To those taking their kids out of school....

[NostalgicDad]

Yes you have lots of great family time on vacation, but that in and of itself doesn't justify taking kids out of school.

Too many people with too many dynamics to solve this sort of issue on a forum. There's no way we can say anything that will sit well with everyone. But with that said, a point regarding perspective might as well be mentioned. We live in Texas and a trip to Disneyland is a trip of a lifetime for most and we're fortunate to be able to make multiple trips in our lifetime. I certainly wouldn't take my kids out of school to go to Six Flags over Texas just as I wouldn't take them out of school to go to DL if we lived relatively close by. There's not enough "quality family time" it seems nowadays. We (ourselves included) get too wrapped up in the seriousness of things and forget that family bonding is actually important in our child's lives. My gosh, a few days missed never ruined anybody's life forever. But, the experiences had and memories made during those missed days will most likely last forever. And, I certainly don't have to justify anything to the school when it comes to loving my family.

 

[famograham]

Triple HHH, I couldn't agree more! To each his own...and no preaching..that's the way I like it

We took ours out in September, only about two weeks after school began for the year...do I feel guilty?...not a bit! I'd do it again if Feb, if we had the money!

 

[Rapunsel]

I have the pleasure of living in an exclusive school district. So bad that when my son was missing a day of 1/2 day kindergarden to go on his first ever camping trip the school secretary handed me a note that said I could make my check out to..... Because he was missing school they expected me to pay $40 for the missed day... (As a single mom that is groceries for 2 weeks)

I almost lost it. When I told them he was going to be missing school for a family trip to Hawaii they said nothing. As they knew I would say something. My family has lived in the district for 25 years and have paid many times over...

So would you not believe. I was given the opportunity to take him out of school for a full week next year missing 5 days of school. (which lets us take out a contract with the school and it is not credidted against him).

Would I choose a week in Hawaii with his grandparents, one who has had a stoke, his sister, my wonderful boyfreind and his son being able to snorkel with the fish, building sand castles, reading maps of the island. figuring out what terminal to go to, with lasting memories... Or a week in school..

I missed school to visit family in Australia, Go on mission trips to Romania and Vietnam. What do I remember more.. What made more of an impact. Also I was able to share my knowledge and see more of life that most people did not have the opportunity to.

I don't see any of this as a debate over Public School, Private school or homeschool.. I had a bit of each of them and loved and hated them for all the same reasosn. I see that giving the child a much needed break from the same humdrum of school to see what lies beyond the classroom.


School will follow them for their entire life, but family or as Lilo says "Ohana means family". Family will always be important. Along with the memories you all make. I see us stitting at a Thanksgiving dinner in 20 years and saying "rememeber that trip to Hawaii when sissy was 2 and wanted to be a hula dancer.. "


For my family it is easier to travel in the winter months as all of our work is slow and not as many demands.. I fell that the kids learned more in 5 days in Hawaii and missing 2 school days than anything.

My son got to paint with a famous painter in Oahu. He snorkeled with fish after he just learned how to finally swim. My DBF and I sat on a patio talking and smoking cigars... Yes we all missed work and school, but going with 'older people ' and less crowds made it important for us..


I will say... the one kid that had perfect attendance in my high school. (For any of you out there RUHS class of '94..) He puked in the classroom right next to his desk during an algebra test. Of course I sat right in front of him. It was still there the next day. So that is all I have to say about perfect attendance...
And what I really remember in my 4 wonderful years of high school..

So there is no debate and yay for the people that have their kids in school every day. You are teaching them to be responsibe for their job and life decisions. and yay to those of us out there who choose to give our kids a break during the year because that works for us and also to reward them for doing a good job..

 

[Took]

We travel a great deal, mostly during the breaks but, b/c of other conflicts during Dec. and Jan (work related), we ended up taking our DL trip b/f school lets out. THus, I'm taking our DD out of 6th grade for 5 days starting next week. I've done "all the right things" to make this possible (asked for homework in advance, worked extra with her, notified everyone) and all of her teachers have been just great about it. However, quite frankly, I still feel a bit guilty partly b/c her teachers seem to be trying hard to accomodate us and I feel bad that they've got extra work on THEIR plates! Also, I do take to heart the "message" I may inadvertantly be sending about school and responsibility. Perhaps a certain amount of guilt is par for the course in parenting, LOL.

Took

 

[melbarkwith]

I would definitely send her to school for the two days. This is just what I would personally do though - my DD would drive me batty with her excitement and constant 'when are we leaving'. (not that I wouldn't be excited to go, but it would be much easier to finish packing without 'help'!)
My DD missed two weeks of school when we went to DL in May, her teacher was more concerned about letting her know which rides she HAD to go on and telling her to get some mouse ears!

