to Ben Franklin and Mark Twain tell the story of America, beginning with the Pilgrims and going through World War II. Children will see George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Will Rogers and Rosie the Riveter.

Epcot Future World: Children can learn about science by exploring Mission:Space. My children will have the chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars. Children can experience the Universe of Energy exhibit, which teaches about fossil fuels energy and conservation. The Circle of Life show in The Land Pavilion teaches about environmental protection. The Innoventions Pavilion allows children to participate in hands-on activities showcasing interesting innovations and new technologies. The Living with the Land ride is an indoor boat ride through greenhouses full of plants and aquaculture tanks. Many of the plants that you see growing are used in the Garden Grill. The Seas with Nemo and Friends teach children about aquatic life and offers many exhibits for children to take part in. Children can view marine exhibits complete with dolphins and manatees. Spaceship Earth is a slow-moving ride in the “big golf ball” (as children call it) that uses Animatronics to teach about the history of communication. Test Track lets children take part in a GM test vehicle as they zip around an indoor-outdoor track, learning what tests cars have to go through before they can be sold to the public. Throughout Future World, there are numerous learning activities for children of all ages!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom- What better place to learn about nature and conservation? This 110-acre theme park, the largest Disney theme park, features an African savanna and safari, up-close encounters with animals of all kinds as well as a Conservation Station, where children can learn about conservation efforts being made across the world as well as Disney’s part in those efforts. Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s zoological operations are respected worldwide, but Disney keeps them fully hidden from its guests by man-made hills, rivers and rocks. Scientists are breeding endangered species, and on-site researchers are there studying animal behaviors. DAK is a member of the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums). Disney wants you to see the “real” world of animals, however, and not a zoo. Observation windows at Conservation Station let you look in on medical procedures on animals while veterinarians explain what is going on. Other windows display researchers studying elephant vocalizations and tracking a sea turtle off of the Florida coast. Kids can learn more about the park’s primates and other animals with remote animal-cams. Children can listen to hear thunder and insects; they can “speak” with Dr. Jane Goodall or George Schaller of the Tibet Wildlife Reserve. They can view a film on endangered species and get a closer look at various animals when the Cast Members bring out animals for closer viewing.

Economics: Children have the opportunity to learn about economics as well by managing his/her own spending money. Children are able to make budget decisions on how to spend their money. They can also work with saving at the hands-on at The Great Piggy Bank Adventure. T. Rowe Price worked with Disney to create this interactive game to teach families the importance of financial planning. You can do the game as a single or up to 3 people can compete on a team. There are a number of stations where you start the game. There are plenty of cast members to help you along the way.

Art: Children can learn about art, animation and the history of film at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

(Child’s name) will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for the kids and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for (child’s name) to make arrangements to get any work that will be due while they are gone, please let us know as soon as possible. I am not sure if you want him to do the work before he goes or if we will just get a packet of work when he gets back.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

(Parent’s name)

(Parents signature)

(Parent’s phone number and email)

I'm going to shorten this for you, even though you didn't ask me to. I accept thanks and paypal:

Dear Mrs. ______________

_____________________ will be out of school 10-27 to 11-5. We hated that the only time we could take this family trip fell during the school week. I hope you will allow ___________ to work on assignments while we are gone. I have planned time each day for school work. We are going to Disney World and I figure each night after dinner we can have assignment time.

Additionally, I am hopeful the trip will be considered excused. If it isn't, I understand, but we hope to bring some learning into the trip as well. The conservation programs in Animal Kingdom will be interesting and I will be sure __________ does plenty of the learning things there in addition to all the fun.

Also I hope we will touch on the some organic farming/ locally sourced food concepts in The Land and of course spend time in the exhibits from other countries in Epcot.

Again, I know it is an inconvenience to you to send the work ahead of time, but if you are able I would appreciate it. If that is too disruptive, would you mind setting aside the missed papers and ___________will have them back to you in a couple of days upon return.

Thanks so much,

________________

....Still a little long, but you won't run out of ink in your pen writing this one.

 

[mdsoccermom]

My cousin took her kids to Disney and sent in a letter explaining how this was going to be an educational trip for all of the kids, even her 10th grader. It was a well thought out and lucid explanation of the educational benefits of the trip and explained her position on the matter quite well. One of the teachers sent her back a letter saying that it would be perfectly fine for her child to miss his class. And to have fun on the trip. He also stated that since this is an educational trip and in no way a purely fun family vacation that he expected a 5 page essay detailing the trip and everything that was learned in order for any of the make-up work to count. I remember telling her not to write that letter to the teachers but she did anyway.

As it should be. If a parents is going to delude themselves into believing their kids are going to be having an educational opportunity every second of the trip, then they need to prove it.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Hey OP, have a great time! Hope the letter works. I think the letter covers all the bases, at least they won't be able to say it missed anything!

