How bad?

[61292cna]

How bad a mother would I be, if i let my DD17 & DD15 miss the first three days of High School to go to WDW? We were looking at another week, but turns out registration is then. Due to Summer School & DH's work schedule theese were the only choices left for us. HELP!!!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Uh Oh, Get ready for FLAMES
BUT not from me

I say, do what is GOOD for your FAMILY! You know your kids best!!

Good Luck with Whatever you choose.

 

[dougsmom98]

I teach high school. I actually think those are the best days to miss if your children have to miss school. The first day is often spent doing administrative type stuff such as handing out paperwork and books. Our school is on block scheduling so we see each class every other day. If your school is similar, then your girls won't be missing a ton of any one class. Your DDs also won't be alone either. It is not unusual for students to miss classes in the beginning of the year for a number of reasons. Students often need to change their schedules, so teachers are used to students entering their class a day or two into the semester. Before we went to computer based gradebooks, I wouldn't dare write in my gradebook for the first two weeks because I knew my class list would change several times in that amount of time. It never failed, as soon as I wrote everyone's name in alphabetical order, someone would drop my class or transfer in. Good luck.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I don't know about your school system, but ours doesn't count a student enrolled until the first day they attend class.

I missed the first 3 days of my senior year. We had just returned from WDW and I contracted shingles the next to last day we were there! I technically missed 3 days of class, but I wasn't official as I wasn't actually enrolled. I may have come home sick, but the trip was well worth it!

 

[duffy]

Back in 2000, my oldest was 17 and the second was 15. We went to WDW in mid-September. There were no problems. The girls knew it was their responsibility to keep their grades up. Both went on to graduate not only high school, but college too.

I hate to say this, but when we returned from WDW, our school went on strike. I don't remember how long, I'm thinking a few weeks. When school eventually went back in session, they had to basically start the whole year over, so it didn't matter that they'd missed a whole week.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

You are not a bad mother at all!! Taking them out for only 3 days is no big deal, especially during the beginning of the year. You really don't start to learn important things until the next week anyway. If your kids know their schedules, I would contact the teachers to let them know they won't be there. WDW is way more important then missing a few days of high school - I mean you go to school for 180 days of the year, but usually you can only go to WDW for around a week each year! Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[sk!mom]

How do your DD's feel about it? My DD wouldn't want to miss if it could be avoided at all. She would hate the feeling of starting behind and needing to catch up from the start plus all of her extracurriculars are gearing up then and she would be missing out. Have you checked into an alternate registration time? Most schools have one as there are always those who can't make the scheduled registration and they have to get everyone registered.

That being said if your DD's are OK with it then I don't think 3 days is a huge deal. Be sure and check your schools attendance policies as many schools have really strict policies about absences and what type of makeup work is allowed. Also, why are they going to summer school? If my child had any school difficulties then I wouldn't pull them for vacation.

I do understand your dilemma. With summer camps and various activities, we basically have only two free weeks for our family vacation this summer.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I wouldn't do it. My DD would kill me, for one thing. Of course, she does sports, so I already have to plan vacations around her schedules--it's a pain, but it's important to her.

Also, if I had a child who needed to go to summer school, I think it sends the wrong message to have them skip school for a vacation. Any vacation. And if my child struggled that much, why would you put them in a position of starting out behind? I know, it's only three days, but if someone's having difficulty, it's the wrong thing to do.

 

[61292cna]

They are average students, but DD 15 failed classroom drivers ed. & has to take it over the summer(school policy.)I think so they don't get over scheduled with the incoming fall classes(only so many teachers?)

 

[Lucky St. Louis]

As the child of teachers who wouldn't let us miss school unless we were hacking up a lung or something, I always said that I would not pull my kids out of school for a vacation. My kids are young but twice I've had them miss two days of school to go to WDW (scheduled around a break or teachers institute days). My thought is that life it short and it's important to spend quality family time together. If your kids are o.k. with it and you feel that it won't reflect negatively on them, I say do it. Also, the first few days of school aren't usually all that busy anyway. If possible, I would e-mail their teachers in advance and ask if there are any assignments they will miss that can be made up while on the trip.

With regard to registration, are you certain that you can't register early? I'm sure that you wouldn't be the only one out of town on vacation during that time. It's worth a phone call and then the whole missing school is moot.

