Wwyd??? I am a little sad!!!

While I think a day or two missed for family-events won't kill a kid's high-school career, missing this many days is...well...kind of insane. Let me tell you why I think so.

My DD caught a mono-variant in the fall and then came down with Influenza B in the spring, missing over 11 days of school. She also had probably 3 weeks where she was too exhausted to get up, but still made it to school just getting there late. She has what we've always called block scheduling with half her classes one day, the other half the next. Last year she took AP World and everything else was Honors classes.

She had a BRUTAL year, worked like a Dog, made EVERYTHING up and ended up with good grades - the BEST possible. That being said....if we had taken her out for a vacation before she got sick - missing 5 or 7 days of school - AND she also had missed the 2+ weeks of school?

I have no doubt she would have *failed* the year. It's too much of a chance taking a high-school student out of school for vacation for a week and also expecting that there won't be *any* sick days for her throughout the year.

OP - I'm sorry to pile on, but I really think you need to change your vacation plans.

agnes!
 
I thought I'd just share my experience with you.....

Mind you, this was 22 years ago *gasp* thought it seems not THAT long ago....my parents would do a 2 week Florida vacation (because we drove down and back from RI) every April. One week would be our regular school vacation and then an extra week (5 days) of school that we missed. We never had a problem in elementary school and middle school w/ getting our homework ahead of time to do on the ride down and back. Freshman year of high school was a different story. I had 2 teachers (Algebra and Biology) that refused to give homework ahead of time and without a doctor's note for an excused absence, they would not permit make-ups for any labs, tests, etc. scheduled during that time.

We still went.... but that was the LAST time I missed a week of high school. When I came back, I was so far behind and the school year was almost over :( I just couldn't catch up on anything the rest of that year so I failed Algebra :( :( and had to retake it in my sophmore year. I squeaked by in Bio with a C :( I was always a straight-A student and over-achiever, so this REALLY hit me hard :(

My girls are in elementary school right now, but I just remember the hardship I had in HS with trying to catch up again. As much as I hate having to go in August, we do go during the summer and we always have a great time :)

Good luck to you and I hope it works out no matter what you all decide!
 
I just wanted to add that there is no way I would take a family vacation and leave one child home because she chose to go to school. IMO that is punishing a child because she is responsible and is committed to her studies.

I so agree with this!!
 
Seriously lady? You're sad that your daughter cares more about education than going to Disneyworld? And you're going to leave her behind anyway? Nice. You have older kids now. You need to suck it up and work around their schedules.
 

Since last month when DD started ninth grade, our family motto has become with her- "Will doing this help me get into college?"
If it doesn't, then you don't do it.

I think it may apply in your situation.

We took our DD out last year when she was in 8th grade for 7 days.
She was in honors classes, all of them. I thought it would be no big deal for her to make up the work, as we had done it almost yearly up to this point.

When we got back, she was so far behind, it took her months to catch up.

As I was sitting with her in the guidance counselors office, listening to her cry, afraid she was going to fail, I realized that "Chasing The Mouse" wasn't worth the stress it put on her.

Our baby is growing up- and what is of importance changes.

Do the right thing, and take her with you.

When she's off in the summer or at Spring Break. She will thank you for the time off when she can be a kid again with no worries of what may be coming when she gets back.

Just my opinion.

Jo
 
You should reschedule for spring break or summer. Her education comes first and I'm glad she's smart enough and responsible enough to see it that way. My mom did pull me out of school for a week when I was in high school to go to Disneyland but I didn't have block scheduling, I went to a private school, and my teachers were all understanding.
 
OP -- what in the world were you thinking? I'm sorry to pile on, but I've had three in high school. A high school student on block scheduling just plain can't miss 7 days of school and expect to have decent grades. At our school, these would be unexcused absences, which means there would be no obligation for any teacher to reschedule any test or accept any assignment. Eight absences is an automatic F (three tardies becomes an absence, too), but excused absences can generally be appealed. All non-school sponsored trips are unexcused absences at our school. While a teacher might choose to give assignments in advance, allow make-up work or reschedule tests or labs, he/she is under no obligation to do it. We have one teacher at our school that doesn't reschedule labs no matter what the excuse -- one of my kids made up a lab before school in another teacher's classroom to try to get some credit for the lab he missed when he got his braces off.

Another issue . . . if she is on a sports team, she may get kicked off that, too, for missing that many practices/games. Even if she isn't kicked off, her playing time will probably be over for a while.

I think you should reschedule your trip.
 
/
Last yr I took the kids out of school for our trip they missed 5 days of school but we were gone a total of 10 days. My dd was in 10th grade ds 8th and ds 2nd. They had no problem with the work, they did that in one down day at the hotel. When we were discussing if we were going to go this year, the two oldest didn't want to go for 10 days, not because of the work, because they just thought it was to long. (what kind of kid am I raising) I have gone and left them home, with my ex. while planning the guilt gets you, but in the end found it was fine.
 
