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

[EnchantedTales]

Forgive me but I did not read all fourteen pages of this thread and I don't plan too. Too long, don't have time. I did jumped thru the pages and I see a recurrent theme in this problem.

Forgive me for saying this but everyone thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong. What happen to compromise? What happen to understanding each other and putting ourselves into someone's shoes? We want our children to exercise compassion and understanding and yet this is the prime example on how we don't show it, and we certainly don't practice.

Look it is unreasonable to think that each and every person can take their kids on school vacation for a vacation. Heck, I would love, love, love to do it. However, there is that pesky problem of having a job that prevents it most of us. In fact at my work (perhaps you've heard of it, it's Disney) school vacations are very busy times. Christmas too and let me tell you it's not easy being at work and missing home so much it hurts. However, you won't find me wallowing in self pity for it. I go work have a good time and then when it's slow season I can finally go home to visit my family. If we all went on holiday when it was school vacation who exactly was going to be left working? Can we close Disney so the employees can go home to visit their families? Do you see what I'm getting at? Not everyone can go on vacation when it's a school holiday. For those who can then I say AWESOME!

How about we exercise some commitment? If you can't use school holidays to go to Disney then fine do it when you can? However, don't expect that the teachers to email you constantly about what you kid missed in class. Discuss with your teacher a plan of action and work with that. You have to accept the consequences of going at that time. Then can teachers give parents a schedule of what was discussed and what the student needs to do? Look you don't need a daily email but is it that hard to give a quick schedule of what the student needs to do? How about a copy of the papers you gave in? Can something be done to help the souls that can't do a vacation any other time?

I see you all fighting and insulting each other yet I read very little commitment and meeting the person in the middle. Sorry if I offended anyone but this sort of fights between adults gets me every time.

 

[ShannonMB]

Another nurse who takes her kid out of school for WDW trips chiming in...

1) I think nurses AND teachers have some of the hardest jobs in the world, and we should ALL get paid MORE for the sacrifices we make!

2) Even though I chose taking care of critically ill babies as my career (and I wouldn't have it any other way), it majorly sux to miss Christmas morning with my own DD, so some sympathy, please, poster on pg 12!

3) The fact that most teachers can't take time off during the off season at Disney totally sux, so some sympathy, please! We aren't talking just the years when their kids are in school, either, but until they retire!

4) I have taken my DD out of school for Disney in 1st and 2nd grade (again in 3rd for our Nov trip). She has already told me this is the last year she wants to miss a whole week, so we will make due when both of us can go, (most likely Spring Break or summer since I am NOT allowed to take any time off around the holidays). I think this needs to be the kid's decision, because they are the ones who truly live with the consequences.

5) When I take DD out of school, it is on the teacher's terms. We're lucky to have dealt with very reasonable teachers, and I think a lot of that has to do with my being reasonable in the first place (NOT aimed at the OP!). The fact, I'M SURE, is that a lot of parents can be a major PITA and make a teacher's job harder, probably as much as our patients' families can be a PITA and make OUR jobs harder.

6) Let's all love our kids, their teachers, and their nurses, if God forbid, they should ever get sick -- especially on Christmas morning!!! Take our kids to WDW when we can, make up whatever work we can when we can, and appreciate each other!!!

7) Barleyjack, I LOVE the Birdcage references in your avatar. hahahaha

 

[discorsner]

I haven't read the whole thread but we have taken my kids (now in 3rd and 1st) out for 3 different WDW trips. Our teachers have been great and accomodating.

I am a teacher (but at a community college) and my breaks are not the same as my kids. I greatly respect the teaching profession. I do not think you should ask your teachers to do extra but I also think that most teachers I know will offer to do extra.

My kids teachers have always sent them on vacation with things to do but also hinted to the fact that if they didn't get it done on vacation it could be done when we got back.

Lastly, even though our teachers have always been great I think that you need to tell them you are going on vacation and not ask. You are the parents. You play a part in educating your child and a vacation helps expose them to different things. I remember the first time that we took them out I was nervous to tell them and my husband said that in a society where too many parents don't spend quality time with their kids that a parent taking their children on a family vacation should be the least of the school district's worries. Simple as that is, it put it into perspective for me.

Now I politely let them know of my plans months in advance, remind them when it gets closer, and then work with what they send home when we can fit it in. So far, it has been good for all.

 

[si-am]

Our children's teachers post all classwork, homework, class scores and test scores and any missing assignments on the web every day. They email us and encourage us to email them with any concerns we might have. They also have a homework hotline.

Don't teachers have their curriculum planned out a week in advanced?

Our teachers gave us all the work before we left. We had it finished the day our son returned to school. He didn't miss a beat!

I think the teachers are over reacting a bit.

Glad it all worked out.

The general curriculum is planned out, of course. Specific lessons, handouts, homework, etc. cannot always be.

