Missing School for Disney

[cgcw]

As long as my children are doing well in school, we will continue to take them out for vacation. We feel that vacations can be a good family experience as well as a learning experience too.

 

[debster812]

Here's my spin:

We are going to be taking DS out of school for 4 days in January to go to WDW for a total of 9 days in WDW. It happens that our APs expire on Jan 25th, and Martin Luther King day is January 19th. We are not able to take family vacations when DS is out of school due to my DH's job. He is in a union, and they choose their vacations by seniority. He is not high enough on the food chain to get summer or school vacation weeks off yet. So, we either vacation without DH (NOT really my idea of a family vacation) or work around existing holidays and try to have DS miss a minimal amount of school days.

I think it is a personal decision to be made by each family for whatever works best for them.

FWIW--DS will be in 1st grade.

 

[WishingStar]

I have taken DD out for usually 5 days at a time, several times. Now DS is in school and I will pull him out also. I went all the way through high school taking a week in Dec off to visit WDW, and I did perfectly well. I will work with my kids schools and do the same for them.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

My belief is that good communication is the key!

We're taking our kids out for several days this November and we intend to discuss it with our kids' teachers the first opportunity we have.

In 2000 we had two in school; 5th grade and kindergarten, and this year we'll have a 7th grader, 3rd grader and 2nd grader. I'm a little nervous about taking the 7th grader out, but we'll see how it goes.

Last time the teachers were able to give us a lot of homework ahead of time which really helped and we were warned about big projects so we could work around those.

 

[ilvsocr00]

My point of view is that traveling is extremely educational. It exposes the child to different cultures, sights, as well as helping them learn to be adventurous and independent. While school is important, I don't think irreparable harm will come if they miss a few days.

Just my two cents

 

[Pinnie]

I am going to echo what HookdonWDW had to say.

I. too, had to sit on both sides of that desk and we never took our kids out of school for vacations. As a parent, I wanted to instill the importance of school over *vacation time*. The district gave us ample opportunity to take family vacations, be it Easter, Christmas, mid-winter or summer. If I felt that the destination that I was planning to go to was "too hot", "too crowded" or "too expensive", I would pick someplace else to go. School WAS my kids' jobs, and they had to get used to the fact that they may end up with a job some day that dictates when they vacation. I understand that some families may not have any alternatives as to vacation time, but I still think that the wrong message is being sent to the students.

As a teacher, I would also never interfere with a parent's decision to take their child on vacation but I do have a problem with expecting me to "catch the child up". I would do it in a heartbeat for a child that was sick or hurt, but I have 35 other students that I have to also consider. Also, if the child has an IEP or special services that he/she won't receive, these can't be made up either. I sometimes find it unusual on these boards that it is ONLY the GOOD students that miss school. My expereience is that it isn't always that way.

Another factor that is going to come into play is the "no child left behind" concept. This is going to make schools AND parents more accountable.

Ultimately, it is a parent's decision to take the kids out of school, but it should be given a LOT of thought and consideration.

pin

 

[FOJMO]

I, too, will hold myself back, as this is a touchy subject with me.

We only took our DD out of school once, when she was in 9th grade and she made us promise NEVER to do it again! In spite of the teachers' efforts and our DD efforts to make up the work, it turned out to be more than anyone bargained for. She suffered for weeks, if not months, to catch up.

I think it's crucial to the situation to factor in what grade your child is in. Some grades are easier to miss than others. I think the younger the child is, the easier it is. When you get into HS, it's very difficult.

But do allow me to vent one statement that I really can't take about this issue and that is when parents and sometimes even teachers say they're taking their child on an "educational" vacation. Hey, unless you're taking them to the Smithsonian, a museum, or the like AND that's what they're currently studying in school, I don't see where a trip to WDW or a cruise is an "educational" experience. Yes, they will learn certain things while on these vacations, but not necessarily what applies to them currently in their curriculum. So, it isn't going to help them with work they missed.

 

[ilvsocr00]

Originally posted by FOJMO
____________________________________________________
But do allow me to vent one statement that I really can't take about this issue and that is when parents and sometimes even teachers say they're taking their child on an "educational" vacation. Hey, unless you're taking them to the Smithsonian, a museum, or the like AND that's what they're currently studying in school, I don't see where a trip to WDW or a cruise is an "educational" experience. Yes, they will learn certain things while on these vacations, but not necessarily what applies to them currently in their curriculum. So, it isn't going to help them with work they missed.
____________________________________________________

But, it does teach them something that you can not find in the classroom alone. What I am saying is that, in my opinion, there is more to education than just bookwork. As a parent you know what is best for your child - there are many different philiosphies as to what constitiues an "educational" experience.

