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

[skiwee1]

-----------------------------

I agree.. I was responding to a comment made by familydisney..

Oh I know! I should have said I was agreeing with you!

 

[my4kids]

I took mine out for 4 days unexcused absence. i thought it would not be a big deal. It was a huge deal!!!!!!!! They not only had to make up the homework , but every last worksheet and page of school work they missed during school hours! - Also, because it was an unexcused absence, the teachers were not required to give us the work ahead of time, but gave it to us when we returned. It had been so horrible trying to make up 32 hours worth of work that the kids have begged me to never take them out of school again. DD has been going to school sick for the last 2 days because she is terrified of missing more work!

 

[C.Ann]

I took mine out for 4 days unexcused absence. i thought it would not be a big deal. It was a huge deal!!!!!!!! They not only had to make up the homework , but every last worksheet and page of school work they missed during school hours! - Also, because it was an unexcused absence, the teachers were not required to give us the work ahead of time, but gave it to us when we returned. It had been so horrible trying to make up 32 hours worth of work that the kids have begged me to never take them out of school again. DD has been going to school sick for the last 2 days because she is terrified of missing more work!

---------------------

What grades are they in?

 

[skbasnett]

I don't think so. I live in a poor state, and we have almost THREE TIMES that much per student. Still, there is NO PROFIT. By law, there is no profit.

Consider the cost of the buildings (in our area they have bond costs), the cost of utilities, the busses (that's a huge one), the cost of materials, teacher salaries . . . it's astronomical. I seriously doubt any public school is doing it for 2K. (Okay, private schools can do it for little more than 2K, but they aren't providing busses, athletic programs, and -- the biggie: special education services, which are required by law.)

I think the teachers in this state would love to have that much. Where my mom and sister teach, it isnt NEAR either one of yours.

 

[WIcruizer]

The pay for a classroom teacher is woefully inadequate

That's just not true. The pay must be adequate, or you wouldn't have accepted and stayed in your current position. I don't know where you teach, but many areas of the country have teachers unable to find jobs, and would love yours. Most states provide for a pension, which is almost non-existent in the private sector. Benefits including health insurance are generally better and mostly sibsidized by taxpayers. In some states, much as mine, health ins is paid for 100%.

Beyond all that, you work a partial year. So break it down to pay per week, and your pay is competitive. I believe teachers aren't treated as professionals, because they often don't ACT like professionals. Why have unions if your professionals? That's what's destoying your reputation as a professional educator. Strikes, threatened strikes, teachers who are sub-par or even criminal but are protected by the union, HS teachers stop writing letters of recommendation in protest, refuse to assist in extra-curriculars, etc., etc.

That's why I respect individual teachers I know to be effective, ethical, and good at what they do. I do not respect teachers as a whole, because they protect the bad ones and pay them the same as the very best. That has never made sense to me.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I do try to get work together in advance if a student tells me they are going on vacation (I teach high school so I don't honestly have to deal with this a lot). Once, however, I had a parent send the work back to me because she claimed it was "busy work" and not "engaging lessons." Although the work wasn't just "busy work" I certainly can't pre-package "engaging lessons" to be done on an airplane. I kept picturing the kid having to set up learning stations on the plane (to mirror those we used in class that week), dividing the passengers up into groups, giving each group a different primary source, etc.

I guess she expected you to record a DVD so that Junior could be engaged with his/her portable DVD player.

I can't believe you worked with her--and then she had the audacity to tell you it wasn't good enough.

 

[misskrystal]

For my family, because of increased costs during school holidays, we could only afford to go during term time.

My parents always felt that the life experiences I got from the holidays were more improtant than 5 days of school I could catch up on when I got back.

 

[leighe]

I guess she expected you to record a DVD so that Junior could be engaged with his/her portable DVD player.

I can't believe you worked with her--and then she had the audacity to tell you it wasn't good enough.

Either that or next time they should take me with them and I could personally do the lessons with her child.

 

[urglewurgle]

my mum is a teacher... and why should she have to do all this extra work to help kids catch up all the time? it wouldn't be so bad if just a couple of kids took an extra day off here and there... but say half a class took an extra week at different times... then all the kids are not being taught all that they should...

and if the teacher took time out to go on holiday for cheaper, or less crowds people would REALLY complain then...

but... i guess it's the kids who suffer really...

