Teens missing school for free dining?

[MomtoEmIs&Ow]

We pull our kids out of school because we can. I do not mean that in a rude way. If I thought that taking my children on vacation during the school year would hurt their education, then we would not do it. I know that kids grow up very quickly, and we won't get that time back I know we can make memories in the summer and other on holidays. And we do, but I figure the more memories and quality time the better. A less stressful trip at less busier times makes better memories

As to the posters who said or implied (I think someone did ) that teachers have to take vacations at 'school vacation' times, and so should students, well that is something that you know when you go to university to become a teacher. A choice you make. That is why I am not a teacher, although I would have liked to be, that and all the take home work I choose a different career......

 

[Nostalgia]

With all due respect to the educators who have commented on this topic (and I genuinely do appreciate the job you do!), some of us do not have the luxury of time off in July/August, X-mas, or March Break as you suggested... nor the funds as prices always peak during school breaks.

In our case, this is my daughter's first trip to Disney. I wanted her to be able to enjoy the experience without spending hours in lines for everything so I opted for the begining of the school year (when everyone else is back to school and the teachers aren't too far into the curriculum). I have no fear of her falling behind because I am too mean to allow that to happen. Summer vacation or not, my child gets homework from me (she likes it! I swear she does!! ). Our trip to Disney will be no different; it would not be fair to her or her teacher for me to allow her to fall behind. As I stated in a previous post, I will let the school know she will be away so that they have the option of providing homework, and if not, I will.

 

[Nostalgia]

As to the posters who said or implied (I think someone did ) that teachers have to take vacations at 'school vacation' times, and so should students, well that is something that you know when you go to university to become a teacher. A choice you make. That is why I am not a teacher, although I would have liked to be, that and all the take home work I choose a different career......

I kick myself every now and then for not becoming a teacher. I can only dream of what it's like to have two weeks off at Christmas, a week in March, and two months in the summer....

Instead I must try not to think about all of the things I would rather be doing while I work from 9 to 5 on a beautiful summer day, and the fact that I have only 3 weeks and a few days of vacation for the entire year....

 

[MomtoEmIs&Ow]

I kick myself every now and then for not becoming a teacher. I can only dream of what it's like to have two weeks off at Christmas, a week in March, and two months in the summer....

Instead I must try not to think about all of the things I would rather be doing while I work from 9 to 5 on a beautiful summer day, and the fact that I have only 3 weeks and a few days of vacation for the entire year....

Yes there always is the summers off, that would be great!!!!

 

[laura001]

I need to chime in one more time on this topic. I do appreciate that a teacher works hard both in school and out of school, just as my DH works hard and I work hard both at work and bringing work home. We have a daughter that is a teacher so I see what she does, she made the choice to be a teacher, just like DH decided on his career and I did mine. We knew what our responsibilities were when we started our careers and they are part of the job. That being said, I believe that everyone works hard at whatever their vocation is.

One person pointed out about there being a lot of choices of holiday times....my DH is GM of a convenience store chain, can never take holiday times off, never, never! As for the summer, all of his staff take their holidays and he can usually swing a few weekends with an extra day, but for the most part he takes his holidays at other times through the year. I know of many many people that are in this boat.

The comment was made (and I already chimed in once about it) about taking your vacation during the scheduled holidays......expectations of the teacher/student etc. We never once expected any of kids teacher's to teach our kids extra when we came back, we did expect homework to take etc., and yet many just said go and have a good time. We did hire a math tutor twice to help them catch up on the math before we left and also when we came home. Someone also mentioned that if she stays extra time at school, that it takes away from her babies at home. Well....our school system says that the teacher's are to be there from 8 to 4 (school ends at 2:50) so that should leave plenty of time for a teacher to help out a student whether they are there for extra help or for whatever reason. If you go to the school at 2:50.......I would say half of the teacher's beat the kids out of school (before anyone freaks out, I know they could have been at school earlier or whatever and if they were, the student could go for help before school if needed) So what is the arguement, will a teacher stay and help a student and take time away from "their" babies when they are supposed to be at school anyway??

