Taking Kids out of School for a trip

[DisneyFreak06]

I have to say that I'm kind of in the middle on this one. I am a teacher, and usually don't have a problem with students missing, as long as the parents are willing to help their child catch up. I usually just send a few books to read (moreso for flights and stuff) and ask the students to write a journal to share with the class when they come back. (I have yet to see one though.) I hate to see struggling students miss though, because they will only fall farther behind and sometimes it makes them feel as though they will never catch up. I teach French Immersion, so they also need the routines and the repetitions of speaking the language, it's harder to catch up on those things.

I also don't like when I parent asks for extra work, I take the time to plan ahead of time what we probably will be doing (although I can't be 100% certain of what we'll do for two weeks while I child is on vacation. It depends on how quickly the students learn and work, and interuptions etc.) and then they never do any of it! Don't ask for work if you don't plan on doing it-I won't mind, you are on vacation! LOL

Although, personally, if I wasn't a teacher, and I had kids who were doing well, I'd probably take them out of school to travel to WDW at a cheaper time of year! BTW, I don't have any children yet.

 

[junebug88]

Is it safe to ask the teacher before for advice about journals or books.
I was thinking of just bringing some books and a journal for my oldest.

 

[calliemom]

my son is in grade 3 this year, and he is being pulled out for a vacation in 2 months (missing 9 days). We pulled our daughter out 2 years ago, when she was in grade 3. My daughter was uptight about the CCATs, and we told her to relax. They do not determine pass/fail, they are a test of the teacher's ability, and mean little to the kids future or grade. It helped calm her down, and she did fine. We have removed them for at least a week each year, for the past 4 years, and they are both doing great. Enjoy your time with your kids, they grow up too fast.

disskat, in our neck of the woods , those CCAT's are very important. From my understanding those test score's from 3,6 and 8 stay on file, and can later determine for example if you child qualifies for a gifted program in specialized high schools. Not saying my dd is gifted, she's just your average student, however in the future if she does have the ability to qualify for a "gifted student" program for high school, they will check those CCAT scores dating back from grade 3. That being said, we still take her out of school every fall (usually around mid-term break) for our yearly trip to Disney!

 

[digskat]

I don't know where that info came from. The CCAT was created by the Harris gov't, as a test of the teachers' ability. They are not SATs, or IQ tests, and a test given in grade 3 will have no bearing on a kid's highschool career. The results of these tests are posted in newspapers as; how many kids are below the grade line, approaching it, at it, above it, or well above it. It was meant to put presure on the school/teacher. Our kids school had 3 kids well above the grade in reading, 5 above it, 4 below, 1 well below, and the rest met it. The school was slightly better than average in their board, and much better than the local public school.
The schools transferred the pressure to the kids, making them prep for it, and stressing the importance of a good effort, because that made them llok good. This is the same pressure on a kid, as telling him a 'B' in grade 8 will keep them out of Harvard. If your child is gifted, they will accept them, they won't worry about a series of tests given 5 years earlier.

 

[calliemom]

hi digskat! I thought perhaps this site might help explain more clearly what I was trying to say:

http://www.abcpeel.org/i_testing_ccat.html

This site does say that testing usually starts in Grade 4, however in our school it is performed in 3,6, and 8 and have been informed by school officials that it does in fact remain in their records. I have a friend who's daughter just transferred in to a "gifted" program and these records were looked at prior to her acceptance.

As originally posted, I don't necessarily worry about these things, however I do take into account the time of year these tests are taken at our school, so dd isn't absent during this time. Otherwise, we have no problems taking her out of school for our yearly trek to Disney. Family time is priceless !

 

[digskat]

I had originally added a response here, but after thought, I decided that we were wandering away from the original poster's question. We have received different info on CCATs, and I don't put any weight to them.
As for the original post, it is your call, we have never had any grief from teachers, actually they have asked if they can stow away. Our kids are in french immersion, so they are challenged with not only learning what they missed, but learning it in a different language. Both have finished the year with 'A's and 'B's, so it hasn't harmed them. Their teachers feel it is a great learning experience, and great for the family. My Dd's teacher has stated he doesn't want to give her much work to take, because he feels it is a great experience for her.

 

[calliemom]

Funny because I read the post before editing and my response Wow you seem to know my friend and their daughter better than me!

I was simply trying to say that you should try to plan your trips around the test date (which is only 1 day!). I think I am entitled to that opinion. No it is not the only factor that determines a child's entrance into a gifted program, but it is looked at!

 

[merfsko]

Taking your kids out of public school shouldn't be a problem. When we were in that position, the teachers will all more then willing to give us our homework, and just requested that we keep a journal (which was done anyways). Also, my parents never wanted me taking EQAO in the first place and as it is not essential, don't worry about that.

The only time we had a problem was high school: my HS has a strict policy regarding missing school and I was missing the two weeks before exams. So we told that them we were going to St. Augustine's for business. Which wasn't exactly a lie, as my parents are both historians and we did visit St. Augustines In the end, everything turned out very well. In fact, I even got the impossible 100% on my English exam, so cearly missing school didn't effect my marks

Hope everything works out for you, and have a superb Disney experience!

