Here is the thing though. When you enroll your child in a school (public, private, or a homeschool option) you are agreeing to the policies of that school. Just like if you accept a job, you are agreeing to the policies set forth by your employer. You, as a parent, have to decide if those policies are okay with you. If they are not, then you have other options besides that specific schools. However, you do not have the right to just say "Well, I don't have to follow those rules because I don't agree with them." It doesn't work that way. Again, just like at your job you can't decide you don't agree with how vacations are approved and that you will just go whenever you want.
Again, I don't care in the long run one way or another, but people make this into a personal crusade almost. Know the school's policies and accept any possible consequences of your final decision. If the school has a policy that any work and tests missed are an automatic 0, then you have to be willing to accept that as what could happen. If you don't like that option, then change you dates... but don't expect the school to change their policy because your child and your vacation are "special".
I realize it's been a while, but I just happened to see the above post, and felt like responding (almost line by line).
LilyWDW said "When you enroll your child in a school (public, private, or a homeschool option) you are agreeing to the policies of that school. Just like if you accept a job, you are agreeing to the policies set forth by your employer."
There are a couple of primary flaws with that analogy. First, my employer can't compel me to do something, the way that the government can. The more obvious problem with the analogy though, is that my employer is the customer (purchasing my labor) in that relationship, whereas the school should be the service provider (of course, we have all become so accustomed to compliance with bureaucrats and their rules, that it is difficult to remember that we should be the customers in that relationship).
LilyWDW said "However, you do not have the right to just say "Well, I don't have to follow those rules because I don't agree with them." It doesn't work that way. Again, just like at your job you can't decide you don't agree with how vacations are approved and that you will just go whenever you want."
Actually, my rights are not dictated to me by some school administrator.
LilyWDW said "Again, I don't care in the long run one way or another, but people make this into a personal crusade almost."
Yes, I see that some people do.
LilyWDW said " If the school has a policy that any work and tests missed are an automatic 0, then you have to be willing to accept that as what could happen. If you don't like that option, then change you dates..."
I think that you may be confusing "descriptive" analysis with "prescriptive" analysis. My post was about the way that I believe things ought to be, so although I appreciate your advice, I've already taken the steps necessary to ensure that my child's school responds to my expectations, rather than the other way around.
LilyWDW said " but don't expect the school to change their policy because your child and your vacation are "special"."
I found this statement the most amusing of all, as I am the first person to point out that nobody is "special" unless they've done something to make themselves so. That said, it is easy to tell when someone is acting as if they are "special" because the treatment that they expect or assume could not possibly be provided universally. That is obviously not the case here. I don't think that I, or any of the others on this thread, have suggested an enormous amount of effort from teachers or administrators. Really, we just want them to do their job of teaching, while we ensure that our kids are doing their job of learning. That would not require the slightest bit of "special" treatment.
We have discussed with dd and ds and as much as they would love to go when cooler or less crowded they would rather not miss that much school.
, and homeschooling is a topic for a different thread...
