For all the teachers out there...

Kerrilyn

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 9, 2015
How do you feel about kids missing school for vacations? Is there a better time of year to do this?
Just wanted to get an idea of how badly I am damaging my kids...:D. Seriously though, we have always gone to Disney in September after the start of school. First couple of times we did it, we didn't hear of any problems or concerns when we returned. Last time was different. We had to stay longer through no fault of our own (thanks, Irma) and one kid had it rough from their school when we got back. It just seemed that the school was making this a much bigger problem than it really was. The worst part was that no one at the school sent us a note, email or even called. What they did instead was make snide remarks to my child.
We're going anyway - I just want to know how to prepare and deal with any eventual fallout.

Thanks everyone!
:disrocks:
 
We took our kids out of school quite a bit to travel, like sometimes more than once a school year. I always went in ahead of time and talked to the teacher or sent a note stating when we were going and asking point blank what they would miss and would they mind preparing anything for the kids to work ahead on, even for before the days missed.

Both my kids are on the Deans List at their respective universities so I suspect taking them out of school did not hurt their grades :joker:

I think as your kids get older (grade three and up) you might find there is a huge social component with friends and cliques that happens in that first few weeks of school. They are establishing social hierarchies and forming bonds for the school year that could suffer if they are not there. I personally would be more worried about that. It is so hard to be left out and it can have lasting social consequences. Sorry, got a little preachy there but it is astonishing how cruel children can be to each other sometimes.


One thing we always did was bring back something for the teacher to thank them for going the extra mile when it came to prepping work for the kids. We travelled many places but I think coming back from a couple of Disney trips we got them chocolates, pretzels, mints, etc from the store in Disney Spring/Downtown Disney and made a little basket
 
Just a FYI
Most Boards are now "requesting" staff to sign "Social Media,Social Networking,Social protocol, Social Media workplace Policy". (Teachers may not want to post).
So as a Mom and Nana I say open a line of communication with school and see what they say.
The Nana and Mom in me says family time is important and contributes to the growth and development of children.
Directing unkind remarks to a child is so wrong and I'd be tempted to speak to that staff member directly or their supervisor.

Best wishes for a GREAT family holiday!
Hugs Mel

I don't Facebook,Twitter, Instagram,,BUT I do DIS.
 
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There isn’t really a hard and fast rule, IMO. For some kids, missing a week of school (or more) is no big deal. For others, it’s a disaster. You know your kids and their academic abilities best.

As for when is best to go, that depends on age, I think.

For elementary, the first week or two of September is good, unless they are brand new to that school. Most classes are doing review and “get to know you” activities the first week. Mid to late June is also good, surprisingly. A little known secret is that most graded work is done by mid-June so that reports can be prepared and printed.

For a semestered high school, do NOT miss the first two or last two weeks of the course. Course changes are done at the very beginning, and if your student needs a switch nothing will be left by the time they get there. And they’ll miss all of the introductory work that sets up the rest of the course. And major assessments and exam review are done right at the end and are almost impossible to get caught up on (in our school, a missed final assessment is a zero unless there’s a detailed doctors note). Also look at the school calendar to see what events/activities traditionally take place during the time you’d miss...you don’t want to miss any government testing or major post-secondary prep events.

EDIT: and I’m a teacher (high school guidance counsellor) who’s a year from retirement, carrying a flamethrower as I cross bridges this year, and I will always give advice to friends (both real life and online) who ask for it, no matter what the board might prefer me to do. :-)
 
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How do you feel about kids missing school for vacations? Is there a better time of year to do this?
Just wanted to get an idea of how badly I am damaging my kids...:D. Seriously though, we have always gone to Disney in September after the start of school. First couple of times we did it, we didn't hear of any problems or concerns when we returned. Last time was different. We had to stay longer through no fault of our own (thanks, Irma) and one kid had it rough from their school when we got back. It just seemed that the school was making this a much bigger problem than it really was. The worst part was that no one at the school sent us a note, email or even called. What they did instead was make snide remarks to my child.
We're going anyway - I just want to know how to prepare and deal with any eventual fallout.