My biggest pet peeve is this: Countless times (especially high school) there were trips to Europe or band trips to the States, roadshows at Christmas, and high school theatre productions, etc., where some (not a lot)of the class is away for 5 days or longer even from school. Not once are any of these kids chastised for taking these days away, does it not disrupt the class the same as someone else on holiday? Does the class still carry on as usual? (no) Especially when the school was doing a production or roadshow, you would have a few kids missing and the class basically stood still (and I am talking for the whole semester), special considerations all over the place for these kids.

Again, I never had a problem when we went on vacation, no one really gave my kids a hard time when we got back, but hearing some of the teacher's comments about what happens really doesn't wash with me. I am thinking of just last year, again my DD had no problem with us going away and her missing 5 days......but she had her roadshow at Christmas which actually took up 7 school days of her traveling in the area to perform, with NO school classes, high school production which took up her whole second semester, a trip to Europe (she did not go) with the kids missing 5 days of school, a high school from South Carolina that came and visited for 2 days where the kids that were in the band spent those two days entertaining them (again no classes for them)....my list goes on. There were special considerations for all the kids doing any of these things, the classes slowed down (even if there were only 2 or 3 out of a class missing), things made up etc., and this always happens, so if we take a few days away for our family.....so be it!!!!

 

[LadyKay]

I need to chime in one more time on this topic. I do appreciate that a teacher works hard both in school and out of school, just as my DH works hard and I work hard both at work and bringing work home. We have a daughter that is a teacher so I see what she does, she made the choice to be a teacher, just like DH decided on his career and I did mine. We knew what our responsibilities were when we started our careers and they are part of the job. That being said, I believe that everyone works hard at whatever their vocation is.

One person pointed out about there being a lot of choices of holiday times....my DH is GM of a convenience store chain, can never take holiday times off, never, never! As for the summer, all of his staff take their holidays and he can usually swing a few weekends with an extra day, but for the most part he takes his holidays at other times through the year. I know of many many people that are in this boat.

The comment was made (and I already chimed in once about it) about taking your vacation during the scheduled holidays......expectations of the teacher/student etc. We never once expected any of kids teacher's to teach our kids extra when we came back, we did expect homework to take etc., and yet many just said go and have a good time. We did hire a math tutor twice to help them catch up on the math before we left and also when we came home. Someone also mentioned that if she stays extra time at school, that it takes away from her babies at home. Well....our school system says that the teacher's are to be there from 8 to 4 (school ends at 2:50) so that should leave plenty of time for a teacher to help out a student whether they are there for extra help or for whatever reason. If you go to the school at 2:50.......I would say half of the teacher's beat the kids out of school (before anyone freaks out, I know they could have been at school earlier or whatever and if they were, the student could go for help before school if needed) So what is the arguement, will a teacher stay and help a student and take time away from "their" babies when they are supposed to be at school anyway??

My biggest pet peeve is this: Countless times (especially high school) there were trips to Europe or band trips to the States, roadshows at Christmas, and high school theatre productions, etc., where some (not a lot)of the class is away for 5 days or longer even from school. Not once are any of these kids chastised for taking these days away, does it not disrupt the class the same as someone else on holiday? Does the class still carry on as usual? (no) Especially when the school was doing a production or roadshow, you would have a few kids missing and the class basically stood still (and I am talking for the whole semester), special considerations all over the place for these kids.

Again, I never had a problem when we went on vacation, no one really gave my kids a hard time when we got back, but hearing some of the teacher's comments about what happens really doesn't wash with me. I am thinking of just last year, again my DD had no problem with us going away and her missing 5 days......but she had her roadshow at Christmas which actually took up 7 school days of her traveling in the area to perform, with NO school classes, high school production which took up her whole second semester, a trip to Europe (she did not go) with the kids missing 5 days of school, a high school from South Carolina that came and visited for 2 days where the kids that were in the band spent those two days entertaining them (again no classes for them)....my list goes on. There were special considerations for all the kids doing any of these things, the classes slowed down (even if there were only 2 or 3 out of a class missing), things made up etc., and this always happens, so if we take a few days away for our family.....so be it!!!!

Well stated I support EVERYTHING you have said Life is all about choices. All vocations have their pros and cons and sometimes we just need to suck it up (referring to the cons)!

 

[Sheribo]

I kick myself every now and then for not becoming a teacher. I can only dream of what it's like to have two weeks off at Christmas, a week in March, and two months in the summer....

