What do you think about the TEACHER taking time off for a vacation?

[dcgrumpy]

When DS was out a week in October he didn't miss any work. His teacher sent home all of the worksheets that he would be doing in class as well as his homework.

 

[Daxx]

A teacher's spouse may not have control over their vacation time. Seems like a double standard to say it is ok for the parents but not the teachers.

Amen! DH works a year round job but it's "seasonal". While he works year round, his busy season is from May 1 - Sept. 30th. He is not allowed ANY vaca. time during those months. Guess when my vaca time is? The summer b/c I'm a teacher. We never have any vaca time together! Sucks, but what can you do. I'd hope that families would understand the importance of a FAMILY vaca. and that not all teachers have spouses who can take off during spring break or summer. We've gone to WDW in Jan. based on having a day off of school to make a long weekend. That is the only family vaca. we get. Should my child be denied a family vaca. b/c DH and I have opposite seasons off?

 

[Christopher Robin]

As parents, we have to get the school's 'approval' to take the kid out for a vacation. So, the school should have to get the parents' 'approval' to take the teacher out for a vacation. Seems fair.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I would MUCH rather have a teacher out for a week of vacation than have a teacher who is out a day or two EVERY week, which is the case with one of DS's teachers! He is in 6th grade. One of his teachers has subs in for her AT LEAST once a week. That is SOOOO disruptive! DS missed turning in an assignment to her (which is probably his own fault, but could have been because there was a sub there the day it was due). I told him to go to her today and ask if he could get partial credit for the work, but she WASN'T THERE!

If I missed a day every week or every other week I would lose my job.

 

[bluefairy13]

Maybe teachers would get more respect if we had year round school. I know that some areas have it, but years ago they made it seem like everyone would be doing it, and now I doubt that.

I think people can't get it out of their heads that teachers have that "cushy" summer off (my sister the teacher always has to take a workshop or a class and never actually gets it off) and so don't want them to take any time during the school year.

I don't like the idea of year round school, but maybe it really would be better for everyone.

 

[mickeyboat]

Amen! DH works a year round job but it's "seasonal". While he works year round, his busy season is from May 1 - Sept. 30th. He is not allowed ANY vaca. time during those months. Guess when my vaca time is? The summer b/c I'm a teacher. We never have any vaca time together! Sucks, but what can you do. I'd hope that families would understand the importance of a FAMILY vaca. and that not all teachers have spouses who can take off during spring break or summer. We've gone to WDW in Jan. based on having a day off of school to make a long weekend. That is the only family vaca. we get. Should my child be denied a family vaca. b/c DH and I have opposite seasons off?

I understand this, but just as it is o.k. for the spouse's job to limit when vacation can be taken, why isn't it o.k. for the school to limit when their employees take vacation? I guess it is a choice that you and your DH made as to your professions, not the fault of the school or the parents, that your family has a hard time taking family vacations together.

I am not being hard-nosed - I feel the school district should be able to set whatever policy it wants, but I am of the opinion that students miss out when their regular teacher is not there. I generally do not favor pulling kids out for vacations, either.

Denae

 

[Daxx]

Maybe teachers would get more respect if we had year round school.

I WISH we had year-round school. Would make my life easier b/c we wouldn't spend Sept. thru Nov. reviewing what the students learned the year before b/c they've forgotten it over summer break.

 

[Daxx]

I understand this, but just as it is o.k. for the spouse's job to limit when vacation can be taken, why isn't it o.k. for the school to limit when their employees take vacation?

I never said it wasn't ok for the school to limit vacation. My school doesn't allow vacation whatsoever. It limits how much time I can take off. We have 3 personal days and 5 sick days. I used one personal day to go to WDW. Personal is personal and you can only use one personal day at a time. You cannot group them together. Thankfully, we had a non-holiday day off so I was able to make WDW a long weekend. If it were a holiday weekend, I couldn't use that Mon. as a personal day. I followed my school limits. I am not looking for more than I am supposed to get.

I guess it is a choice that you and your DH made as to your professions, not the fault of the school or the parents, that your family has a hard time taking family vacations together.

