School excuse wording

[gonzalj1]

I will just never understand this. Granted I'm not a teacher or a parent...but if and when I have kids, if I want to take them out of school, I will. Absolutely give them homework to complete while there, and give them consequences for it not being done. Will I show them things that I think are educational while I'm at Disney...sure I will but it won't be the focus of our trip! Kids have the right to a vacation too, and not during just "school approved" times. I could understand this moreso during finals time or in certain years but I'm sorry, a 5 year old is not going to be scarred for life because she missed story time, snack time, and a week long focus on "the letter B is our Buddy".

This

My kid. My decision. Period.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I would just state the bare facts, not try to justify the "educational" benefit of going to WDW. As soon as they see WDW on the letter, form or whatever they will make their decision about excused or not regardless of your justifications.

And be absolutely clear on the potential consequences. Some school districts have very strict attendance policies. Some schools won't allow make up work. And some schools will give zeros for grades for work on those days. So just be fully aware of your district's rules and think ahead for possible sick days and other ramifications.

Oh and try to avoid making promises your kids won't keep...promising teachers they'll learn something sounds really good in practice, but if your kids are like mine getting them to repeat back what they learned in school today is painful enough much less something they learned 7-10 days ago...

I agree with this. I would just keep it simple and to the point in terms of just including what days your children are going to be absent and that you are going out of town for a planned family trip. I would be clear about your school district's attendance policy and give the teachers enough advance notice so that if they are able/willing to give out make up work/assignments in advance that they will have enough time to get everything together for your children.

 

[ocean702]

I'm just sad that I don't think we'll be able to take off from school again except maybe the last day before school vacations because our youngest just really needs the classroom instruction too much based on some particular learning difficulties she has. It's just become too hard for her to keep up after missing a few days. It's just what we have to do as her family.[/QUOTE

as someone who works in a school and reads the absent excuses from parents, i'll tell you that the schools can't really do much if you choose to take your child out for vacation for a short period of time. it may or may not show on a report card as an unexcused or excused absence. Schools need to be informed since they do take attendance each day and it helps to know why students aren't in school and saves the secretary a phone call home to find out why a student is missing. When taking your kids out of school becomes a real issue, is when there are chronic absences (truancy and court), or as the pp who I've quoted above says that missing classroom instruction will hurt her child and make school more difficult for her child. (major respect for this parent/family)
I highly doubt colleges are scanning transcripts to see how often a child was absent from school and basis acceptance on this. they get their full tuition money regardless of how many classes a student attends.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Amen to the above. My dh is a high school math teacher. Being on the spouse of a teacher side of things, I am amazed at how many families take their vacations during school time and EXPECT my dh and all of their other teachers to prepare the work they will be missing in advance - and then request him to stay after school when they get back to take missed tests or quizzes. You may be only thinking about your own family taking a few days, but in his 8 classes of 30 kids, even if only 10 families are requesting that, that's A LOT of extra work! And in this day and age and working climate (especially for teachers in Wisconsin), you don't tell those parents no - not if you value your job.

If you as family decide that you want to take your kids out of school, that's your choice and you're perogative as a parent - and I don't judge you for that. However, I don't think that a teacher should be expected to ensure that your children don't fall behind BECAUSE of that trip. Because my dh is a teacher, we always take our Disney trips during the summer. It's sometimes a bummer, but that's just the way it is for us.

I met quite a few teachers during our recent trip. August seems like a popular month for teachers to go to WDW. I thought late August was a great time to go to WDW!

 

[si-am]

I will just never understand this. Granted I'm not a teacher or a parent...but if and when I have kids, if I want to take them out of school, I will. Absolutely give them homework to complete while there, and give them consequences for it not being done. Will I show them things that I think are educational while I'm at Disney...sure I will but it won't be the focus of our trip! Kids have the right to a vacation too, and not during just "school approved" times. I could understand this moreso during finals time or in certain years but I'm sorry, a 5 year old is not going to be scarred for life because she missed story time, snack time, and a week long focus on "the letter B is our Buddy".

Does anyone really do homework at Disney? I mean really? My parents took me out of elementary school a few times for Disney trips when I was a kid, but did I sit in our room at the Poly at 10pm after MK fireworks and do homework every night? No, I did not.

It either got done in the car on the way home or after I got home.

 

[Angel Ariel]

OP - what exactly does the form ask you to fill out? Is it a full on paragraph explanation type thing, or is it just a line to fill in a reason. Personally, I'd just be honest - it's a family vacation. Yes, Disney can be educational - but as much as I love Disney and recognize that, it's not the focus of vacations. And I'm a teacher. I think trying to justify it as educational because of Epcot or what have you is a bit disingenuous, IMO.