Instead I must try not to think about all of the things I would rather be doing while I work from 9 to 5 on a beautiful summer day, and the fact that I have only 3 weeks and a few days of vacation for the entire year....

Totally agree. Having 2 months off without pay every summer is definitely the way to go. I have 2 weeks of vacation days allocated each year, one which must be taken at March break and the other at Christmas.

You don't have to be a teacher to take advantage of this deal. I'm the school secretary and there are always openings so don't be discouraged. With creative budgeting, I am able to manage without the summer salary. Apply to your local board and next year, you too can be sitting in the sun on a hot July afternoon.

 

[LadyKay]

Oh this is good

 

[Tiger926]

Not sure what to say...

Some of you are being very insulting and I don't think it's justified at all - none of us teachers said anything derogatory towards you at all. Sure we get off vacation time, much of which is spent taking University classes, workshops, cleaning classrooms, writing curriculum and preparing classrooms. I haven't sat by the pool at all this summer! Incidentally, my neighbour works at Chrysler - he has no university education, (I have 3 degrees and 7 years of Univ), makes more money than I do, and has MORE vacation time in a year than I do. Hmm? Perhaps this is why my minivan costs so much money? Point is - this is neither here nor there as if I wanted to secure his benefits, than I should go work there. Same goes for you - if you think we as teachers have it so easy (by the way, our summer vacations are UNPAID leave), then by all means, go get multiple university degrees and join us in the field.

Our job though is to remind you that children under the age of 18 need to be in school on a consistent basis (it's the law!). Sure there may be extenuating circumstances, but I would argue as to whether going to Disney World to save a few bucks on free dining is one of those necessary circumstances in terms of an academic school year?

As parents we all make decisions that we feel are best for our family at that particular time based on the information that we have to work with at that time. Most of us as educators will agree that large amounts of kids vacationing during the year is disruptive and does require extra work. Highschool is not like grade school where a master plan of curriculum is on file at the office. I am in charge of my curriculum; therefore, any extra work that you require comes from me and my personal resources. I can't give you my daybook, nor, am I going to make a copy of it, so that means I have to provide extra packages for your kids to do while on vacation. Regardless of whether you expect it of me or not, it is a disruption to my class. When you get permission from my principal to miss school, it's only for the attendance portion as my principal has no control over how my classroom is run. He/she does not have the lesson plans, course packages, homework, etc. as that is my job as classroom teacher. This is why this whole concept of kids vacationing during the year is difficult.

Most teachers I know, myself included (it's a lot of work for us to miss class)hate to be absent from class - and for the record, in my Ontario city we are NOT allowed to take vacation at all during the year. I don't even get personal days in my secondary union and my sick days are for my illnesses, and not my children's; therefore, please don't make snarky comments about teacher's taking vacation as this is not the norm. As for union absences, those are allowed by law, so any classroom disruption nees to be discussed with principal or superintendent. Our union people are on leave for an entire school year, so not sure what city allows excessive absences like that?

Bottom line is that snarkiness is not necessary as our jobs as educators are to provide you with different sides on issues. Some families haven't thought about all of the variables that go into removing their kids from class for vacation and that is what most of us are trying to provide. Make your decisions based on all of the information that has been provided to you. Whether you ask for assistance or not, your kids missing school will require extra work on my end. It's insulting to me as a teacher who cares deeply about other people's kids that some parents wouldn't recognize this. Between kids missing for vacation, illness and family emergencies, it's a lot for us as highschool teachers to keep up with at times. All of these circumstances require a lot of work on our end, and so you need to understand why some of us aren't for vacationing during the year.

To those vacationing during the year, enjoy yourselves, but do please remember, that your family vacation is not in isolation. Your child/dren will more than likely require extra help or assistance from us teachers at some point. We just want to be treated with respect in regards to this - when you expect that this is just part of our job, it is insulting to those of us who work our butts off providing your kids with a quality education.

Tiger

 

[LadyKay]

 

[disneymath]

Not sure what to say...

Ditto ... funny how the mere suggestion of a different perspective changed the tone of this thread.

