Kids & ridiculas "school rules"....

[We4mickey]

I guess we have been really lucky. We have always taken the kids out for vacations. 10 days was the tops. We have never had any issues with school as a matter of fact most teachers are very good about it. Now with the youngest DS starting tech school next year, we may be vacationing alone.

 

[auntie]

I think you know you own kids. If they're doing well, then a few days shouldn't be an issue. Ten days..well that might be another matter. In our district it's more an issue of the schools not receiving state aid..it is based on the attendance. So naturally they want your child to ATTEND. They don't want to loose money. That aside, as a parent you have to do what's right for your child. There have been times when we did have to deal with Florida August heat and humidity because the kids weren't missing school. That was when we were able to take two weeks. Our last few trips have been in May. We have actually gone Memorial Day..or should I say the week before Memorial Day, since they also have that Friday before the holiday off. By choosing this week, they were only missing four days of school. In our district high school students can not miss more than four days of school without returning with a dr.'s note. Since I don't know any dr.'s that will lie for me ..we've had to work around it. If you abuse the sysmtem you take the chance the district will not give your child credit for the course he's taking. During years when we plan a trip during school time, we are extra careful to keep absences to a minimum to as to avoid any potential issues. Obviously as they get older, and you're dealing with high school, and regents exams, priorities are different. I think you know your own child and if they are doing well, and can miss a week, then fine. However you can't expect that a child is going to miss ten days or more of school..and pick up right where they left off. They are going to have to play catch up to some extent.
A district policy is usually just that..and they dont adjust for primary grades...where perhaps the absences are not as detrimental to the childs education. A body is a body and the state aid is based on the attendance.

 

[Tent Camping Mom]

I guess I'm in the minority here. I've never taken DS out of school for vacation but if DH and I had different jobs where scheduling during school breaks were impossible, then I would consider it...but only in that case.

 

[ditchdoc1017]

We call them educatrional trips. They never say anything.

 

[SandrA9810]

The more I read about the school system these days the more I hate it. My class, '02 was the last year that you did not have to take the FCAT which I think is a highly over-rated and ridiculous test that no kids should have to go through. They seem to loose out on so much other extra stuff just because the school wants them to be plopped down in a chair all day just to study to pass that stupid test.
I'm sure things are different for private schools, which I was in for a 1 1/2 during high school. They didn't require the FCAT or HSCT or anything that was "standard" for public schools.

Home schooling is so much better, then you can school during the hotter months and take a few months off during the holidays to have a whole lot of fun.

 

[cruising spud]

I am talking about the PSSA tests AND all of the baggage that goes with them, including attendance.

 

[akamom]

We're pulling our kids out in Oct and if the school has a problem with, I guess dh will have to handle it. lol

 

[kmurawski]

Where does standardized testing get us?????????

 

[SandrA9810]

kmurawski - no where. Highly pointless. and apparently now most colleges are not requiring the SATs.
I don't see anything wrong with tests. It's important to know where a child stands in his class to know if something is wrong. But to have a straight across the board test for kids across the state is not something that should be done. Especially when it comes to the finicial assistance for the school.

 

[auntie]

NO WHERE. They just teach to pass the tests. There is no more creativity in the classroom. It's awful. I'm so glad actually that my son is in high school with only two more years left. This started to get bad when he was in elementary school..and I've seen such a difference between when he was there, and my older son.(they are 11 years apart). The emphasis is ALL on the testing. How to take the test..what will be on the test. They spent all of 3rd grade getting ready to take the BIG fourth grade tests. Also..there aren't a whole lot of teachers that want to teach the grades with the big state tests.(four and eight where we are). It's sad really.

 

[mrsscooter]

Thank you for letting me "unload" and for all of your support. Both our kids are doing very well in school, and our daughter is in an integrated progam for brighter students so we know her work wont suffer. I guess I wouldnt get so upset about the "rules" but having had a husband in the military for the last 20 years when family time was at a minimum, we took any time that we could get no matter when. He has finally retired this past year and we now have the time for a two week vaca. So, our plan between now and next year is to not take the kids out for anything......dope 'em up with tylenol for the fever and hand 'em a barf bag for the bus....they are still going.....LOL....really, just kidding.....so that they have perfect attendance between now and then. I do understand though about the kids that get lost in the system and that there are no parents around to care whether or not the kids skips or is failing, it just stinks that us "other" parents suffer, in a way. Ok, just me gripping again......Thanks again everyone

 

[mrsscooter]

I'm homeschooling DD7 right now.....