No -- DH's current job was made out of a choice of being employed or unemployed. DH's job is not in his chosen field nor would he have ever picked this job if there were any other offers at the time he needed them. This was the best job that came around after DS was laid off from his company. If he had a choice, he'd be working elsewhere. However, it was the first place that had amazing benefits, so he settled. This is in NO way, shape or form his profession but he's working to earn income so we can live and afford things until something better comes along. But to tell me that this current job is the choice of profession that DH has chosen is an insult. This was not much of a choice for him. The only choice was having an income or being unemployed. Employment and decent benefits outweighed unemployment and no benefits (as the majority of my salary would have to pay for medical insurance). Not much of a choice, eh?! He's doing it until something better turns up and he's not complaining. However, this is not his profession.
(SIDEBAR -- I know you didn't mean it as an insult b/c you don't know me/background/etc. ... so please don't take what I wrote personally. It's just my rant b/c if he had to, this wouldn't have been his first choice. It's just that there are things/circumstances like that people can't always control. Believe me, he'd prefer to have a "normal"' summer where we could do family things. He works every day of the week until 11 pm, so it's really tough on us as a family. It's a sacrifice that we make and we know that. But, like everyone else, he needs/deserves to get away and wants to do so w/his family.)

My school does not allow anyone to take a week off unless they are having surgery or there's a death in the family. Of course, you have to provide the medical documentation. Vaca. is not an acceptable excuse. Our vaca. was based on what my school allows.

 

[Minnie_me]

We're not allowed to. I'm surprised at how many schools allow it. We get 15 sick days and 3 personal days each year. Our personal days are not to be used for "recreation". If anyone does use a personal or sick day for a vacation, and gets caught, they would be penalized a day's pay.

To my knowledge, none of my colleagues do this. We know that we have a week at Christmas, a week in February, a week in April and two months in the summer during which to take our vacations. So we do.

 

[Minnie_me]

I guess my feeling is that you get three months off in the summer...and extended time during holiday's...

If it's so important for our kids to not miss a day of school (which I understand, but have been known to give my son a mental health day) then I think the teacher should be there, unless it is an emergency, or he/she needs a mental health day!

This is no flame to sub's - but seriously, I don't ever remember accomplishing too much when our teacher's were gone.

Can I just correct you and inform you that THREE MONTHS off in the summer is totally wrong (and kind of offensive)?

Our last day is always around June 26th. Then we have inservice, curriculum work, etc. for the next couple of days. Not to mention we have to totally take our rooms "down". We're usually done by the 30th. We go back to school the day after Labor Day weekend, but we have to start working mid-August to get our rooms ready.

I don't know how everyone always gets 3 months out of that.

 

[Daxx]

I would guess that if you wanted to take any extended time off (say a week for vaca.) at my school, it would be w/o pay. I don't know b/c I haven't asked as I have never needed to do that. I will have to ask on Mon. just out of curiousity. I'm sure that even if you took time off w/o pay it would be frowned upon and you'd prob. be given a hard time.

In the past, if we took a personal day, we would have to pay for the sub who came in out of our pocket ($60) even though we had 3 personal days allowed. Thankfully, they don't do that any more!!!!!

 

[Daxx]

Can I just correct you and inform you that THREE MONTHS off in the summer is totally wrong (and kind of offensive)?

Our last day is always around June 26th. Then we have inservice, curriculum work, etc. for the next couple of days. Not to mention we have to totally take our rooms "down". We're usually done by the 30th. We go back to school the day after Labor Day weekend, but we have to start working mid-August to get our rooms ready.

I don't know how everyone always gets 3 months out of that.

And, don't forget the full day, week-long workshops that you have to attend (at least we do). Oh ... and the classes to keep up your certification which, for many of us, summer is the only time we can swing it! Add on the fees for those that don't get reimbursed, too.

 

[Minnie_me]

Imagine people that work 52 full weeks.

Here we go again. Why does it always have to end up here? First of all, I don't know anyone who works 52 full weeks - - some of my friends get 12 weeks' vacation! Secondly, it's not like we're being lazy by only putting in 44 weeks - - it's all we're allowed to work.

And my bottom line to that sort of response is always, "You could have been a teacher, too!"

 

[okeydokey]

I know when my kids have subs, a whole lot less learning takes place.