I agree with others... a high schooler might be able to miss one or two days without much of a problem, but missing 7 days of school will have a huge impact on her grades and stress level. As the parent, you need to help your children do the best job they can.

I agree with the posters who recommended changing the trip to a time of year when school is out for a break (Spring Break or Summer?).

Our school is also having a weeklong winter break in February this year and that is when we will be going away.
 
I just booked our trip for next year the end of Jan. thru the 9 of Feb. I was so undecided about when to book, because of the kids school schedule with finals and report cards. We want to go when the crowd levels are low and the weather is cool. Well I came home the other day and announced to everyone that I finally booked the trip DS9 and DD11 are very excited asking all kinds of questions about the trip, but DD 14 didn't say anything and just went into her bedroom, when I asked her what was wrong today she said she doesn't want to go and miss that many days of school.:sad1: I think I could leave her home with my brother and Sister-in-law, but I think the guilt would be too much for me to have a good time. She will be 15 by the time we go so its not like I am leaving a baby home (with my brother and SIL of course) for 11 days (7 total school days)

I told her I would go to the school and talk to the principal, and I have talked to other parents who have taken their kids out of school and they said they didn't have too much trouble, but our school has block scheduling so she says it is like missing 14 days instead of 7.

So WWYD? any suggestions

****No flames about taking the kids out of school my kids usually have perfect attendance and they are pretty much straight A students.***

No flames at all. My son felt the same way at that age (very mature and responsible like your DD) and from that point on we only took vacations during his breaks. The stress your DD will be under will undermine the vacation. IMHO, I would change the trip to when the whole family could be together. Crowds vs. all the kids.....I would go with the crowds! I think it sends a powerful message of support and respect for your DD.....and lets your DD shine as a role model for her siblings :goodvibes
 
WWID? I would never have scheduled a family vacation without talking to the family. But if I had scheduled it & one family member couldn't make it because of school or work--I'd reschedule it. I really couldn't enjoy myself if I had to leave someone behind who loved the place we were visiting. (if she didn't want to go because they didn't like it, I'd probably be able to go without guilt, but I still would miss them). But someone who doesn't want to go because they'd miss too much school? Well, I really have to say I agree with her. She's got her priorities straight. School & grades are much more important.

My sister always goes to WDW the last week of August/first week of September. Yeah, it can be hot, but WDW is hot in September as well. The crowds aren't too bad in August.

I'm sorry, but if it were me, I'd reschedule the trip. Leaving her behind just doesn't seem fair.
 
I just booked our trip for next year the end of Jan. thru the 9 of Feb. I was so undecided about when to book, because of the kids school schedule with finals and report cards. We want to go when the crowd levels are low and the weather is cool. Well I came home the other day and announced to everyone that I finally booked the trip DS9 and DD11 are very excited asking all kinds of questions about the trip, but DD 14 didn't say anything and just went into her bedroom, when I asked her what was wrong today she said she doesn't want to go and miss that many days of school.:sad1: I think I could leave her home with my brother and Sister-in-law, but I think the guilt would be too much for me to have a good time. She will be 15 by the time we go so its not like I am leaving a baby home (with my brother and SIL of course) for 11 days (7 total school days)

I told her I would go to the school and talk to the principal, and I have talked to other parents who have taken their kids out of school and they said they didn't have too much trouble, but our school has block scheduling so she says it is like missing 14 days instead of 7.

So WWYD? any suggestions

****No flames about taking the kids out of school my kids usually have perfect attendance and they are pretty much straight A students.***



I have nothing against taking kids out of school if it doesn't adversely affect grades, overwhelming volumes of homework, or school policy that would affect possible graduation to the next grade. I have taken my kids out for no more than 2 days because of this.

I think you are being a little selfish. I mean we all want to go when it's not hot and crowds are low, but in this case not all of your family members can go. I'm sure you made sure that YOU are able to go at that time, and your DH, why not have the same consideration for this very responsible 14 year old? I would be very proud of her concerns and priorities and no way in heck would I take a vacation without her because she doesn't want to mess up her school responsibilities.

JMO.


ETA: We just got back from our first summer trip to WDW where we didn't have to be concerned about missing school. The crowds were not bad at all, we could relax and not worry about making up/missing any school work, and it was definitely hot. The pros outweighed the cons.
 
OP, I hesitated to post because there have already been so many replies saying "Don't do it!" but I decided to chime in. I have taken my son out of elementary and middle school for WDW trips. I will not take him out of high school for a trip. We like to go in the off season and when the weather is cooler, but we'll work within his school schedule while he's in high school. I see from your sig that the daughter in question appears to be your oldest; if that is the case, I can understand why you might not realize what a bad idea it is for a student to miss that many days of high school. . . especially if they have block scheduling.