 

[Coconut36]

I'm going to shorten this for you, even though you didn't ask me to. I accept thanks and paypal:

Dear Mrs. ______________

_____________________ will be out of school 10-27 to 11-5. We hated that the only time we could take this family trip fell during the school week. I hope you will allow ___________ to work on assignments while we are gone. I have planned time each day for school work. We are going to Disney World and I figure each night after dinner we can have assignment time.

Additionally, I am hopeful the trip will be considered excused. If it isn't, I understand, but we hope to bring some learning into the trip as well. The conservation programs in Animal Kingdom will be interesting and I will be sure __________ does plenty of the learning things there in addition to all the fun.

Also I hope we will touch on the some organic farming/ locally sourced food concepts in The Land and of course spend time in the exhibits from other countries in Epcot.

Again, I know it is an inconvenience to you to send the work ahead of time, but if you are able I would appreciate it. If that is too disruptive, would you mind setting aside the missed papers and ___________will have them back to you in a couple of days upon return.

Thanks so much,

________________

....Still a little long, but you won't run out of ink in your pen writing this one.

 

[Shelly888]

GL OP! A very good friend of mine just found out that her life long friend was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She was in excellent health, extremely athletic and one of the last people to expect to get cancer, especially at her age(34!). She was at the gym exercising and had a seizure, was diagnosed and having surgery to remove it within 24 hours. She has a 6 and 5 year old, and likely will not be around to even see them finish elementary school.

School is so important to me, but family time is just as important. When something like this hits so close to home for me, it's hard to justify not taking a vacation as a family and spending quality time together, because we never know when that time might be up.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

Exactly. The PARENT needs to write why the PARENT feels the trip would be educational and THAT student/child absence should be excused.

I wouldn't expect that letter in that form to garner any type of exemption or understanding.

Plus, even if done in little segments, plagiarizing is still plagiarizing

It's not plagiarizing when it is information that is being posted on the INTERNET specifically meant for parents needing to writer a letter for the kid's school. That's what it was posted for. That form letter on mouseforless and mousesavers is put there to COPY AND PASTE and fill in the blanks. SO be the paper police with someone else.

 

[Coconut36]

It's not plagiarizing when it is information that is being posted on the INTERNET specifically meant for parents needing to writer a letter for the kid's school. That's what it was posted for. That form letter on mouseforless and mousesavers is put there to COPY AND PASTE and fill in the blanks. SO be the paper police with someone else.

Seriously? Yeah you might want to rethink your stance there. You are copy and pasting something and presenting it as your own. Look at your district plagiarism policy and see how what you did fits it. What you have done fits clearly within the boundaries of plagiarism as you are taking the work of another person and presenting it as your own. It doesn't mean jack if it is on a website with "blanks in it" for you to use. It is not YOUR writing or your letter and you obviously didn't even bother to try to rephrase it into your own thoughts or words (see bold below)..it is very clearly a copy and paste. You might want to understand what plagiarism is so that you don't tell your children it is OK to copy something that was put online for others to use (there is a ton of crap out there and using it would result in consequences from the school) and then get upset when the teacher tosses it out because that isn't OK.

. As defined today, plagiarism is the use of another person's work without giving proper credit. It can happen as a result of a conscious effort to deceive, or as a result of careless research methods. Either way, the results are the same; your finished paper will be weaker, your understanding of the subject matter will be incomplete, and you'll run the risk of loss of credit for the assignment and perhaps the course.
Because the risks to you as a student are so great, it's important that you understand what plagiarism is and how it can appear. Plagiarism occurs when you undertake one of these actions.

* You turn in another person's paper as your own.
* You copy portions of another person's paper into your own.
* You copy source material into your paper without quotation marks and without an in-text citation to author and page.
* You paraphrase source material into your paper without an in-text citation to author and page.
* You summarize source material without a clear reference to the original source.

Plagiarism violates the academic code of conduct which demands that you give credit to others for their words and ideas when you use them in your own work. The same rule applies to drawings, photographs, paintings, or other original creations. To avoid becoming a plagiarist, you cannot present as your own work the words, music, drawings, photographs, or paintings of another person.

To avoid plagiarism, follow the few rules below:

* Introduce any quotation or paraphrase with the name of the authority, or place the name and page number inside a parentheses at the end of the citation.
* Enclose all direct quotations within quotation marks.
* Paraphrase material in your own style and language; do not simply rearrange sentence phrases.
* At the end of each summary, paraphrase, or direct quotation, provide a specific page number within parentheses. If you have not introduced the material with the name of the author, include the name here.

