I Think I'm Doing The Right Thing In Cancelling Our November Trip

[snoopy]

The amount of homework my second grader has is ridiculous. I'd be afraid to take him out at this age, much less a little older. I think if I were going to take them out, it would be at the end of the year rather than the middle or beginning. It seems like they would miss less academically at the end, when everyone - including the teachers, are gearing up for summer.

Sorry it had to come to this for you.

 

[WendyZ]

Sorry to hear you had to cancel. I completely understand! We are in the same boat. DD is in 7th grade and from here on out there is no way I could take her out of school. It would be too much, plus she plays sports. Coaches would just love that one!

Hopefully you get to reschedule soon!!!

 

[DisneyMim]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents in here too. Yes I feel your pain and completely understand. My hubby is a teacher so we have never been able to go anytime expect school vacations. The homework thing is awful. My kids have had tons of homework since second grade and it gets worse every year. My son just started high school and he gets an incredible of amount of homework. Last week we had the back-to-school-night thing and one teacher actually talked about parents taking their children out of school for DISNEY. She said the school now has a policy that no homework will be giving out ahead of time for a vacation. Kids will just have to make it up when they back. This will be very hard to do especially for honor level kids. The pace is so fast now!! I know that it is hard for people, but believe me we've been going to Disney forever and have always gone during school vacations. As others have said you have to put the kids first. Education is so important, colleges are getting so competitive!!

Good Luck!!

 

[DW mouser]

It all depends on the school and the kid I think. We took our grandson and grandaughter out of school 2 years in a row to go to Disney and then Universal. The principal of the middle school said it was OK because he thought it was important to spend time as a family together and this was even extended family. He said the kids were lucky to have a close relationship with grandparents and as long as they had their school work made up he didn't see why not. That was when my grandson was in 7th & 8th grade. Now he is a freshman and my grandaughter in 5th at middle school and it's a harder decision. School has gotten tougher and I'm not so sure my grandson could get it all made up before a trip. It is sad if you ask me that they are pushing these kids that hard! No wonder so many people home school now days. The homeschooled kids seem to get finished in 5-6 hours a day what it takes the scool kids 8 hours to do and then they have all this homework! I say let them be kids while they can. They need to be out playing kick the can, ect. That teaches them how to get along together and play fair. All of the lessons they learn playing with others are important too whether it's with grandparents or other kids. I'm taking my grandaughter to a corn maze this Fri. night (her and 4 friends) for her birhtday. No, there will not be a fancy cake I paid to have made or alot of frills, but I bet they have alot of fun just doing plain old fashion stuff. We are roasting weinners afterwards and just having a fun time. Peolpe forget that having fun is important too! They need a break from all that homework!

 

[Beanie]

We have taken our kids out of school in December every year to go to Disney (grades 6, 9 and 10) and we have never had a problem with them making anything up...We have always told the teachers/principals that we would be leaving for an extended period and have requested that they get their homework a week before we leave, so they can turn it all in before we go...then when we get home, the teachers have always given them a couple of extra days to review and then the kids take their tests that they missed. So, they don't have any homework to make up when we get back, only tests to take, which isn't too many since it is only a week.

I am sorry you have to cancel your trip

 

[tar heel]

I think you're doing the only thing you can.

My middle child is in 9th grade at a school with block scheduling, so taking him out of school a week would be totally out of the question. My 3rd grader would have absolutely no problem making up the work, however, and his school is flexible about family trips.

One thing the people saying that it's fine to get the work and make up everything on the plane, at the resort, etc., are losing sight of is that important educational things happen at school. If the child is not there, they miss these things -- no matter how much work in advance they have. Children learn from other kids, they do experiements and hands-on activities, the teacher presents things in interesting ways, etc. The kids don't just go to school to get their homework, go home and do it, then bring it back. To take my child out of school for a week for a trip, it would have to be a truly educational trip. I love Disney World, but I wouldn't take my child out of high school for a week to go. If I had only my younger child, I might CONSIDER it.