The pay for a classroom teacher is woefully inadequate

i agree! for the actual hours a teacher has to put in out of school time.... geez... i really think teachers are majorly underappreciated...

 

[rt2dz]

That's just not true. The pay must be adequate, or you wouldn't have accepted and stayed in your current position.

There are a lot of people out there who do a job not because of the pay, but because it is what they want to do.

To put it simply someone asked my son what he was going to be when he grew up. He said a palentogist. They responded that was quite an interesting job. My son said, "it's not a job, it's fun."

 

[graygables]

I don't think so. I live in a poor state, and we have almost THREE TIMES that much per student. Still, there is NO PROFIT. By law, there is no profit.

Consider the cost of the buildings (in our area they have bond costs), the cost of utilities, the busses (that's a huge one), the cost of materials, teacher salaries . . . it's astronomical. I seriously doubt any public school is doing it for 2K. (Okay, private schools can do it for little more than 2K, but they aren't providing busses, athletic programs, and -- the biggie: special education services, which are required by law.)

We use a charter e-school and *I* get the check for the $2100 per student per year to spend as I please for them...including WDW tickets (field trip). Our school DOES make a profit, since it's a charter school. They have offices, administrators, teachers whom I can call on for any help, they provide me with a computer and tech support, and all special needs services. Still, I get $2100 per student and they make a profit.

Just a thought...athletic programs should not be funded by taxpayer dollars. They do not include opportunities for every student and are not required for graduation in any state that I know of. Our local district dropped all extracurriculars (they are now privately funded) and can use that money toward actual education of the students.

 

[urglewurgle]

There are a lot of people out there who do a job not because of the pay, but because it is what they want to do.

To put it simply someone asked my son what he was going to be when he grew up. He said a palentogist. They responded that was quite an interesting job. My son said, "it's not a job, it's fun."

that is EXACTLY why my mum teaches.. and in a very poor area too... she wants to...

p.s. I WANT TO BE A PAELEONTOLOGIST!! lol... i just applied to study it at university!

 

[graygables]

I'd like to stop the insanity of this and tell all people who actually struggled through these posts to think before they speak and act. Pulling your kids out continually for vacations shows children that you value vacations more than education. Bad mouthing teachers show them that you don't respect them, so why should your kids? Disregard for the rules, be they "Fair" or not, will teach them insubordination is a good thing or that the rules don't apply to them. It's ok to fight the system as long as your reasons are just, but can any of us say that the American education system is flawed because we are trying to keep your kids in school?

I'm a former teacher, btw. It does NOT show them that I "value vacations more than education". Since when is a school or classroom the ONLY place where "education" takes place? I certainly value education, but I value the REAL WORLD education even more. Which is better? Learning *about* Rome from a textbook, or VISITING Rome? They are literally worlds apart.

I'm sure teachers would like to think that they are the only educators, but *I* was the one who taught my DDs to walk, talk, use the potty, hold a crayon, and read. I didn't pawn those responsibilities off on a preschool somewhere. The American education system is flawed b/c so many parents have handed over the rearing of their children to teachers (preschool on up) rather than doing it themselves. For those of us who believe that it's OUR responsibililty to rear our OWN children, the "rules" overstep the bounds and it is our duty to challenge them for the sake of our children's children.

 

[declansdad]

but these 17 pages are the reason I'm frustrated in my profession...

1) Parents think it's fine to take their kids out for 5-14 days for vacations, many times when the student is struggling.
2) Parents also get angry with me when I can't accommodate their vacations because I can't have a student make up class participation or do my lesson plans months in advance for them.
3) Parents don't call me a professional, treat me as a professional, or by any means pay me as a professional
4) Parents expect me to act like a professional in spite of this.
5) When their children fail, they blame me rather than their own decisions and parenting.
6) Parents underestimate the power of attendance when it suits them and overestimate it when it's me missing a day.
7) The pay for a classroom teacher is woefully inadequate when you consider
that the animosity shown to teachers on this board is the prevailing attitude in our communities.
8) We struggle with unruly students, unruly parents, unruly administrators and decades worth of "bad press".

