WDW not educational? BAH.

[ChrisFL]

When I was going to grade school (private Christian school, mind you) in the 80's...we took a field trip to EPCOT as an educational trip...

Having said that, IMO it was much more educational back then than it is now.

I can see both sides of the story. WDW CAN be educational IF you go in search of the educational aspects, but you can also spend a week there not being educated at all.

 

[Planogirl]

Our schools don't care how educational something is, a vacation is unexcused. That makes it simple.

Besides we go to WDW to have fun. If anyone learns something that's great but that's not why we go.

 

[mrsltg]

I mean, I'd be exposed to different cultures if I took a trip to Paris. And I'd spend a day at the Louvre. Could I call that an educational trip?

Are you kidding? Yes, that would be an educational trip. "Education" and "fun" are not mutually exclusive terms. Yes, you will likely learn more from a day at the Louvre than you will sitting in a classroom.

 

[Nik's Mom]

An educational trip, to me, is a trip whose MAIN purpose is education. Not a fun vacation to a theme park where you might happen to learn a few things. And I'm not convinced that most people who claim their trips are educational are actually spending the majority of their time learning about endangered species. Simply being exposed to different cultures or riding on a ride that has a distant connection to the World's Fair are not educational experiences, IMHO. I mean, I'd be exposed to different cultures if I took a trip to Paris. And I'd spend a day at the Louvre. Could I call that an educational trip?

You hit the nail right on the head here. We've done educational things at WDW but I would never call it an educational trip. How can you call it educational if you are spending a majority of your time on rides?

We have pulled our kids out of school for vacations before. When we do, we include some type of educational experience. We have special needs children, so even getting our kids to talk to cm's or do the Epcot passport would have an educational benefit to it. But in no way would we call it an educational vacation. That would be a lie. It is a family vacation. Plain and simple.

 

[kirstenb1]

In our school system it's not even about the days missed. They could care less where you're taking your kids--you can take them to the moon and back(that is, unless they have excessive absences without an acceptable reason. That will land you in truancy court.) The problem is, family vacations are unexcused absences. You can still go, they don't have the power to keep you from taking your vacation; your kids just can't make up the work. Its conceivable that your straight-A 2nd grader could manage to pass even with a 10 day vacation on the books. But if your High Schooler were to try that, particularly if they're on block scheduling (90 min classes) it would probably be extremely difficult or nie impossible for them to pass their classes. Like it or not, this is the policy.

This is the way our system is too. Teachers can let the child make up the work, but they do not have to. Dd missed one day last year, one teacher wouldn't let her make up work, and her grade dropped to a C. It's just been in the last few years, our county school system has really gotten strict on attendance.

 

[LovinPooh]

Taken my kids out twice. They are my kids after all. And if the worst thing I do with my kids is take them for some family time to WDW, then I think I have done a great job as a parent.
Hate it when others try and tell you how to raise your kids. Guess I would probably ask the judge in the instance of parents going to court for vacations if he would like to pay the excess for peak

This year they will get an education... "saving $1000 for free dining to go to WDW is worth missing a week of school"

 

[MushyMushy]

Are you kidding? Yes, that would be an educational trip. "Education" and "fun" are not mutually exclusive terms. Yes, you will likely learn more from a day at the Louvre than you will sitting in a classroom.

Really! That, to me, would be the epitome of an educational trip.

And I believe that I have yet again underestimated the sense of humor on the DIS. I kind of thought people would have fun - you know, on a Disney board - proving that WDW is educational.

Mea culpa.

 

[KarenB]

I am really going to stir the pot and ask....can you match up state standards to what you consider educational? I just know that once a child hits the state testing years, a lot can change when considering how much school is missed

 

[torinsmom]

Our principal will excuse just about any vacation if a form is filled out. He feels that a child will learn more in 5 days with their families than they would in 5 days at school, and I agree. We are preK-5th grade, so maybe that makes a difference. When one of my kids go to WDW, I just tell them to bring me back some pixie dust, LOL.

OP, I would fill the form out. What can it hurt? And how would other kids know to make fun of her? Isn't the form confidential between teachers and admin?

 

[mhsjax]

Not an option here. It's considered truancy here in the public schools. They do truancy sweeps here about every 2 months.
It is odd to see well dressed, well educated, well meaning parents standing before a judge next to doped up parents who let their kids raise themselves, explaining why their kids were absent.
And even the private schools are starting to prohibit vacations. A number of the private accreditation organizations are telling private schools it is no longer permissable to miss school for a vacation.

And just how many days do you have to miss before the truancy officer show up?

Wow I think the state of CA needs to get a grip. First La La land and now this? Don't they have enough problems without taking parents to court for taking their kids out for a few days of vacation?

 

[horseshowmom]

Now, I'm going to disagree with y'all here. If the OP wanted to take her kids out of school for a week to go to Philadelphia to see the Liberty bell, or DC to see the White House, it's still a vacation with an educational component. There are many educational opportunities to be had at Disney.

But I am not sure I would bother with getting into a discussion with the school about it. They are my kids, and if I as their parent, want to take them out of school, and don't do so excessively, that's my right.

(And I am a school employee... )

Sure its educational,

You can take a field trip to the zoo (Animal Kingdom)
You can have art class over at the animation building,
Physical Education by walking around the parks or swimming at a water park,
Social Studies and History at the World Showcase,
Math by adding up how much money mom and dad are spending or the piggy bank game at Epcot.
Music by listening to a concert also at Epcot

and just to make it even more like school you can even have crappy cafeteria food by going to Cosmic Rays.

So WDW is just like most public schools.

It seems to be an American thing. I've been told that their school funding is tied to attendance so some school districts go kind of crazy trying to make sure each child's butt is in a seat, every day. Each day a student is present means more money for the school.