The only thing I'd say is know the consequences of an unexcused absence, and your school's policy on advance/makeup work and be willing to accept them. And re: advance work...if the teacher goes to the trouble of giving you advance work, please have your child actually do it before they return to school. It's disrespectful, imo, to ask teachers to put together work for your child ahead of time and then have your child not honor the commitment to do the work.

 

[Kona65]

I will just never understand this. Granted I'm not a teacher or a parent...but if and when I have kids, if I want to take them out of school, I will. Absolutely give them homework to complete while there, and give them consequences for it not being done. Will I show them things that I think are educational while I'm at Disney...sure I will but it won't be the focus of our trip! Kids have the right to a vacation too, and not during just "school approved" times. I could understand this moreso during finals time or in certain years but I'm sorry, a 5 year old is not going to be scarred for life because she missed story time, snack time, and a week long focus on "the letter B is our Buddy".[/QUote


What more can be said after reading this statement.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I will just never understand this. Granted I'm not a teacher or a parent...but if and when I have kids, if I want to take them out of school, I will. Absolutely give them homework to complete while there, and give them consequences for it not being done. Will I show them things that I think are educational while I'm at Disney...sure I will but it won't be the focus of our trip! Kids have the right to a vacation too, and not during just "school approved" times. I could understand this moreso during finals time or in certain years but I'm sorry, a 5 year old is not going to be scarred for life because she missed story time, snack time, and a week long focus on "the letter B is our Buddy".

we aren't talking 5 year olds here.. there is a difference. 5 year olds do not have to have it approved.. once they hit middle and high school they do. They need a certain amount of credits... and they need to maintain their grades. They need to come to school. They are only in school appprox 170-200 days a year depending on what part of the United States you live in.. and considering there are 365, that isn't asking for much.. you have many other days to take your "vacations".. As you said, you don't have children yet, but once you do, you will understand the importance of an education. Education is important at any grade level, however if you are going to pull your child out of school for Disney and expect not to have to do work, you may get away with it in the lower levels but not in the upper levels.. and that is what wee are talking about.. not the lower grades. At 5 compared to 13.. there is a big difference in what they are learning... You can miss story time, but miss a week of Algebra and that is a different story.. and not an easy one to make up..

 

[dwelty]

There are also financial issues involved. Schools receive funding based on attendance during a specific period of time - usually the first weeks of school. Funding is a very real and important consideration for schools. If people are taking their kids out of school for a week in September, schools can loose a significant amount of money.

.

I would say in our school district it is all about money. We used to get grief when we took our child out for a week and the feed back we got from the school was that it was disruptive to the learning process. Once the district enacted the "independent study program" (essentially a program where the child received a packet of work that they did on the trip that allows the school to still receive funding), well that was the last we heard from them. it was never about the learning process, it was about the money.

Our old district had "ski week" in early February that was a week off in the middle of the term so that parents would use that week for vacations instead of taking the kids out of school. it really worked well, and the attendance problems were greatly reduced. it was similar to Jersey Week. If all school districts did this and staggered the week, we would not even be talking about this.

 

[Angel Ariel]

it was never about the learning process, it was about the money.

When teachers have $150 budgets to get them through an entire year, the money is a big deal. (And yes, that is a budget I have personally had as a teacher). Lack of money many times (certainly in my personal situation) leads to lack of supplies - which absolutely affects the learning process. All I'm saying is that money and the learning process aren't always separate issues.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

This

My kid. My decision. Period.

yep that is true, but in the upper grades.... remember.. high school graduation, SAT's ACT's... what college they get into.. not your decision...period...

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Does anyone really do homework at Disney? I mean really? My parents took me out of elementary school a few times for Disney trips when I was a kid, but did I sit in our room at the Poly at 10pm after MK fireworks and do homework every night? No, I did not.

It either got done in the car on the way home or after I got home.

my children always did.. as a matter of fact, they even took AR books with them to the parks and read them while they were on the lines for the attractions.... do you think everyone looks down on education that way My kids loved to read so to them, they didn't mind bringing their book to the park. It made the lines go by faster they read their books and weren't behind when they got back. They did what ever paperwork was given to them by their teachers prior to leaving as well, every night in the room.. and as I mentioned, they even did reports in the upper grades on the Countries (France).

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I'm not sure what the OP form looks like, but if it is like my school districts form, you don't need to elaborate too much. Last year we took a kid out to visit Washington DC. The form does state "educational trip" and the days off are preapproved, but are not excused. You can only have a certain number total of unexcused or they can report you for truancy. It is just the way the law is.