Thanks everyone!
:disrocks:
How high-performing is your child in school? That is the biggest issue from my perspective as a teacher, because my students are tested and I am held accountable for their performance. It is problematic when a child who isn't always high-perfoming misses class, because I have to take time out of my own schedule (and away from my own child) to reteach the content he or she missed while on vacation.

One day or two missed during the year for a trip is no big deal for any child, but taking kids out of school for several days or more for vacations can be problematic for teachers, especially when multiple families do this and the problem is compounded.
 
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I think it really depends on the child/student and how well they will adjust upon their return.

Our decision as parents was easy since we were confident of our children's ability to catch up on their school work each time we returned from 10 days at WDW. We never ask the teachers to assign additional work or do anything exceptional for our children when they return from our trips. In fact we made sure both children did not miss the EQAO tests in grades 3 and 6, our arrival home was planned around that. And they both excelled on the tests with no advance prep.

Important to note we only took our kids out of school for WDW once a year. But at our elementary school, the children travel ALOT to every destination imagineable - cruises, all inclusives, Europe, Asia... Some are gone for as long as one month overseas.
 
September is not a good time to miss school. Starting units that are the base to build on for the rest of the school year, seeing who is at what level and will need extra help, getting used to classroom/teacher expectations, introducing clubs/teams and tryouts.

The way the curriculum is now can be very fast paced, if you miss a day or two and don't understand, it makes going on to the next thing really hard as they are often related.

Teachers are allowed to refuse to give out work, either before or after, so be prepared for that just in case. Some will overload your child when they return, or expect them to be able to jump in although they haven't had the prep to understand the current work. Some will even give your child a zero on anything missed.

Better to do it over times there are already time off/PD days, like our Thanksgiving weekend, so you can minimize time off.
 


I teach primary. I don't mind my students going away- I feel that life experiences are fantastic learning experiences. We grew up with my parents taking us out of school to go to WDW (no longer then a week). That being said- the frustration comes for me- when parents ask for work to work on when the child is away. I prepare the work to be done (which is usually hours of prep time) and then 90% of the time the work never even gets looked at. If you request work from the teacher(s) please have your child(ren) do their homework. Also in primary grades- we work the majority of time with hands on learning experiences (not worksheets and textbooks) so this is hard to make up. So in my opinion- take them out and enjoy- but know that it is lots of extra work on the teacher- so please follow through on your end :)
 
Depends on your school's school district policy. Ours is very vague, but my interpretation of its vagueness is that as long as the student isn't suffering progress in their learning, the schools don't have the ability to dictate your parenting choices.
 
I think as your kids get older (grade three and up) you might find there is a huge social component with friends and cliques that happens in that first few weeks of school. They are establishing social hierarchies and forming bonds for the school year that could suffer if they are not there. I personally would be more worried about that. It is so hard to be left out and it can have lasting social consequences. Sorry, got a little preachy there but it is astonishing how cruel children can be to each other sometimes.
Do not apologize for being preach - I think you are absolutely right about this. Kids can be incredibly cruel and both my kids have suffered from time to time because of this. I always try to keep in mind the social aspect of life for my kids. It becomes more and more important as they get older. :-)

One thing we always did was bring back something for the teacher to thank them for going the extra mile when it came to prepping work for the kids. We travelled many places but I think coming back from a couple of Disney trips we got them chocolates, pretzels, mints, etc from the store in Disney Spring/Downtown Disney and made a little basket
TBH, I had never thought of this - it's a terrific idea! :-)

Just a FYI
Most Boards are now "requesting" staff to sign "Social Media,Social Networking,Social protocol, Social Media workplace Policy". (Teachers may not want to post).
So as a Mom and Nana I say open a line of communication with school and see what they say.
The Nana and Mom in me says family time is important and contributes to the growth and development of children.
Directing unkind remarks to a child is so wrong and I'd be tempted to speak to that staff member directly or their supervisor.
Thanks for this. Family time is very important, even my children's schools say this, so the one school's reaction seemed odd to me. I only wish that my child had let me know when this was happening instead of waiting until months had passed. It made me angry and sad for them. I really felt that it alienated them and, consequently, made them feel too uncomfortable to speak up when they were having problems with some other kids.

