Poll: Do you take your kid's out of school...

[pg.]

In our area if student miss three days during a semester, no matter what age, the actual time has to be physically made up after school, or they are back in that same grade the next year.

 

This includes illness, funerals, etc. There is no way that anyone here takes one out of school for a vacation.

 

That is a stupid system, how do you put up with that. So an A student who gets sick and misses four days, has to REPEAT a grade, that is so stupid that I can see why your school system is NOT considered one of the best in the world!! Regulations that can cause your system to be clogged and backlogged with students just for the sake of missing days, not basing theiir grades on PERFORMANCE,, it is so stupid ... shameful really.

The average day in school is a WASTE OF TIME with the actual knowledge imparted totalling about 3 hours.

 

Ask any home schooler..

 

I would happinly take an elementry school aged child out for a week, and have. Our schools don't care, and frankly I challenge anyone to find a statistic that says Canadain children are not as well educated then American .

The American school system seems to have alot of wierd things going on, like paying schools for attendence and I think it really needs to change attitudes , not add rules that only penalize the kids who are doing well. Oh yeah, and if my child is not an "A" student( so many of you seem to have these that I wonder what one has to do to actually be an A student) and he gets sick, or his grandma dies , and he takes more then 3 days off , he gets PUNISHED by FAILING, gosh , that must just make a kid LOVE school, what a joke...

 

STANDARDIZED testing in grade 2 or 3,, well thats interesting. I do think it is a great idea to discourage kids when they are young, that way they can hate and fear school right from the beginning..

[DeeT]

I value my time with my son, period! We only live once and don't have many second chances. I don't want to say I wish I done this and regret it later. Time is precious, just like life.

 

 

I'm with you Kelly. There' nothing more important than time with family.:)

[kaykelrosa]

I'm taking my girls 11 & 14 out of school for a week, this is their first cruise and we couldn't afford to go any other time.

I seriously thought it through and after talking to some of my friends/peers I felt it was ok.

Their good students and have only had a couple of absences due to illness and one funeral.

I called my 11 yr old daughters school this morning and the woman on the phone almost made it sound like the school has to approve it.

it' a done deal, approved or not, i'm the parent and she's def going to be out 5 days!

What upsets me the most though, is that I have a family member that lives in my ame city and her 12 yr old doesn't even attend school since mid Sept.!

IF the school system really cared, shouldn't she be in jail?

 

I don't feel guilty in the least bit, to each his own.

Family time is very important, your creating lifetime memories with your children their only that age once, then they leave the nest and what do you have to think about then?

I was a good parent, I never took them out of school once?

You'll regret that.

[kafitty]

my mom took me out of school plenty of times when i was a kid, and i turned out just fine.:D

 

i'm actually missing my first two days of (college) classes for my cruise, and i could not care less!!! It's like a $700pp price difference from one week to the next in August, obviously that was my best choice.

 

it's certainly not the worst thing you can do for your kid. and i think it helps to have a vacation in the middle of school work - kinda helps your brain re-set itself.

[Tabsmom]

That is a stupid system, how do you put up with that. So an A student who gets sick and misses four days, has to REPEAT a grade, that is so stupid that I can see why your school system is NOT considered one of the best in the world!! Regulations that can cause your system to be clogged and backlogged with students just for the sake of missing days, not basing theiir grades on PERFORMANCE,, it is so stupid ... shameful really.

The average day in school is a WASTE OF TIME with the actual knowledge imparted totalling about 3 hours.

 

Ask any home schooler..

 

I would happinly take an elementry school aged child out for a week, and have. Our schools don't care, and frankly I challenge anyone to find a statistic that says Canadain children are not as well educated then American .

The American school system seems to have alot of wierd things going on, like paying schools for attendence and I think it really needs to change attitudes , not add rules that only penalize the kids who are doing well. Oh yeah, and if my child is not an "A" student( so many of you seem to have these that I wonder what one has to do to actually be an A student) and he gets sick, or his grandma dies , and he takes more then 3 days off , he gets PUNISHED by FAILING, gosh , that must just make a kid LOVE school, what a joke...

