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A debate is going on in my family. My sister and I want to take her now 6 year old daughter out of school next year to visit Disney at a less crowded time in May, but my brother-in-law, the high school teacher, says No way she is not missing school. She is a top student in her class so we have no worries about her missing classes. So we decided to see what others think. Would you take your child/children out of school to go to Disney or wait until a school break?
I vote yes. I think at that age it really doesn't matter. If she is advanced or not, it wouldn't affect her to miss. She probably would not remember anything from that week in the long run, but she will likely not forget her trip to Disney World. I think the things that kids can learn at Epcot and Animal Kingdom can more than make up for things in school. Every trip that we take with our kids is a learning experience.
I would say that it could be a different story if a child was a Junior or Senior in highschool and would miss a major section of Calculus and was behind for the rest of the year. If the curriculum the child is in doesn't have any lead way, then it could be a different story.
I agree with Chris: at that age, most likely she's not going to miss anything so important that she'll fall behind. You might check with the school to see if there are standardized tests or other things that occur (class plays, annual science fair, etc.) during the time you wish to go.
To minimize the days out of school, you might want to try to schedule your trip during a week with a day off: Columbus Day, Veterans Day in the fall, Memorial Day in May. These days may be a little more crowded than the rest of the month, but no where near peak summer levels. If your school has even more obscure days off ("Teachers Work Day", "Superintendent's Conference Day", etc.), take advantage of that!
Sometimes it helps to "wrap" a weekend: travel from Thursday to Tuesday, for example. That way she wouldn't miss a solid week (many teachers plan topics to run a week, and she'd miss the end of one topic and the start of the next, which may be easier to catch up on than learning a whole topic by herself)
Around here, the schools consider missing classes for a vacation an "illegal absence," but unless you have more than a certain number they don't do anything about it (except make you feel guilty). You might want to double-check your school's policies before finalizing your plan.
We took our DD out of school freely for vacations up until 3rd grade, then they got serious about preparing for some nasty standardized tests. After that we "wrapped" holiday weekends: took the day before and the day after a long weekend. Now that she has reached middle school, though, we won't take her out of classes. We had to miss three days for an out-of-state funeral, and it took 2 weeks to catch up.
I teach Advanced Language Arts at the sixth grade level. While I wouldn't like a student to be gone from my class for any period of time, I would take my own out of school. In general, May is the time of year that is more relaxed at school - time for fieldtrips and field days. If the child is advanced, there is more they can learn at WDW that are educational. I feel that the bond this child will have with the parent will be stronger if they take this trip. This year, I am teaching my own child and our bond is so much greater and I know she would love to go with me when I go in October. She has come up with so many ideas on how to pay for it.
Educationally, you can do a lot of math, geography, and Fantasyland is just dripping with literature! I say go for it and have a great time.
touchy subject and all depends on the individual family. i know people who have no problems with it, others who wouldn't think of it.
my own opinion, as a parent, father to my daughter, if she was doing well in school, hadn't taken days off, and was good, i'd take her out of school for a week.
if she was a trouble maker, ditching school from being "sick", and a dumby with sub-par grades and incomplete/missed/horrible homework, forget it, she can stay with her grandmother while her mother and i go!
so, in a nutshell, i'd take the child out if they deserve to go. must be something earned, not expected.
My family always went in the spring and my sisters and I were taken out of school... each time. I turned out fine *twitch... twitch*.
My family would go to Disney every year when we were younger. I looked forward to it all year. We would always go in January to get away from all of the snow and cold weather. It's what we needed as kids. We looked forward to getting a 'special' vacation that the other kids at school didn't get. When we returned, we were refreshed and prepared to stick it out through the rest of winter. The cold weather and dark long days wear on a child (and an adult).
Besides, we were always occupied on the plane... we had two weeks worth of homework to do. I think it's definately OK as long as your children are capable of catching up and as long as you take the time to talk to their teachers. Bring their homework with them and make sure they finish it and understand it. It was a challenge for me to finish it before we got to the hotel so that I didn't have to think about school for a full two weeks... but it was something I had to earn.
All in all, you can make it into a lesson as well as a fun vacation. It teaches responsibility and time management. But I do understand that perhaps it's not the best idea for all children... but a little play time is always a good thing.
-pirate-
Everyone seems to say.....take the kids out of school. I agree. 20 years from now they won't remember what they would have done that week in school, but they will remember Disney. 'Nuff said.
We took our daughter out of school until this year and her teachers just gave her some take home work and never had a problem with it. We would have taken her out this year but my work scedule wouldn't allow it.
Teachers love it when the office calls and asks them to have little Mickey's or Minnie's homework for one or two weeks ready at the end of the day; especially if they are going on vacation. And they love it even more when the children get back and they have to grade it, and not to mention trying to catch little Mickey or Minnie up with the class. The best thing is that usually Mickey and Minnie love to tell their classmates about their vacation at the most inappropriate times.
I know most parents wouldn't care if the teacher took a couple weeks off in January or February to go to Walt Disney World to get away from the cold and snow--would they? Who cares about school anyway? The teachers don't teach anymore, or care for the children. All they are interested in is their big paychecks (most teachers make at least $100,000 a year) and four months of vacation they get every year. As they say, "Those that can do; does that can't teach!"
Good thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by PA. Chris
You know I once saw a report card that said, "Absence from school can never really be made up." How old fashioned. Who do these teachers and administrators think they are? We are paying their salaries. After all they are "public servants"?
I voted Yes to take them out of school, and I have done so myself. We often go the end of January. I would not do it if my kids were struggling in school, but we plan way ahead of time and do the best to make sure they are up to date in school and don't fall behind. Plus, C'mon, we love our Disney trips!!!
Come on now. All children are ego extensions of their parents. There are no dumb/unruly/problem students anymore! Just look around your local mall to see what I mean. These teachers and administrators just want to put children on Ritalin so they can do nothing all day but gossip in the teacher's lounge.Quote:
Originally Posted by GrumpyDude
Very funny ros. I doubt you twitch that much as a result of missing skool...I mean scull, I mean skuul, I mean.....:hahohi:Quote:
Originally Posted by rosworms