EDIT: and I’m a teacher (high school guidance counsellor) who’s a year from retirement, carrying a flamethrower as I cross bridges this year, and I will always give advice to friends (both real life and online) who ask for it, no matter what the board might prefer me to do.
I am in my last year of university, getting my B Ed. You are my new favorite superhero! :D

How high-performing is your child in school? That is the biggest issue from my perspective as a teacher, because my students are tested and I am held accountable for their performance. It is problematic when a child who isn't always high-perfoming misses class, because I have to take time out of my own schedule (and away from my own child) to reteach the content he or she missed while on vacation.
Both children are in schools for which they had to be tested to receive entry. Under those terms, they are both high-performing. If I were to take an average of their grades, I guess I would say they are B students. They do better in some things than others. They both have a tough time with math, but I did too when I was a kid. As a parent, I would never expect a teacher to take time away from their own family to help my child catch up - that's what I am there for. I just have to be allowed the opportunity to do that. I was not given the opportunity to do so the last time.

I think it really depends on the child/student and how well they will adjust upon their return.

Our decision as parents was easy since we were confident of our children's ability to catch up on their school work each time we returned from 10 days at WDW. We never ask the teachers to assign additional work or do anything exceptional for our children when they return from our trips. In fact we made sure both children did not miss the EQAO tests in grades 3 and 6, our arrival home was planned around that. And they both excelled on the tests with no advance prep.

Important to note we only took our kids out of school for WDW once a year. But at our elementary school, the children travel ALOT to every destination imagineable - cruises, all inclusives, Europe, Asia... Some are gone for as long as one month overseas.
I am confident in my children's abilities. In the end, neither child suffered academically. One child's school seemed to have a big problem the last time. The reaction seemed odd to me because there have been students who have missed more time away than my child did. I have known children who have gone to there family's country of origin for more than a month during the school year. I don't know how the school dealt with that, however.

I teach primary. I don't mind my students going away- I feel that life experiences are fantastic learning experiences. We grew up with my parents taking us out of school to go to WDW (no longer then a week). That being said- the frustration comes for me- when parents ask for work to work on when the child is away. I prepare the work to be done (which is usually hours of prep time) and then 90% of the time the work never even gets looked at. If you request work from the teacher(s) please have your child(ren) do their homework. Also in primary grades- we work the majority of time with hands on learning experiences (not worksheets and textbooks) so this is hard to make up. So in my opinion- take them out and enjoy- but know that it is lots of extra work on the teacher- so please follow through on your end
I wouldn't ask for work and then not do it! We always take days off from going to the parks anyway, so this would be homework time if they had any. Then again, I make my kids do "homework" a couple of days a week in the summer so there is no brain-drain when school starts up again. Doing work on vacation wouldn't hurt anyone.

Thank you all so much for your opinions. I really appreciate it! I think a key point is making sure the school and teacher are aware in advance. The schools where we live generally require teachers to have plans, goals and objectives set up for the whole year. In primary school here, students are given government tests at the end of every cycle (roughly every two years). These exams generally run from mid-May to mid-June. I've worked it out so that we go to Disney every other year from the test years. Teachers can refuse to do anything if they choose, however, the public school system here is governed by certain laws. Teachers and parents have certain responsibilities when it comes to the education of children 16 and under here. I was not aware of what had been said or done to my child last year. It should never have happened and I will do everything in my capacity as a parent and a teacher to help my kids overcome any educational hurdles they may encounter. I'm going to try and keep us from ruffling too many feathers.

Thanks again!
:disrocks:
 
How do you feel about kids missing school for vacations? Is there a better time of year to do this?
Just wanted to get an idea of how badly I am damaging my kids...:D. Seriously though, we have always gone to Disney in September after the start of school. First couple of times we did it, we didn't hear of any problems or concerns when we returned. Last time was different. We had to stay longer through no fault of our own (thanks, Irma) and one kid had it rough from their school when we got back. It just seemed that the school was making this a much bigger problem than it really was. The worst part was that no one at the school sent us a note, email or even called. What they did instead was make snide remarks to my child.
We're going anyway - I just want to know how to prepare and deal with any eventual fallout.

