Teachers are giving me a hard time pulling kids out of school

[cmaee]

My DH is a middle school principal and he often gets these requests. He always approves them if notified before the trip. If the trip has already taken place, he can't approve them....against the policy. Our school district isn't strict when it comes to trips for educational purpose. Students cannot miss more than 18 days in total...excused or unexcused absences for the school year...that is almost 4 weeks of school, so that is a lot. While he approves the trips, he makes sure that the parent and students realize that while the school work can be made up, the instruction time cannot. The school has a homework website and a homework hotline that the students/parents can access to get their child's assignments for the day. If the child cannot handle missing that instruction time or the parent cannot provide instruction on that material, then perhaps the timing of the trip needs to change.

My best advice for those who are in school districts more strict on these type of acitivies is to read and completely understand your school's attendance policy. After you know what the policy says and what the consequences are, make the best decision for your family. If you and your child can live with the consequences, then go. You have the right to do with your family as you please, but don't be upset with the school/principals/teachers for enforcing the policy. If you don't like the policy, get involved with your school improvement team, go to the school board meetings, run for the school board, etc.

For the OP, I think that it is unrealistic to think that the teacher should do something extra for you just because you are going to be on vacation. It's not that simple to just shoot you an email. Now whenever there is an absence, the teacher is now going to have to do this for every student? As long as the teacher is doing what is required set out by the school district's policy, then you have no reason to complain. You may not like it, but when you enrolled your child in that school, you are submitting yourself to the rules/policy's of that district. I think a good solution for your child to get their work done while on vacation has been already mentioned a few times. Have your child ask a classmate if they would mind to email them the homework assignments...or text them since that seems to be the mode of communication most teens like these days. If they were given worksheets, perhaps that classmate would be willing to get an extra sheet and keep for your student to get when they return. Otherwise, your child will have to wait until they get back to school to do all of the classwork.

 

[fan1080]

Move to Nova Scotia......

we don't have:

silly, unreasonable, truancy laws that force families into the court system for taking a child on vacation.

or

school boards who get paid more for higher attendance.

Viva Nova Scotia!

 

[goofy4tink]

Whether your school has a policy / doesn't have a policy on make up work, or whether you agree with your county's attendance policies, or whatever ...

I just don't think anyone should ask any teacher to do anything "special" for one student just because the parents decided to take a vacation during the school year.

We always take our kids out of school for trips, missing 2-4 days, but I would never ask the teacher to do anything out of the ordinary for my kids. It's my choice, why would I put an extra burden on the teacher for something I chose to do?

If the kids can't make up the work or catch up when they return, or if the school doesn't have a policy of giving out work in advance, etc., then you have to decide if it's really worth it. To us, so far, it still is, but I suspect that might be changing as we are getting near the middle school years.

Agree 100%. I used to take my dd out of school for family vacations when she was younger..it was no big deal. The teachers would give her some kind of project to work on.
But, now that she's in high school, that is no longer the case. Our school has an interesting attendence policy..for each year long class, youg get 18 absent days, for the entire year. Those are unexcused, any reason absences. For a semester (or half yr) class, they get 9 unexcused absences. If they go over those numbers, they lose course credits. But, if they are out sick, and return with a doctor's note, the absence is considered 'excused' and not liable under the 18/9 rule.

I take my dd, now 15, out of school a few days a year for vacation time with the family. But...the teachers will not give out any work beforehand. It is up to my dd to go to the teacher, when she returns, to get all missed assignments and to return them to each teacher when the teacher says they are due.
I believe this is pretty much the case with our middle school as well.
Teachers have policy that is stated right from the beginning, so that families know what the deal is. It is up to each family to decide if it is worth it to them to take their child out of school. Is the school district making these judgements or ruling the families? No, not really. They have announced the rules, and the consequences of not following the rules. Teachers are not to be expected to 'bend the rules' for some students.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

For me the bottom line is....Family Comes First!!!! Missing one week of school is NOT going to effect my child for the rest of his life. I feel spending time with the family and having those memories are more important than any school work they might miss. I do realize my child will have work to make up and may shave some trouble with the work they missed and I am willing to except that and help them.

If something would happen to me tomorrow ..I want my child to have memories of me and the time we spent together...do you think that inlcudes a week of school work...hell NO! It would be the memories of us as a family!

Have a great trip!!

There are 185 days a year when kids are free for all the family time they could want. Memories can even be made on school days. And they certainly don't have to include Disney. I think it is silly to say that family comes first, therefore they should miss school.

I think that it is a lot to ask of a teacher to do extra work because a parent feels the need to pull a child during the school year.

