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

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'm always in awe of people who live in school districts that are fine with vacations during the school year.

My school system is extremely tough on that. The days they are gone are considered unexcused and the kids aren't allowed to make up the work including any tests they miss.

Because of this, I said my kids were sick last year during the 3 days of school they missed while we vacationed in Disney.

DD9 was extremely stressed about all the work she had to make up once she saw it all and it had to be done in 3 days. She did get it all done and kept her A average.
DS13 said he made up his work but when the grades for the week were emailed, he didn't and it was too late for him to make it up and get the grades for it. He ended up with C's that semester instead of A's and B's.
So between the school attendance rules and our kids reactions, we will no longer pull our kids out of school for vacations.

 

[Withacy]

No one ever said I was the center of the universe, but most parents are NOT capable of teaching their children calculus based physics, and it is something that is almost impossible to teach yourself from a textbook without help. I am sorry, but that's the way it is. I have had only a handful of students who were out for a week and able to catch up without help form me. It is typically not something they are capable of doing, even with help from their parents. I never said I don't want to put in the effort to help. In fact I would prefer that I was allowed to teach the child the concepts when they return rather than expecting them to get it on their own. And while they can "make it through school" missing a few days, my class is noe where concepts build and missing and entire week without putting in the one on one time with me to get caught up puts them as a serious disadvantage and almost always negivately impacts their grade. The only thing I have said that I have a problem with is parents who are not willing to respect my schedule when getting their kids caught up.
There is really no need to be so rude and condecending. I am not trying to offend anyone, just trying to give a teacher's perspective here. This is what I have seen over the years with my students to be the case. Take it for what you will.

Unlike what a PP said, I never said I expect your students to be the center of your universe. I clearly said that they take the consiquences of being out of school. And if you don't feel like spending your free time catching a student up, that's your right too (if that's in line with school policy). I come from a family of teachers, and I'm not saying that parents are always right. Or that they can't be selfish and a major pain.

OK, I'll bite. You're probably right - most parents can't help their child catch up on calculus based physics. So I'll admit that any child taking calculus based physics might not want to miss too much school. And I'm very impressed that your school system is advanced enough to be able to employee a full time advanced physics teacher! I went to a small high school, with only one class per year of basic, high school level (concurrent with Calculus) physics!

However, I think the parents of most 10 year olds or 8 year olds could probably manage to figure out their children's course work.

And for the record, PP, my undergrad was in history, and I've read extensively on the Civil War, so yes, I do think I could manage to hit a few high points without irreparably damaging my child's chance at an Ivy League education in that one week.

 

[Scurvy]

Wow. Just wow. Yes, I've read other threads on the subject (and posted on some), but this one takes the cake. So many self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitudes! I need to stay away from these kinds of threads, but they're like a train crash happening in slow motion ... It's just so hard to not look, kwim?

I might have missed them while reading the thread, but this is the first post that really seemed to be slinging insults at the other posters. I haven't seen anything that seemed "self righteous" or "holier than thou". Maybe you are just interpreting things that way.

 

[KellyNY]

I'm always in awe of people who live in school districts that are fine with vacations during the school year.

My school system is extremely tough on that. The days they are gone are considered unexcused and the kids aren't allowed to make up the work including any tests they miss.

Because of this, I said my kids were sick last year during the 3 days of school they missed while we vacationed in Disney.

DD9 was extremely stressed about all the work she had to make up once she saw it all and it had to be done in 3 days. She did get it all done and kept her A average.
DS13 said he made up his work but when the grades for the week were emailed, he didn't and it was too late for him to make it up and get the grades for it. He ended up with C's that semester instead of A's and B's.
So between the school attendance rules and our kids reactions, we will no longer pull our kids out of school for vacations.

That what made me to rethink taking my DD out of school. I took her out last May, the ammount of work she had to do was huge. Do not think I will do it again or at least not the whole week.

 

[Spikekc1]

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?

This is not a criticism for taking your kids out of school. You need to do what is right for your family. I recently became a teacher's aide at a school. Previously, I appreciated my children's teachers . . .but I had no idea the amount of hours educators put in each day. Many of the teachers at the school where I work frequently put in 10-12 hour days. Asking them to send a special email to your student while on vacation is adding to their workload. . . It may seem like a little deal to you but if the teacher was asked to doing something special for multiple students, it would really become overwhelming. In my opinion, it is more respectful of the teachers to have them set your student's work aside as they are preparing the work for the class as a whole and then your child can pick up the packet when you return.

