How do I tell teachers?

[helenm29]

Hey crazy4mandms: Sorry to have sounded like I was ranting at you! I just think this is way too touchy of a subject for some people. you are so right about the way you worked it out with your child last year....I guess I wasn't thinking about the extra work the teacher does to have it available for us to go. I think maybe I will approach it the way you did this year and not push the teachers although the school system here requires them to give the kids the work ahead of time so it's going to be hard. again, no hard feelings? Helen

 

[cfewell]

Crazy4mandms

FYI: I am not steamed that teachers get two months off, please do not quote me out of context. If you read the whole thread you would know I was critized for not taking vacation during the summer and attempting to pull my child out of school, by one of the teachers posting. I was only defending myself and if you would have read the whole thread you would know that, if you did read the whold thread then I really feel sorry that you do not see where I was coming from.

I do not care what teachers do with their summer, I really dont care, my point was not everyone can take their vacation during the summer, and I have to take my child out of school if I want to have ANY Family vacations with him in the 12 years of his high school career.

I am sorry that I offended anyone, however again, I am entitled to my opinion, this thread should be moved to the debate section of these boards, because it seems that anything anyone says is taken the wrong way.... to touchy of a subject for a HAPPY DISNEY BOARD LOL.

 

[Mermaid02]

We are taking our 2 children out of school for 7 days this fall for our first REAL family vacation EVER! I went to open house and told all of my dd's teachers Thursday night. Everyone was fine with it. Her science teacher and vice principal turned out to be "Disney Freaks" and gave us loads of advice and "must do's". My dd is in 8th grade- very difficult accelerated classes- but very bright and self motivated. My ds is only in 1st grade and his teacher said travelling is educational in itself at this age.

 

[Doodlebug939]

First off let me say that I am a military wife. I have never been on a vacation with my family in the 10 years we have been married.

My husband has been gone for four months this year as well as several weeks here and there. I am taking my child out of school for four days before Thanksgiving break. He is in kindergarten for some added info.

I talked this over with the teacher on our first meeting because I feel that we have to develop a relationship together and work as a team to educate my son.

I must say that she was very helpful and understanding. She said that what she could pull out ahead of time she would be happy to do so and whatever else she would save for him when we return.

I think a lot of it is about respect. I respected her enough to tell her what I was doing and why and she respected me with an offer to help. I dont want her to take more time out of her schedule then she has to. She told me that she works on her lesson plans about two weeks in advance so it shouldnt be a problem.

The school though said that it could be counted as unexcused and would be reported to the state. I feel that I have an excuse, I am trying to have some family time. But we will see how it goes in November.

 

[Niagara2]

My boys now ages 8 and 9 have been going to Disney or on a cruise for that last 7 years. We have pulled them from school twice a school year. We give the teachers alot of notice and ask for work. Some trips we have gotten ALOT of work to do!! Well, we do all of it and we have had half days taken up by this work. I am not complaining as we get to Disney at least 2 or 3 times a year and half a day of learning is fine with us as it isn't a once in a lifetime experience. I do believe that the trips will cease as the kids get older and will only be during school breaks or a day or two around normal days off. We have done journals, picture scrapbooks, alot of reading, but mostly we truly spend time teaching the kids about what they are experiencing. Epcot is a two or three day stop for us at times. We have been to dozens of countries and experienced so much. When they do get to some of the facts of these countries in History or Geograpgy they excel. We have all A's and B's.....one C last year. We have memories and expereinces for a lifetime.
With all the said, we leave in three weeks for a cruise to Haiti, Jamacia and Mexico. We have never been with the kids to any of these places and look forward to learning together the history and facts of each stop. Now, I do not look forward to informing the teachers on Tuesday at the Home school meeting, but will so that if they want to work with us we can bring the work along with us. I hope they are OK with it but I go with a clear conscience as we spend alot of time together learning, much more so than a normal work week for me and DH.
Oh by the way, we always bring back a souvenir as a thank you to the teachers. They seem very appreciative of that too!!!

