Teacher's advice on missing school

Are you getting special permission from administration to make these absences excused? In most systems a vacay is not excused and make up work would not be allowed. It is not the teacher's call at all.

There's simply no way for you to know that it is "most" systems. Just from this thread you can see that there is a broad spectrum of opinions and allowed vs not allowed things across the country. As the thread continues you will see more variances.
 
the 5th grade math is even harder when you try to teach them to do it backwards(common core):confused3
 
Just curious if anyone lies and says the kids are out sick or something? I don't think I would do it because it would be a bad example and I'm afraid my daughter would blow our cover anyway. But, it's tempting.

My son missed Monday - Wed and was dropped off at school late on Thursday (straight from the airport to school). I wrote a note saying that he had woken up with a sore throat on Monday (true) and was "sent to a warmer climate to recuperate." (not totally true :))
 
Makes me sad to know as a 5th grade teacher I do not teach "real" stuff *sigh* lol. Some people don't realize 5th grade Math is one of the hardest years ever- (and no, I don't teach Math, but I know what skills are being introduced and a LOT of the kids around here struggle and then are fine the next year)


The last time our kids missed school for a vacation, they missed 6 days when they were in 4th and 7th grades. After that trip, they asked us not to pull them out again during the school year. While they weren't "overwhelmed" with making up work, it did stress them out some.

They will be in 8th and 11th grades next year. They both chose the Panama Canal cruise for our next trip which means missing 11 days of school. Neither of them are stressed about making up the work. Truthfully, they had so much more homework when in 4-6th grades than they ever have in junior high and high school. Our trip will be after all the testing, and at the end of the year.

We did speak with our principal before booking the trip. He encouraged us to go, assured us the teachers would work with our kids on making up the missed work, and felt that the educational opportunities on our trip would far outweigh any missed time in the classroom.
 

All of this makes me wonder what the rules are with homeschooling? Once my daughter starts school I want to home school her, granted I still have 3 years before kindergarten, but I still wonder how strict it is?
 
All of this makes me wonder what the rules are with homeschooling? Once my daughter starts school I want to home school her, granted I still have 3 years before kindergarten, but I still wonder how strict it is?



I guess it depends on your state's homeschooling laws and the type of homeschool curriculum you choose.

Some of the virtual homeschools may have "attendance" requirements.
 
the 5th grade math is even harder when you try to teach them to do it backwards(common core):confused3

Spot on!
Some of the best education is when you pull your kids out of school and teach them things they do not see everyday. Why worry about missing 5 days when the districts spend weeks teaching just so the kids pass assessments or common core! Even better, why keep kids in school when their not being taught anything in June just to meet the "180" days the state requires. Sorry, but movie time the last week of school doesn't cut it! My wife taught for 15 years and is a stay at home Mom. We are fortunate to be in a good public school district that doesn't hassle us for taking our 5th and 2 - 1st graders out of school for Disney.
 
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All of this makes me wonder what the rules are with homeschooling? Once my daughter starts school I want to home school her, granted I still have 3 years before kindergarten, but I still wonder how strict it is?

I believe homeschooling regulations, as in many things, vary widely by state. Some states have little to no regulation at all and parents could conceivably say they are homeschooling their kids when in reality they are doing little to no educating at all while other states regulate homeschooled kids pretty regularly. I have even heard that some states are so strict they require kids to take standardized tests and if they aren't making grade level they are required to go back to public school to catch up.
 
All of this makes me wonder what the rules are with homeschooling? Once my daughter starts school I want to home school her, granted I still have 3 years before kindergarten, but I still wonder how strict it is?

It varies by state, but thankfully, you get to make choices for your own children. Imagine that! Haha. I know that in my state, homeschooling is very flexible. No attendance records required…nothing. We are considering it ourselves for many reasons, and the truancy thing is one of them. We want to travel a lot, and feel we can teach our kids more about history and geography and social studies, etc. by letting them experience it hands on.

We're taking our Kindergarten and Pre-K girls out for five days this September. It will be the third full week of school.
 