 

[LadyKay]

Tger926, not sure why you are getting so defensive. No one is attacking you or the hard work teachers put in day in and day out. So pls return the respect (without judgement) by allowing others the luxury of making choices that best suit THEIR families. Thank you!

 

[LadyKay]

Ditto ... funny how the mere suggestion of a different perspective changed the tone of this thread.

I believe it was the tone that changed the tone

 

[dvcdisney]

I have no fear of her falling behind because I am too mean to allow that to happen. Summer vacation or not, my child gets homework from me (she likes it! I swear she does!! ). Our trip to Disney will be no different; it would not be fair to her or her teacher for me to allow her to fall behind. As I stated in a previous post, I will let the school know she will be away so that they have the option of providing homework, and if not, I will.

These are my exact thoughts and I too give my children homework during summer and vacations.

However, I can still do this because my children are still young. I am actually starting to change our vacations. We usually go to Disney 2 times a year and for two weeks each time. We are starting to do one vacation in the summer (dreading the heat! ) and take an extra week during March break so they will only miss one week of school. Before this year we had always taken them out twice a year during school. Although they are still young and only in the first half of elementary, I have changed our vacations to lessen the amount of missed school days. I would hope that this would not be a problem. When they enter high school, I know that I will have to further change, however, I don't think a week before or after march break will be a problem in high school. However, I will see at that time if my children are doing well enough that they can easily make up the assignments.

I would like to add something. I thought that it was a good thing to ask the teachers for any work that my children may miss, but reading some of the posts here, I realized that I have been asking them to do something extra. So, now I won't. I thought that my request was a reassurance to the teachers that I was going to make sure that they will keep up with their work. I find it extremely important that my children do well in school as much as having family time. As many have said, they are only young once and we need to enjoy this as much as we can.

 

[Ham Ham]

Not sure what to say...

Some of you are being very insulting and I don't think it's justified at all - none of us teachers said anything derogatory towards you at all.

A guarantee to have the summers off, 2 weeks at Christmas, Spring break and all legal holidays would be something I would be happy to have if I couldn't take time off during the school year. This is well deserved time off that teachers earn and deserve.

I agree 200%!!! I think teachers have the most important jobs following Mothers.

With all due respect to the educators who have commented on this topic (and I genuinely do appreciate the job you do!),

I need to chime in one more time on this topic. I do appreciate that a teacher works hard both in school and out of school,

Some of the post have been supportive of teachers including some of mine.

Our job though is to remind you that children under the age of 18 need to be in school on a consistent basis (it's the law!). Sure there may be extenuating circumstances, but I would argue as to whether going to Disney World to save a few bucks on free dining is one of those necessary circumstances in terms of an academic school year?

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As for union absences, those are allowed by law, so any classroom disruption nees to be discussed with principal or superintendent. Our union people are on leave for an entire school year, so not sure what city allows excessive absences like that?

Tiger

Again you use the examples of the law/rules to back up your point.
If children an be absent for class for a myriad of "school activites" don't see how a few days off for a family holiday can be that detrimental.

As for the union absence again allowed by the rules/law but sometimes it affects the children so a sound plan should be in place.


Tiger I greatly appreciate the work that you and the rest of the teachers do in primary and high school helping our children turn fine young women and men. You do spend untold hours doing extra activities at school and at home contributing to the success of the students. Again I say thank you.

You spend time improving your qualifications and sometimes this is reflected in and increase in wage. A friend of ours who teaches took some summer courses and received and increase in pay. Well earned and deserved.

As for the unpaid leave in the summer I thought that teachers received a lump sum at the end of the school year to cover the summer periord.
If you are laid off like some of the support staff you may qualify for EI.

Thanks for your insights from inside the school.

My wife and I really do appreciate your dedication.

 

[Tiger926]

Tger926, not sure why you are getting so defensive. No one is attacking you or the hard work teachers put in day in and day out. So pls return the respect (without judgement) by allowing others the luxury of making choices that best suit THEIR families. Thank you!