It saddens and frightens me that you see nothing wrong with what you are doing and can't seem to realize that regardless of how one presents the content you are taking writing not your own, copying and pasting it and presenting it as your own and that is plagiarism and it is entirely possible the school will be aware of it and it will greatly damage your credibility much less their thoughts on excusing the absence as you obviously did not write the letter yourself..simply took others words and pasted them in a letter.

 

[Goofypop]

Seriously? Yeah you might want to rethink your stance there. You are copy and pasting something and presenting it as your own. Look at your district plagiarism policy and see how what you did fits it. What you have done fits clearly within the boundaries of plagiarism as you are taking the work of another person and presenting it as your own. It doesn't mean jack if it is on a website with "blanks in it" for you to use. It is not YOUR writing or your letter and you obviously didn't even bother to try to rephrase it into your own thoughts or words (see bold below)..it is very clearly a copy and paste. You might want to understand what plagiarism is so that you don't tell your children it is OK to copy something that was put online for others to use (there is a ton of crap out there and using it would result in consequences from the school) and then get upset when the teacher tosses it out because that isn't OK.



It saddens and frightens me that you see nothing wrong with what you are doing and can't seem to realize that regardless of how one presents the content you are taking writing not your own, copying and pasting it and presenting it as your own and that is plagiarism and it is entirely possible the school will be aware of it and it will greatly damage your credibility much less their thoughts on excusing the absence as you obviously did not write the letter yourself..simply took others words and pasted them in a letter.

Calm down.

#1, it's not an essay or thesis. It's not like he is trying to get an A+.

#2, the format for the letter was expressly given to the site as a template to be used. It does not have to have a reference table at the bottom of the letter explaining where the original work came from. God, you took that way too personal.

 

[Coconut36]

Calm down.

#1, it's not an essay or thesis. It's not like he is trying to get an A+.

#2, the format for the letter was expressly given to the site as a template to be used. It does not have to have a reference table at the bottom of the letter explaining where the original work came from. God, you took that way too personal.

Sorry but I think it is pretty sad that someone thinks it is OK and sees no issue in presenting an educator with a letter they copy and pasted off the internet presented as their own writing and work and doesn't get that it fits most academic definitions of plagiarism. The letter itself is already a ridiculous joke as presented by the OP in it's length and content and then to claim it's fine to present it as their own letter is just pitiful. It's about the appropriateness of the action not if someone is being graded or not.

 

[lizanne]

GL OP! A very good friend of mine just found out that her life long friend was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She was in excellent health, extremely athletic and one of the last people to expect to get cancer, especially at her age(34!). She was at the gym exercising and had a seizure, was diagnosed and having surgery to remove it within 24 hours. She has a 6 and 5 year old, and likely will not be around to even see them finish elementary school.

School is so important to me, but family time is just as important. When something like this hits so close to home for me, it's hard to justify not taking a vacation as a family and spending quality time together, because we never know when that time might be up.

Sorry about your friend's friend. My Dad also had a cancerous brain tumor, it was never removed because of the location. He lived for 10 years after being diagnosed. He continued to work for several years, then went on disability. He was able to have a pain free life and only the last month or so was difficult. I wish the best for that family.

Now, maybe I missed something. Does the OP or a family member have an illness? If so, why not just write that in the letter. I would hope an excused absence would be given.

 

[mdsoccermom]

Sorry about your friend's friend. My Dad also had a cancerous brain tumor, it was never removed because of the location. He lived for 10 years after being diagnosed. He continued to work for several years, then went on disability. He was able to have a pain free life and only the last month or so was difficult. I wish the best for that family.

Now, maybe I missed something. Does the OP or a family member have an illness? If so, why not just write that in the letter. I would hope an excused absence would be given.

Really? Ask someone to use another person's illness as an excuse to get out of school - not to visit that person, but to go to WDW? Ok. That's just wrong.

 

[DebIreland]

Really? Ask someone to use another person's illness as an excuse to get out of school - not to visit that person, but to go to WDW? Ok. That's just wrong.

I don't think lizanne was suggesting using someone else's sickness as an excuse. She wondered if she missed somewhere along the way that the OP is going to WDW due to a sickness in the family and, if so, why wouldn't she just tell the school that.

My cousin took her kids to Disney and sent in a letter explaining how this was going to be an educational trip for all of the kids, even her 10th grader. It was a well thought out and lucid explanation of the educational benefits of the trip and explained her position on the matter quite well. One of the teachers sent her back a letter saying that it would be perfectly fine for her child to miss his class. And to have fun on the trip. He also stated that since this is an educational trip and in no way a purely fun family vacation that he expected a 5 page essay detailing the trip and everything that was learned in order for any of the make-up work to count. I remember telling her not to write that letter to the teachers but she did anyway.

I don't see anything at all wrong with that teacher's request. In fact, I applaud it. Writing an essay about the trip would be fun and educational. In fact, I think it's quite nice of the teacher to suggest it and to later read the essay!