I don't understand why its such a big deal to take your children out of school..

[WIcruizer]

So, you expect everybody to be sheep and blindlessly follow poor decisions by the school board.

Not at all, I expect you to go through the proper channels. Start with the teacher, then principal, then school board. And you certainly can vote for the school board. But if all else fails, you don't have to go to that public school. As long as they DO attend that aschool, you follow the rules.

Do you work? I'm sure your employer has all kinds of rules you don't agree with, and poor decisions you have to live with right?

 

[deltachi8]

Sorry, but I will make the choice for my kids. If I dont like the other stuff at the school I have the choice of moving to another school district, trying to afford a private school or home schooling. There is a choice. Plenty of people opt for it.

I cant afford private schools and home schooling does not work for me as a single parent. So I have made a choice in living with the school year, half days, etc.

If I choose to take my son on vacation, it is a well thought out decision. If the school says you cant, I will tell them to go pound sand. I always have choices and wont be shy to use them.

Taking a child out for a week vacation is a parent's choice. The schools are not objecting to it because of the "welfare of the child" (because each kid's need for class is different and can not possibly legislated by one all inclusive rule) its because the funding is tied to children in school. (Similar reason why "half days" are a joke).

The key is there is no one rule that fits everyone. Each case is different. Each decision should be made carefully. Talk to the teacher, pay attention to YOUR values and make the best decision you can. Disney or not, thats what parents should be doing anyways on a lot of things.

 

[graygables]

Nice thought, but no it's not. If your kids are in public school, it's up to the school system, it's not your decision. There are all kinds of decisions YOU can't make just because they're YOUR kids. Can you demand a smaller class size? Demand a certain teacher? Opt out of math? Decide when the school year begins and ends? What they can wear in school? I could go on forever, but you get the idea.

It is neither selfish nor childish to be the parent and have authority over your children. The Supreme Court grants it as an inherent right.

You are correct about not being able to demand smaller class sizes, but that has less to do with policy and more to do with fiscal responsibility by the local district. I can, however, insist on a certain teacher and I can (and have) opted out of a public school course, taught it myself and my DD was given credit for it. Yes, I can decide what they can and cannot wear to school (BTDT, too), within reason.

Parents have bitten on hook, line, and sinker, and are not aware of their rights regarding their own children. They just assume that they school must be right and must be the law. Parents have allowed the public schools to usurp their rights and the fight to get them back is very difficult.

They are your children. If you feel you want to take them out for a family vacation, regardless of their age/educational status, then that is your right to do so. The schools are not gods and they do NOT have the right to the "care, custody, and control" of your children...you do.

 

[jodifla]

Not at all, I expect you to go through the proper channels. Start with the teacher, then principal, then school board. And you certainly can vote for the school board. But if all else fails, you don't have to go to that public school. As long as they DO attend that aschool, you follow the rules.

Do you work? I'm sure your employer has all kinds of rules you don't agree with, and poor decisions you have to live with right?

My motto: Just because it's a rule doesn't make it right.

Yes, I have been in the workforce 20 plus years. And yes, I had to institute policies I wasn't wild about. But, I was always quite outspoken about inane rules. It didn't make my a pariah at my company...it made me an award winner. Employers like employees who are smart and lead, not just followers.

And to me, this is all beside the point. I work for an employer, so am bound by their rules. But I don't work for the school district. They work for me. This does not imply I should be some sort of thorn in their side and that I shouldn't work with them to make sure my child and other children have the best education possible.

And if I believed current attendance policies were about the kids, I might be more inclined to concur. But it's all about the money now, not the education. One look at my school district's highly bizarre school calendar, and you can see that.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It is neither selfish nor childish to be the parent and have authority over your children. The Supreme Court grants it as an inherent right.

You are correct about not being able to demand smaller class sizes, but that has less to do with policy and more to do with fiscal responsibility by the local district. I can, however, insist on a certain teacher and I can (and have) opted out of a public school course, taught it myself and my DD was given credit for it. Yes, I can decide what they can and cannot wear to school (BTDT, too), within reason.

Parents have bitten on hook, line, and sinker, and are not aware of their rights regarding their own children. They just assume that they school must be right and must be the law. Parents have allowed the public schools to usurp their rights and the fight to get them back is very difficult.

They are your children. If you feel you want to take them out for a family vacation, regardless of their age/educational status, then that is your right to do so. The schools are not gods and they do NOT have the right to the "care, custody, and control" of your children...you do.

well said--and on that work ethic thing...I don't buy that either.

Where on her did anyone support missing a Major exam or assignment in the name of vacation. I can't think of one.

Very few fields have strict vacation policies (not too many accountants take off during personal tax filing season..and some do have you pick which holiday you'd like to try to get off). For the most part--when you company gives you vacation..it is fairly flexible. You choose your company and work around it--but for the most part..you want to take a vacation at a certain time--you submit it properly and you take it. You don't have to wait until the company is closed for you to have some time off.