 

[Gomez Gang]

my dd just began 2nd grade and I told the teacher last week that she would not be there for a week(luckily 1 of our vaca. days falls on an institute day!) I was truthful about us going to WDW. I told her "I don't expect any preferential treatment or for you to go out of your way. If you could let me know what needs to be covered I will take the responsibility". Well, her teacher was SOOOOO nice about it! She said it was refreshing to hear a parent not expecting that the teacher to do extra work and she appreciated my willingness to help. The "work" she has assigned her to do is to read 15 minutes every day, write 1 paragraph a day telling about the things she did that day and most of all to have fun! Hopefully you will have the same luck with your kid's teachers!

 

[Whosemom]

Oh the guilt!

We're going to miss 8 days of school (I'm a bad mom, but (brag alert) - the kid reads 5 grade levels ahead ).

I discussed it with the principal before buying tickets (I'm an unassertive weenie).

I get annoyed with people who miss more than two days of MY class {10wk x 2 classes community college remedial math} (I'm a hypocrite)

My girlie will miss the Christmas program that they are ALREADY practicing for, so she is a little bummed every music class (Isn't that ridiculous??? Can't we maybe learn something besides 2 songs in 18 weeks?)

We already aknowledge that our 2nd is not going to be the book-learner that the first is, so this will be the last school time trip. (I'm being pessimistic)

On the other hand, we'll have a great bonding, loving time. My children will learn about parts of our great country as we drive down. We can grab some science and social studies at epcot, money skills and reading everywhere, cooperation and responsibility at the campsite, good manners and patience in line.

All in all, everyone has valid points, I could personally argue it adamantly both ways (a testimony to my insanity). All of parenting is such a balancing act, and changes not only with each family and each child but each and every day. Let's share our "truth" in love

Beloved, let us love one another, for Love is from God. 1 John4:7

 

[BrerMom]

I honestly don't mind if a kid is gone from my class for a family vacation.

I don't even mind tutoring before or after school to help the student catch up.

I do mind if the parents request work and either don't do any of it, only barely start it, or - my personal favorite - don't even pick it up from the office after they request it.

I do mind if a student can't learn the new concepts because he hasn't done the make-up work.

I mind when the parents think I can magically fix it when the child fails the semester because of too many missed days in one semester. This is a school policy, not a teacher policy. (It's a strange fact that many kids get sick when they return to school, thus missing more days than the parent originally intended.)

I really mind when the parents are angry AT ME if their child's grade is any lower than usual for the marking period.


With the pressure schools are under to perform and with state aid being tied to attendance, is it any wonder attendance is stressed?

 

[Miss Mickey Mania]

As a teacher in Scotland I just tell a kid going away to have a great time. It's school policy here NOT to give any work to be done while on holiday, even if the parents ask for it.

This year, we now have to mark absence for holidays as Unauthorised.

My main problem is when the kid comes back. For example, my class this year is 6 year olds. We started back after summer in mid August and already one of the children has been away for 2 weeks!! TWO weeks! He returns on Monday and has missed a lot of work. All the new stuff we have covered so far will have to be caught up. That's what annoys me. I know people often go out away out of season to save money but it's really getting out of control over here.

Louise

 

[JodyTG]

Very well said, Louise. I appreciate hearing from another country that has the same problems we have. When my daughter was younger I helped out at her school quite a bit. It seems that the teachers were completely OVERLOADED with helping kids to "catch-up" due to being absent too much. Illness, of course, can't be helped; but vacations can. So......time the teacher would have usually spent with the entire class was taken up by one or two kids whose parents just can't get them to school. Is this fair to my child and the other children that are not gone for days or weeks at a time on vacation? I think not.

I'm sorry if this is upsetting to people, but it's just the way I feel after seeing way, way, WAY too much of it. Our kids need to be in school. There's summer break, winter break, spring break and some districts even have fall break now. This is more vacation that most adults have from their jobs. Isn't it enough time to use for vacations? I also agree that we shouldn't save money at the expense of our children's education.

God bless our teachers and keep them strong (and sane) for out there, right not, one of them is teaching our future President.

Jody

 

[mevamom]

We are going to WDW in October. I just wrote the teacher a note asking about makeup homework. She said that all she requires is that the child keep a journal during the trip to share with the class when we get back. We will catch up with homework a little at a time so not to be overwhelmed.