However, under "Reason" on the form, I just write "family trip." No need to contrive educational reasons, most educators know that traveling is educational and they aren't going to deny it unless it is a huge detriment to the student under certain circumstances... And the teacher needs to know ahead of time if s/he is going to assign work for the trip...

So don't sweat it...

Why do you say most educators know that traveling is educational? It is only educational if you make.. seriously. I understand what you are saying to a point, but unless a parent points out things and explains things, there is no education value to it. Family vacations at Disney, hits all the parks @ rope drop, does all the attractions, has character meals.. parents do not point anything educational out to child (not even the animals @ AK, but does make sure their child gets pictures with all the characters). What did child learn? Nothing.. did they have fun.. sure, they had a blast, they made memories that will last.. but did they actually learn anything of value? Not unless something of value education wise was pointed out to them.. No one can assume that all parents do that. Some parents are too busy fighting other parents while they are online in the parks. well then again, their child learned they can fight....

 

[wen8jr]

Amen to the above. My dh is a high school math teacher. Being on the spouse of a teacher side of things, I am amazed at how many families take their vacations during school time and EXPECT my dh and all of their other teachers to prepare the work they will be missing in advance - and then request him to stay after school when they get back to take missed tests or quizzes. You may be only thinking about your own family taking a few days, but in his 8 classes of 30 kids, even if only 10 families are requesting that, that's A LOT of extra work! And in this day and age and working climate (especially for teachers in Wisconsin), you don't tell those parents no - not if you value your job.

If you as family decide that you want to take your kids out of school, that's your choice and you're perogative as a parent - and I don't judge you for that. However, I don't think that a teacher should be expected to ensure that your children don't fall behind BECAUSE of that trip. Because my dh is a teacher, we always take our Disney trips during the summer. It's sometimes a bummer, but that's just the way it is for us.

I'm not picking back at you but what are we considering "stay after school" time? Teachers should be available for time with the students after the bell rings each day. If my son has to take a test due to being out sick he is out by 3:30/3:45, his bell rings at 3:05. I wouldn't consider that after school hours. Helping students make up work should really be part of a teacher's job and they should expect it because if it isn't a child missing for vacation, it is a child missing because they are sick, a death in the family or a child who needs help with their work. This time should be planned and expected.

One other thing I want to mention is that teachers take time off too during the school year. My son, who is a junior in high school, tells me all the time about his teachers being out during the school year for vacation or for personal reasons. During these times he has to deal with substitutes who don't have a clue and no real school work is given out or getting done. My son is a straight A AP student who will have at least a year of college under his belt by the time he graduates high school. Even so, when his teachers aren't there it puts him behind as everything is crammed into the next day after they return...then he is spending extra hours doing homework because the teacher wasn't at work teaching class. This interrupts our family time at home...did the teacher think of that before hand?

We accept that this is just part of it...teachers are people too, they get sick and have a life outside of work, earn time that they can use during the school year and when they do we just have to work around it.

I do not make a habit of pulling my child out of school, his education is important to us. I value the effort that most of my son's teachers have made over the years, especially one or two great teachers. But I do expect the school administration and the teachers to let my child make up his work either before hand or after if he missed school for a valid reason and is within school policy. I do understand that there may be special circumstances where a child would not be excused (the child is failing, has excessive absences, etc.).

One thing that everyone should understand is that most people do not work in the school system. Most people do not have extended time during the summer months to take their vacation!! It is a hardship for us to take off in the summer months. I chose my career and accept what my current employer expects and the limitations it puts on me. If it becomes a problem for me I will change jobs. But for now when we do get time to take off to spend with each other you bet my child will be there with me whether it is during school or not.

Folks should try to be understanding of other people and their situations and keep in mind not everyone has the same schedule as the school system and other people have demanding jobs as well. It's not all about being irresponsible and pulling a child out of school "just because".

Our children are only young once and we should enjoy every minute of it!!!!

 

[penguin087]

I didn't read all the responses but whenever I have taken my child of school I simply put "domestic travel with family" for the reason. If they need to know more they can contact me. They never have and its always been excused. Too much information gives too many reasons for them to make it unexcused.

 

[nytimez]

I will just never understand this. Granted I'm not a teacher or a parent...but if and when I have kids, if I want to take them out of school, I will. Absolutely give them homework to complete while there, and give them consequences for it not being done. Will I show them things that I think are educational while I'm at Disney...sure I will but it won't be the focus of our trip! Kids have the right to a vacation too, and not during just "school approved" times. I could understand this moreso during finals time or in certain years but I'm sorry, a 5 year old is not going to be scarred for life because she missed story time, snack time, and a week long focus on "the letter B is our Buddy".

