WDW not educational? BAH.

[LuvLDM]

I did. I didn't bother disguising it as educational - I called him in sick.

It was my mom's, his grandma's birthday - April 23rd. She's dead. It was beautiful outside, after the cold and yuck of winter. And we were missing her.

I thought it was a perfect day for the Zoo. My son agreed.

I would have done the same thing. So sorry about your Mom

My mother & youngest daughter were both born on April 23rd as well, I guess it's a good day to be born

 

[golfgal]

We just get one day per day missed, and it'll be up to the individual teacher what happens. Some might go ahead and give her the work in advance and some might say, "Just go, have fun and make it up when you get back." Either way, we'll work with her to make sure she doesn't get behind.

Our kids are in high school and taking mostly AP classes, their teachers wouldn't ever say 'just go have fun" . They even have to do make up work in PE-but walking for hours on end at Disney would count for that. The kids missed last Friday for a marching band competition and they were able to get work ahead of time since it was a school activity and were able to do their homework on the bus, 12 hours each way-plenty of time to get it done .

 

[marcyinPA]

Haven't read the entire thread, but my DS15's HS band is going to WDW in February...missing three days of school. They are only performing twice. The district does require some sort of educational element when they are on school trips. The band is going to all four parks. I guess the district is satisfied that the educational element will be achieved in the parks!

(I'm taking my DS11 out of school and he and I are going too...Shhhh...don't tell!)

 

[mommyof2princesses]

I think the biggest issue on these threads is what people constitute educational. We have been raised in the school system and are taught to believe that if it doesn't happen in school or with teachers it is not educational. Life itself is an education. How many kids go through school and when they come out can't budget their money?

A trip to the zoo, with or without teachers, is educational. A trip to a space center is also educational. A trip to the grocery store can be as educational as one wants to make it. I used to make my dd figure out the costs of sale items. It the shirt is $20 and it is 20% off, how much money is that? About how much would that cost if the tax is 8%? You have a $20 bill, how much change would be get back? Great multi-step word problem.

Also, as homeschoolers, I do find we can get the same amount of learning done in a lot less time. K and 1st grade can be done in 2 hours or less. 3-5grades, about 3 hours. My high schooler gets her work done in about 4 hours on most days. Some days when she has chemistry experiments or a writing assignment it may be closer to 5. It is because she can go at her own pace. ( I used to teach public school and I know the amount of work usually done in a day. When trying to teach long division to a whole class it will take much longer than teaching it to a child one-on-one.)

In March we moved cross country from NC to OR. My daughters and I learned more in that trip than I could have ever imagined! I didn't technically count it as learning days, but we still discuss the things we saw and did on that trip....including the scary ride up the St. Louis Arch! They did have a great little museum there too!

I think an education is very important, but family time is just as important.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Did you read my post? Did I say that only educational trips should be allowed? Nope, I'm just saying that you shouldn't lie to yourself about what you're doing. If you want to take your kid to Disney, take him to Disney. But don't pretend that it's the equivalent of a trip to Europe to visit museums and cathedrals.

In my family, it's pretty black and white. Kids go to school 180 days. That leaves 185 days for other things. That's how I raise my kids -- your choices may be different. Few people I know have trouble getting time off when they want it -- especially people in retail/restaurant type work.

Uh...... I didn't say anything about just educational trips. I said vacation. My point is the only way that she might be able to go on vacation is to go at this particular time. So she might decide to say the trip is educational so that her child can be absent.

And for what it's worth, I've been in retail and restaurant work for 25 years, from dishwasher to District Manager, all different restaurants, country clubs, retail, you name it. In my LIMITED experience as a keyholder or manager in this environment you get very little time off during summer or holidays. Maybe that is just my little corner of the world.

I wasn't trying to be snarky, just stating my opinion. Hope you weren't trying to be either.

 

[MrsPete]

One thing I'm curious about, are you suggesting that instead of filling out the stupid form that I have the 1st grader take 4 unexcused days instead?

I'm suggesting honesty. If you've decided to take your child out of school for a trip, tell them that you're going to Disney. Tell them that your child'll be riding roller coasters, seeing shows, eating great meals, and spending time with family.

Uh...... I didn't say anything about just educational trips. I said vacation. My point is the only way that she might be able to go on vacation is to go at this particular time. So she might decide to say the trip is educational so that her child can be absent.