 

[dianne1974]

For me the bottom line is....Family Comes First!!!! Missing one week of school is NOT going to effect my child for the rest of his life. I feel spending time with the family and having those memories are more important than any school work they might miss. I do realize my child will have work to make up and may shave some trouble with the work they missed and I am willing to except that and help them.

If something would happen to me tomorrow ..I want my child to have memories of me and the time we spent together...do you think that inlcudes a week of school work...hell NO! It would be the memories of us as a family!

Have a great trip!!

 

[fan1080]

There are 185 days a year when kids are free for all the family time they could want. Memories can even be made on school days. And they certainly don't have to include Disney. I think it is silly to say that family comes first, therefore they should miss school.

I think that it is a lot to ask of a teacher to do extra work because a parent feels the need to pull a child during the school year.

Family comes first......

Nope, didn't sound silly at all!

 

[RMulieri]

For me the bottom line is....Family Comes First!!!! Missing one week of school is NOT going to effect my child for the rest of his life. I feel spending time with the family and having those memories are more important than any school work they might miss. I do realize my child will have work to make up and may shave some trouble with the work they missed and I am willing to except that and help them.

If something would happen to me tomorrow ..I want my child to have memories of me and the time we spent together...do you think that inlcudes a week of school work...hell NO! It would be the memories of us as a family!

Have a great trip!!

Thats fine as long as you are willing to accept the consequences of your actions.It is not fine if you choose to do a vacation or whatever with your family ,fully aware of the consequences beforehand and then complain about it or argue how unfair it is, and then get angry with the teachers etc..I am all for family vacation time.We are taking our daughter out of school for a WDW trip, and since she is only in Kindergarten , it is no big deal for the school system.But I know when the time comes ( beginning in 3rd grade) , we will have to weigh our family vacation plans heavily before doing so, or be willing to accept the consequences of our actions

 

[rgf207]

This thread is already 4 pages and I haven't read the whole thing but

1. The teachers did not come up with the new attendance policy. I'm sure it was the school board. Teachers do not have that authority.

2. Unfortunatly the teacher is not obligated to go out of his/her way to make sure your child has the assignments. Teachers have a lot to do and frankly it may not be in the best interest of the entire class to take time out and play "catch up" with your child. Even though it may be after class when this is done, it still takes away from his/her planning for the next class.

3. Did you ever think that maybe the teacher has a lot more to do than to update you daily. Your child is not the onlyl one in his/her class. My wife teaches and has hours worth of school work to do every day after school. She would not have time to email parents daily assignments or lessons. It's not as simple as just writing a quick email.

 

[Hannathy]

Family comes first......

Nope, didn't sound silly at all!

As long as it doesn't come first when it is crowded or hot or inconvenient.......

I'm sorry but I hear more I don't want to go when the kids have off because it is hot or crowded than I can't absolutely get off any other time. I find it hard to believe everyone taking their kids out of school can';t get off any time in the summer or over Easter/spring break or Christmas. There are a few very few families who really can't but most of it is because they don't want to go then not that they can't.

 

[Tikitoi]

What happens to the students who have a difficult time learning and need that one on one time with their teacher? Taking a week off may not be an option for them.

This is where parental responsibility would have to really kick in. That's half the problem, that not one wants to be the total responsible one.

 

[goofy4tink]

Family does come first. The thing is that there are rules, and those rules are there for a reason. And the schools usually have those rules stated right up front. As a parent you must weigh the good and the bad and then make your decision.
So...let me ask a question here....
Let's say dad has a job (hope he does anyway). He gets a two week vacation every year. But, this year, he and mom decide that although he has already taken his two weeks during the summer months, they want to take the kids to WDW to see the pretty Christmas decorations. So, dad tells his boss that 'Hey, family comes first. We need to make some family memories. I'm taking another 4 days off.' Anyone think this is going fly??
I know, I know..it's a stretch. But, school is our childrens' job..it's what they are supposed to be doing. If a child is doing well in school then I guess it shouldn't be an issue. But for parents to pull a child out of school, for a week, when that child is doing only average work, then it may be a disservice to the child.

 

[rgf207]

As long as it doesn't come first when it is crowded or hot or inconvenient.......

I'm sorry but I hear more I don't want to go when the kids have off because it is hot or crowded than I can't absolutely get off any other time. I find it hard to believe everyone taking their kids out of school can';t get off any time in the summer or over Easter/spring break or Christmas. There are a few very few families who really can't but most of it is because they don't want to go then not that they can't.

Yep. I agree with you. I find it very hard to believe that all these parents have no other time to take to take vacations except when it just happens to be less crowded, lower tempratures and free dining . That's quite the coincedince huh

I don't have any problem with people taking their kids out of school for vacations but just stop saying saying it's for the kids. We weren't born yesterday. You're going because it's convenient for YOU.