 

[airhead]

I live with a 4th grade teacher. I hear the stories about kids
being pulled out of school for a family vacation. It seems like there is a lot of concepts that are taught in a week that kids need to be in school to grasp or they risk being "out in left field"
when they come back. Some kids never catch up from that family vacation,and I can only imagine how hard that must be for a kid,always feeling like you "missed the boat". There's nothing like that feeling of success in class. Ya know what I mean?? The teacher teaches a new math concept,like fractions or long division
and the kids practice and ask questions.The teacher is there helping to make sure each kid gets it!! How awesome that must feel,to actually know how to solve the math problem!! And the next day,the class moves to the next concept building on what was taught the day before. I can only imagine the lost feeling of coming back from a great family vacation and being so far behind,playing catch up after only a few harmless days off.
I think parents really have to be totally honest with themselves about their kid's capabilities of playing "catch up". If you think
your kid can handle it,have fun on your vacation. But if you think your kid is going to struggle and feel like they've been left behind,shame on you. I say,you're the parent,you own the kid,you own the situation.

CJ

 

[btmyank]

I happen to be one of those people who have a job where they cannot get summer vacations or a vacation that coincides with school vacations. And although I may be a little envious of teachers schedules , I don't resent them, nor am I bitter.

I will be taking my children out of school for 5 days so we can have a family trip to WDW. Some argue that this may hinder the child's education, I disagree, people should reallize that school is not the only place a child is educated. Life experience is just as important as school work.

In response to Airheads comment on "being out in left field" or "missing the boat", I pose this question, how do you think that same child would feel if he/she never went on vacation like all the other kids did,just because Mom or Dad was unable to get time off?
Could that possibly hinder a childs developement ,self-esteem, self-worth,etc...? I think so.

And I'm not trying to flame or insult anyone, just asking for some understanding for people who have different situations.


Thank you, and by the way I've never had a problem with any one of my childrens teachers, I've been happy with each and everyone of them so far.

 

[airhead]

...you own the kid,you own the situation. As the parent,you know if your kid is going to have difficulties catching up in school if he/she misses a week. If you feel your kid will do just fine,great.
But if you know that your kid has a hard time catching up on school work when they miss just a day or two of school,I think its not good to do. Especially for self-esteem. There's nothing worse for a kid's self esteem than feeling "left behind" in school.
As far as "hindering a child's development" by not going on a family vacation,sorry I don't buy that. Many families don't go on
vacations,and they develop just fine.
Look,Im not pro or con on this subject. It really depends on the kid,not on a parent's vacation schedule.

airhead

 

[btmyank]

I agree, that different kids have different needs, and luckily my children have no problem catching up.

But to say that not experiencing something as good as a family vacation has no impact on a childs developement is ludicrous. Maybe the child who was never taken on a vacation(because a parent could not get time off) may and I stress may resent his parents for not letting him have the same experience as all of his peers.

So you "not buying it " makes it so. Than I buy that many people who drop out of school turn out just fine. Look at Bill Gates.

And of course going on vacations will not be the one and only deciding factor in a childs developement , I bet it sure helps.

In my opinion if it does not harm your child and it makes your child a happier healthier person than you should do it. And I feel that a week away from school will not harm most children.

 

[airhead]

...a week away from school won't harm most kids. Like I said,if you know your kid isn't going to have a hard time,no big whoop.
Go to Disney and have a ball.

That comment on dropping out of school and doing just fine,you may want to rethink that one....

I'm so done with this.....
airhead

 

[btmyank]

Was just being a little sarcastic on that one.

 

[Jynohn]

When I was a kid my parents took me out of school for vacation all the time. The most time I missed was almost one month when I went to France. I was always a very good student, but struggled in math. After missing time in school, sure I struggled for a couple of weeks afterwards, but I wouldn't trade those experiences for the world.

I am in no way underestimating the importance of a formal education, but there IS something to be said about learning from life experiences. Thanks to my parents, I've travelled all over the US, Canada, parts of Europe, not to mention several family visits to WDW. I've made such wonderful memories with my family, as well as seeing first hand some of the things we learned about in school. I hope to someday be able to give the same to my kids.

We're planning our trip to coincide partly with my son's Christmas vacation, but he'll still be missing a week of school. I'm willling to put in the hours before we leave and after we get home to help him keep up with the class, because I hope that we'll make memories that will last him a lifetime!

Everyone needs to decide what is best for their child and situation. I know that for mine, this is the right choice...