Thanks everyone!
:disrocks:
I can tell that you are new. There are threads and threads about this.

From a teacher's point of view, in my school, vacations are not excused absences. Two unexcused absences require a call to the parent. Parent needs to send in note explaining the reason for absence, i.e., illness (doctor's note preferred), funeral, other emergency. Our district only allows up to 9 days of parent notes, after that, all absences require a doctor's note. We have quite an intensive protocol including phones calls, notes, truancy officer visits, and finally the call to the Department of Children and Families, my favorite.

All of these unexcused absences take a lot of time to make contact with the parent and document on Power Teacher. All notes and documentation are considered legal documents and can be used in court, so we need to keep our ducks in a row. I find most of this to be a colossal waste of my time, but just like I'm a mandated reporter, I have no choice. Parents get mad and push back. It can get very ugly.

The simple solution is for the child to only be absent when they are actually ill. I chose to use the school vacations to travel, and we have many choices: Christmas break, February break, April break, and the most flexible of them all, summer.

I have students who have only been out two days with stomach viruses already, and I have spent quite a bit of time on documentation, because none of them had doctor's notes. I understand. I didn't go to the doctor in August when I got a stomach bug.

So, there you have it. If teachers are a bit crabby, it is because extra work has been created for them due to your child's unexcused absence. If you asked for a work packet filled with assignments to complete so that your child wouldn't fall behind, that only adds to the bad mood. By the way, every day that a child misses class, they are missing a lot just by not being present and experiencing learning first-hand in person. No amount of worksheets can make up for being taught by the teacher in that moment.
 
I can tell that you are new. There are threads and threads about this.

From a teacher's point of view, in my school, vacations are not excused absences. Two unexcused absences require a call to the parent. Parent needs to send in note explaining the reason for absence, i.e., illness (doctor's note preferred), funeral, other emergency. Our district only allows up to 9 days of parent notes, after that, all absences require a doctor's note. We have quite an intensive protocol including phones calls, notes, truancy officer visits, and finally the call to the Department of Children and Families, my favorite.

All of these unexcused absences take a lot of time to make contact with the parent and document on Power Teacher. All notes and documentation are considered legal documents and can be used in court, so we need to keep our ducks in a row. I find most of this to be a colossal waste of my time, but just like I'm a mandated reporter, I have no choice. Parents get mad and push back. It can get very ugly.

The simple solution is for the child to only be absent when they are actually ill. I chose to use the school vacations to travel, and we have many choices: Christmas break, February break, April break, and the most flexible of them all, summer.

I have students who have only been out two days with stomach viruses already, and I have spent quite a bit of time on documentation, because none of them had doctor's notes. I understand. I didn't go to the doctor in August when I got a stomach bug.

So, there you have it. If teachers are a bit crabby, it is because extra work has been created for them due to your child's unexcused absence. If you asked for a work packet filled with assignments to complete so that your child wouldn't fall behind, that only adds to the bad mood. By the way, every day that a child misses class, they are missing a lot just by not being present and experiencing learning first-hand in person. No amount of worksheets can make up for being taught by the teacher in that moment.

Hi Hon
Are you in Canada?
Hugs Mel
 
I can tell that you are new. There are threads and threads about this.

From a teacher's point of view, in my school, vacations are not excused absences. Two unexcused absences require a call to the parent. Parent needs to send in note explaining the reason for absence, i.e., illness (doctor's note preferred), funeral, other emergency. Our district only allows up to 9 days of parent notes, after that, all absences require a doctor's note. We have quite an intensive protocol including phones calls, notes, truancy officer visits, and finally the call to the Department of Children and Families, my favorite.

All of these unexcused absences take a lot of time to make contact with the parent and document on Power Teacher. All notes and documentation are considered legal documents and can be used in court, so we need to keep our ducks in a row. I find most of this to be a colossal waste of my time, but just like I'm a mandated reporter, I have no choice. Parents get mad and push back. It can get very ugly.