BTW, MrsScooter. May I pick on you for just a sec? Ridiculous is spelled like this. I only pick on you, because I can't spell worth a peacock myself

No worries here.......I am a horrible speller and always have been ......(maybe because I missed a week of vacation when I was 8????.......did I miss the "spelling" part of third grade????)LOL

 

[chief19spixi]

NO WHERE. They just teach to pass the tests. There is no more creativity in the classroom. It's awful. I'm so glad actually that my son is in high school with only two more years left. This started to get bad when he was in elementary school..and I've seen such a difference between when he was there, and my older son.(they are 11 years apart). The emphasis is ALL on the testing. How to take the test..what will be on the test. They spent all of 3rd grade getting ready to take the BIG fourth grade tests. Also..there aren't a whole lot of teachers that want to teach the grades with the big state tests.(four and eight where we are). It's sad really.

You should have seen my daughters school today.. you would have thought there was a party going on!! All the baloons, streamers, signs, food ect ect was to et the kids excited about taking the pssa's! They even made a song and was singing it!! It was just Crazy!!!

 

[hoosiergirl]

We homeschool now, too, but when my DD's were in "real school", we would get flack more from other parents than from the teachers. I never could figure out how people would talk about how important it was for "family time" and then fault those families who wanted to spend time together!

One of my nephews died when he was 6--unexpectedly from an aneurysm--and that put everything in perspective. How much more are kids going to remember about one week in school than one week of bonding with Mom and Dad and siblings?

 

[cruising spud]

We start the PSSA's today. I have a middle school English class of 28 students:

1 student from China who can barely speak English

6 students from Mexico-various stages of English (one here legally)

2 students who are within 5 IQ points of being considered special needs

and ALL of them have to take the PSSA's .

And our school district has a computer tracking program that monitors which teacher has had which student, each year, and the yearly progress made by each student. Anyone wonder why I have been teaching to the darn test since January? Now, don't get me wrong-I think there is a place for testing and accountability, but for some of the above kids? To what purpose? Sure all kids can learn, but not at the same speed and perhaps, at least as they get older, not all the same material.

I'll bet you never thought a simple-should I take my child out of school question, would lead to so many thoughts.

 

[chief19spixi]

We start the PSSA's today. I have a middle school English class of 28 students:

1 student from China who can barely speak English

6 students from Mexico-various stages of English (one here legally)

2 students who are within 5 IQ points of being considered special needs

and ALL of them have to take the PSSA's .

And our school district has a computer tracking program that monitors which teacher has had which student, each year, and the yearly progress made by each student. Anyone wonder why I have been teaching to the darn test since January? Now, don't get me wrong-I think there is a place for testing and accountability, but for some of the above kids? To what purpose? Sure all kids can learn, but not at the same speed and perhaps, at least as they get older, not all the same material.

I'll bet you never thought a simple-should I take my child out of school question, would lead to so many thoughts.

Wow.. you are so right about all kids can learn but at different speeds! It doesn make me wonder why I keep ,my kids in school somtimes!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I came in kind of late on this topic, but my 2 cents:

We have always taken our kids out of school in October for our annual FW vacation and I have never felt bad about it. They were always innundated with work while we were gone and ended up being ahead of the class when they returned. After seeing them get half days off for pep rallies, the over abundance of teacher's conferences, and the cheerleaders getting a week off for their "educational" trip to WDW, there was no way the school system was going to tell me when I could take my kids out of school, and this is exactly the way it was presented to the principal, who backed down immediately and approved their trip every year.

As an aside, my son graduated 5th in his class and is now a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. We recognized a problem with my daughter in high school and tried to get appropriate testing through the school for her, but could not do it without pretty much signing over parental rights to the school district, so we took matters in our own hands. She did graduate from high school and finished 2 years of college, all with a mental disorder. She is happy working as a technician at a local animal hospital and her best memories of her childhood were the days we spent as a family at FW. I have absolutely no regrets in what we did.