I know this sounds negative and cynical, and maybe I am just a little. I love my job and have been doing it for 13 years. I deal with many fabulous students and supportive parents, but I find it shameful that teachers are held up as paragons of virtue and the ultimate role models (one of the first posts even compared teachers to priests, for goodness sake!) and then are continually thrown under the bus. I know that most people consider teaching an inferior job because in the US, a person's value is equivalent to his salary. Many students assume their teachers aren't supposed to be smart because if they were, they'd be in a different profession...I wonder where they got that idea...
I'd like to stop the insanity of this and tell all people who actually struggled through these posts to think before they speak and act. Pulling your kids out continually for vacations shows children that you value vacations more than education. Bad mouthing teachers show them that you don't respect them, so why should your kids? Disregard for the rules, be they "Fair" or not, will teach them insubordination is a good thing or that the rules don't apply to them. It's ok to fight the system as long as your reasons are just, but can any of us say that the American education system is flawed because we are trying to keep your kids in school?

Well put!!

 

[Happy05]

I'm sure teachers would like to think that they are the only educators, but *I* was the one who taught my DDs to walk, talk, use the potty, hold a crayon, and read. I didn't pawn those responsibilities off on a preschool somewhere.

Neither did *I* and I don't believe most parents do!

The American education system is flawed b/c so many parents have handed over the rearing of their children to teachers (preschool on up) rather than doing it themselves. .

But we should not American education system for the action of these types of parents! Not ALL parents "hand over the rearing of their children". I know I haven't! They are MY children to raise and I want them to become productive adults...and not live off of me or the government.

 

[Happy05]

Just a thought...athletic programs should not be funded by taxpayer dollars.

As a taxpayer, I disagree with this statement...let's be realistic here! This is something MANY students enjoy and YOU would like to take it away from them? Not all schools would be able to find "private funding". Geesh.....

 

[leighe]

. The American education system is flawed b/c so many parents have handed over the rearing of their children to teachers (preschool on up) rather than doing it themselves. For those of us who believe that it's OUR responsibililty to rear our OWN children, the "rules" overstep the bounds and it is our duty to challenge them for the sake of our children's children.

This is the catch-22 that so many schools and teachers have to deal with. On one hand, a whole segement of the population have turned their kids over to the schools or government almost entirely. So there have to be rules and policies and procedures to deal with that - like strict attendance laws. On the other hand, those rules sometimes take away the autonomy of parents who are actually doing their job and parenting/educating their children. The rules have to be enforced equally, however, in fairness to all kids. You can't go through a classroom and say "Well, you have parents who care about you and your welfare so you are exempt from the following rules," or "Your parents are terrible so you have to follow these rules so you'll have some structure in your life." (Note: I am not saying that any poster has suggested any such thing. It's just an observation I have made as a teacher.)

 

[WIcruizer]

Which is better? Learning *about* Rome from a textbook, or VISITING Rome? They are literally worlds apart.

We're talking about WDW, not Rome. I can picture it now. Telling HS and MS teachers that we want our kids excused for educational purposes. AK for science. Epcot for History and Geography. MGM for Comm Arts. MK for Phys Ed.

 

[TheWog]

The rules have to be enforced equally, however, in fairness to all kids. You can't go through a classroom and say "Well, you have parents who care about you and your welfare so you are exempt from the following rules," or "Your parents are terrible so you have to follow these rules so you'll have some structure in your life."

Why can't I? I think I have earned how to raise my child and he (nor I) should have to suffer for loser parents who don't care about their kids (in this scenario).

 

[graygables]

We're talking about WDW, not Rome. I can picture it now. Telling HS and MS teachers that we want our kids excused for educational purposes. AK for science. Epcot for History and Geography. MGM for Comm Arts. MK for Phys Ed.

That is precisely correct. I would imagine that students who spend time in the World Showcase, especially if they take the time to visit with the CMs, will learn far more about the various cultures than if they had never visited Epcot. BTW, AK is another park to include for History and Geography and the CMs there are equally educational. MK is also more than phys ed, literature and history are also addressed there. I included a 7 page letter documenting the educational aspects that I expect to include on our trip in December with my reimbursement request for my DDs WDW tickets. They will learn and have fun doing it, imagine that! Travel *anywhere* is a great educator if you are a traveler and not just a tourist. Step outside the classroom...the world is at the doorstep waiting to teach the important lessons.