I believe homeschooling regulations, as in many things, vary widely by state. Some states have little to no regulation at all and parents could conceivably say they are homeschooling their kids when in reality they are doing little to no educating at all while other states regulate homeschooled kids pretty regularly. I have even heard that some states are so strict they require kids to take standardized tests and if they aren't making grade level they are required to go back to public school to catch up.

You all got me to thinking what the rules are and motivated to look them up, I wasnt going to start looking into it for a while, but kinda glad I did. My state is actually pretty awesome when it comes to home schooling, and it very home school friendly. I will also be getting my degree in Education to teach my daughter. My DH is also a math teacher in middle school.

While I agree that children should not be taken out of school all the time, I do not see the problem with a few days here and there for family time.
 
My kids missed school for the first time for vacation reasons in Dec 13. We had to plan around husbands vacation at work. He works at a chemical plant (head of fire & safety)and unfortunately for us vacation time was blocked due to turnarounds for everything except a week in December before Christmas. DS who turned 13 on our Disney trip had no issues getting work in advance. Was excused from school due to circumstances. Two teachers said family time & travel are wonderful life events, go have fun, no worries on the work. DD who was 8 in 2nd grade, the teacher said have a great time & come back ready to give a great show & tell time, no other assignments. But on her last day before Vacay, she came home with a truancy letter due to her unexcused absences. This is the straight A child who had never missed a day of school except for 2 when her Great Grandmother passed away in September. Now she can't miss a day without a Dr's note. Same school district, two different schools, two different experiences. Hopefully we never have to do that again.
 
Makes me sad to know as a 5th grade teacher I do not teach "real" stuff *sigh* lol. Some people don't realize 5th grade Math is one of the hardest years ever- (and no, I don't teach Math, but I know what skills are being introduced and a LOT of the kids around here struggle and then are fine the next year)

hahah nothing against you at all. However, in our district 5th graders still get 1, 2 or 3 on their report card. Most teachers will NEVER give 3's in the first marking period because this way they can show improvement.

Also up to 5th grade the schools are very small, and they are still pretty regimented. 6th grade is middle school, and all the grammer schools converge. Kids have to use their lockers and move around and be responsible on their own. That's tougher on a kid than any subject matter.
 
Some of these districts seem very strict compared to ours. I'm in high school and I've only missed school for a vacation once. I do know a lot of friends who do go on vacation throughout the year as well. Our districts policy is they are allowed 10 days a year for being sick, vacation, etc. over those ten days it's a problem unless you have like a doctors excuse from being in the hospital or something. I was gone for three days of school freshman year of high school. I has to go to the attendance office and get a sheet that all of my teachers would sign. This sheet would then include what home work in has to do. Because it was three days before thanksgiving break we didn't have much work I think I had one worksheet or something but other wise nothing else. For us the teachers have to tell us what we will miss and either give it to us before or after we are gone. Because of the time I was gone my grades weren't affected at all because I really didn't miss anything. My family is very strict on grades and homework so anything I would be given would be done without excuses.
 
Of course, if they offer up a "pre-packet" that's fine. Its just that a lot of teachers find it a bit insulting to expect one. Many assignments, especially at the upper level, cannot be completed correctly without the accompanying lesson in class. As the previous poster mentioned, there aren't a lot of "plug and chug" worksheets these days..... thank goodness!

In my district, it's policy that teachers not give out work ahead of time. We have a lot of families who do take trips that take up school time (and that's fine), but we teachers are also encouraged to change up our schedule if the students need more time to teach an element. So, I can usually try to guess what we'll be doing closer to the end of the week, but sometimes that changes on Thursday (when the student is already gone) when I realize they didn't quite get what I was teaching and we need to try something else. Teachers will try to be accommodating if parents try to be understanding.

Also, while my district is fairly set when it comes to technology tools, not all districts have some of the things that we're talking about. Taking a picture of something that was done in class might not be feasible.
 