Perhaps you could try a different approach and instead of suggesting a solution, you could ask each teacher what would work best for the teacher and then work within those boundaries. Maybe the teachers would be more understanding if they thought you were more sensitive to their situation.

 

[Hannathy]

That what made me to rethink taking my DD out of school. I took her out last May, the ammount of work she had to do was huge. Do not think I will do it again or at least not the whole week.

That's why I won't either. My mouth hangs open when I read things like the earlier thread that said her high schooler did all their homework for the week on a 2 hour plane ride. What? my 5th grader has that much some nights let alone for the week!! My DD in HS always has at least that much per night so how could a HS student do a weeks worth in 2 hrs? I would really question the level of education going on at that school.

When kids are in Elem. Yes take them out but I can't see how any HS student in an academically challenging program could miss a week and still keep up.

 

[Spikekc1]

I'm always in awe of people who live in school districts that are fine with vacations during the school year.

My school system is extremely tough on that. The days they are gone are considered unexcused and the kids aren't allowed to make up the work including any tests they miss.

Because of this, I said my kids were sick last year during the 3 days of school they missed while we vacationed in Disney.

DD9 was extremely stressed about all the work she had to make up once she saw it all and it had to be done in 3 days. She did get it all done and kept her A average.
DS13 said he made up his work but when the grades for the week were emailed, he didn't and it was too late for him to make it up and get the grades for it. He ended up with C's that semester instead of A's and B's.
So between the school attendance rules and our kids reactions, we will no longer pull our kids out of school for vacations.

In this case, I would be more concerned about the lesson my children learned from me (as a parent) telling lies to the school district and to their teachers. That's just me though - to each their own. Research indicates that parents are the ultimate role models for their children. I don't want my kids to lie to me, so I wouldn't be comfortable lying to their teachers. The lie would be a bigger deal to me than the grades or the prospect of making up work.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

eh, I just don't have enough energy to post what I posted in the other taking kid out of school thread, so I'll just compact my answer:

1. I support my kids' teachers wholeheartedly

2. I don't try and get around the rules

3. When I take them out for a week, I suck up the consequences.

 

[Zeebs]

Tell them to Mind there owen Buisness!!, Its your Family and you know whats best!! you do not need to hear there oppion over and over again. You do not need to explain and justfy your self to any one!!.Now days alot(not all) of Schools and Teachers feel that there oppion Is the golden rule. There jobs Is to Teach not give Family advice,when not ask for.The Fact that they would not provide email updates shows you there they are showing you there personal Bias.

you make me laugh

Please tell me we are laughing at the same thing, I just read this out to my husband and we were both laughing.

Kirsten

 

[Spikekc1]

Please tell me we are laughing at the same thing, I just read this out to my husband and we were both laughing.

Kirsten

Yikes! I realize that one of my posts had a typo from my furiously flying fingers but I hadn't seen this particular post from another Disney fan. . . hmmm. Now, I have forgotten what this thread was about. Oh yeah. . .school and stuff.

 

[debster812]

OK--I'll bite.

DS is 12, and in 7th grade. Since he was in Kindergarten, he has missed between 3 and 6 days of school, per winter, for trips to Florida. Sometimes to Disney, sometimes to Ft Myers. Last year in 6th grade he missed a week, due to my parent's generosity, and us celebrating my dad being cancer free. As he gets older, I don't think we'll ever take him out for that long, unless it's a truly once in a lifetime experience, and with 7 trips to WDW under his belt, and 7 trips to Ft Myers, neither of those really qualifies any more.

That being said, we will continue to pull him a day or two before our February vacation, because, quite frankly, the flights are about $450-$600 cheaper. His teachers have always been very accommodating, but our district does not allow for any work to be prepared beforehand. We ask for a friend in class to collect any worksheets that need to be done, and connect with them when we get back, so DS can get a jump on that.

I would never presume to demand work ahead of time, and always asked what we can do to help ease the transition back to class. It has never adversely affected him, but like I said, I think the most we'll do from here on in is a day or two.

 

[DVC-Don]

Our district implimented a district wide policy a few years ago about this. This would be treated as an "Illegal Absence" (they're not going to send the police). No homework is to given out in advance, but will be put aside for the students return. The student has two weeks to complete the missed homework. No make up is allowed for any missed tests though.

That aside, we took our two kids out every January until they reached middle school, then we started doing August WDW trips instead. We just took our last August WDW trip last month as the youngest will be off to college next year.