ETD: My kids just missed two days of school but I gave their teachers advance notice and had them write a page a day in a "vacation journal" that they will show their teachers. The decision for them to miss was based on the fact that they are great students and our airfare was SO MUCH cheaper to leave in the middle of the week vs. the weekend. Both teachers thought the journal was a great idea (for younger kids, not high school).

 

[Happy Mami]

I don't think you'd be bad at all...family vacations aren't always going to be the norm, take advantage of the opportunity.

 

[defendthehill]

Like a previous poster...I too am a teacher and I think the answer to your question is difficult without more information. Are your children good students? If so....then go to Disney and miss the several days of school and it will not be a big deal. However, if your kids are average to below in academic success then I would suggest not missing school. One of the biggest hurdles for a average to poor student to overcome is being absent from school and getting behind.

I would agree that no matter what you decide that the first few days of school are probably teh easiest days for a student to miss.

 

[connie1042]

Take them out of school. Here is my story. Our first trip to WDW was a "Make a Wish" trip for our daughter. Her brothers were in high school at the time. When I went to conferences for the boys,and told the teachers we would be taking the boys out of school for our trip, one of the teachers gave me a hard time. I said, you know this trip might be the last trip we all take together as a family, and I don't think any amount of school work would be more important. Things worked out for our daughter, and the boys suffered no real damage, but the next year at age 16, our son was killed in a car accident. I am so glad we took that trip together as a family. Life is to short to worry about the small stuff. Go and enjoy.

 

[duffy]

Take them out of school. Here is my story. Our first trip to WDW was a "Make a Wish" trip for our daughter. Her brothers were in high school at the time. When I went to conferences for the boys,and told the teachers we would be taking the boys out of school for our trip, one of the teachers gave me a hard time. I said, you know this trip might be the last trip we all take together as a family, and I don't think any amount of school work would be more important. Things worked out for our daughter, and the boys suffered no real damage, but the next year at age 16, our son was killed in a car accident. I am so glad we took that trip together as a family. Life is to short to worry about the small stuff. Go and enjoy.

Connie, so sorry about your son. And thank God you'd all taken that trip.

 

[nessz79]

I teach high school. I actually think those are the best days to miss if your children have to miss school. The first day is often spent doing administrative type stuff such as handing out paperwork and books. Our school is on block scheduling so we see each class every other day. If your school is similar, then your girls won't be missing a ton of any one class. Your DDs also won't be alone either. It is not unusual for students to miss classes in the beginning of the year for a number of reasons. Students often need to change their schedules, so teachers are used to students entering their class a day or two into the semester. Before we went to computer based gradebooks, I wouldn't dare write in my gradebook for the first two weeks because I knew my class list would change several times in that amount of time. It never failed, as soon as I wrote everyone's name in alphabetical order, someone would drop my class or transfer in. Good luck.

I agree with this, but other teachers may not. I feel that it's easiest for a student to miss the first couple days then even 2 weeks later in the year. There's not a lot to catch up on. My classes tend to fluctuate greatly in the first week or two and then it usually stabilizes.

 

[Atchley]

You would be a horrible mother!! Making your kids miss school to go to WDW! You might as well just beat them with a stick!

Seriously though, if your kids don't have a problem with missing those days, then I wouldn't worry about it. As long as they are comfortable with the idea, then you shouldn't worry.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

the next year at age 16, our son was killed in a car accident. I am so glad we took that trip together as a family. Life is to short to worry about the small stuff. Go and enjoy.

I'm so sorry. How wonderful that you took that trip together. You are SO RIGHT, life is just too short to worry about a couple days.

I home school and it's really hard for me to understand the rigid system the school has about these things. Your brain does not shut down from missing 3 days of school. If you get behind...catch up! They will learn stuff at WDW too! Just think of the things they learn at Epcot!

 

[Saved by Grace]

My kids are going to miss a week of school to go to Disney this September.
They will be in 2nd and 10th grades, respectively (the others are homeschooled). Both are *excellent* students, and though I know it will be tougher on my high-schooler to catch up on any missed work, I expect it will not be a big deal.

 

[*BTMRR*]

Academically it may be the best time to miss a few days of school. Not that much is going on other than getting settled into a routine.
That being said I was shy and very stressed about social things all through high school and it would have made me incredibly nervous to miss those first few days and then have to jump in and be the "new kid" in a way. You know your children best and can determine whether missing those first days would make your kids worry about school and not enjoy the trip as much because of that. Just something to think about. Your kids may be more socially confident than I was, and not mind missing the first few days at all.