My work ethic nor my education was compromised by missing school when it was in session (at one time--3 whole weeks due to my mom's military work assignment and her being a single parent).

 

[rt2dz]

I would like someone to explain how attending school affects your work ethic. I'm not trying to be rude here, just understand. I don't see how it can effect your future work ethic and would like to know the arguement.

The way I see it, if you are doing the work, whether or not you attend, you are still instilling a work ethic. Since employers (most, anyhow) grant you time off--even when not paid--how does taking time off from school degrade work ethic? Since many jobs require you do a job (not just punch hours, although some do require that), how does missing school if you still learn the material diminish work ethic?

I just think it is a shame that funding isn't based on grades and what you learn (since that is what MOST aspects of adulthood are based on--actual outcomes) rather than when you attend. Maybe kids would get better educations that way. As we all know, being present doesn't mean you learn.

 

[WIcruizer]

The last thing I thought I would ever do with my time is defend public schools! I still can't believe it. I could start a whole other topic on battles I've had within our district. My whole point is this. We all make our own decisions. I just have an issue with the attitude. "I'll do whatever I want, screw the school" in so many words.

I don't think OUR vacation is something that everyone else in the world needs to work around. We pulled our kids out often, but always had very cooperative teachers in elementary school. But now one's in MS and one's in HS. So now we have about 12 teachers to deal with, not just 1 or 2. To make matters worse, we really don't know most of them well at all. Therefore, we're concerned how some of these teachers will perceive missing a week- 10 days. Grades are very subjective in most classes, so it's impossible to prove whther or not a teacher is being vindictive. It's just too much of a chance to take with GPA, and we'll have to go during the winter break, spring break, or summer from now on.

 

[DisneyDotty]

It's just too much of a chance to take with GPA, and we'll have to go during the winter break, spring break, or summer from now on.

Welcome to my world! But it's really not so bad--as I mentioned earlier, we're squeezing in six trips during the school vacations. It can be done...

 

[LoveTink05]

I would like someone to explain how attending school affects your work ethic. I'm not trying to be rude here, just understand. I don't see how it can effect your future work ethic and would like to know the arguement.

This is the way I see it...

I feel that if I allow my children to miss excessive school days for vacation or just because they want to stay home, I am in essence telling them that attendance is not important. Therefore, when they join the "real world" and begin working, they might not feel that it is important to have a good attendance record at work. I simply want to do the best that I can for my children and I don't think it is "killing" them to go to school every day and take vacations during school holidays. I also don't think that my "parental rights" are being "usurped" by a school district simply by having and attendance policy in place! This is what works for my family! To each his own...

Just a little side note for those who say it is "all about money". Trust me, your kid missing a few days for vacation is NOT going to financially harm a school!

 

[Downrivermama]

rt2dz Said:I would like someone to explain how attending school affects your work ethic. I'm not trying to be rude here, just understand. I don't see how it can effect your future work ethic and would like to know the arguement.

How I see it is there are rules that we all have to follow in life, be it work, school, etc. I get my child's calendar and than we can plan our vacations times. My dd is in 2nd grade and she really likes school. She doesn't want to miss a thing. I am trying to teach her that you play by the rules. Her school's calendar are the rules. By knowing that we can go on vacations only at certain times of the year, helps her learn how to commit to something and follow through. It teaches her to respect things and honor her commitments.

I can't put her in a different school everytime I don't like something they do.

 

[WIcruizer]

Great points. I really don't care for the start time. 8:00AM is way too early. They're MY kids and nobody can tell me when they should start the school day. From now on, I'll drop them off at 10:00 and the teachers will just have to adapt to my schedule. Because nothing else matters except what I want to do.

 

[LoveTink05]

Great points. I really don't care for the start time. 8:00AM is way too early. They're MY kids and nobody can tell me when they should start the school day. From now on, I'll drop them off at 10:00 and the teachers will just have to adapt to my schedule. Because nothing else matters except what I want to do.

good one! If they don't allow you to do that, I would definitely shove in their faces a copy of the Supreme Court's ruling of your rights to "care, custody, and control" of YOUR children! You rock!

 

[deltachi8]

Great points. I really don't care for the start time. 8:00AM is way too early. They're MY kids and nobody can tell me when they should start the school day. From now on, I'll drop them off at 10:00 and the teachers will just have to adapt to my schedule. Because nothing else matters except what I want to do.

if you choose to home school you can start anytime you wish. choices....

 

[Reflection]

I wonder if some of the controversy about this topic is due to the fact that the destination is Walt Disney World. Couple that with the fact there are quite a few folks on the boards who venture to WDW more than once in a year’s time, it seems such travel could result in quite a few instances of extended absences from school. Although WDW has educational aspects, that is not the primary reason why my daughter and I vacation there, and I'd hazard that for most folks/families the draw is the FUN and not WDW’s educational opportunities. IMO, the positioning of the educational aspects of WDW can get a bit over the top (not in this thread, but in others I’ve read).