Even with "normal" classes, that's a huge amount of time to miss - especially all at once like that. With block scheduling, it's even more difficult to attempt to make everything up. And as others have mentioned, there are some things that are virtually impossible to make up. In addition, many high schools impose other penalties for missing too many days - I know of some that don't require everyone to take final exams if their grades are high enough, but even with an "A" average you are required to take the exam if you miss 3 or more days of school. Some field trips or other activities aren't allowed if you've missed too much school. And you can be kicked out of some extra-curricular activities if you miss too many classes.

If I was in your shoes I'd be rescheduling the trip for a time when the high-schooler won't have to miss class. Failing in that, I hope you will allow her to stay with someone else while you go on the trip. She isn't going to enjoy it if she's worried about missing school, and she might even resent you for dragging her along. High school is hard enough when everything goes perfectly - why intentionally make it this much harder?
 
My older son didn't want to come with us to WDW when we tool our younger son. Then the younger son didn't want to come with us a few years later when we brought our daughter. They stayed home with my parents. It was their decision and I felt no guilt at all. I would have felt guilty if I had forced them to come and they pouted the whole trip.
 
We ALL want to go when the crowds are low and the weather isn't too hot. Not to mention the lower prices! (I both have kids and am a school employee, so it's a double-whammy for me!) But when your kids reach a certain level at school, it's just not responsible. If I were in your shoes, I'd reschedule. We had a GREAT time in June, and did everything we wanted with few lines thanks to great planning. I'm thinking about taking my will be 6th grader out for a few days at the end of next school year. It's undecided yet until we see how the middle school experience goes, and if we do, it will be the last time we do it. By 7th grade I know things are going to change way too much for him.

I know you're using TGM - have you figured things out yet? With a good plan, you'll be fine in June when your daughter can go guilt-free. REALLY. I had to go back and look at your posts because I remembered asking why your dh was grumpy in your signature!
 
You're kidding, right? You don't really think it's a good idea to take a HS student out of school for a week to go to Disney, do you?

I have a DD16. She's a good student and very involved in show choir and theater. If she had to miss a week of school, not only would she have to reliquish her role in the upcoming musical and possibly lose her spot in show choir, it would take her about 6 weeks to catch up. And there is NO WAY in heck her principal would ever approve the absences so she might not even be able to pass her classes. It's one thing if she was sick with the flu for a week--her teachers would bend over backwards to help her catch up. But a week at Disney? Sorry, but most teachers would take a hard-hearted approach to this.

Either change your dates or leave her at home. You can take her somewhere by herself this summer or over spring break, if you think that will make her feel better.
 
I would try to reschedule. I understand wanting to go in winter. Trust me. I live in Maine where winter is cold and dark. Blech. I'm a teacher and I can only travel when I have school vacations, and the winter ones are the busiest, most expensive times to go anywhere, so we travel in summer when it's hot. I've had students fail in my middle school classes because they can't get caught up after missing a week or more of school. Missing school in upper grades is more than homework. It's projects, research, labs and experiments, essays, tests, etc. Also, as a teacher, it's frustrating to try to put together work ahead of time for that many days. Lessons change, you might get farther than you anticipate, and if you have project work that the student needs school resources for, then they really can't take it with them.

Here's another perspective: How would you feel if your child's high school teachers called in sick for a week to go on vacation?

Oh...as an add on: I was a kid who was taken out of school for vacations once in a while, and I wouldn't hesitate to take a child out for a day or two, but when I got to high school and block schedules, it was very, very hard to make up the work, even with accomodating teachers and principal's permission. I missed 5 days when I was a sophomore because my uncle in Florida was very ill and my parents wanted me to see him again in case he didn't recover. Even with help from teachers it was very, very hard to get everything done.
 
No way would I do this. My kids have the 4x4 block so I would even hesitate with more than 1 day, much less a week.

Unless she has no interest in going to Disney, I would reschedule for a time when everyone can go. We went over spring break when there were record crowds and barely noticed them because we got there at opening and left when the crowds came. It is more expensive and there aren't the great deals, but a trip to Disney World isn't more important than two weeks of school.
 
As a mother of grown kids, let me add just a litle note: it's fun to go to WDW (or, in our case, more frequently Disneyland) with your grown children. We are going to WDW at Christmastime woth our older DS & DDIL. Life evolves and changes. Sometimes I look around and wonder where my little boys went - they both turned in to responsible men!
 
I would not take my kids out of school to go to Disney. It may be only 7 days and maybe usually they have perfect attendance but what if she gets sick during the year and has to miss a week? I wouldn't chance it, you just dont know if she will need those days for an unexpected illness.
 

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