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

[a1tinkfans]

Originally Posted by Disneyadore View Post
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.



Hows Health Care ..just kidding

 

[Colleen27]

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.

Easy to say when you aren't the parent who wants to share Disney and other travels with your children, but can't do so over school breaks. Can you honestly say that going to the zoo on Sunday and catching a movie after school are the same in terms of family time and making memories as going to Disney, Mexico, Europe, etc?

 

[dwelty]

I'm a little apprehensive about taking my DS out of school this coming November for 3 days, he's in 7th grade. After all today during his "Adolescent issues" class he learned all about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup. And during his "Directed Learning" session they watched videos on YouTube. Add on lunch, gym, music, art. He will miss about 10 hours of school over 3 days. I don't know how he will ever keep up!!!

If your teacher can't tell you a general idea of the what he is teaching while your child is out it sounds like the teacher has no plan. Start moving up the food chain - the vice principle, the principle, the superintendant. You will get what you need. I have only known one person that had to go to the School Council of the Town.

My DS just started teaching in a Charter School. Every day is planned out by the administration. Very high success rate in the school.

I totally agree. My son spent countless hours in several Highschool classes watching movies that had flimsy connections to learning material. I can remember an episode of the Simpsons, The office, The movie Platoon, and some others I cannot remember. He went to a highschool in one of the best rated school districts in our state! Our daughters will be moving to private school after the 3rd grade.

As for getting a list of assignments from the teachers, I understand what may be at work here. My Mother was a teacher for 22 years. The last few years she taught she worked part time as a substitute. She was always complaining about teachers not keeping lession plans. This made her job very difficult. She had been taught that you always have a lession plan in place at least a week ahead. I think (Some) of these teachers are kind of lazy about keeping lession plans up to date and really do not know what will be covered more than a day or so out. So when they resist giving you assignements ahead of time, it is because they are not properly prepared.

 

[iteach7th]

O.K. - I have read endless threads that cover this topic in amazement but have never jumped in so here I go....

First of all, my experience - I have taught science and math for over 18 years to all grades 7 - 12 at one time or another. My husband has taught science over 21 years to all grades 7 - 12 at one time or another. I have an average of 150 or more students assigned to my classes every year. We both have the same approach to students missing our class - - go, have fun and come back and tell us all about it!!

OP - have a great trip !!! From what I read (and I skipped around alot) - obviously none of the teachers on this thread have had the H1N1 (swine) flu hit their school system. It is running wide open in ours. I have students that are out a minimum of a week at a time and we are expected to gather their assignments and send to the office for a one time pickup (and since it is pretty much going through the entire families - we only want the one time pickup).

Yes - I teach via labs, demonstrations and multimedia presentations. Yes - I know that when the student is not in my room they are missing out on valuable instructional time (at least I hope it will be valuable instructional time) but my opinion of it is that it will be o.k.

Life is short - time with your family and especially your children can't be retrieved. I would much rather deal with a several week ahead warning of a student being out than get that e-mail that I seem to be getting alot lately that "Johnny's mom has called and he has the flu - please send his assignments for the remainder of the week to the office before 2:00". I am averaging 3 - 4 students in each class absent for a week at the time due to the flu and a couple have come back only to be out the next week because they developed pneumonia.

Too bad Living with the Land is closed until Nov - if you were mine - I'd give you a video assignment dealing with the different plants displayed. As long as this is a once a year experience and you don't take another weeklong trip in March - go, have fun and overlook those that want to cause you grief. Just make sure you get everything made up in a timely fashion when you return to help that teacher out !!

I take all three children out for 3 days each May for an extended weekend at the beach (before I get flamed for being out of the classroom - we take personal leave, it is ours to do whatever we want to with and since I am never out - I feel justified in taking it). It is approved months ahead of time and our teachers work very well with our children in getting makeup work done. Our trip will be over fall break but we will be in the World in 23 days !!

 

[Colleen27]

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.

I couldn't disagree more. I know plenty of people who work for companies that don't allow employees to choose their off time, or who run businesses that can't run without them during the high season. Factories often give workers paid vacation for set retooling weeks. Retail prohibits vacations around Christmas. Daycares not affiliated with schools don't allow vacation during the peak-demand school breaks. Roofing and many other construction professesions, anything having to do with boating or pleasure fishing, agriculture, etc. are so heavily seasonal that vacations aren't approved between May and November. And then you have companies that base vacation selection on seniority; my mom's workplace does that. Her least senior employee has 6 years on her staff, and can't ever get time off during her kids' breaks because that's the time EVERYONE wants off.