We DO have truancy laws here, but a lawyer friend of mine told me they're usually only applied in cases of neglect or abuse.

ADA (average daily attendance) can definitely affect school funding. To be fair, high stakes testing is also extremely important to a school district, and they are concerned about students missing important concepts.

And by this reasoning, a parent should be able to take their kid out of school for a day to visit a local zoo, go to a local beach or waterpark, etc. They are just as "educational". This is why I think the whole thing is an exercise in semantics.

WDW, while interesting and has things you can learn, is not an educational vacation. Neither is the Kennedy Space Center. I went to the Johnson Space Center last year in Houston and while it was fascinating and I did learn things, it wasn't "educational," it was informational. I guess informational is probably how I would classify the things you would learn at WDW. If I tried to tell my college prof in physics that I was going to the Johnson Space Center, the Kennedy Space Center, or Space Camp on an educational trip, he'd laugh me out of the classroom! Even though there are real practical physics applications that I could conceivably learn while there.

Schools take field trips to the zoo regularly. Those that are close enough also go to the space centers on field trips. Why is it just educational when the school does it?

 

[MushyMushy]

I am really going to stir the pot and ask....can you match up state standards to what you consider educational? I just know that once a child hits the state testing years, a lot can change when considering how much school is missed

Sure I can, in language arts! Assign a paper after the trip (your choice, journal, informational, creative, research, descriptive, or persuasive), bada boom, bada bing, I've hit the mother load of state standards! I think I could throw in some listening and speaking too. Believe me, I've found more ridiculous classroom activities to match to state standards than a trip to WDW.

I'm only familiar with my state's language arts standards, so I'm curious now to see if I could apply some other subjects as well. Just a brief glimpse into Arts and Humanities, and I could find a couple of them. Here's one for you: "Know where arts events, performances and exhibitions occur and how to gain admission." Festival of the Lion King, anyone?

That's one thing I don't miss about writing lesson plans right now. Having to justify every second of my time with a state standard.

 

[MushyMushy]

Schools take field trips to the zoo regularly. Those that are close enough also go to the space centers on field trips. Why is it just educational when the school does it?

Our district goes to our nearest amusement park every couple of years. When I was a kid, we used to go to Sea World when it was in Ohio (am I dating myself here?)

 

[kirbsam]

kid taker out of school here. never really bought into the fact the disney was educational. i mean, fairies, mice in suits, ducks in sailor outfits...oh the humanity...but gosh darn it, it is fun...and that is all i really care about.

 

[horseshowmom]

Our district goes to our nearest amusement park every couple of years. When I was a kid, we used to go to Sea World when it was in Ohio (am I dating myself here?)

Only to those old enough to remember it being there!

 

[CathrynRose]

Really! That, to me, would be the epitome of an educational trip.

And I believe that I have yet again underestimated the sense of humor on the DIS. I kind of thought people would have fun - you know, on a Disney board - proving that WDW is educational.

Mea culpa.

You thought wrong.

You do realize your daughter will probably never graduate and *may* (if she's lucky) be flipping burgers for a living after this little "educational" trip of yours, correct?

 

[horseshowmom]

You thought wrong.

You do realize your daughter will probably never graduate and *may* (if she's lucky) be flipping burgers for a living after this little "educational" trip of yours, correct?

Well, maybe she can flip those burgers as a cast member!

 

[C.Ann]

So - if you take your children to Plymouth, MA it's a "vacation", but if the school takes them there, it's an "educational field trip"? How about the aquarium in Mystic Seaport? Or the Bronx Zoo? All places where kids are taken on "educational field trips".. To qualify as "educational" is there a requirement that states there can be no aspect of it that's "fun"?

When we took DGD to WDW in 2006, her teacher had her write a report on something she learned while she was there.. She did hers on the exhibits in Animal Kingdom - a park in which she went on only 2 rides - both of which contained educational aspects.. So yes -it can be "educational" - if one chooses to make time for the educational aspects..

 

[Monte Cristo]

How about the aquarium in Mystic Seaport?

What if.....the school is IN the aquarium, what is that, a vacation or an education?? Our daughter goes to school at the Mystic Aquarium...according to them, the only accredited pre-school at an aquarium.

 

[Buckalew11]

Really! That, to me, would be the epitome of an educational trip.

And I believe that I have yet again underestimated the sense of humor on the DIS. I kind of thought people would have fun - you know, on a Disney board - proving that WDW is educational.

Mea culpa.

I always took DD out of school--every year for 9 years. Now she is homeschooled and we can go whenever so it is no big deal. We never had to do educational vacation or fun vacation though--they never asked. Not a big deal unless the student is struggling or exams are scheduled.

I also think you can find educational opportunities almost everywhere.

Not sure that qualifies trips as educational because I've never looked at a trip that way except one. DD did a 9 week project on Kenya one year and we ended up going to WDW that time. We spent the day in the African side of AK and took pics like she was on safari, took pics of her all over "town" as if she was tourist, we DID talk to CMs and they even had a guy there from Nairobi and we spent time visiting with him. They had that little classroom near the safari and we attended that and learned interesting things. There was enough to do that spent the entire day there and then headed over to AKL and had dinner at Boma where we tasted 2 things that were listed in her research as specific to Kenya. We then went out to the firepit area and visited with a few more CMs, took pics of the animals on the savannah and listened to a young woman from Africa do storytelling.

When we came home, DD put it all together in a scrapbook. It ended up being a very cool project! So many of the things we read about on the 'net that were in the marketplace and handmade were for sale at the Disney shops. It was a really trip and made learning about Kenya really fun and memorable!

That said, most of our trips are just plain "fun."