Good teachers "go with the flow" and modify plans day-by-day depending on what's happening in the classroom.

 

[bytheblood]

Maybe it is because you are leaving so close to the beginning of the school year. I can understand your point as the parent; I can also understand the perspective of the school as well.

 

[princessmom29]

Our children's teachers post all classwork, homework, class scores and test scores and any missing assignments on the web every day. They email us and encourage us to email them with any concerns we might have. They also have a homework hotline.

Don't teachers have their curriculum planned out a week in advanced?

Our teachers gave us all the work before we left. We had it finished the day our son returned to school. He didn't miss a beat!

I think the teachers are over reacting a bit.

Glad it all worked out.

We have a system to do this for grades, but not assignments made. i would love for it to include them. I do have lessons planned a week ahead, but there is not guarantee that we will stick wth the plan. If we need to take more time with something we do, and if the students are ready to move on, I will pull material from next week.

I am going to summarize my positon on this because I think it got lost somewher and then I will leave it alone.
1. I DO NOT mind giving out work or helping students make up work for vacations.
2. I do think that FOR MY STUDENTS it is pretty useless to give them work before they leave. It is better to have them meet with me when they return to get the missed instruction and then do the makeup work. This is probably different for elementary school students, and is just the way I have fornd to do the most good for my students.
3. I DO NOT mind communication between parent and teacher, and welcome parents to contact me, but I do think it is a bit over the top to expect me to email personalized updates for every student every day.
4. I love my job, love the kids I teach, and with very few exceptions I love the parents I work with, but there are a few who do make things harder than they have to be. I deal with it and am nice about it, but wish they would try to be a little more flexable.

 

[thundrmtn]

I'm a high school teacher, and I understand the hesitation about sending out daily e-mails to make sure that your child keeps on top of assignments. To you it's a quick message.

To me it is much more than that. I don't know how your child's classes are, but I do not rely on the textbook to do my teaching. It is difficult, if not impossible for me to convey what we covered in a day by typing a five minute e-mail. That means I would have to type up the class notes for the day and attach images and primary source documents. To do less would cheapen what I am trying to teach and put your child behind when he returns. This could take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I'm not happy about having to do that because you want to take your family to Disney World during school.

Melissa

I am a middle school teacher and I think it all depends on the child. If the child is a good student and does his/her work consistently, then I think going on vacation won't hurt anything. We have to keep a webpage at my school, and I attach powerpoint presentations and notes guides (not filled out of course) in addition to our daily agendas. It's a lot of work. It especially frustrates me when a student has been absent for a few days and comes back to school and has no clue what he/she missed (and has internet service).

I can see Melissa's point about e-mailing daily assignments. I don't use the book as my sole resource either. Some handouts would have to be scanned in in order to be viewed and other things that went on in class would have to be very detailed.

Teachers don't make the attendance policy; it is done by the board of education. However, we teachers usually have to take the heat.

I would love to miss school to go to WDW so I can go during the less-crowded times of the year, but it would be a disservice to my students.

 

[thundrmtn]

I think you should be able to take your kids on this vacation as long as it doesn't interfere with the attendance policy, and I don't mean to flame you, but are you suggesting that teachers work 8 hour days? Because that is FAR from the truth. They get PAID for 8 hours, but it is nearly impossible to be an effective teacher without putting in your own time grading papers, attending meetings, talking with parents, attending school fundraisers, emailing parents...
I say go on your vacation and enjoy, gracefully accepting the consequences of your choice to vacation while school is in session. But don't criticize the teachers for not bending over backwards to make life easier for you.

 

[SuperTink]

Where are you in Maryland, if you don't mind my asking? My DS is in 8th grade and we are planning to go to WDW the week after Thanksgiving. I know it will be tough, but I hope he will be able to make up the work, meaning I hope he is allowed. He is a good student and I'm happy to help him with whatever he needs. I know this will be our last time doing this, because it would be too difficult in high school.

I'm a little nervous about the 0s you mentioned which is why I wondered if you were in my county.

I'm in your county; Montgomery. Probably in the same school (because of another fact you mentioned). Feel free to PM me.

 

[lunapnp]

I haven't read all of this thread...and I really wasn't going to post. But, it's just killing me not to say something! Before I get flamed by teachers... no I'm not a teacher but my sister and sister-in-law are teachers (kind of like "I slept at a holiday inn last night" so it makes me an expert today!)! Honestly, I get tired of hearing teachers (AND EVERY OTHER PROFESSIONAL!!!) gripe about the bad parts of their job: the fact that they work after class is over, when they get home in the evening, grade papers in the evening, etc. I'm assuming most people who chose teaching as a profession did so KNOWING about the pay, hours, extra hours, open houses, crazy parent requests, etc., etc. I am a nurse practitioner. When I went into nursing, I went into it KNOWING I would have to work any hour of the day, holidays, weekends, overtime, deal with CRAZY patients and parents, etc., etc. That's PART of my job. Let's just all suck it up and move on!