I live in Michigan, where school doesn't start until after Labor Day. There are several weeks of low crowds and great deals (free dining) that families could take advantage of without missing school, if they could get that time off from work. But that is a HUGELY popular travel time here, so many, many people can't get it off.

 

[Melissa<3Disney]

First off... let me say.. I love and respect the jobs teachers do for our students and think they are highly unappreciated! Here's my OPINION for the OP.. find out the absence policy for your school district and just make sure you aren't violating that! To me, if your children are good students and can make up the work when they get back, without it affecting their grades too much.. just take them and enjoy your vacation!! It was not that long ago I was in highschool (about 6 years)... and not to devalue education in the slightest but me missing a week of school would not have been detrimental to my educational career! Unfortunately my parents never really had enough money to take all 5 of us kids on vacations, but had they only been able to take me at a certain time of the year I would have loved to have those experiences with my family! This is why my boyfriend and I are paying for my parents and my siblings to go to Disney in March. I missed almost an entire year of school in middle school because I developed a muscle disease that left me unable to walk, even write for a while. I still managed to graduate from highschool with a diploma and an associates degree (on time), and got my Bachelor's Degree in two years after highschool! Now I am a successful career woman who can pay for her family to go on vacation!! So take your kids out if policy allows (we have to go during spring break because if my brother misses to many days of school he will get an automatic fail! If this was not the case we would go in Feb.!!) and have a blast!! Take lots of pics and worry about the work when they come back!! I would just see what tests they may miss while gone and weigh how this will affect their grade!!

Also on a side note, I would like to add that myself, my mother, and my sister are all in retail and have a very hard time taking off any holidays/summer because they are peak seasons.. my father owns his own drywall business and the summer is an insanely busy time for him! We had to pull an arm and a leg to get time off during Spring Break!! We were actually afraid my dad might not get to go, but this was the only time we could go because of my brother's school!! So not everyone can just take off during the times when kids are out of school!! Also my brother is in AP classes and like another poster said... the stress on him during vacation would be way to much to actually enjoy his vacation because he'd be so worried about his grades and what he was missing to enjoy a vacation!

Have fun OP!!! Don't worry too much!! Your kids are still young!! You won't get that time back!! Just make sure you get with your kids and get everything completed when you get home!! I can't wait to hear the trip report!!

Oh and I should say I don't think that anyone should expect a teacher to email lesson plans or lectures or anything ahead of time!! If the teacher wishes to do this.. Great!! If not understand that they are busy just like the rest of us!! If not more so.. classrooms are getting bigger and teachers are having to do more and more work on their own time! I have friends who are teachers and they are already under so much stress! I am hopeful that no teacher will "punish" the children and accept the work that is made up when the child returns!

 

[rgf207]

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

Kirsten

Yes we are laughing at the same thing. The fact that I think that post was off the wall

 

[Withacy]

Yes we are laughing at the same thing. The fact that I think that post was off the wall

And we all respect you both so much more for it, too.

 

[okeydokey]

I figure if you chose to take your kids out of school for a vacation, then you choose to abide by the school's wishes to make up the work. However they say to do it, that's what you do.

 

[DVCajun]

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.

.... yeah. Reedin and ritin'.

 

[Nancyg56]

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.

Seriously? I never saw that the teachers gave an opinion, just refused to update the OP daily regarding classroom and homework assignments. With respect, if a parent's decision impacts a teacher and the classroom it is the business of that teacher.

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?

I think that the time would add up to 3.5 hours in a day. I cannot imagine that it would be reasonable to ask anyone to add that amount of time to accomodate vacations etc.

 

[Withacy]

.... yeah. Reedin and ritin'.

Doesn't it make you feel all warm inside, special and super smart when you can make fun of someone less perfect than you?

Lots of special people here.

 

[Tistal]

As a teacher, I leave in the morning before most of the people who live around me and I don't get home at night until most people who live around me are home. Teaching, in general, takes up a lot more time than most people think.

It's a snowball effect on why a teacher can't/won't e-mail you each night. If you give one person an inch at the beginning of the year you end up having to give everyone a mile by the end of the year.

Additionally, your child's teacher could be contractually bound. If this is the case, I'm sure she would love for you and your family to have a great time, but not a great enough time that she is willing to lose her position. Many school systems have rules that won't let them do things that you may think are simple. Your child's teacher doesn't want to be accused of favoritism (another thing that could make her lose her job).