I don't think I've been judgmental at all - I've merely provided another perspective of which to consider when taking kids out of school. I haven't said anything derogatory to those parents who have made this decision at all. Based on some of the replies on here though, it seems that the actual vacation itself has been given more thought and respect than the fact that taking kids out of school may be problematic in some cases. Each family situation is different, in regards to vacation time - finances, custody arrangements, work schedules, etc. - but, many times when this subject comes up, it's thrown around in a casual way. Something along these lines: How about we go to WDW in Sept for Free Dining. It's no big deal to take the kids out of school since they won't be doing anything the first week anyway. Not sure where your kids go to school, but the first day of school in my city, is a normal day with a normal schedule and homework. We as educators do take school seriously and so it's our job to promote your kids attending school on a regular basis during the school year.

I honestly don't think some parents understand how much works goes into running a highschool classroom (we could have well over 100 students a day to take care of, all with differing family situations, etc.), so when some parents insinuate that it's no big deal to take their kids out of class, and we as teachers just have to deal with it, it is insulting, IMHO. I might be married to someone who can't travel during my holiday times either, what then?

It takes a lot of work to run a classroom with minimal disruption to your kids - as good teachers, that is what we strive for, day in and day out. Am I saying that if one family decides to take their child to WDW for a week it's going to ruin our semester? Of course not - I just provided several other variables to consider when taking kids out of school. It does require work and maintenance on my part - did I say I wouldn't do it? Absolutely not - but when it's presented to me that I have to do it, then that infringes on the time I have to give to my students who are in class and not on vacation, or, on my own family time.

As a teacher, I work very hard to provide your kids with a quality education as I am very passionate about my 'kids' and take my vocation of teaching very seriously - that is my job and I love it! All that I ask when contemplating this subject is to remember that there are many other variables that may be affected by this decision. When parents make it seem like such a casual decision it makes it seem like my job is not valuable, and that is very insulting.

That being said, I wish all families fabulous vacations, whenever it is that they may take them.

Tiger

 

[Tiger926]

Some of the post have been supportive of teachers including some of mine.




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Again you use the examples of the law/rules to back up your point.
If children an be abscent for class for a myriad of "school activites" don't see how a few days off for a family holiday can be that detrimental.

As for the union absence again allowed by the rules/law but sometimes it affects the children so a sound plan should be in place.


Tiger I greatly appreciate the work that you and the rest of the teachers do in primary and high school helping our children turn fine young women and men. You do spend untold hours doing extra activities at school and at home contributing to the success of the students. Again I say thank you.

You spend time improving your qualifications and sometimes this is reflected in and increase in wage. A friend of ours who teaches took some summer courses and received and increase in pay. Well earned and deserved.

As for the unpaid leave in the summer I thought that teachers received a lump sum at the end of the school year to cover the summer periord.
If you are laid off like some of the support staff you may qualify for EI.

Thanks for your insights from inside the school.

My wife and I really do appreciate your dedication.

Thank you very much.

I only brought up the law here in Ontario because our government is very serious about kids staying in school until age 18. With this has come new attendance rules and laws that we have to implement. We get daily lists with student absences on them, and all of this is sent to the truant officers to deal with. Not saying that anyone on here would qualify for this, I'm just saying that attendance needs to be a consistent policy. We have parents who let their kids stay home for no good reason, and so if they find out that we are encouraging kids to take vacation during the school year, it could pose problems for the truant officer who has been charged to get kids to attend classes on a regular basis, and if not, their parents are brought to court. What's the difference between a family going on vacation and a parent letting their kids hang at the mall? It makes for difficult situations when this kind of stuff happens - missing school is missing school. Again, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with families taking kids out of school for vacation - I just wanted to provide other perspectives in which to consider when making this decision.

In regards to my pay - each pay period, approx. $400.00 is taken off of my cheque from Sept. to June and put into a witthold account. I pay taxes on this money up front. During the summer, this is the money that I receive - it's my money that I earned during the year, that was held for me. We can't claim EI as our work schedule is Sept. to June - it wouldn't be right to collect EI anyway as our work schedule is based on an academic school year.

Like I said, I totally understand that the world at large is a great teacher, and family vacations in my household are a necessity, but I just wanted to provide more insight into what it's like from a school perspective.

Tiger

 

[LadyKay]

I don't think I've been judgmental at all.

Tiger

Your child/dren will more than likely require extra help or assistance from us teachers at some point. We just want to be treated with respect in regards to this - when you expect that this is just part of our job, it is insulting to those of us who work our butts off providing your kids with a quality education.

