Missing School for Disney

[Buckalew]

I'm a "taker-outer". As long as she can make up the work (we get it before the trip) and she wants to go, we're going. Hasn't been a problem yet but we are only going in 4th.

My parents took me out of school for all kinds of trips and those are some of my fondest memories.

 

[Ranatra]

We took our three out while they were in High School for the last 3 trips to WDW. Never more than 4 days though. DH cannot take summer vacations due to his job, that's just the way it is. They never had any kind of problem making up the work. My 2 sons are now out of college and my DD will be starting her 2nd year soon. I absolutely have no regrets, only fond memories.

 

[snoopy]

Did it twice, and have very mixed feelings about it. I keep going back to the fact that my parents would have NEVER taken us out of school for even a day unless we were sick, and then we had to be really sick. On the flip side, it sure is easier to go when it isn't high season!

I'm debating now whether I want to do it again in May 2004, or just go over Easter break. My kids are young enough that it won't have much of an impact - 3rd grade and preschool, but still, it doesn't really set well with me or DH to take them out.

 

[Zurg]

We have done it a few times. I think it was great as DD gets into high school I don't think we will keep doing it.

I think is is very important to step outside the box as a family. Learning doesn't only happen in school. I fact I think the things that are most important are learned at home within the family, faith, love, values, support, humor, respect for authority, disrespect for authority, loyalty, rebellion.

The thing I like most about Disney is being away from all the distractions of normal life playing with my family. No phone calls, no school, no work, no activities, just us, alone in the crowd, teaching the kids to take BadShoe pictures. IMHO that is more useful for a living a good life a few days of school.

Of course your mileage may vary and if so I assume it is for much the same reasons. That is fine too. That why (and how) we each raise our own kids.

 

[laceemouse]

For younger kids it is not too difficult, but by jr. high it gets much more complicated. There are different teachers for each subject, much more work, group projects, etc... Our school district frowns upon taking kids out for vacation and I don't blame them. My kids DO miss a lot when they miss school, and I'm glad they do. Teachers here do not help you with missed work in the older grades and I don't blame them, nor do teachers take time off for vacation. For those of you who said "I missed school for vacations and it did not hurt me" school has changed A LOT since then. The things my oldest learned in 5th and 6th grade I did not learn until High School!!! And, the smarter your kids are here, the harder the classes and the more work they would be missing. Do it while your kids are young, but don't plan on doing it all through school. If you go in the summer, I guarantee you will not melt at WDW!!!

 

[d.kurz]

Originally posted by laceemouse
If you go in the summer, I guarantee you will not melt at WDW!!!

I'm sure you're right, Laceemouse, but I sure FELT like I was melting!

 

[FreshTressa]

I have lots of opinions on this!

1) Whatever works for your family. Different kids deal with things differently. Some kids need to stay on task or risk being behind. It would be irresponsible of a parent of a child like this to take them out. It is up to the discretion of the parent whether or not their kid(s) can handle it.

2) I think that kids DO learn a lot at Disney World. They learn a lot of life and relationship skills that will mean more to them in their lifetime than the little bit they miss on academics at school. But, all this can be learned in a summer trip!!

3) We are taking our kids out, but we wanted to take two weeks, but cut it down to one because of school. Not because of academics but because of friendships. Kids at this age forget each other quite quickly and I don't want him to feel left out when he gets back.

4) I take a more casual approach to school, but that is probably just because my husband and I both did very will in school. Growing up, I moved a lot (went to over 30 different schools) and had A LOT of absences, sometimes missing whole quarters. I went to 6 different high schools, missed a whole quarter due to moving and a surgery, and I still graduated with decent GPA and went on and got a 3.97 in college. So, for some kids, they are going to do well or poorly no matter what, and taking them out of school doesn't guarantee them getting behind.

5) I agree it is NOT the teachers job to catch them back up, it is the parents.

6) I homeschool my kids in addition to school so they are ahead so no way a week would leave them behind.

 

[funnyhunny]

My husband and I are both sped teachers by training, and we both have administrator's certification. I guess you'd thhink we'd be against taking the kids out of school, but we aren't. I remember as a child that a few of the kids in school would be out for a while, then back, telling of their trips to the grand canyon, dc, etc. My family couldn't afford to do that at the time, so I just sat there in amazement that people could go to those places and see those things. Now we are in a position to enjoy taking our children on special vacations - we work on a budget, but at least we can go. There is no substitution, in our opinion, for travel. I cannot imagine any child with good grades and good attendance records (and some parental support for keeping up to date with school assignments) that would not benefit greatly from WDW travel or any other number of ecperiences visiting new cultures and places. Hope that didn't sound too philosophical, I guess the childhood memories of not being one who had the opportunity to go just touches me a bit.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We many times have taken our kids out of school and will continue to do so. For one, our school district is very understanding in this matter and actually automatically allows 5 days off excused. Anything over this amount requires a note but I've never had a problem. We try and plan around a time where their is a teacher inservice day and also in PA there is an Election day when the schools are closed. So we tend to go in late Oct to early Nov----it works best for us. (I have an 11, 13 and 16 yr old and have been doing this since the youngest was 2).
Main reasons to go during school year:
1) I am a nurse and it's nearly impossible to get a vacation granted during the summer because EVERYONE wants off and they can only grant 2 off per shift. I was turned down for 2 vacation requests last summer (late June and early August) and also denied my time off many other years.
2) My husband also has a difficult time getting summer months off---though not as bad as me. His employer has a blackout period for requesting off in summer of the last 2 weeks in May thru the first two weeks in June and also the last 2-3 weeks in August. So this greatly limits the time we can coordinate our weeks off. It's been VERY stressful booking airfare, rooms etc and being told you can't go at the last minute. We both just have jobs that require us to be at work during the majority of the summer.
3) we usually travel with my husband's mother. She has a very hard time dealing with the heat in the middle of the summer in FL. She literally gets ill, so traveling in off-season works better for her also.
I know some wouldn't agree with kids being taken out of school for vacation, but for some of us, this is the only time we can get a vacation and have some family time together----so believe me, we're gonna miss a week of school for this. Not everyone has the same set of circumstances to deal with when deciding when to vacation.
The kids have always been able to make the work up as the teachers are terrific at working with us---even my high school student. So this is what works for our family

 

[Magickndm]

We used to take our DD out too, only once were we met with resistance from a teacher. We were going to North Georgia in Oct. to see the fall foilage (something we do not see here in FL) with my parents. I felt very strongly that my DD would cherish these memories with her grandparents for a lifetime, she was also only in the 5th grade.
Now she is going into 7th, is in the gifted program, so the classes move MUCH faster. We do have the luxury of living 2 hours from WDW, so we can do weekend trips. If we do ever take her out again, it will only be for a day at the most.

 

[believe]

Our DD will be in Kindergarten this year and we will not be taking her out for vacation. I have leaned to giving in, but in the school system she will be in they do a lot of hands on learning that can not be made up, unless I reconstruct everything the teacher is doing in the class room. I have worked with my nieces and nephews on the homework and have noticed that the current school books do not give 'explanations' so it is very important that they be in the class to get a complete understanding of the concept. I believe it depends on the child and the school system. I know in kindergarten we can easily reconstruct the learnings, but I don't want to get 'caught up' in going every year during the school year.