Pulling kids out of school for cruise

[bumbershoot]

I should restate that the UK and Dutch people were in the US with their kids during school session. They didn't let it stop them. They just paid the fine and went on holiday and saved a ton of money vs l traveling s month prior.

Whereas in TX they definitely deserve the right to take the parent to court.

 

[tink1970]

I never did, but now that DD is in high school and busy, it seems, all the time with work and activities, boy I wish I had. Sadly no one told me "this is not a big deal, go now when you can" (which is what I tell my friends with younger children). Hindsight being what it is, we would have cruised far more cheaply and frequently and I would have done so without regret. In middle school I would occasionally take her out for a mental health day spontaneously but not nearly enough. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[laceltris3]

We are in Texas, but private school. We choose not take the kids out for vacations.

The one exception is for our cruise that has left the last day of school before Christmas break the last couple of years. It is scheduled for a half day, but children can be dismissed with parents when the Christmas program ends at 10:30. There is zero learning. We could leave after the program, but it's pretty much the same as the prior 6 ones we attended so we just tell the teacher in advance to not assign our kids a prominent role in the 2 minute song and dance.

 

[Hundredacre]

Let's be honest as adults who recalls 1 or 2 weeks of school versus a family vacation? I recall every one of those with the fondest memories. Meeting people from different countries, seeing different places. I say the schools should encourage it as part of a healthy education not put up barriers. They fine you here in the UK ridiculous. One guy took it to court and won!

Wow. That is inspirational to hear.

 

[AquaDame]

USA: land of the free home of the brave.
The government doesn't own your kids, but in Europe they think they do. Try home schooling in Europe.

USA: land where you will get shot just because your skin is of a different colour.

Idiot.

Neither of these posts are appropriate for the topic, not to mention the boards as political and religious arguments are not welcome here. Bigotry and personal attacks are never OK either, no matter the context.

 

[Hundredacre]

Neither of these posts are appropriate for the topic, not to mention the boards as political and religious arguments are not welcome here. Bigotry and personal attacks are never OK either, no matter the context.

My post is not political. It is true that homeschooling is not allowed in Europe and it is true that the government exercises much more control over children in Europe. As for my "land of the free home of the brave comment" - that is tongue in cheek. The topic is taking your kids out of school for vacation. Whether or not government s allow that is relevant. I cannot speak for the other person's comment calling me an idiot. Frankly, that doesn't bother me, but I don't appreciate being lumped in with that person.

 

[Ofinn]

Texas is a state that you don't even have to notify the state you are homeschooling. Can't you just pull them out say you are homeschooling and then re-enroll them?

 

[Alexle2007]

My DS9 who is a 5th grader has missed some time every year since kindergarten for family vacations. We always go away somewhere during Spring Break, whether it's just to the grandparents in AZ, but we have a funky Spring Break schedule (Thurs-Tues (4 days)) so that doesn't really allow for going anywhere without missing. This year he'll be missing for our Oct DCL and in April for our RCCL. I don't worry about it. He is a G/T student and always catches up. And the teachers are always terrific about it. Make-up work is given after the students return and many times the teachers don't even care if they get it back. I always give the teachers as much notice as I can. So we just started school on Mon and the note went in today for Oct, although I had told his teacher at back to school night last week that he would be absent. Not sure what we are going to do next year when we are start middle school.

 

[Ofinn]

My post is not political. It is true that homeschooling is not allowed in Europe and it is true that the government exercises much more control over children in Europe. As for my "land of the free home of the brave comment" - that is tongue in cheek. The topic is taking your kids out of school for vacation. Whether or not government s allow that is relevant. I cannot speak for the other person's comment calling me an idiot. Frankly, that doesn't bother me, but I don't appreciate being lumped in with that person.

I agree with you. Are we not allowed to appreciate some things about our great country. I am very grateful that I have the freedom to homeschool my kids and travel the way we do. I thought the other persons comment was inappropriate and had nothing to do with the topic of school.

 

[Kaleea]

When my boys were in elementary school, we would pull them out all the time for family vacations. Now they are in middle and high school with AP classes and other activities that require quite a bit of time and effort. They prefer to not miss days as much as possible (last year we pulled them out for the 3 days before Thanksgiving to visit grandparents). The schools here are supposed to give unexcused absences but leave it up to the teacher on what to do. I have had some teachers mark all missed work during that time as 0's. I have had some that allowed my kids to catch up later or do extra credit. Also my 5 yr old is in a Charter School. At that school if you miss more than 10 days unexcused, you lose your spot and they kick you out. as a result, we are stuck traveling during school break for now.

 

[AquaDame]

My post is not political. It is true that homeschooling is not allowed in Europe and it is true that the government exercises much more control over children in Europe. As for my "land of the free home of the brave comment" - that is tongue in cheek. The topic is taking your kids out of school for vacation. Whether or not government s allow that is relevant. I cannot speak for the other person's comment calling me an idiot. Frankly, that doesn't bother me, but I don't appreciate being lumped in with that person.

Your post is anti-European as much as it is pro-USA - the poster took offense to your suggestion that our way is inherently better. You have every right to say homeschooling is good because X, but it is mean and IMO pointless to add on Europe is obviously worse off since they don't do it our way. Especially since OP is in Texas.