 

[betz]

My dd is in middle school. This is how absence works:
Sick 1 to 2 days note from parents.
More than that note from doctor.
Without a note, they are unexcused absences.
There are very few reasons for an excused absence other than illness.
Vacations are not one of them.
To request a vacation be an excused absence 1st you must write a request to the school family liason. If she approves it, it goes on to the Board of Ed for approval. If she denies it , you can appeal it to the Board of Ed.
If a child misses class and it is an unexcused absence, the child has to write a paper.
If the child has 2 unexcused absences the child has to write another paper and stay in detention until 6 p.m.
On the 3rd unexcused absence the child has 1 week of detention until 6 p.m. and it goes up as a strike against the child.
At this school 3 strikes and you are asked to leave the school.
One can accumulate strikes from absences, behavior, and academic performance.

Thankfuly, her school does have Block Scheduling (longer classes 1 and 1/2 of hour) 4 major subjects and 2 minor subjects (which are only 30 minutes each) a day. Also the teachers coordinate their plans of study daily as to not give excessive homework on a night when there is an exam in another class.

When we go during the holidays we go friday saturday sunday and monday, thus missing only 2 days of class.

 

[emmagata]

Originally posted by crazyme5kids
I know I am the minority here, but I have , would and will continue to take my children out of school for trips. I am 42 years old, the youngest of 4 and all of us still talk about and laugh about our memories of vacations. I can't say the same of school. Yes school is important, but so is family. I think we are losing some of our quality time as a family these days, because we let everything else from school to sports activities etc... dictate our lives. I am guilty of it too. I can't tell you how many times I have said no we can't do that because they have baseball, Etc... We all miss out on special moments together. My daughter is not an A student, but she is very special to me, so I will let her have a trip. She learns that life is often a trade off. She must do and make up the work and test. Is it difficult? Yes, sometimes. Is it worth it? Definitly! 30 years from now my kids aren't going to be complaining about how horrible it was to make up the school work, they will be laughing and remembering a special time with family. To me this is putting my kids first.

I guess I'd be in the minority too, if we had kids.

I think there's way too much pressure on kids today. They need to have time to have a childhood in addition to preparing for the adult world.

I think a big part of the problem is that we've become a very materialistic society. In alot of cases both parents have to work to have a nice big house out in the country , two or 3 (or more)cars, and all those other "toys" like snowmobiles, qaud runners, boats and such that there's little time to actually share with each other.

I had none of those things growing up and I don't begrudge my parents one bit for it. Although we didn't take many expensive vacations to WDW every year (like a lot do around here) but I don't recall too many times being taken out of school to go on vacation (or other non vacation) either.

I still remember the special vacations that we had together.

And although I know I had plenty of homework (for the time), I don't remember that.

What it is it going to be like for the next generation and the one after that?

Are they going to start piping their school work through the womb before they're born?

 

[ZerasPride]

I'm so sorry to hear you are cancelling your trip! I can understand though. I remember our first "family" trip in 1998. DS was in the 6th grade. We had a wonderful time but he fell terribly behind in school. He really struggled and didn't say too much to us about how hard he had to work to make up his missed week. I had no idea! Now that he is a freshman in high school, he has actually requested that we NOT take him out of school for vacations. The work assigned is not tremendously difficult but there is a lot from each subject with homework all week and on the weekends too. This is his first year in a foreign language (and the teacher is speaking practically ALL in French to these kids who are not understanding most of what she is saying). I wouldn't dare have him miss a week of her class (lol).

Anyway, the point is I will really miss the low crowds and temperate weather of off season but it won't be happening for us for the next few years. I am fortunate that this is the first year the school system is giving the kids off Wednesday-Friday for Thanksgiving so he will only miss 2 days - and I feel bad about that!

 

[MJames41]

Maybe it's because we have been poor so long, or because my family (my kids and I) have suffered so many losses (my wife when my kids were 1 1/2 (d) 3 months (s), my wifes mom a few years later, my mom a few years ago) that I have absoluetely no problem taking my kids out. My kids school is important, but not more important than our families. Because my wife died so young, my kids never really got to develop memories of her. Well, I do have honeymoon pictures of her at Disney World, as well as other pictures from another trip - I think it helps for them to have virtual memories of her.

I have noticed that my experiences tends to give me (and my kids) a different perspective than many. The way I see it, schoolwork can always be made up. But my son will be turning 16 only once, on this trip. And, since my daughter will be starting college in the fall, this will be our last family trip for quite some time.

I know different people look at it in different ways, this is just my view. Not better than or worse than, just mine.

 

[crazyme5kids]

MJames41, You said so well how I feel! Thank you, your words are a gift!