For the record, I did pull my daughter out of school for travel to WDW, once in 1st grade and again in 3rd grade, but it was work-related (I had conferences to attend) not personal vacation time. At that time, the absences were excused. Fast-forward a few years and to a completely different environment in which family vacations would be marked as unexcused. She is now in middle school (7th grade) at a private school with a heavy focus on math and science, and although there is greater flexibility than with the public school, she would miss far too much. We are fortunate to be able to vacation at WDW each year (in June or August), but even if we weren’t, I would no longer pull her out of school for travel to WDW. The same thinking will apply to high school as well.

However, if we are talking about travel to a foreign destination (my work requires travel to 3-4 conferences a year, sometimes to foreign locales), then I would most likely pull her out of school and work with her teachers and the administration accordingly. So, I would pull my daughter out of school for the up to the 10-day unexcused absence to go to Rome but I would not do so just to visit the Italy pavilion in EPCOT.

 

[jodifla]

Great points. I really don't care for the start time. 8:00AM is way too early. They're MY kids and nobody can tell me when they should start the school day. From now on, I'll drop them off at 10:00 and the teachers will just have to adapt to my schedule. Because nothing else matters except what I want to do.

Yeah, that's exactly like taking a few days off of school for a vacation with family.

Please. You don't rock. However, you are a good soldier, never questioning, always marching to orders.

 

[jodifla]

I wonder if some of the controversy about this topic is due to the fact that the destination is Walt Disney World. Couple that with the fact there are quite a few folks on the boards who venture to WDW more than once in a year’s time, it seems such travel could result in quite a few instances of extended absences from school. Although WDW has educational aspects, that is not the primary reason why my daughter and I vacation there, and I'd hazard that for most folks/families the draw is the FUN and not WDW’s educational opportunities. IMO, the positioning of the educational aspects of WDW can get a bit over the top (not in this thread, but in others I’ve read).

For the record, I did pull my daughter out of school for travel to WDW, once in 1st grade and again in 3rd grade, but it was work-related (I had conferences to attend) not personal vacation time. At that time, the absences were excused. Fast-forward a few years and to a completely different environment in which family vacations would be marked as unexcused. She is now in middle school (7th grade) at a private school with a heavy focus on math and science, and although there is greater flexibility than with the public school, she would miss far too much. We are fortunate to be able to vacation at WDW each year (in June or August), but even if we weren’t, I would no longer pull her out of school for travel to WDW. The same thinking will apply to high school as well.

However, if we are talking about travel to a foreign destination (my work requires travel to 3-4 conferences a year, sometimes to foreign locales), then I would most likely pull her out of school and work with her teachers and the administration accordingly. So, I would pull my daughter out of school for the up to the 10-day unexcused absence to go to Rome but I would not do so just to visit the Italy pavilion in EPCOT.

These are certainly good points. I think most posters here are talking about elementary age kids and trips. It gets a lot harder as they get older.

 

[jodifla]

How I see it is there are rules that we all have to follow in life, be it work, school, etc. I get my child's calendar and than we can plan our vacations times. My dd is in 2nd grade and she really likes school. She doesn't want to miss a thing. I am trying to teach her that you play by the rules. Her school's calendar are the rules. By knowing that we can go on vacations only at certain times of the year, helps her learn how to commit to something and follow through. It teaches her to respect things and honor her commitments.

I can't put her in a different school everytime I don't like something they do.

And what happens when you need to plan a vacation ahead of the published school schedule? Or the school schedule is listed one way, then they change it, after you've sunk a bunch of money into the vacation?

 

[WIcruizer]

However, you are a good soldier, never questioning, always marching to orders.

LOL...yeah that's me. And if these stereotypes hold, you're the one who has her husband reserve a spot in line at Test Track for an hour, then you and the rest of the family barge to the front.

 

[WIcruizer]

And what happens when you need to plan a vacation ahead of the published school schedule?

I don't know....hmmm....I suppose you wait until the schedule is posted. And is the timing of Winter break, Spring break, and summer a big surprise? Myabe it varies a bit, but not much.

 

[graygables]

Because nothing else matters except what I want to do.

Nobody has ever said that. What has been said is that the school is not the end-all when it comes to parental decision-making for my children and when it comes to issues (excused vs. unexcused absence, in this case) that do step on the toes of parental rights, it is time to hold the school accountable for crossing the line.

BTW, my senior year, I only needed one credit to graduate and 8 am *was* too early. My parents arranged with the school to allow me to come in an hour late and leave an hour early (to go to my job). But...that was back before hiney-in-seat=school funding.