 

[~Dani~]

The overwhelming rhetoric on these boards is that anything that is not American, is therefore not right. There are reasons why homeschooling is not allowed, but rather than try and find out what these are, you get the "land of the free home of the brave" BS. I support taking kids out of school, but only to a point (ie. up to a certain - very young- age). After that, it is more of a hassle for educators that have to try and catch things up with those kids that missed school to go on vacation. If in a class of 20, you have all kids taking vacation at different times, then that is a pain for the teacher, but I doubt anyone takes that into consideration when thinking of themselves and their families.

And I stand by my comment to the previous poster.

 

[Ofinn]

Your post is anti-European as much as it is pro-USA - the poster took offense to your suggestion that our way is inherently better. You have every right to say homeschooling is good because X, but it is mean and IMO pointless to add on Europe is obviously worse off since they don't do it our way. Especially since OP is in Texas.

Her post wasn't anti European. A fact is a fact. You can't homeschool your kids in Europe. There are also some states in the US that are more difficult than others to homeshool.. true fact. You do get fined for pullling your gets out of school in Europe... true fact. When is it ok to call people idiots on these boards. I always thought that was an infraction.

 

[Hundredacre]

Your post is anti-European as much as it is pro-USA - the poster took offense to your suggestion that our way is inherently better. You have every right to say homeschooling is good because X, but it is mean and IMO pointless to add on Europe is obviously worse off since they don't do it our way. Especially since OP is in Texas.

So I am not allowed to have the opinion that parents should have a right to determine how their children should be educated? That opinion alone is anti-European? I wasn't the first person to bring up Europe anyway, I was responding to another comment about fines in England. My husband is European. Not heritage. European-- not an American citizen. I am not anti-European. I love Europe. But I am an analytical person and do not see the world through rose colored glasses. If anything, I think these boards of late have a very anti-American tone. Since I am now "registered" (not even sure what that means), I am sure I will end up kicked off. And I just want to tell everyone out there posting that I have enjoyed talking with you all.

 

[Jennifer777]

OP, something else to consider is that each state has their own laws regarding attendance. Some have very forgiving policies and some are very strict so one person's experience may be very different from what you will experience. You can find your state's laws by googling "(your state name) compulsory education laws". Many states have a broad policy that leaves a great deal up to the local districts, in which case you would need to contact your child's school to learn their policies (ask for them in writing). It's important to educate yourself on what your rights are so you know what is and isn't allowed. Some teachers or administrators may try to tell you certain absences are illegal or that the school will lose funding when it may not be true. Even in states where the laws are very strict, pulling your child for a week usually won't result in more than a stern letter. They are usually just counted as unexcused absences. To us, that's worth it for the benefits our children receive. Understanding your state's laws will help you know what the potential consequences may be and then you can decide for yourself what kind of complications you may run into and if they are worth any potential consequences.

 

[TestingH2O]

I'll attempt to redirect because I was interested in these quotes before things took a turn

FWIW, travel is always good for kids, but I honestly don't buy into the "it's just as educational as school" argument, not as a one for one day replacement. Especially not a cruise thru the Caribbean. It's not AP calculus, or Eng Lit discussion. Most families are not having critical discussion of the biomes of tropical islands, they're, rightly, sitting in the sun and enjoying the beach.

I think this is important to say. In younger grades, it's all about kids learning anything and everything in the hopes that they will continue to love to learn. Experiences are a huge part of that. You're right though. If you have decided that an AP course is part of your plan/goal, a cruise is not going to help you acheive that goal of earning a 4 or 5 on the test. I think that's why we keep seeing people comment on taking out their younger kids but less about the oldest kids who are also high flyers.

I don't expect the teachers to give us make-up work if it creates extra work for them (the teachers). We prepare to take a lower grades

This is a piece that people so often miss. Teachers spend hours planning classroom experiences that will be most beneficial to students. I think it is pretty unfair to ask them to come up with a whole second set of lessons because families choose to not come to the previously scheduled appointments (school.) Would you ask your doctor to plan a take-home medical exam because you were on vacation? (Yes, I understand that this is an extreme example, but there are things that can only be done in real time and discussion groups, labs, and sports practices are some of them.)

 

[AquaDame]

Her post wasn't anti European. A fact is a fact. You can't homeschool your kids in Europe. There are also some states in the US that are more difficult than others to homeshool.. true fact. You do get fined for pullling your gets out of school in Europe... true fact. When is it ok to call people idiots on these boards. I always thought that was an infraction.

What say you to the comment that Europe thinks they own children? Even if all of Europe doesn't allow homeschooling (I admit I do not know) that is also a rude comment to make to a continent. Possibly even xenophobic. Both posters got infractions. As I said when I quoted the two posts, personal attacks are also never OK.

 

[AquaDame]

And I stand by my comment to the previous poster.

Are you saying that you are ignoring me when I say personal attacks are never OK? You are not allowed to call other people names here. Period. I'm trying to help you get your point across, so please let me.

 

[Hundredacre]

What say you to the comment that Europe thinks they own children? Even if all of Europe doesn't allow homeschooling (I admit I do not know) that is also a rude comment to make to a continent. Possibly even xenophobic. Both posters got infractions. As I said when I quoted the two posts, personal attacks are also never OK.

How is that xenophobic? European governments exercise much more control over children than US governments (and I use plural because there are different US state governments). Putting a parent in jail because they want to home school does ultimately mean the government thinks they have full rights to (or own) your children.

 

[Hundredacre]

Are you saying that you are ignoring me when I say personal attacks are never OK? You are not allowed to call other people names here. Period. I'm trying to help you get your point across, so please let me.

And I am kind of taken aback that you admit you are biased and trying to help him (I think him) make his point. I really do feel singled out for my views.