Also, books supplement class time. Just because your child may be covering the plant life cycle doesn't mean that the facts are just being read off in class. It's hard for a teacher to send you a simple e-mail when maybe there was an in class project done. She can't really e-mail you that they cut open plants today, discovered the reproductive organs and discussed their functions and how they differ. I doubt that you're traveling with a lily to cut open on vacation to reproduce the experiment. Some students learn well with "just the facts," but others learn better with hands on instruction.

Also, sometimes you make lesson plans that just don't work. Maybe it's obvious that most of the students didn't read the chapter assigned, the project at hand just isn't clicking for the students as a whole (yes, this happens), or the students quickly grasped one concept that most in the past had had difficulty with and had problems with another. All these things create adjustments that have to be made.

That being said, I should hope (as you seem like a parent that is invested in their child's education) that two adults can sit down, discuss the matter and work something out. It always makes me happy to have a parent that is concerned with their child's education because, unfortunately, many are not. (unless it's the my child can do no wrong type when there is a lot wrong, but that's a whole different can of worms)

Just remember, your child's teacher might not be trying to be the bad guy, but it could be the school system forcing them to be the bad guy. Often, a teacher's hands are tied in a situation and they have to follow protocol.

 

[Leajess99]

I think it is silly that a teacher can't take a few minutes out of their day to write a brief summary on a homework message board for all the students to see. If they did then there is no excuse for a missed assignment on vacation. It is just as much a parent's job as it is a teacher's to make sure a child is educated. This needs to be a policy!
That being said, I charted on 106 patients today. Their activities, orders, treatments etc. What would be so difficult to send off one email to a child on vacation? If that can't be done tell the parent we are covering Chapter 10 so at least we have a direction to go in.
Both parents & educators want the child to learn, & both need to put forth effort. I too can't take vacations during Summer months or at holiday times. It must be nice for a teacher to be home with their children every Christmas morning. I don't have that luxury. One note or one email even if it is at different times for each student isn't going to be that much stress on a teacher. It should be expected.

Educators spend upwards of 8 hours a day educating YOUR children and you expect them to continue that into their "family time"?? Whatever happened to teaching responsibility?? I guess with comments like this we see why children are not wanting to take responsibility for their actions. My children (ages 16, 11, and 6) know they are responsible for writing down their assignments so that I can see them as well as so they can get them done. The little one gets a little bit of a break for now because she is still little but she is responsible for making sure her homework gets back in her backpack and she has her backpack. Her school is big on teaching the children to be responsible.

As for complaining about not being home Christmas morning with your family, YOU CHOSE THAT JOB!!!!! Don't be jealous or pissy towards a teacher because they chose to teach your children as well as other people's children. Try being thankful that someone cares enough to step up and teach your kids. I know I am very grateful for my children's teachers. I do my job and have done my job as being one of their teachers as well since they were born.

 

[pooch]

We also belong to a small rural country school in Michigan- However, with today's technology -My 7th grader has 7 teachers, one gym, one band, one study hall leaves only 4 teachers that need to email me- He is in class for 50 mins, Is asking each of them to spend an extra 10 min sending me an email to much to ask?

absolutely and without question - YES!!! I have taken my kids out a couple of times but have never asked the teacher to do more work to accomodate my vacation. Forgive me but I find that shows a total lack of respect for the extraordinary amount of time teachers spend on our children already. I have always asked for work in advance but, if the teacher declines, the kids and I worked extra hard to catch up after the trip. Can you imagine if every student expected this type of accomodation during the school year?

I'm not saying you shouldn't take the kids out - heck yea - if this is the only time you can vacation as a family then you SHOULD GO!! I just think your daily e-mail request is out of line. Sorry.

 

[tinkabella627]

By no means do I mean to offend any teachers. I have family and close friends that are teacher- My oldest child will be graduating from College with a English major in hopes of teaching High School- so believe me I mean no disrespect.

Because of our Jobs- this is the time of year we can travel. We both are professional and educated adults. It bothers me when teachers feel like parents don't give a damn about our kids education. I think that I am very responsible and want to make sure that the kids do not fall behind. However they will miss 5 1/2 days of school.

We also belong to a small rural country school in Michigan- However, with today's technology -My 7th grader has 7 teachers, one gym, one band, one study hall leaves only 4 teachers that need to email me- He is in class for 50 mins, Is asking each of them to spend an extra 10 min sending me an email to much to ask?