 

STANDARDIZED testing in grade 2 or 3,, well thats interesting. I do think it is a great idea to discourage kids when they are young, that way they can hate and fear school right from the beginning..

 

Welcome to the US educational system. :o Where the government know more about what's best for my child than I do. Where recent government laws cause teachers to teach the test instead of TEACH.

Where my 10th grader is already counting her credits to know she can graduate early and is making deals with the school district to go to the local community college for several hours a day in 11th and 12th grade because she doesn't feel she's learning enough in high school.

For a 16 year old, she's very politically aware, socially aware and actually defends her teachers when the students around her are being disrespectful and abusive.

 

This is a child we took out of school 1 week almost every year since she was in the first grade. Boy, we must have really messed her up.

:rolleyes:

[catlady1971]

Welcome to the US educational system. :o Where the government know more about what's best for my child than I do. Where recent government laws cause teachers to teach the test instead of TEACH.

Where my 10th grader is already counting her credits to know she can graduate early and is making deals with the school district to go to the local community college for several hours a day in 11th and 12th grade because she doesn't feel she's learning enough in high school.

For a 16 year old, she's very politically aware, socially aware and actually defends her teachers when the students around her are being disrespectful and abusive.

 

This is a child we took out of school 1 week almost every year since she was in the first grade. Boy, we must have really messed her up.

:rolleyes:

 

 

Please tell your daughter that is so awesome. Best wishes to her.

 

Memories last forever, time doesn't.

[Tabsmom]

Please tell your daughter that is so awesome. Best wishes to her.

 

Memories last forever, time doesn't.

 

Thank you. Can you tell I'm kind of proud of her?:D

[MamaParrotHead]

my mom took me out of school plenty of times when i was a kid, and i turned out just fine.:D

 

i'm actually missing my first two days of (college) classes for my cruise, and i could not care less!!! It's like a $700pp price difference from one week to the next in August, obviously that was my best choice.

 

it's certainly not the worst thing you can do for your kid. and i think it helps to have a vacation in the middle of school work - kinda helps your brain re-set itself.

 

So...what you're saying is that cruising takes priority over your education, because your parents got a deal? So, it's OK to skip class for a "good cause", right? And not just skip class, but miss your first 2 days of college? Hmmmm....and your parents have taken you out of school "plenty of times", which is probably how you came to the conclusion that it's OK to skip school, as long as you can justify it some way, right? Sounds like trouble ahead, to me.

[catlady1971]

You have every right to be proud of here and it shows. Our kids deserve a break, especially with us. lol We like to reward our kids because we love them. I'm proud of my son and I'll do what I can. Despite being autistic, he does well in school. He's in college prep courses and has ambitions. He'll be graduating next year. He wants to become a meteorologist or environmentalist or oceanographer. One of those three, being a meteorologist first. lol

[morriscats]

Kids learn everyday - not just in school. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking them out of school if that is the only time you can do it. We took our grandkids to Mexico and they had their make up work they had to do (they mostly got it done before we left). And they learned so much about another culture. Plus the memories will last a lifetime.

[pg.]

So...what you're saying is that cruising takes priority over your education, because your parents got a deal? So, it's OK to skip class for a "good cause", right? And not just skip class, but miss your first 2 days of college? Hmmmm....and your parents have taken you out of school "plenty of times", which is probably how you came to the conclusion that it's OK to skip school, as long as you can justify it some way, right? Sounds like trouble ahead, to me.

Since some of us are not so impressed with the education system public schools offer, maybe cruising and family time ARE more important not missing a few days of school.

 

BTW, since the poster is enrolled and accepted at a college I assume they managed to get a good enough SAT score, and had good enough grades to do so. Here one needs about a 80 % minimum to get into most universities. Guess his or hers parents habit of taking him or her out of school didn't hurt.