 

[Momof626x3]

We start the PSSA's today. I have a middle school English class of 28 students:

1 student from China who can barely speak English

6 students from Mexico-various stages of English (one here legally)

2 students who are within 5 IQ points of being considered special needs

and ALL of them have to take the PSSA's .

And our school district has a computer tracking program that monitors which teacher has had which student, each year, and the yearly progress made by each student. Anyone wonder why I have been teaching to the darn test since January? Now, don't get me wrong-I think there is a place for testing and accountability, but for some of the above kids? To what purpose? Sure all kids can learn, but not at the same speed and perhaps, at least as they get older, not all the same material.

I always feel bad for the teachers who HAVE to teach for the standardized testing. I know it isn't their fault and I'm sure they would rather be teaching their students about a broad variety of subjects in ways that would keep the interest of every student.

Around here there are no "A's" or "F's" (in elementary anyway). They want every student to be learning "at grade level" and they don't think any student should look smarter than any other student. Personally, I've seen my 4th grade son show some extreme laziness lately and I think seeing a big F on his paper would wake him up. I think we are building a society of mediocrity and those who are either way below the line of average or way above the line of average will suffer for it. No child left behind also means that some children will be held back so others can catch up. I've also given serious thought to homeschooling my oldest.

This year we are going to the Fort in August though...and that is because I want to stay longer and not have to worry about catching up for school. I love to travel in Feb. though...it really breaks up our winter!

 

[rumrunnergirl]

I got the dreaded letter two years ago when my DD was in first grade. She missed 10 days of school - 5 because my Dad died so we went to my Mom's for a week. The other 5 were for a WDW trip.

It's a generic letter sent out after 10 days of absence because in our county in Florida after 19 days of unexcused absence (and even my Dad's death was considered an unexcused absence for my DD!) the DCF can visit your house to see what is going on, and they can fail your kid. I don't know if this is true in other counties, but basically it's for children who aren't doing well in school and miss a lot of days. My DD was in no fear of failing 1st grade, but it was a bit unnerving to get this letter. Heaven forbid if she caught a bad case of flu or something and missed more days.

Actually - that happened to a friend of mine. Her son kept catching colds from other students and missing days, and even though he was doing well the school wanted to hold him back, so his Mom pulled him out and homeschooled him for the rest of the year.

That said - I still pull my kids - now in 1st and 3rd grade - out of school for vacations. It is way too hot in Florida in the summer to go anywhere, and we like to camp and go to WDW - so we go in April/May and Sept/Oct. Plus I don't like crowds so we don't go anywhere on holiday weekends. They haven't missed school this year but I will take them out in Ocotober for a week for MNSSHP.

 

[cyberdeb]

Well I have to add my 2 cents here too. I dont care whether a child is doing well or not. In fact I took both of my kids that had been struggling in school out for 10 days a few years ago. We got all homework and i worked with them on the long drive down to the fort from PA and you know what, it didnt make a difference in their grades one way or another but it did give them some badly needed family time and a break. Sometimes even kids that are struggling need a break. I also would do it again with my dd who is now a freshman in high school and not doing well. My daughter is so stressed with all the academics crammed down her throat. She has nothing fun in school, has two math classes, reading etc. She does not even have a gym class. She has some learning disabilities and she struggles all the time. She comes home every day so frustrated and in tears with school. She needs something fun once in a while and if she misses school for it, then so be it. Her mental health is far more important to me anyway. Her brother was brilliant and could ace any test he ever took but was bored sensless and had some learning disabilities as well and is since out of school. I dont have our trip planned for during the school year this time, however we did ask for her to be able to take her finals early so that she could attend a conference with me in Orlando and then head to the fort. Our particular school district seems to feel that they are above the Special Education laws so if they want to take me to court, all i have to say is be my guest.

I also got the dreaded letter last year because my daughter had epstein barr and has missed a lot of school. Her doctor just kept telling me to let her rest. I got one this year as well and only later found out that my daughter never took her absense notes in. She would keep forgetting to hand them in. Now i mail them or fax them in.