 

[basas]

There's a lot of debate on these boards about taking a child out of school. I was wondering about how parents felt about their child's teacher taking a week off for vacation. Does a teacher have the same rights to a vacation with their family? Or does their responsibility to your child (and the other students) mean they travel during the times you avoid by pulling your child out? I'm not looking for a heated debate, but one day (hopefully!) I will have my own classroom and I really am curious what people thought.

Does a teacher have the same rights to a vacation with their family? Simply, no. Teaching is supposed to be a full-time job. They may not get three months off in the summer, but they do get more than most people in addition to another week at Christmas (at least), Spring Break, etc. I have nothing against teachers having breaks, but take your vacations during your breaks (like any other job), not while you’re supposed to be working.

 

[Daxx]

I sooooooo want to post my "away" lesson plans and schedule so you all can see that some teachers leave detailed instructions for our substitutes. I joke that an 8th grader could prob. come in and sub b/c my plans are so "spelled out" that subbing in my class is a breeze and the kids don't miss a beat. As I said, I have had to attend all-day monthly meetings so I can't afford to have my kids "miss a beat".

 

[bluefairy13]

I know when my kids have subs, a whole lot less learning takes place.

I don't know about today's young people, but when I was in school, this was because of us, not the sub.

I am sorry to say that we were not always the best behaved when there was a substitute. I really can't remember a sub that didn't try to do anything, but I do remember us thwarting their efforts!

I guess both teachers and students should just try to miss as little as possible, since the school year is limited, and if something comes up and one of the other wants to be out a few days, we should be kind to each other and try to help them make it work.

 

[vellamint]

wow I WISH our school had that. I think it is nuts the amount of time these kids have off!!!
Feb-16-24th- winter recess
March 20th-25th- Easter
April 18th-27th- passoverMay 23,24 25& 26

Do they REALLY need aweek a month off??? This is why we don't get out of school until June 27th this year, WAY to many breaks!! The early dismissals are the ones that really kill me. I don't even send my daughter those days since they don't offer the SAFE program after it so since I work I have to find someplace for her to go and I drop her off in a different town in the morning for someone to watch her so she doesn't go to school (along with half the school since they have the same problems!)

This is our schedule also.......so many breaks that I think the kids are just getting back into the swing and then its time for another break.

NO I dont think the teachers should have vacations during the school year....they knew the schedule when they decided to become teachers....(emergencys and special occasions not included)

 

[basas]

wow I WISH our school had that. I think it is nuts the amount of time these kids have off!!!
Feb-16-24th- winter recess
March 20th-25th- Easter
April 18th-27th- passoverMay 23,24 25& 26

Do they REALLY need aweek a month off??? This is why we don't get out of school until June 27th this year, WAY to many breaks!! The early dismissals are the ones that really kill me. I don't even send my daughter those days since they don't offer the SAFE program after it so since I work I have to find someplace for her to go and I drop her off in a different town in the morning for someone to watch her so she doesn't go to school (along with half the school since they have the same problems!)

Your school takes 10 days off for Passover!?

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Does a teacher have the same rights to a vacation with their family? Simply, no. Teaching is supposed to be a full-time job. They may not get three months off in the summer, but they do get more than most people in addition to another week at Christmas (at least), Spring Break, etc. I have nothing against teachers having breaks, but take your vacations during your breaks (like any other job), not while you’re supposed to be working.

I disagree completely. Should my dad have missed an opportunity to go to Australia to see his daughters perform at the Olympic games? No way. He didn't decide when the 2000 Olympics were going to take place nor did he think that someday his kids would be doing something so once-in-a-lifetime when he started teaching (before we were born). Why would one week away from school change his mind for being a teacher for 30 plus years?

May I ask what kind of 'breaks' you get in your job? For me, my 'breaks' are when I chose to take vacation. We have three holidays during the year, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day and the rest of the year we are open, even Easter Sunday. So I don't know what you mean by 'breaks' because I surely don't get any.

It's funny how fast everyone jumps on a bandwagon saying how horrible it is that teacher's take vacations during the school year (even though they've earned their time off, just like you and me), but have you ever thought that despite your profession, other people/clients/customers suffer if you're not at work? Just thought I'd point that out!