Having two girls who are now thriving in college and who were given incredible scholarships due to high sat scores, I can say without a doubt that I am so thankful that I took them out of school at least once a year for a week long vacation and a couple more times for three and four day vacations. Granted HS was a bit of a challenge at times and there were times were teachers got upset over needing to give makeup work but looking back it was so worth it dealing with those minor issues. My kids got to experience so many places that we would otherwise not been able to afford had we only traveled during peek times when crowds, airfare, hotel were doubled.

Had my kids been struggling academically or socially I would not have pulled them out. My kids now have a passion for travel, one will be studying abroad next year on academic scholarship and will definitely be taking a weekend trip to disney Paris. For my family it worked.
 
You only get your children once and soon they will be off doing their own things, faster than you know it.

I say enjoy your family and enjoy life and if it means you take a vacation during school because that is the best time to go for you, so be it. :goodvibes
 
If your child is behind on their schoolwork, or has a learning disability, it may be best to not take them out of class.

I'm sorry to take this thread down a different lane.. but I really am bugged about this statement.... and feel the need to address this way of thinking, concerning children with learning disabilities. (I am strictly speaking of learning disabilities, not physical disabilities.)

Kids that have a LD deserve every right to go on any vacation, just as much as a child that does not have a LD. You see, as a mother of a child with a LD, I see how VERY hard she has to work just to get a bad grade on a test. Yes I wrote that correctly, hard work at getting a poor grade. So some of you may think, well duh, if you take your kid on a vacation, they will have to work even harder at catching back up.... (and sometimes that may be the case, and sometimes not...)

But I will tell you this, my child is only a child for so long... Education will come, albeit slowly in some cases.... but sometimes a kid, will benefit from taking a break, more than any benefit of knowing how to do a specific math problem, science experiment, and even spelling test. Call it a sanity vacation.

I see the effort my child displays, occasional tears, time spent on explaining classwork, time spent on explaining homework, time re-explaining those things again, stress or tension in the home to complete projects or studying for exams., ect.. It's heartbreaking to see a child, any child at that matter, struggle with wanting to do well in class, and not be able to, no matter what they do. Why wouldn't that child have the same right of going on a vacation, as the child that learns easily?

My daughter, as well as most kids that have a LD, know they have a learning discrepancy. Kids will react differently towards that, some acting out, some dealing with it head on and working twice or more as hard... but regardless of what their LD is or how they respond to it, don't they deserve a break just as much as a child that excels in classes...

Why should my daughter, or any LD child, be penalized from enjoying a vacation, in spite of their LD? They shouldn't. Certainly the OP could not have possibly meant that...

Please don't throw any Easter eggs at me...I'm not trying to troll the thread. I'm not mad at the OP or ruffle their feathers... I tried to as respectfully as possible, point out how absurd it was to say what was said. I understand the OP had the best of intentions, but wish #3 would have been more thoughtfully written.
 
:agree:

I totally agree and well put. As the mother of a child who has always been described as the hardest working student in class - she sometimes deserves a break. She knows she is behind... how could she not. But it is not laziness or lack of ambition. She works her butt off.
 
You only get your children once and soon they will be off doing their own things, faster than you know it.

I say enjoy your family and enjoy life and if it means you take a vacation during school because that is the best time to go for you, so be it. :goodvibes

I 100 percent agree and well said :), and I also believe that as a parent you know your child better than anyone else does. Unfortunately there are many out there that think they know what is better for a child than their own parents.

Main reason I want to home school, because I know what is best for my child.
 
Thank you for your input, OP. My kindergartener is going to miss 8 school days in October for our trip - this is probably our once in a lifetime trip with his grandmothers and I was thinking it really wouldn't be a big deal in kindergarten (he picks up on things really quickly, and I do feel capable of working on kindergarten level concepts :lmao:)

Apparently in NJ 10 or more unexcused absences will get us reported to the court system....I'll just have to make sure I get him a doctor's note for any sick days above and beyond the one "free" day he'll get that will make 9 allowable days. Kind of a bummer because our health insurance plan just changed and I rarely bring my kid to the dr. for a common cold type of illness...but VERY glad our trip will keep us under those 10 days, since I didn't research before booking!
 

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