 

Also missing the first two days is most likely the least disruptive time as people change courses, join late, and teachers and profs generally spend the first day or two just laying out guidelines and expectations... hardly difficult to catch up on that stuff.

[Mary_Jo]

Thank you. Can you tell I'm kind of proud of her?:D

 

And you should be!

[Mary_Jo]

So...what you're saying is that cruising takes priority over your education, because your parents got a deal? So, it's OK to skip class for a "good cause", right? And not just skip class, but miss your first 2 days of college? Hmmmm....and your parents have taken you out of school "plenty of times", which is probably how you came to the conclusion that it's OK to skip school, as long as you can justify it some way, right? Sounds like trouble ahead, to me.

 

Hmmm...from what I remember my first few days of university was a lot of waiting in lines (to get books, switch courses, getting parking passes). I would have given that up in a second for a cruise! Unless she is talking about frosh week and that was alot of partying - not for me though I was only 18 at the time :o (legal was 19).

 

I skipped a lot of classes in university too :) . Some of those profs were boring - what can I say. I got a BMath with a major in comp sci not the most exciting subject:D .

[catlady1971]

So...what you're saying is that cruising takes priority over your education, because your parents got a deal? So, it's OK to skip class for a "good cause", right? And not just skip class, but miss your first 2 days of college? Hmmmm....and your parents have taken you out of school "plenty of times", which is probably how you came to the conclusion that it's OK to skip school, as long as you can justify it some way, right? Sounds like trouble ahead, to me.

 

 

Who are you to judge anyone or make a comment like that? Why should you care, they are not your child? Family time is valuable, never take tomorrow for granted. Maybe you have the money to afford to take vacations anytime you want, but many of us don't.

[Seago2]

So...what you're saying is that cruising takes priority over your education, because your parents got a deal? So, it's OK to skip class for a "good cause", right? And not just skip class, but miss your first 2 days of college? Hmmmm....and your parents have taken you out of school "plenty of times", which is probably how you came to the conclusion that it's OK to skip school, as long as you can justify it some way, right? Sounds like trouble ahead, to me.

 

I agree totally. Maybe if everyone went to school when they were supposed to they would also know where to put an apostrophe...

[Cuizer2]

I agree totally. Maybe if everyone went to school when they were supposed to they would also know where to put an apostrophe...

 

Perhaps you missed the part where he was accepted to college. I missing many days of college, for various reasons, and I still graduated with honors.

 

Perhaps if some people would broaden their limited (read school only) education, we would not be having the problems that have been created by people who are very careful to put apostrophes were they belong.

[CRCOCruise]

My two sons keep asking when we are going to take them on a cruise and I tell them "when hell freezes over!" Cruising is our "adult vacation" away from the kids. I didn't get to cruise until I was in my 30's...they can wait too! They stay with their grandparents while we are away. We take them on vacation during the summer break. I personally believe kids should be in school when school is in. I know...shock, dismay...someone who puts education first! Oh my!:eek:

[catlady1971]

To those who want to stand on their crumbled soapbox preaching about kids should be in school, parents shouldn't take them out of school for vacation no matter what their situation may be, why don't you read the thread on "my wife almost died, that's why we cruise..." Some of us realize how precious life is and not to take anything for granted. That's how much we love our family. There may never be a tomorrow. School is always there, time isn't.

[kafitty]

Sounds like trouble ahead, to me.

 

thank you for judging me (and my parents) without knowing a thing about me.

as a pre-law major going into my senior year, i'll be just fine, thank you. (probably more than JUST fine, but we'll see in a few years, haha)

 

and, i'm paying for my cruise myself, so yes, the price difference was a deal-breaker.

[pg.]

My two sons keep asking when we are going to take them on a cruise and I tell them "when hell freezes over!" Cruising is our "adult vacation" away from the kids. I didn't get to cruise until I was in my 30's...they can wait too! They stay with their grandparents while we are away. We take them on vacation during the summer break. I personally believe kids should be in school when school is in. I know...shock, dismay...someone who puts education first! Oh my!:eek:

 

Wow, super smug, not everyone has parents ready to take on THEIR parenting responsibities while they go off on vacation.