The thread is about whether Disney is educational, and I thought that's what's being discussed. I cannot advocate lying about the trip regardless of the reason. What's that teaching the kid? And the teacher's going to figure out the truth pretty quickly. What's that going to make her think about the family? No, if you've decided to take your child out of school, just be up front about it.

 

[MushyMushy]

I'm suggesting honesty. If you've decided to take your child out of school for a trip, tell them that you're going to Disney. Tell them that your child'll be riding roller coasters, seeing shows, eating great meals, and spending time with family. The thread is about whether Disney is educational, and I thought that's what's being discussed. I cannot advocate lying about the trip regardless of the reason. What's that teaching the kid? And the teacher's going to figure out the truth pretty quickly. What's that going to make her think about the family? No, if you've decided to take your child out of school, just be up front about it.

I hope you're not referring to me, because there's not a single time that I said I was going to lie about anything.

If my school didn't count WDW or any other place as an educational trip, we wouldn't be taking it at this time of year, period. In the 20 some years I've had kids in the school system, I've taken them out maybe a handful of times (once to NYC and 2 or 3 for take child to work day) and each time fell under my school's educational policy.

 

[jrmasm]

I'm suggesting honesty. If you've decided to take your child out of school for a trip, tell them that you're going to Disney. Tell them that your child'll be riding roller coasters, seeing shows, eating great meals, and spending time with family. The thread is about whether Disney is educational, and I thought that's what's being discussed. I cannot advocate lying about the trip regardless of the reason. What's that teaching the kid? And the teacher's going to figure out the truth pretty quickly. What's that going to make her think about the family? No, if you've decided to take your child out of school, just be up front about it.

There are no lies. Period. The school views something the along the lines of 'will see different types of Africa and Asian animals' as educational. They make the decision, not me.

I don't make the rules. I'm following them. Just like the teachers that use their personal days to take of Fridays and fly out to Notre Dame for football games. They're allowed to do it whether anyone else thinks its right.

As a pp mentioned, I am a stickler for rules. When my older DD misses school because she's travelling out of state to a tournament, I do not call her in sick. She's unexcused. I think itt's ridiculous that she can miss school for school soccer and have it excused but club is not. But again, those are the rules so we follow them.

 

[littlepeppers]

One of the many reasons why we homeschool. I taught in PS for 11 yrs. I know that we learn a lot more in my house than they do in "MOST" PS classrooms.

They are my kids. That's right. I said it. "MY KIDS", mine, mine, mine. I made them, baked them & popped them out of the oven. I fed them, clothed them, bathed them ............ and now I'm educating them because the schools have $ confused w/ an education.

I don't mean the teachers. I mean the people (politicians) way up the pole have somehow linked $ with the quality of an education.

Disney is educational if you want it to be. That is why they have the YES program and other things like it. We take the educational aspect of Disney as a bonus. We go to have fun & relax & maybe learn along the way. I don't plan to do school at WDW. The only year we did was when DS was in private school. We had to do all of the work that he was missing at school. We did school work that year on the plane in, in the mornings, and on the plane ride out.

 

[wvjules]

One of the many reasons why we homeschool. I taught in PS for 11 yrs. I know that we learn a lot more in my house than they do in "MOST" PS classrooms.

They are my kids. That's right. I said it. "MY KIDS", mine, mine, mine. I made them, baked them & popped them out of the oven. I fed them, clothed them, bathed them ............ and now I'm educating them because the schools have $ confused w/ an education.

I don't mean the teachers. I mean the people (politicians) way up the pole have somehow linked $ with the quality of an education.

Disney is educational if you want it to be. That is why they have the YES program and other things like it. We take the educational aspect of Disney as a bonus. We go to have fun & relax & maybe learn along the way. I don't plan to do school at WDW. The only year we did was when DS was in private school. We had to do all of the work that he was missing at school. We did school work that year on the plane in, in the mornings, and on the plane ride out.

Respectfully disagree. They have the YES program to increase park attendance and revenue.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

How did this get so ugly? How many of us speaking about the YES program have actually attended one? I have and it was educational. Was my entire trip? Nope it was fun and it was vacation.

I say fill out the form, fill it out HONESTLY (I wouldn't want to be the only one on the thread advocating lying), and let the system decide. Good luck to you Mushy, and if you ever want to join a YES group with me, gimme a call!

Dear Lord, this thread alone is a psa for homeschooling. Thank God I love my school.