I am sorry- but I spent over an hour today listening to one my employees complain about another employee- I wish I put in an 8 hour day and a 40 work week. I am not asking teachers to type out every word spoken- but again I am not a stupid person. They could type - read chapter 3, discussed ecomomics differences between china and the US. I could look it up on the internet and have discussion with my child about it.

I am sorry if I sound harsh- I am frusterated and tired and really ready for this vacation

I haven't read all 12 pages of this but I wanted to respond. Like another teacher said... imagine a teaching having to do this for every child that was pulled out or absent. It can be very tedious. Teachers don't have time to check their mandatory school email, let alone send out daily emails of what we did in class. I too am a teacher and I can not stand the thought of having to remember to send out a daily email to my students on vacation. And do you really want to spend your time in disney reading from a social studies book or whatever else? If you are confident in your child to pull them out of school and be able to make up the work, just let them make it up when they get back.

You have to understand what teachers go through on a daily basis... heck on an hour basis even. For example, last Friday, I got a call that one of my children was sick and her mom was coming in for her missed work from the previous days and can I get it ready for her. I said sure. FIVE MINUTES LATER they were looking for me wondering why I hadn't had the work in the office yet. I felt like saying oh I'm sorry let me stop teaching the 22 children I have in my room so I can gather everything and then let me leave them all so I can deliver it to the office with specific instructions and stop and talk to her mom, because you know parents will always stop to talk. At the same time all of this was going on, I was trying to give my kids instructions for a test and then realized that phone call took away my instruction time, and now we had to leave for library.

So what I am trying to say is that a 5 minute email may seem like only 5 minutes, but it is a lot. It can throw off your whole day. And if it is meant to be done after school... well teachers have a lot going on then too, and honestly, I wouldn't remember. Just enjoy your vacation and let your child catch up when you get back.

 

[tinkabella627]

I'm a little apprehensive about taking my DS out of school this coming November for 3 days, he's in 7th grade. After all today during his "Adolescent issues" class he learned all about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup. And during his "Directed Learning" session they watched videos on YouTube. Add on lunch, gym, music, art. He will miss about 10 hours of school over 3 days. I don't know how he will ever keep up!!!

If your teacher can't tell you a general idea of the what he is teaching while your child is out it sounds like the teacher has no plan. Start moving up the food chain - the vice principle, the principle, the superintendant. You will get what you need. I have only known one person that had to go to the School Council of the Town.

My DS just started teaching in a Charter School. Every day is planned out by the administration. Very high success rate in the school.

Again, I haven't read all of this so idk if anyone responded to you BUT...

I can't tell you a general idea of what I am teaching next week either. Is that saying I have no plan? No... it is saying, I am waiting until tomorrow to see how my kids do on their assessments. Things may need to be retaught and I won't know that until this weekend.

Great that your ds has every day planned out. But it isn't like that in all districts. And even if it is, what if half the class doesn't get something. The administration has just decided they have to move on? So no, it isn't that the teacher doesn't have a plan. You can't expect teachers to know in advance what will be done each day. My plans change day to day because of today's lessons.

 

[rgf207]

And we all respect you both so much more for it, too.

Great. Now I can sleep tonight knowing that

 

[Leajess99]

I understand the accountant thing. But sunburn? I bet I'm paler than you and I can manage to maneuver around WDW just fine in the summer.

I am straight pale white and burn very easy yet I have learned to use lots of sunscreen and drink lots of fluids. We went to Destin for the first week of June and I did not get burnt. I don't generally go from fried to tan either.

I went to Spain one 4th of July when I was in the Army and I was so burnt it hurt to actually move but I lived so I agree with the sunburn excuse.

 

[larryz]

I think it is silly that a teacher can't take a few minutes out of their day to write a brief summary on a homework message board for all the students to see. If they did then there is no excuse for a missed assignment on vacation. It is just as much a parent's job as it is a teacher's to make sure a child is educated. This needs to be a policy!
That being said, I charted on 106 patients today. Their activities, orders, treatments etc. What would be so difficult to send off one email to a child on vacation? If that can't be done tell the parent we are covering Chapter 10 so at least we have a direction to go in.
I was expected to teach my child the Civil War last year on vacation. She was out 4 days! You can't tell me they learned the Civil War in 4 days.
I know this is a hot topic, but a family vacation is just as important as the lessons they learn in the few days that the child is out.
Both parents & educators want the child to learn, & both need to put forth effort. I too can't take vacations during Summer months or at holiday times. It must be nice for a teacher to be home with their children every Christmas morning. I don't have that luxury. One note or one email even if it is at different times for each student isn't going to be that much stress on a teacher. It should be expected.