 

Some would argue that you are not putting your kids education first so much as you are putting YOU first. The kids are YOUR responsibilty not your parents, now there is a lesson you won't learn no matter how perfect YOUR attendence in school was. !

 

I personally understand your enjoyment of cruising without kidlets, we have even done it, but I totally understand that NOT EVERYONE is ( or in our case, was) as lucky as we are in having living relatives willing to take on our responsibities while we go and goof off.

 

Some posters are trying so hard to sound so morally and ethically responsible regarding their perceptions that GOOD PARENTS do not take kids out of school for vacation reasons.

They are not convincing anyone that they are anything more then narrow minded and judgemental and in most cases very short sighted.

 

Most of us " let them go types" agree there are times when IT IS less appropriate to take kids out of school, in the higher grades when they are on the semester system, when the children themselves are weak students not able to maintain a good grade average, and not for long lengths of time .

 

 

Anyways, it has never been shown that family vacations during school time have hastened the moral decline of our society.

[catlady1971]

To PG, thanks hon. You said it all.

 

I would never tell my son when hell freezes over for a vacation. At least you can afford the finer things in life. Must be nice, especially saying when hell freezes over. wow, what a comment to say to the kids. don't be too afraid of what you see in the mirror. It's ok, we know you are human too. You aren't perfect like the rest of us.

 

.

[kitty9]

As a former teacher, here are a few things that struck me as interesting:

 

I find it difficult to believe that every single child who misses school for vacations are excellent students, but that's what one must believe when reading these posts. Or is it that the parents who pull kids out of school and who have children with poor grades, just aren't posting?

 

Guess why your child's teacher won't put up a fuss when you tell him/her that you're pulling your child out of school for a vacation? Because you never know which parent will be the one who starts a lawsuit against you or will show up with their lawyer to complain that you refuse to put together a comprehensive vacation study plan. Nowadays, teachers have to practically kiss the behinds of parents just to keep the peace. How many of you parents, when confronted by a school official that your child was involved in bad behavior in school, took your child's part, despite black and white evidence that your child was the troublemaker? You'd be surprised by how often that is happening in schools every day. I had a student who was caught red-handed with pot in his pocket and the parents refused to believe their little darling would do such a thing. I can relate far too many instances like this when the parents absolutely refuse to admit their child has behavior problems or has caused problems in school.

 

I don't know of any teacher in our 5800 teacher district who can take off a week of school for a vacation. In our master contract, if a teacher is going to be out of the classroom for more than three days, he/she must provide a doctor's excuse for their absence. And, with most districts only giving 12 to 15 personal days a year, and with most teachers needing to accumulate those days for their retirement, I don't know of any teacher who takes a week's vacation. If they did that in our district, they would be terminated.

 

My parents took my sister and me on family vacations, during school holiday time, and I can honestly tell you, I don't remember much of anything about those vacations. So to those who say these are things that your child will remember, I wonder about that. And it's not like we took vacations that wouldn't provide memories, but now as an adult, I can't remember much of the so-called "good times". I wonder how much your child is going to remember about cruises they took 20 years previously?

 

Be honest now, how many parents actually make their child do schoolwork during a cruise? I believe it's a rarity, but I could be wrong on that.

[pg.]