-merfsko

 

[Debbie]

The CCAT was created by the Harris gov't, as a test of the teachers' ability. They are not SATs, or IQ tests, and a test given in grade 3 will have no bearing on a kid's highschool career. The results of these tests are posted in newspapers as; how many kids are below the grade line, approaching it, at it, above it, or well above it. It was meant to put presure on the school/teacher. Our kids school had 3 kids well above the grade in reading, 5 above it, 4 below, 1 well below, and the rest met it. The school was slightly better than average in their board, and much better than the local public school.
The schools transferred the pressure to the kids, making them prep for it, and stressing the importance of a good effort, because that made them llok good. This is the same pressure on a kid, as telling him a 'B' in grade 8 will keep them out of Harvard. If your child is gifted, they will accept them, they won't worry about a series of tests given 5 years earlier.

Mmmmm. I think that you aren't talking about CCAT at all. I believe that you are talking EQAO tests. They are the ones done in May/June and the levels that the kids achieve are printed in the paper. Each parent receives a copy of how his/her child did on the assessment. The ministry, boards and classroom teachers try to explain that the results really are a "snapshot" of a child's learning for that day. e.g. my son is gifted in patterning, but received a 2 in that strand of math. He was tired, and just didn't do well. So you are right, EQAO results are not used for placement in further studies. Any parent can opt to have their child not complete the assessments.

As a teacher, we take the results, analyze the gaps that show up, and then change our teaching to make sure that a specific skill is brought up to snuff. So, it is not a test of teachers as much as an assessment of programs.

We've done CCAT in grade two before, but we don't do that anymore. In grade four at our Board, students have an opportunity (i.e. it is not done in blanket fashion) to complete something, but I don't know what-it could be CCAT. From there, further testing for "giftedness" is completed.

All that to say that, I don't take mine out of school to go on vacation....I have to teach... . Now, although I haven't taken them out, their aunts/uncles have taken each of them (5!) out of school at different times. My DD16 went last December, and is headed there again this December. Me, I have to wait until I retire.

 

[digskat]

Funny because I read the post before editing and my response Wow you seem to know my friend and their daughter better than me!

I was simply trying to say that you should try to plan your trips around the test date (which is only 1 day!). I think I am entitled to that opinion. No it is not the only factor that determines a child's entrance into a gifted program, but it is looked at!

No I don't know your friend's daughter, and never did I say I did. I said the CCAT is not the deciding factor, since the site states that it is used to test giftedness/learning difficulties, but if either is found, they don't actually trust the test, they have them complete a true IQ test (Binet), and they further review previous work. If they happen to miss this test, it will not be catastrophic, or even an issue.
As you may have noticed, I edited my post before you replied, dropping the issue because it wasn't on topic, or worth arguing about. As Debbie has since shown, I got my EQAO confused with CCATs (ooops) anyway. I have since checked with our board (through their site), and while they use Thomson Nelson for other sources of work, they don't even bother with the CCAT.
You are entitled to your opinion, and I have never personalized this to say you aren't. I am also entitled to an opinion, and mine is merely that they will not fail, if they miss a test (whether it be CCAT or EQAO), and let them enjoy life at 9, since they will have enough stress about their future, when they are in highschool. This is also what their teachers are saying, forget taking work, let them enjoy the trip, and they can catch up later.


Debbie, thanks for setting me in the right direction. I am at opposite ends of the vacation spectrum, 15 years isn't enough seniority to even consider time off during summer, christmas, or march break. My DW is the same as me......in another 10-15 years, we will get vacation during 'prime time', but our kids will be out of school. At that time, I will want my vacation in December/January, to escape the cold. For know, I will pull them out each year, so we can have family time. If it starts to be an issue with their grades, then the fun stops.

 

[tigercat]

We just took my dgrdd who is grade 3 to Disney for 2 weeks. Her sister who is in grade 8 went to England with her parents. She however, ended up going to 2 different schools for the time she was there. She went to a middle school and a high school. The high school was preparing for exams so it was neat for her to see and do (yes she was given the same work as the students there) another countries school work. Both learned on their 2 week vacation and neither of the teachers were concerned about them going. The one in grade 3 is even in french immersion. School is important but so is the family.
tigercat

 

[Tootles]

I hate to see struggling students miss though, because they will only fall farther behind and sometimes it makes them feel as though they will never catch up.

Although, personally, if I wasn't a teacher, and I had kids who were doing well, I'd probably take them out of school

Not everyone has the "perfect" student at home. In 6 weeks or so, we are pulling my DS8 (Gr. 3) and DS5 (Gr.1) out of school for 7 days so that they may experiences WDW for the first time. We struggle financially, so the "Off" season is the "Only" season to go for us. Heck, if the US dollar wasn't so low, it still would be hard to pull off for us. My DS8 has ADD and CAPD and is struggling with clinical depression...at 8! So, why should he not be allowed the same enjoyment as the students who do well in school? Because he isin't as "smart" as them? That isin't his fault. He's doing the best that he is capible of doing. Yes, he will catch up, at his own pace, AFTER the trip. Life is hard for him; because of his learning disabilities, and life is short. If 7 days OFF school, with his family who loves him, in the "happiest place one Earth", maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is a bad thing, because he isin't at the top of his class (and never will be), then others can feel that way. We have a wonderful teacher this year that understands him and agrees this is going to be a wonderful experience for him, and that the work, can wait...