 

[kaelarad]

I think the OP needs to come down off the soap box and realize their child isn't entitled to special treatment. Go, have fun, and have your child "try" to catch up upon their return. If they can't then you will have to face the consequences. As I said, I am all for taking your kids out of school if it follows district policy and if your child will not be behind in school. Just be honest about the reasons why you are doing it.

Well Said!

 

[momejay]

If I send one presonalized email per student per day I am sending out nearly 100 emails if I spend an average of 5 min per email that is 500 min which is alomst 3 1/2 hours of my day spent emailing parents. Are you really ok with your child losing that much instructional time so that i can do that, because that is where it will have to come from. I spend 7 hours teaching and an average of 3 hours planning and grading each day. I am not willing to put in a 14 hour day every day so that every parent can get a presonalized email every day from me. It is not part of what is expected of a teacher. I chose to teach both because I love doing it and b/c it allows me to be home with my child. If I wanted to work 14 hour days I would have stayed in the research lab. I just don't think that i could be an effective teacher in the classroom if I woas putting in 14 hour days. I would just be too exhausted to give in my all. I would not mind posting my assignments for the day every day, but as several PP's have explained it really does no good on the AP level to give assignments without the students having recieved the instruction. They cannot complete them.
Also, charting those patients is most likely part of your job, and I would be willing to be that charting time is built into your day. Not so with teachers.

I don't think 3.5 hours is unreasonable in a year's time. You are saying as a teacher you are too lazy to send a 60 second email? What if the child was failing due to failure to submit homework? Wouldn't you send off a note to the parent? All the OP's email would have to say is we covered pages 2-4 or whatever. Did the OP say her child was in AP classes? Did OP say her child was Special ED? No one is asking for a teacher to copy & paste your lecture. Parents realize that their child is missing something valuable, but a family vacation is also valuable.
We chart several hours past our 12 hour day without pay at times. If a patient has an emergency seconds before we are due to go home should I not save that life because it is too much paperwork? If I am able to jot down something on 106 patients, then a teacher should be able to write a small summary of an assignment or lesson on a homework message board for each class. How many classes can a teacher have 8-10? At 3-5 minutes an email you could do it before the bell rings after each class.
I am glad you aren't teaching my child. I do appreciate my child's teachers for putting forth the added effort & so far providing me with enough information to keep my children from getting too far behind. (Even if we did have to learn the Civil War in 4 days.)

 

[Withacy]

I'm sorry if I've been a bit snippy to the teachers here, but there is a reason I'm still a bit angry.

In January, 2008 I took my DGD to WDW for her 9th birthday. Her mother cleared it with the principal at the begining of the year, but her teacher was not happy about it. At the end of the school day, the day before we left, she gave my DGD a huge packet with several dozen exercises in it & told her (and her mother) that it had to be done by the time she got back. This was what she would be missing - and if she didn't complete it all, she would be behind.

We spent 1 to 2 hours on it every night, and barely made a dent. It was a complete mess. There were questions on readings that weren't included (and not in the text books - we brought them all with us) - and no indication what they were to. There was a cross-word puzzle that was missing all the Across questions (the second page). Pages missing from exercises (on several it was the first page - with the instructions). Some were so poorly copied, you couldn't read them. It was a big mess.

She had one day between the time we got back & school (the MLK Jr holiday). Her adult half-sister sat down with her and they worked for 12 hours to finish the assignments.

And when she went back to school the next day, her teacher told her she didn't need to collect it just then. Eventually, TWO of the assignments were given to her class - about a month or so later. The rest were never assigned (and her mother found out that most of them were years old, and the readings were from books they didn't use anymore).

Basically, her teacher decided to punish her. To teach her a lesson about how HER CLASS was too important to miss. I'm sure she thought she was totally justified. I don't happen to agree.

 

[Disneyfan1977]

I'm right there with you!

I am also taking my kids out from 9/28-10/5. We originally were going to go in August but when my husbands company downsized (due to the economy and lack of work) they changed there policy on how you could take your days off. He didn't have enough vacation banked up to go until Sept.

I do feel bad about taking mine out, however, its been a rough year and I am going to take mine out and deal with the consequences later. One of their two teachers seems a little unfriendly about sending work, so, so be it. We will do what is given and try to make up the rest later.

I don't want to be flamed cause I understand from a teachers perspective that it is probably frustrating when a child is absent, but the same "unfriendly" teacher has already missed two days of school and we've only been in session here for 2.5 weeks....ya know?????