As a former teacher, here are a few things that struck me as interesting:

 

"I find it difficult to believe that every single child who misses school for vacations are excellent students, but that's what one must believe when reading these posts. Or is it that the parents who pull kids out of school and who have children with poor grades, just aren't posting? "

 

I do agree that everyone seems to have "straight A students here, LOL, which is funny since in Canada children in grades k thru 3 do not recieve letter grades at all"

 

"Guess why your child's teacher won't put up a fuss when you tell him/her that you're pulling your child out of school for a vacation? Because you never know which parent will be the one who starts a lawsuit against you or will show up with their lawyer to complain that you refuse to put together a comprehensive vacation study plan. Nowadays, teachers have to practically kiss the behinds of parents just to keep the peace. "

 

Thats America for you, sue happy place I hear, and now you reenforce that, I have never heard of anyone suing a teacher around here

 

"How many of you parents, when confronted by a school official that your child was involved in bad behavior in school, took your child's part, despite black and white evidence that your child was the troublemaker? You'd be surprised by how often that is happening in schools every day. I had a student who was caught red-handed with pot in his pocket and the parents refused to believe their little darling would do such a thing. "

 

We have a zero tolerence policy here, the school phones the police then the parents, doesn't matter what the parents say,, child is still charged and for first offence is usually given communtiy service and what they call " defered sentences" , second offence is a crimminal charge and if child is over 16 expulsion, if not, they can be sentenced to an " alternative school" I can relate far too many instances like this when the parents absolutely refuse to admit their child has behavior problems or has caused problems in school.

 

I don't know of any teacher in our 5800 teacher district who can take off a week of school for a vacation. In our master contract, if a teacher is going to be out of the classroom for more than three days, he/she must provide a doctor's excuse for their absence. And, with most districts only giving 12 to 15 personal days a year, and with most teachers needing to accumulate those days for their retirement, I don't know of any teacher who takes a week's vacation. If they did that in our district, they would be terminated.

 

"My parents took my sister and me on family vacations, during school holiday time, and I can honestly tell you, I don't remember much of anything about those vacations. So to those who say these are things that your child will remember, I wonder about that. And it's not like we took vacations that wouldn't provide memories, but now as an adult, I can't remember much of the so-called "good times". I wonder how much your child is going to remember about cruises they took 20 years previously?"

 

Well you just have a crappy memory. I am sure many people can remember many family vacations.

 

"Be honest now, how many parents actually make their child do schoolwork during a cruise? I believe it's a rarity, but I could be wrong on that.

"

 

 

I sorry I don't know how to seperate your quotes from my responses to them visually..

 

 

Well I have never had a child miss school for a cruise, but we used to go skiing and the kids( this was before high school) would miss a week of school, and the assigned work was always done ,,, most of it was done before we even left or on the day drive there, because when a child works alone and not in a class the work goes way faster. I was always surprised at how little work was given, and yes, my children got good report cards, and were never behind when we arrived back.

 

I do wonder( and this is not polictically correct) if the fact that most people who can afford to cruise as a family tend to be slightly better educated and employed then many people in our respective countries, a higher soco-economic bracket so to speak, and therefore you would encounter less people on these boards with kids that are struggling( unless they have an LD which of course crosses all income levels) and not thriving in school.

Children being raised in poverty, broken homes, homes with drug or alcohol abuse tend to do less well in school in general.

 

I know you don't have to be rich to cruise , but you sure as heck can't be dirt poor.

[morriscats]

My two sons keep asking when we are going to take them on a cruise and I tell them "when hell freezes over!" Cruising is our "adult vacation" away from the kids. I didn't get to cruise until I was in my 30's...they can wait too! They stay with their grandparents while we are away. We take them on vacation during the summer break. I personally believe kids should be in school when school is in. I know...shock, dismay...someone who puts education first! Oh my!:eek:

 

Wow, there are many kinds of education. Because of work schedules we sometimes took our kids out of school - they are grown now and did just fine. Now it is the grandkids turn - Nana and Papa take them when we can and the memories we are making are priceless. Maybe the grandparents are making the memories you should be making??

[C-Ked]

OK, this is a little snotty, but --

 

Does anyone else find it a little funny that there's a grammatical error in the title of this thread? :D

 

As a grammar geek, I feel it is incumbent upon me to ask everyone taking the position that "kid's" should be allowed to be taken out of school for vacation purposes to make sure that they give their posts a once-over, just so it doesn't look like you really don't value education... ;)