OP: I would take my kids out of school in a heartbeat to go to DW. After all, I am still their parent! My kids are honor students and I am a parent who would insist they did their make up work. If the truth be told, the schools are more concerned about how it effects the school system with the absences than they are whether the child does make up work. Just like everything else, it's all about the $$$$$!!!

 

[tinkabella627]

I haven't read all of this thread...and I really wasn't going to post. But, it's just killing me not to say something! Before I get flamed by teachers... no I'm not a teacher but my sister and sister-in-law are teachers (kind of like "I slept at a holiday inn last night" so it makes me an expert today!)! Honestly, I get tired of hearing teachers (AND EVERY OTHER PROFESSIONAL!!!) gripe about the bad parts of their job: the fact that they work after class is over, when they get home in the evening, grade papers in the evening, etc. I'm assuming most people who chose teaching as a profession did so KNOWING about the pay, hours, extra hours, open houses, crazy parent requests, etc., etc. I am a nurse practitioner. When I went into nursing, I went into it KNOWING I would have to work any hour of the day, holidays, weekends, overtime, deal with CRAZY patients and parents, etc., etc. That's PART of my job. Let's just all suck it up and move on!

OP: I would take my kids out of school in a heartbeat to go to DW. After all, I am still their parent! My kids are honor students and I am a parent who would insist they did their make up work. If the truth be told, the schools are more concerned about how it effects the school system with the absences than they are whether the child does make up work. Just like everything else, it's all about the $$$$$!!!

You are right...every teacher went into teaching knowing what came with it.. the problem is the people that didn't go into teaching don't seem to understand/believe how much time teachers spend working. And yes there are people that understand and appreciate, but my own father doesn't seem to understand why I am always so stressed and busy. People that do not teach do not know the demands of being in a classroom. And it isn't just the teaching, grading, planning, etc. It;s the testing, and nursing, and accomodating, and parenting (because lets face it, some parents think its our job to teach kids how to be respectable), and every other thing that non teachers do NOT know happens in a classroom... just sayin...

 

[daisyduck123]

You are right...every teacher went into teaching knowing what came with it.. the problem is the people that didn't go into teaching don't seem to understand/believe how much time teachers spend working. And yes there are people that understand and appreciate, but my own father doesn't seem to understand why I am always so stressed and busy. People that do not teach do not know the demands of being in a classroom. And it isn't just the teaching, grading, planning, etc. It;s the testing, and nursing, and accomodating, and parenting (because lets face it, some parents think its our job to teach kids how to be respectable), and every other thing that non teachers do NOT know happens in a classroom... just sayin...

I've been in the classroom for 19 years & couldn't have said it any better.

 

[lunapnp]

You are right...every teacher went into teaching knowing what came with it.. the problem is the people that didn't go into teaching don't seem to understand/believe how much time teachers spend working. And yes there are people that understand and appreciate, but my own father doesn't seem to understand why I am always so stressed and busy. People that do not teach do not know the demands of being in a classroom. And it isn't just the teaching, grading, planning, etc. It;s the testing, and nursing, and accomodating, and parenting (because lets face it, some parents think its our job to teach kids how to be respectable), and every other thing that non teachers do NOT know happens in a classroom... just sayin...

I am not a teacher, as I said, but I do know what goes on in the classroom and how much time teachers put into their job (like I said...I have a sister who is a teacher and I hear it from her ALL of the time). I guess my point is this: it's kind of like beating a dead horse. You can try to explain to non-teachers until you're blue in the face...they just won't get it. Some don't want to get it. I gave up a LONG time ago trying to explain to people the pitfalls of my job. (Believe me, there are a LOT and I could post for days!) I just decided it was time to move on. Some people just don't get it and NEVER will... know matter how much you try to explain it to them! My point may have been lost in the last post...but I was only trying to convey that almost EVERY profession has duties that others just won't understand... not JUST teachers.

 

[Leajess99]

As I think about this more and more... I think it is insane that some of you are saying it's not that much to ask and ragging on the teachers for not wanting to do it... do you know what I do for my students...

I DO NOT go on vacations during the school year. I would LOVE to go during the cheaper, non busy, free dining, pretty decorations times... but do you know what that would do to my students?! They would be taught by a substitute and no matter how qualified...they don't know my students like I do. They don't know that this little girl needs step by step instructions and a lot of one on one time. They don't know that this one needs calm repremanding and not raising a voice. They don't know that that one over there can't sit still because she has ADHD. And me giving them my lesson plans is not as good as me being there. When I miss ONE DAY I type up detailed plans and put all my worksheets, books, etc in the order they will be needed on my desk. Do you know what happens when I come back? Half the stuff isn't taught. Imagine me taking a week off so I could enjoy some disney!