 

[Tootles]

Oops...reading that back now, it sounds as if I'm angry...which, I'm not. I certainly didn't mean to "pick on" DisneyFreak06 either by using his/her quote. The truth is most of these threads (past and present) mention, well "my child is straight A's" so it's okay OR he/she "is on the honor roll" so we feel it's perfectly acceptable. I have never heard parents say "you know what-they struggle in school and are not at the top of their class, but we're taking them OUT of school anyway, are we're GOING to Disney World!" Well, I guess I just did. Hope no one felt...attacked.


By the way: thought I should mention, my DS8 will do better catching up his assignments at home with me, then he would the first time, in the classroom, by his teacher. (that's CAPD and ADD for you) He has no attention span in the busy classroom environment, and learns more at home, in a quieter setting. We often repeat the assignments at home on a daily basis anyway so that he can better understand what he was suppose to hear; and intake during the day. So, obviously that reason was a factor for us as well.

 

[jtdl]

Up until this year I had absolutely no qualms about taking my kids out of school for vacations. Now that my daughter is in high school and soon to be going off to university, I have a much harder time. Now this semester she has relatively easy subjects that are not required for her university admission so I have booked a trip to Universal and she will miss a total of 4 days of school. Had she not been at this critical point in her education we would probably go for a longer time. My son is in grade 1 and I have no problem taking him out of school.

 

[Lamby and Tangles]

Have taken the kids out every year at least once. This year will be 5 days in December for wdw and 5 days leading up to March break for 2 weeks to Hawaii. Both kids have LD's and are in great schools so have never had problems in getting work or getting them caught up. One is in Grade 7 and the other is in Grade 4 this year and combining the trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and the National Volcanic Park to show him what the "rocks and minerals" section at school this year is all about first hand. Also knows a lot since been to Barbados a few times and visited Harrison's Caves a couple of times so he has first hand knowledge of stuff. Was at WDW in June/July and the kids loved Epcot and that itself is a great learning experience especially if you talk to the people who work there. Both kids have travelled extensively and are really well grounded, know that not all people live like we do in Canada and are real humanitarians in their own right. I feel when it comes down to it experiences and world knowledge can only help round out the kids.
Definately don't feel guilty you can teach them so much, have a great trip.

 

[drag n' fly]

All three of our kids are in school. Gr 8, Gr 6 and K. This will be the last year we take them out of school for holidays. All three teachers are fully supportive of our kids taking time off however dh and I have made the decision to schedule our holidays when the kids are off in (yes high season).

 

[murcor]

We have taken our kids out of preschool, primary, grade 1 and again this year for grade two. We go for two weeks, 1 week is on school holidays and the other week they miss school.

I still feel terribly guilty about it but agree with many of the posters regarding the family time & travel being a lesson in life itself.

They are young yet, maybe when they get older we will be reducing the number of days they miss from school....maybe not

 

[Brianne&Sami'smom]

We are taking our daughters out of school to do the Halloween cruise on the Magic. We are driving down to Florida so the girls will miss 8 days of school. We have talked to both of their teachers (SK and Grade 5). They are supportive and have given us work for the girls to do so they can keep up with the rest of their class.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Oops...reading that back now, it sounds as if I'm angry...which, I'm not. I certainly didn't mean to "pick on" DisneyFreak06 either by using his/her quote. The truth is most of these threads (past and present) mention, well "my child is straight A's" so it's okay OR he/she "is on the honor roll" so we feel it's perfectly acceptable. I have never heard parents say "you know what-they struggle in school and are not at the top of their class, but we're taking them OUT of school anyway, are we're GOING to Disney World!" Well, I guess I just did. Hope no one felt...attacked.


By the way: thought I should mention, my DS8 will do better catching up his assignments at home with me, then he would the first time, in the classroom, by his teacher. (that's CAPD and ADD for you) He has no attention span in the busy classroom environment, and learns more at home, in a quieter setting. We often repeat the assignments at home on a daily basis anyway so that he can better understand what he was suppose to hear; and intake during the day. So, obviously that reason was a factor for us as well.

Have fun at WDW! I do think everyone should have a chance to go there, and I am glad that you are able to go. Life experiences and family time are important too. It's wonderful that you work so hard with your DS8. (And probably help your other(s) too.)

Thanks for sending another message... I thought you were mad at me! I really don't like it when I get someone upset.

Again have a fun time at the World! Have some fun for me... In my cold classroom all winter here in PEI!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I thought you would all get a kick out of this... I just got an e-mail from a parent of one of my students. They are pulling their two daughters out of school for 11 days to go to WDW! LOL