If the kids can't go during the summer, take them during Christmas Week or Thanksgiving Week when the kids have breaks? Oh wait, it's crowded then

 

[arielmomma]

I'm so glad that we decided to Homeschool!

 

[seashoreCM]

What happens to the students who have a difficult time learning and need that one on one time with their teacher?

Imagine for a moment that you could not ask the teachers to actually do anything differently as you took your kids out for vacation. You secure a tutor for one-on-one time if needed. You take over all of the kids' household chores so they'll have time to catch up on their studies.

You may now see the whole picture and conclude that a Disney vacation during the school year is a lot more difficult than it seemed.

Walt began by making movies so people could go down to the local cinema and see Mickey and forget about the cares and responsibilities of everyday life for an hour or so. Then he thought about letting people immerse themselves in the make believe atmosphere more and he opened Disneyland in the 1950's. Seem more and more these days that families think it is their God given right to go down and immerse themselves in that make believe atmosphere. Maybe it is time to go back to where we started. Enjoying Walt Disney World (and also other places around the world) by viewing videos. Armchair travel, is that what we call it?

 

[Ktharee]

We leave next friday and this makes our fourth trip to WDW. This is the first year the teachers at school are giving us a hard time. They implimented a new attendance policy. I thought we were going early enough in the year that it wouldn't be such a big deal- both my DH and I have jobs that it is difficult to travel any other time then the fall-

I emailed the teachers and stated that we are taking a laptop and that I would email them daily to receive assignments since most of them can not give me a prepared lesson prior to our trip. No disrespect to teachers out there but I don't understand why they can not email me daily to let me know what pages in the text book they went over and what homework they assigned. I can not even get excited about our trip because this has become such an ordeal... Anyone else experience this with their trips?

Sorry Nickieblue. Just go, have fun and plan on doing some makeup work over the weekend when you get back. In the grand scheme of things, it's not going to be that big of a deal. Enjoy yourselves!

 

[Bob NC]

both my DH and I have jobs that it is difficult to travel any other time then the fall-

And your kids have SCHOOL that makes it difficult for them to travel in the fall.

 

[swald91]

Well, I didn't read all these posts, so forgive me if I didn't see, but how old are your kids? Now that my daughter is in jr high-she is also in a regents program we don't want to take her out of school. Although mid year they will have a few exams-but not for my daughter-the school will be closed for most of the week-we will most likely go away then-my son is in 4th & the 1st day I asked the teacher about state tests or any other major ones that week & she informed me there were none scheduled-he also attends a catholic school & it is catholic schools week-more fun for the students-he won't miss much. Honestly-this looks like the last trip we will be able to take the kids out of school. I know the teachers don't like it b/c they have more work to do if they prepare work for the students before you leave-some don't have a problem. Some schools are really buckling down on misses but my kids only missed school last year while we were away & they are 90-plus average -I don't worry about a few days. I hope that your situation with the school doesn't ruin your vacation...have a good one!

 

[cepmom]

I'm taking my kids out for 3 1/2 days begining next week. I did let all the teachers know about it in advance and asked them to do what worked for THEM best as far as missed work. Some teachers said they will give it to the kids when they return and some said to remind them a few days before. I would never want to inconvenience the teachers by dictating how they should help my child make up missed work because of my decision to take the kids out of school for a vacation.

Is there any reason your kids can't get the missed work when they return?

 

[jkahne9]

Luckily our school distict has never in 20 years given me a problem with the kids missing 5 days of school to go to Disney in december. However, my kids ( DD 17 & DS 11 )know to get as much homework as their teachers will give them to make up. Most times it's very little and my kids know it has to be done and handed in the first day they go back to school. We have a 2 hour flight from LI to Orlando and they both help each other to finish their work before we land. No worries for any of us the rest of the week.

 

[SydneyFalco]

I've never been more relieved to not be raising kids. (As relieved, I'm sure, as my non-existant kids are.)

Wow, if the lid's on this tight, sounds like it's time to go to a full school year with a slightly shorter day and floatable vacation time. The results, even after all the juking of stats, couldn't get much worse. And the future needs more business school graduates, darn it. Forget scientists and doctors, more MBAs, theology grads, and lawyers!

Maybe it is time to go back to where we started. Enjoying Walt Disney World (and also other places around the world) by viewing videos. Armchair travel, is that what we call it?

Quite right. Tonight I'm putting on my Disneyland Secrets DVD and having a small crowd of my neighbours come over to jostle me as I watch it. Then I'm gonna order take-out from my local chain restaurant and pay double.