Tiger

Please, don't tell me that you are NOT judging or generalizing. Your words, not mine (ours/parents)!
Everyone here (DISBOARDS) have continuously supported our love and admiration of teachers, all teachers!!!

 

[kimsuenew]

I am a highschool teacher, as well as a parent, so I understand that everyone's family is different in regards to how they feel about this issue, but, as a teacher, I agree that families need to vacation during scheduled vacation times, which here in Ontario are: July & August, Christmas, March Break and, Thanksgiving and Easter. As teachers, we would love to be able to vacation during September to get free dining, or, in January to get cheap cruises, but we can't as we are in class teaching your kids, as we should be.

If too many families take kids out of school, then we would have serious attendance issues. That being said, there are some emergency or special circumstances that can't be avoided such as death or weddings, but a vacation to WDW in September for free dining, could also have been taken in August, when school is not in session.

Parents seem to think that this only affects their kids and mention that their kids are straight A students. It's not just about grades though - it's about parents expecting us as teachers to prepare homework packages for kids to do while away (we just don't have time to do this), wanting us to give their children extra one on one assistance or stay afterschool upon their return to help them catch up, or, allowing families en masse to vacation at any time of the year, which technically is breaking attendance rules. I have babies at home too, so if I stay hours extra each night to help your child catch up because you took a vacation in September, that is time away from my own babies, KWIM?

I just wanted to provide another perspective to the whole situation and I leave you with one last thought? How would you react if your child's teachers (in highschool you could have as few as 4 and as many as 8 teachers in 1 day) all scheduled vacations during the school year? That is a lot of supply teachers and unnecessary disruptions to your child's schedule - as teachers, we do get disrupted when children take off for vacation as inevitably, parents always want homework and special treatment in order to accommodate a vacation that 9 times out of 10, can be taken during regular vacation times.

I hope you have a wonderful trip, Tiger

I would think that if the school allowed the teacher's to all be off, so be it! There are substitutes, our DS has had many throughtout his school career!

It is a big difference (teachers being off versus the students being off)! The difference being is that you are a paid professional, it is your chosen vocation, you are not a student!

My DS school (he has been home-schooled the last two years but will return to his public school in a couple of weeks for this coming school year) has always allowed for vacations, it is simply their policy! It is an affluent and high ranking (academic wise) school district, some students (definately not us) are taken out more than once a school year for vacations. There is a set policy and it must be followed. We fill out the required form, it is submitted to the Principal, he/she (depending on building) signs it and forwards it to each teacher, who must then sign it, fill out the work that will be missed, and have it to the office the day before the scheduled vacation begins. They also make us aware of any missed tests/quizzes, which are to be taken upon his return. We have taken DS out numerous years, for our yearly May vacation to HHI & Savannah. He has always been absent at least 8 days, up to 10 days. We actually "held school" in our condo every morning (or until all work was completed) and when he returned to school... he returned with all work completed and fully prepared for any tests/quizzes that were missed!

We had to take vacations during the school year, because with my husbands job, he could not take summer months off, May was about the closest we could get... hence our yearly May trip!

We planned our upcoming September trip to WDW before we knew he would be returning to his HS. He will still be missing school, although we changed our trip from 14 days at WDW to 9 days, so he would not be missing an entire week... only a Friday through a Friday! My son never suffered during his vacation/time away from school nor did his grades/test scores.

I feel blessed to be in an "open school" that allows the parents to make choices such as this, other schools in our County do not have the same policy.

If a school system allows it, then frankly, a teacher has no say about it (as he/she definately would not outrank the Principal that administers the policy nor the School Board that wrote it). I would hope that as a professional, the teacher would not hold an approved vacation against the child.

 

[kimsuenew]

I also wanted to clarify that I have nothing against teachers, I have been a TA for years and only left my beloved position to begin college, to become a teacher!

I do however, have a problem when teachers over-step their boundries or judge how we parent! We never encountered this at our DS school and he was taken out in Elem., MS, and HS.

By over-stepping I am simply referring to the vacation leave being approved. If it has been approved, even though a teacher may not feel it is appropriate, it has been deemed appropriate by someone higher up than he/she, and is more than likely approved based on a policy!