WDW not educational? BAH.

[MushyMushy]

We're headed to WDW for a short trip in December and I told my daughter to bring home a request form for an educational trip. She said she didn't want to let them know we're going to WDW because one of her former middle school teachers had told the kids numerous times that claiming WDW is educational is pathetic.

Pathetic!? Oh no he didn't! That fool has obviously never spent time in Epcot or speaking with the numerous cast members from around the world. He's apparently never walked through Animal Kingdom and/or seen the Conservation Station.

(okay, I freely admit that I am being a hypocrite now, because I have long said I don't really agree with taking kids out of school for WDW trips... yeah, I'm a jerk)

 

[wvjules]

It is not educational. It is a vacation, plain and simple. Sure, kids can learn something there but it is still a vacation.

I had to fill out a request for DD for going to WDW in January and it never even crossed my mind to classify it as "educational". I put "vacation" as that is appropriate.

 

[Green Tea]

Oh, please don't write one of those letters that crops up here every 6 months or so about the educational merits of WDW. It is a family vacation. Enjoy.

 

[tlbwriter]

It is not educational. It is a vacation, plain and simple. Sure, kids can learn something there but it is still a vacation.

Agreed. The fact that you can learn something while you're there doesn't make it an educational trip.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

You could always try for open Y.E.S. program enrollment... If it's somehow that important.

 

[LucyStorm]

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.

 

[tvguy]

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.

 

[LuvOrlando]

OK, anyone claiming that it's not educational has never been through the different cultures showcased by EPCOT, has never discussed the Endangered Species and Conservation topics mentioned in Animal Kingdom, has never considered the history inherent in the World's fair contribution of "It's a Small World".

As an aside, you can always mention that you plan on visiting Kennedy Space Center too.... how is the Space Program NOT educational.

You should see the essays I write for school, they are a work of art

 

[minkydog]

Grabbin' a Coke here...

 

[wvjules]

OK, anyone claiming that it's not educational has never been through the different cultures showcased by EPCOT, has never discussed the Endangered Species and Conservation topics mentioned in Animal Kingdom, has never considered the history inherent in the World's fair contribution of "It's a Small World".
As an aside, you can always mention that you plan on visiting Kennedy Space Center too.... how is the Space Program NOT educational.

You should see the essays I write for school, they are a work of art

Bull puckey! OP is going there for a vacation. Disney can be educational, but it is still just a VACATION!

 

[LucyStorm]

pass the popcorn, will ya?

 

[tlbwriter]

OK, anyone claiming that it's not educational has never been through the different cultures showcased by EPCOT, has never discussed the Endangered Species and Conservation topics mentioned in Animal Kingdom, has never considered the history inherent in the World's fair contribution of "It's a Small World".

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?

 

[Monte Cristo]

Grabbin' a Coke here...

I am with you there, but mine has rum in it.

 

[minkydog]

I am with you there, but mine has rum in it.

Oooh, RUM! pass it this way!

 

[bumbershoot]

An educational trip, to me, is a trip whose MAIN purpose is education.

This opinion isn't the opinion of others, though. And it's ALL opinions.

In 8th grade I took the obligatory DC trip, which is sponsored by schools so one imagines it's all about education.

So why do I remember the friends/hotel stuff/restaurant/giggly part better than I remember visiting the Capitol building? I remember someone commenting on my shirt more than I remember meeting the representative? I remember getting in trouble for a simple and honest mistake, and I remember finding a police officer to help us find our bus, and as we got out of the cop's car some doofy kid saying he "found" us instead of US finding THEM, MORE than I remember ANYTHING else on that trip?

If I had fun, does that mean it wasn't educational? Because I had both fun and misery on that trip, but I remember barely anything that taught me anything.

And yet it was an excused absence b/c it was officially educational.

 

[wvjules]

This opinion isn't the opinion of others, though. And it's ALL opinions.

In 8th grade I took the obligatory DC trip, which is sponsored by schools so one imagines it's all about education.

So why do I remember the friends/hotel stuff/restaurant/giggly part better than I remember visiting the Capitol building? I remember someone commenting on my shirt more than I remember meeting the representative? I remember getting in trouble for a simple and honest mistake, and I remember finding a police officer to help us find our bus, and as we got out of the cop's car some doofy kid saying he "found" us instead of US finding THEM, MORE than I remember ANYTHING else on that trip?

If I had fun, does that mean it wasn't educational? Because I had both fun and misery on that trip, but I remember barely anything that taught me anything.

And yet it was an excused absence b/c it was officially educational.

It was considered educational because the main purpose of the trip was to learn.

 

[mdsoccermom]

OK, anyone claiming that it's not educational has never been through the different cultures showcased by EPCOT, has never discussed the Endangered Species and Conservation topics mentioned in Animal Kingdom, has never considered the history inherent in the World's fair contribution of "It's a Small World".

As an aside, you can always mention that you plan on visiting Kennedy Space Center too.... how is the Space Program NOT educational.

You should see the essays I write for school, they are a work of art

A family vacation can have an educational component and not be an educational trip. We went on a cruise and took an impromptu walking tour in Belize with a local gut. Educational moment? Yes. Educational trip? Heck no.

I just find it so amusing when people strain themselves to find a trip to Disney educational. I also find it amusing when people really try to convince us that their kids are learning so much culture from wandering through World Showcase. Can you learn something? Sure. But it certainly isn't tantamount to actually visiting a foreign country and really isn't a true cultural experience.

 

[SandrA9810]

LOL, my friend's French teacher wanted to take the class on a field trip to Disney. Well in order to pass off as an educational trip, they made reservations for Le Chef's de France. To make sure they were learning, they all had to order in french.

If the OP is joining in on one of the YES groups, then I would understand it being an educational trip as well.

 

[Oglet]

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.

 

[Magpie]

I do think WDW is educational... for grade school kids!

Honestly, if you're taking a high schooler, you're going to have a tough time arguing that it's educational. Your daughter is quite right to be worried that she'll be mocked if she takes an educational form for a trip to WDW.

My family are education junkies, and our impression of the "educational" aspects of WDW is that that it's fairly shallow. Visiting Epcot's Morocco, eating in a Moroccan restaurant, and talking briefly to a Moroccan cast member is basically a "Child's First Introduction to Morocco". It's fun, but it's not high-school level work.

WDW is pretend. By high school, your educational trips should be taking you out of the sandbox and into the real world.

An educational trip for a teenager should have them building homes in a quake zone. Taking core samples in the Arctic. Volunteering in an Indian orphanage. Crewing a tall ship, while retracing ancient trade routes. Touring *real* Roman baths. Seeing Gov't in action while on a trip the Nation's capital. Or at the very least, going to the theatre to see a full production of a Shakespearean play.

That said, I don't think you should have to justify a family trip with your kids. They're only young for a little while, and you'll be making memories that will last you a lifetime.