 

[sudiequ]

My Kids are the same age/grade. Our first trip was 4 years ago, and now were going in Nov. I am lucky, because our school has parent-tchr. conferences 2 days before Thanksgiving, so i'm really only pulling them out for 2 days. Have you talked with your kids teachers yet? i would recommend talking to them before you cancel everything, they are sometimes understanding if you've thought ahead to get work in prior to leaving. I justified my concerns for pulling them out as: a) i don't do it every year, b) i will never pull him out of H.S. (if you think 8th grade homework is bad...wait , c) I won't be able to get these moments back, he has grown up so fast, and i already feel him pulling away into his own little independent (stubborn, teenage, know-it-all, and lets not forget puberty ) self. Whatever your decision, know that you have thought it thru, looked at all the options, and made the best decision for your family. Good Luck!!

Sue

 

[DVC-Don]

We stopped taking the kids out of school for WDW this school year. The homework 5th & 6th graders get was getting too much to try and catch up. Our school district now has a policy not to assign homework to take on vacation now (illegal absence). It was easier when they did so, but now that is not an option. I too remember sitting on balconies or at a quiet pool table while they did homework.

 

[Kallison]

I just got a job as an aide for a 7th grade learning support class. My oldest is in 6th. I told DH that no way can we take them out for trips in middle school. They have 5 core subjects and get work in each class. It depends a lot on the student. I know personally my son would be overwhelmed, trying to figure out what he missed and making up the work. It's just not homework they are making up, they have to know what was covered in class and understand it all. I wanted to take one last trip in 6th grade with just 3 days off, he got very upset and said he didn't want to miss school. I have to respect that fact, since he is the one doing the work. We are going to try a hot, hot summer trip. I just told them nobody better complain! I'm glad we too 3 trips during the school year up to this point. I hear a lot of my friends say they are going to wait until the kids are older, I don't think they realize what they are in for with the school curriculum.

 

[WDW2002]

I think it all boils down to personal choice. It is up to the parents to determine if their child should miss school for Disney. I have determined that Middle School is where no more week long pull outs will occur, I think it would just be too difficult to cordinate with 7+ teachers.

 

[Poohbear123]

Due to my new Job Status, I had to cancel my Dec. Dis Con trip. Don't know WHEN I will see WDW at Xmas either.

 

[Lynn CC]

I took DS (who is sophmore in HS) out Every year since he was in Kindergarten anywhere from 3-8 days for our Disney trips.

He gas gotten a ton of homework since 6th grade. I used to write formal letters to each of his teachers (each year) 3 weeks in advance asking for homework, so he could do it on vacation.

They always were very happy to help out. He started his homework on the plane ride to Florida and he was still doing it when he was flying home, but he got it done. A lot of his teachers gave him copies of the tests to take with him (honor system)...if not he stayed after school when he got back to take them.

Maybe you could talk with his teachers and work something out?
Once they are in High School forget it!

 

[Princess_Aurora]

How about making your trip shorter? Leave on a Thur. after school and come back on a Monday that way they'll only miss two days of school.

My kids haven't started school yet, but I fully intend on taking them out every year. I don't want to go during school breaks because of the crowds. To me, when it's crowded you can't get as much done. If you go during a less crowded time for just a few days you can get a LOT more done. So you can get more done on a four-day vacation during value season than you can get done on a week-long vacation during peak season. Just try to get all the assignments before you leave and they can do it in the evenings after coming back from the parks.

 

[Otimon]

Is there any possibility you could all take your vacation a couple of week later? Perhaps go Christmas week instead when school vacation is on? Yes, the parks will be more crowded at that time but the important thing is you'll all be there together without the worry! Hope that could work out for you.
Sending some PD direct from the World ------>>>

By the way, my aunt lives in Wallingford and I grew up in Hamden.

Best wishes.

 

[opal]

We took dd out of school for trips to wdw until she was in 7th grade. We always checked with her teachers first. Most of the time they were very cooperative, giving her assignments a week a two before we left so she could work ahead (she was and is a good student). Once she got to 7th grade, it was too much stress, so we started going at end of August, right before school started. To be honest, those were the most enjoyable trips. There wasn't the stress of extra homework before and after our trip!!! Now dd is a junior in college and we go in January during her mid-semester break. Every year we say, Oh, this will probably be the last trip for awhile, but deep in our hearts we know we will go back!!!!