 

[a1tinkfans]

I'm sorry if I've been a bit snippy to the teachers here, but there is a reason I'm still a bit angry.

In January, 2008 I took my DGD to WDW for her 9th birthday. Her mother cleared it with the principal at the begining of the year, but her teacher was not happy about it. At the end of the school day, the day before we left, she gave my DGD a huge packet with several dozen exercises in it & told her (and her mother) that it had to be done by the time she got back. This was what she would be missing - and if she didn't complete it all, she would be behind.

We spent 1 to 2 hours on it every night, and barely made a dent. It was a complete mess. There were questions on readings that weren't included (and not in the text books - we brought them all with us) - and no indication what they were to. There was a cross-word puzzle that was missing all the Across questions (the second page). Pages missing from exercises (on several it was the first page - with the instructions). Some were so poorly copied, you couldn't read them. It was a big mess.

She had one day between the time we got back & school (the MLK Jr holiday). Her adult half-sister sat down with her and they worked for 12 hours to finish the assignments.

And when she went back to school the next day, her teacher told her she didn't need to collect it just then. Eventually, TWO of the assignments were given to her class - about a month or so later. The rest were never assigned (and her mother found out that most of them were years old, and the readings were from books they didn't use anymore).

Basically, her teacher decided to punish her. To teach her a lesson about how HER CLASS was too important to miss. I'm sure she thought she was totally justified. I don't happen to agree.

Preface this by saying I have not read thru the thread, think I have the gist though.......

Thats just terrible! I had a similar experience while my child was in elementary school, given a packet for missing 3 days of school. Well, that kid spent HOURS and HOURS on the packet and the teacher did not collect it, and obviously did not grade it. I was frustrated and angry.

I sent in a polite letter reminding her of the amount of work that was requested and then asked for the graded package back. My feeling were that if she gave it to the kid to finish, she had better atleast acknowledge it. She did, " A " no comments/nothing, a joke for sure!

Now, as a HS'er I would not think about pulling him out, nor would I do it in Middle School (and I happen to have one of those A kids)....thing is...it is too stressful for him, which defeats the entire purpose of a vacation...o we do what we have too.

And PLEASE don't get me started on the HUGE AP work packages that the kids get over the summer! I think EVERYONE, kids AND teachers should be able to enjoy their summer, work free.............

 

[Scurvy]

I don't think 3.5 hours is unreasonable in a year's time. You are saying as a teacher you are too lazy to send a 60 second email?
-snip-
I am glad you aren't teaching my child. I do appreciate my child's teachers for putting forth the added effort & so far providing me with enough information to keep my children from getting too far behind. (Even if we did have to learn the Civil War in 4 days.)

Are you really saying that a teacher is lazy for not wanting to take time away from the other students or use her own free time so that your family can go on vacation more easily? I think you must not realize how busy a teacher's work day is, if you think it's easy for them to come up with the time to be sending all these emails. And even though you might not mind sacrificing 3.5 hours of your time, to an already busy teacher that might seem like a significant sacrifice.

It is really nice that you children's teachers are willing to put forth extra effort so that your children won't fall too far behind because of your family vacations. Personally, I would feel terribly guilty for expecting a teacher to use any of her time so that I could go on a vacation. I would also resent it if I thought that a parent felt so entitled to my time that they would call me "lazy" for not wanting to waste class time or use my personal time to prevent their children from falling behind due to something avoidable like a vacation. I imagine that princessmom29 is probably glad she doesn't teach your kids. I know I would be!

 

[Colleen27]

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?

Fall is a really bad time to travel for Michigan families, unfortunately, because MEAP testing for grades 3-9 starts in early Oct and the schools are especially concerned with any absences in the few weeks of school we have before testing. So taking them out right now is a bigger deal than taking them out in Nov, when the year is in full swing but the all-important testing is over. And it is especially difficult this year, with school staring so late but testing starting at the same time as any other year.

 

[Colleen27]

Try to take a child out of school in my country.
First time 50 Euro's per day and second time 160 Euro's per day per child.

A few days before the vacations start the police and an official some one from the educations ministry are actually on the airport checking out who's trying to skip school before its official permitted.

How flexible is vacation time for adults in your country? Here, the problem tends to come up because of a ton of rules over when people can use their vacation time from work, if they get any, or be away from the office without losing their jobs. If the schools here were that strict, many families simply wouldn't be able to travel.