SO while you are complaining that your child's teacher won't email you. THink of the fact that we are making sure we are there every day possible to make sure your child passes all the state tests and meets all the standards.

Thank you for all you do for your students. My daughter had one substitute that made her stay in class with a bad sore throat and headache. Claimed my daughter's problem was becuase the ac was on (it was Feb and sub was hot so turned heat off and air on ) and would not send my child to the office. Her teacher knew her love of school but teacher was ill that day or at training. My daughter came home running a high temp and the next morning (thank goodness the doctor's office was open on Saturday) was diagnosed with Strep throat. I was not a happy mom and the school board and principal heard about it. My daughter will walk out of class and go to the office if that sub is ever in her class again and all teachers and principals since have been made aware of that.

 

[buzz5985]

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.

The teachers in a Charter School are not allowed to deviate from the curriculum. The teachers do not come up with their lesson plans, they are given a business model and are expected to follow it. The teachers have no input. If a child isn't getting it, that child is pulled out for extra help. Instead of holding the whole class back, you give the child the help he needs. I wish my DS had been able to get into the Charter School. It's done by a lottery system.

 

[buzz5985]

yes, their job is to teach - spelling for instance - an abject lesson in the need for teachers!!

In my opinion, more of a typographical error, usually ignored on message boards, not a reason to belittle.

 

[Schmeck]

The teachers in a Charter School are not allowed to deviate from the curriculum. The teachers do not come up with their lesson plans, they are given a business model and are expected to follow it. The teachers have no input. If a child isn't getting it, that child is pulled out for extra help. Instead of holding the whole class back, you give the child the help he needs. I wish my DS had been able to get into the Charter School. It's done by a lottery system.

Sounds like a dreadful, robot school! Be glad that your son did not get in (unless the other schools in your district are horrible) - no input from the teacher? Can the teacher at least add current events into the daily, already planned out, don't deviate from the protocol lessson?

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

And tell me again why you even told your teachers? That's what your friendly Pediatrician is for. Medical excuse. Surely you know one.

Because lying is always best. Especially when the child gets back and either has to lie about their condition the preceding week, or be the one for fessing up about the parent's lie.

I think that it is too funny that people who believe that the educational system is important enough to attend school are considered "holier than thou." If you choose to participate you should choose to put forth the effort to make it work to its best. My kids are homeschooled because I do not want to operate in that system.

btw, it is tacky to point out typos and a misspelling. Everyone makes mistakes. I bet that you make mistakes at parenting and whatever your job is, too. That doesn't make a crappy parent nor worker. It makes you human.

 

[RMulieri]

What's my point you ask? Well my point is that there are many people who are saying that they can only go in the fall and "Family is most important" and so on and so forth. It's pretty plain as day. Most people go because it's convenient for "them" and really has nothing to do with the kid's schedules. There are plenty of other times during the year for "Family Time".

Thanksgiving break is in the FALL when people are saying is the only time they can go. They won't choose to go during Thanksgiving because it's crowded. They go during less crowded times.

As I said before I don't care if you take your kids out of school or not but don't blow smoke up our butts saying that "Family comes first" or it's the only time of the year you can go. We all know it's the least crowded time which offers the most perks.

You're right but don't give us the excuse that it's the only time (not you personally but the collective you) because we all know it's not true.

Actaully if you read my posts, it does happen to be the only times I can go.Holidays and summers are a no go at mine at Dh's jobs.Not everyone has the luxury of weekends and holidays off or summer vacations.Maybe we should try not to be so judgemental Edit- I am sure there are people that do use it as an excuse, but not everyone is lying.

 

[Zeebs]

Because lying is always best. Especially when the child gets back and either has to lie about their condition the preceding week, or be the one for fessing up about the parent's lie.

I think that it is too funny that people who believe that the educational system is important enough to attend school are considered "holier than thou." If you choose to participate you should choose to put forth the effort to make it work to its best. My kids are homeschooled because I do not want to operate in that system.

btw, it is tacky to point out typos and a misspelling. Everyone makes mistakes. I bet that you make mistakes at parenting and whatever your job is, too. That doesn't make a crappy parent nor worker. It makes you human.

I do agree about pointing out spelling mistakes and typos is normally tacky, however, the post in point was not the odd spelling mistake and typo and given the general theme of the thread it seemed to me to be quite ironic.

I can't spell to save myself, despite never having been pulled from school for a holiday anywhere.

Will I take my children out of school maybe (my family lives in New Zealand and I in England so sometimes we might have to take an extra week). But I certainly won't be expecting any special treatment from the teachers.

(probably a lot of spelling and punctuation issues in my post.)

Kirsten