Mel

 

[Vanvmom]

I have a slightly different perspective. Some background first - I've taken my oldest out of school several times for trips (normally a day or two is all he's missed). In 2006, we took him out for 7 days (his district only does study packets for trips 3 weeks in length or health related issues- surgery, etc). The 7 day absence was for a cruise - his younger brothers did not have school during that time period. During the cruise he had to turn in assignments daily on-line, and he worked ahead independently in Algebra to have that work done before we left town.

More info... my husband travels out of the country 2-3 weeks at a time each month, so "family time" is rare and critical for us. He has little influence over his travel schedule as it is driven by production lines.

Further info... I am a teacher. More specifically, I work through our learning center with children who are performing below grade level - at least half of them are this "low" because of excessive absences (meaning about a day every week or two). I work with these students to help catch them up to where the rest of the class is working, yes it can be said that I am repeating what the regular classroom teacher has already taught (so... those missing days really can add up to missed instruction). If a 2nd grade student misses learning how to do 2 and 3 digit addition, it means the teacher has to re-teach them while still continuing the new lessons with the rest of the class (and even very bright kids can make bad behavior choices when the teacher is having to re-teach to someone who's been absent a lesson that the bright student already understands). This would be where my job comes into play. I re-teach so that the classroom teacher doesn't have to lose that teaching time, of course many districts do not have this - even many schools within my district don't have this luxury. One other note... I also substitute teach, so I'd like to think that I am capable of teaching the same material the regular classroom teacher would have covered seeing as though I already re-teach it to their absent students.

Basically... you can debate this issue forever, but each parent knows their child & what their child is capable of doing. Each parent knows how their child will handle missed school lessons. Some will be perfectly fine. Others will struggle for a bit when they come back, and need some extra help from their parents to catch up (and many parents are willing to do this extra work). For instance, my son who missed 7 days still pulled all A+ grades in his honors level classes that term - but we did have to pay for that internet package on the ship, and he did have to bring a school book with him on vacation. For us, it was worth it. Please don't let some unknown person on a forum dictate what you need to do as a family (me included - I was just adding another perspective to chew on).

And for the record... I suggest having your child go to school those 2 days before you leave - bonus... it will give you time to get those final details taken care of before you leave. Plus your child may enjoy re-connecting with friends after the holidays are over.

 

[Vanvmom]

and Mel... as a parent who lives close to DL, I would certainly consider pulling my boys out of school if the opportunity to visit Australia ever came up.

 

[kikiq]

I don't think this has turned in to a homeschool/public school debate. A few of us mentioned homeschooling, since that is our schooling choice, and maybe how much we like it. I don't think anyone is debating that though..

While it may not have been anyone's intention to make the thread a homeschool/public school debate, the continual references and one posters opinion of substitute teachers (which I realize was her opinion of the subs in HER public school district) made it seem as though the thread was taking off in another direction.

That said...DL/DCA can be a very educational trip in addition to having family time, etc. IF you just take some time and look at DCA, you have a whole day's worth of education to fill a journal of social studies, science, language arts and math. DCA is a study of California history AND regions.
When you first walk in, actually stop and look at the mosiac mural and attempt to identify all the different areas of California...and if you really wanted to do some extended work at home...make paper mosiac pieces and have your child make a mosiac piece of a favorite area in your home state...art and social studies. Going under the Golden Gate bridge, you could have a whole conversation of how does that "bridge" hold up the monorail as it goes across. Turn right onto Condor Flats...if you go into the gift shop and look up, you will see real "artifacts" gathered from small air fields in California, AND if you read the signage in the Soarin' line, you will see the history of California aviation and how much it impacted the entire aviation industry...a little history and science. When you go onto the Soarin' ride...look at the ride itself...it was developed by an imagineer using his son's erector set...go home and see if you can duplicate the concept...physics.

Onto to Grizzley Rapids and the Redwood area...did you know that the water in the flumes rise and fall? Why? AND how would that change the kind of ride you could have?...science or why would it be more fun to ride Grizzly rapids when it's hot and not when it's cold?

Or here's another tidbit for you all...did you know that when the Storyteller Resturant first opened, the servers actually told you one of the stories of the large murals on the wall? My challenge to you is to find out what those stories are AND how they fit into California history. Now, I know that many of you aren't from California, but every state has these type of folklore, so now that you know ours, do you know some of your state's folk lore.

Someone once told me that he didn't get DCA and challenged me to show him why he should go there. He's also a person who can go through any museum in 30 minutes. So I went through the entire park and showed him details and asked him questions about different areas...he has a new appreciation for DCA. Disney does have school educational program for DCA. I don't think it's available for individuals.

My 2 cents to the OP...Put your daughter in for those 2 days, let the teacher know you are going to be absent and then enjoy your time at Disneyland.