Pretty dated view of kindergarten... unless things in Buffalo are even worse than I thought.

 

[LilyWDW]

This

My kid. My decision. Period.

True... you made the decision to enroll your child in a specific school system. By doing so, you agreed to the terms and conditions that apply to that system. This includes, but is not limited to, the rules on absences and the consequences of them.

If you do not agree to the terms, then you are free to look at other options.

That is what it comes down to. Know what the rules of your school system is. If you are going to break them, be willing to accept the consequences. They are not kept secret so you can make an informed decision. Just don't expect them to be bent or broke for you "just because" you want to go to Disney.

 

[garada3]

They did what ever paperwork was given to them by their teachers prior to leaving as well, every night in the room.. (France).

Thank you for following through with the provided work.

As an educator, it is very frustrating to spend time getting work ready for a student and then not having the work completed or completed with minimal effort. When a student approaches me with an excused absence-work request form, I tell them not to worry about my class and that the work will be ready when they return.

OP, if you request work and receive it, please make sure the work gets finished

 

[luvmyprincesses]

As a parent who works in the school district and used to do this herself.. try explaining that you will have them do a report on a Country.. and have them do it too.. and have them pick one from EPCOT.. they can take pictures of themselves there, bring back a snack from there (or pictures of the food) Maybe some sort of trinket from the Country??? My kids all took French in Middle school.. so they always did France! It was an educational trip... and they did work while they were there. If you explained this in the note, this would be an approved trip.. but they would be expected to be turning in that report...

My daughter would think she was being punished for going on a family trip. It would ruin the trip for all of us. Homework yes, but an extra report, not for us.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I'm not picking back at you but what are we considering "stay after school" time?

That depends on what the teacher's contract is. Our contracts (at least mine) have always had defined contracted times. Staying in the building after that time is uncompensated and should not, imo, be "expected" by parents.

Teachers should be available for time with the students after the bell rings each day. If my son has to take a test due to being out sick he is out by 3:30/3:45, his bell rings at 3:05. I wouldn't consider that after school hours.

This sounds good in theory, and IME the contracted end time is usually 30 min to an hour after the students leave. However, just because the bell rings at 3:05 doesn't mean a teacher is immediately available to begin helping a student that moment. IME, I have always had duties to perform when that bell rings - whether it is hall duty, bus duty, or any of a few other duties. Also IME, those duties take 15-20 minutes, depending on how long it takes for buses to arrive, load, and clear out. So expecting a makeup test or extra help to be able to be completed within 30-45 minutes of the bell ringing isn't always possible.

Am I saying teachers shouldn't stay after? no, I'm not. But yes, that time IS after school hours and is generally assigned to other required duties. Being appreciative and recognizing that, as opposed to expecting it and demanding it, is only respectful IMO.

During these times he has to deal with substitutes who don't have a clue and no real school work is given out or getting done.

That may be the case in your son's school - that doesn't mean it is everywhere. As a certified teacher who has subbed a lot, I have always been given "real" lesson plans to adhere to and "real" classwork to give out. Yes, even at the HS level. As a teacher, on the rare occasion that I am out of the classroom, I leave "real" lesson plans for the sub to follow, and do whatever I can to get a sub in my room who is certified to teach in my subject area. I realize this too is just my personal experience, I'm just saying i wouldn't write off all teachers as giving busy work (or no work) just because of your experience.

One thing that everyone should understand is that most people do not work in the school system. Most people do not have extended time during the summer months to take their vacation!! It is a hardship for us to take off in the summer months. I chose my career and accept what my current employer expects and the limitations it puts on me. If it becomes a problem for me I will change jobs. But for now when we do get time to take off to spend with each other you bet my child will be there with me whether it is during school or not.

The assumption that because teachers don't have students in the summer that that means they're on vacation, or able to vacation is just that - an assumption. So many people here mention that they can't travel at certain times (say, summer) because of their spouse's job. OK - well teachers have spouses too. What if the teacher's spouse can't travel in the summer because of their job? Should the family be forced to travel without one spouse in order to vacation?

This isn't even mentioning that many teachers have to have secondary jobs in the summer in order to continue paying their bills and so, no, may not actually have that time "off." Or they may be taking classes in the summer (and therefore also not able to vacation) in order to maintain their teaching certification. Many teachers also lesson plan/develop curriculum in the summer for the upcoming year. All I'm trying to point out is that just because school lets out doesn't mean that teachers are lying around the house all summer with nothing to do.

Folks should try to be understanding of other people and their situations

Yes, yes they should....both parents and teachers alike.