 

[Harambe]

I can feel this whole thing goin' south!

kilee - do you have enough feedback? If so maybe we should stop here?!?!?!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[jksmom]

We will be taking my ds out for 4 days the 3rd week of school. He will be in 2nd grade. He is above average with his reading and math skills. He will also have the same teacher as last year as he is in a multiage(1st/2nd grade)class, so his teacher knows him very well. This has been a tough decision for us also and I'm not sure what his teahcer will think. Also both dh and I are both involved in the PTA. He missed only 1 1/2 days of school last year(we left the last day and 1/2 for my nephews hs grad). I feel that school is VERY important and we will probably not do this again but I am confident with my decision.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Like others we did it about once a year up until my son was in the 6th grade. Once he hit Middle School, the work was just too hard and too fast paced for him to leave.

I miss those trips!

 

[CyranoJones]

We took our daughter out of school for vacations every year from K thru 12. Our school district has no issues with family vacation time if the child is doing well. All we have to do is fill out an excused absence form and it gets approved. She missed another 2 weeks of school in 10th and 11th grade to go on school sponsored trips to Europe. So, no, I don't have a problem with taking kids out of school.

That said, I think if I had ever seen my daughter struggling to keep up when she came back from vacation, then I would have had second thoughts. We each have to do what we feel is appropriate for our own children. What worked for us will not necessarily work for anyone else.

 

[Beauty]

I will agree that if I ever see J.C. falling behind then we would not do it.

On the educational issue....there are far more important things that a child can be taught going to WDW or on any vacation whether it is to an educational place or not and thats the importance of spending time together as a family. When we go to Disney in the "off" months we have found that J.C. enjoys himself so much more (as do we) and that there is no fighting because he is hot, tired, or the crowds. We can spend time as a family and have fun together.

I will say that the picture I have of my pre-teen DS and DH walking down Main Street in front of the castle holding hands is an education that no school can ever teach him.

 

[d.kurz]

Didja ever see "The Big Chill"? When Jeff Goldblum's character says something like "There's nothing wrong with rationalizations. Not many people can get through the day without a juicy rationalization or two."

This thread reminds me of that statement.

Having said that I did take my kids out of school for 5 days when they were in 3rd and 5th grades. My kids might be the only average ones on the boards, and my 5th grader had a really difficult time catching up.

Next time we went in August 2001 and they missed no school. But it was sooooooooo hot that it took away from our enjoyment of WDW.

Bottom line, we haven't been back because I won't take middle or high schoolers out of school. The pace in school is fast and they would just miss too much. Sure, I miss WDW. Sure, I want to go back. But their education must be #1 for us.

JMHO, of course!!

 

[Micca]

DW and I have raised twin DD's who are now 20 All through grade school, middle school, and high school, they missed class because of WDW trips. The response we always received from their teachers: "They are so lucky, I wish I could go to WDW!!!"

Both sides of the arguement sure have valid points. I'll just let you know our results: one dd is a junior in college, the other...
WORKS AT WDW

 

[seashoreCM]

Ordinarily I think that kids should not be pulled out of school for Disney (or other) vacations.

But if, due to strikes or weather, school vacation days are cancelled to make up class days, families who already bought their plane tickets and scheduled their vacations should pull the kids on those days and go on vacation. In this situation, work to be made up should be scheduled according to relevance, not to match the quantity of work completed by classmates.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[JohnTBap]

I missed school last year to go to WDW, and I am the teacher!

 

[Pinnie]

JohnTBap,

You are lucky. The district I work in doesn't allow teachers to take off for vacations. We get sick days and 2 personal days per year, but those personal days are at the discretion of our principal.

I work in a very large suburban public school district in MI.

pin

 

[JohnTBap]

We get two personal days as well and that's what I used them for.

 

[DISNEYFANRI]

I took my kids out of school for a WDW trip this January...they were in 8th and 10th grade. First time I had ever done this and will never do it again - both kids felt extremely overwhelmed upon return and found it very difficult to catch up.