The simple solution is for the child to only be absent when they are actually ill. I chose to use the school vacations to travel, and we have many choices: Christmas break, February break, April break, and the most flexible of them all, summer.

I have students who have only been out two days with stomach viruses already, and I have spent quite a bit of time on documentation, because none of them had doctor's notes. I understand. I didn't go to the doctor in August when I got a stomach bug.

So, there you have it. If teachers are a bit crabby, it is because extra work has been created for them due to your child's unexcused absence. If you asked for a work packet filled with assignments to complete so that your child wouldn't fall behind, that only adds to the bad mood. By the way, every day that a child misses class, they are missing a lot just by not being present and experiencing learning first-hand in person. No amount of worksheets can make up for being taught by the teacher in that moment.

I'm really not that new - I was just having a frustrating time finding the info I was looking for as pertains to things where I live. Basically, I got lazy...:-)
Wow! I would be crabby too if that was the system I had to work within. I can see how both teachers and parents would get frustrated with that. Thankfully, we have a different system here. I am always interested to learn about other systems, though.
Have a great day!
 
I'm really not that new - I was just having a frustrating time finding the info I was looking for as pertains to things where I live. Basically, I got lazy...:-)
Wow! I would be crabby too if that was the system I had to work within. I can see how both teachers and parents would get frustrated with that. Thankfully, we have a different system here. I am always interested to learn about other systems, though.
Have a great day!
I assumed that you hadn’t read all those posts because you are “Earning your ears.”

I’m in Connecticut.
 
Nope, but my cousin and his husband live in Canada.

Not being a teacher in Canada, you probably a different experience.

Over here (at least in my district) we don't have multiple weeks outside of Christmas and summer to choose from. We get one week at March break and that's it. Our teachers also don't seem to have all that paperwork that you have with an absence.

My husband is a teacher so our two previous trips have been over march break. I am taking my daughter (a grade 1) out for 4 days for a mommy daughter trip in January. I want to experience a different time of year and she's a good student so I'm not concerned. Once they are in higher grades, I personally would not take my kids out of school. My husband also would not support that when they are older
 
It seems to be very different in Canada than in the US. I've never heard of any school here that had a limit on absences.

My opinion as a mom and past teacher is that as long as you make sure that your child catches up on what they missed without making for a lot of extra work for the teacher, all is just fine. I know quite a few teachers who send their kids on vacation during school time with family members.
 
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I wish I taught in Canada!

Today, I spent 30 minutes documenting parent contacts for three students, 1 with strep throat, 1 with a stomach bug, and 1 with a broken foot. It's utterly ridiculous.
 
I wish I taught in Canada!

Today, I spent 30 minutes documenting parent contacts for three students, 1 with strep throat, 1 with a stomach bug, and 1 with a broken foot. It's utterly ridiculous.

Wow. It’s the third week of school for me, at a midsize high school in Ontario’s largest school board, and we still have about 10-20 students that haven’t arrived back from summer vacation yet. We’ll have a half a dozen or so students that will go back to their home country for a month or six weeks at some point during the school year for a family wedding or whatnot. There’s a one-page form that the extended absence students fill out and get signed by all their teachers and then they hand it in to the vice-principal. It’s the student’s job to either catch up when they get back or to negotiate with teachers for work to take with them, depending on the course. And any documentation regarding a short absence for illness like the ones you mention above is handled by the attendance secretary in the main office. Teachers can and should phone home if a student has been missing for a number of classes, but they just pass on what they’ve learned to the attendance secretary, there’s no paperwork to fill out.

I guess we have it pretty good!
 
Wow. It’s the third week of school for me, at a midsize high school in Ontario’s largest school board, and we still have about 10-20 students that haven’t arrived back from summer vacation yet. We’ll have a half a dozen or so students that will go back to their home country for a month or six weeks at some point during the school year for a family wedding or whatnot. There’s a one-page form that the extended absence students fill out and get signed by all their teachers and then they hand it in to the vice-principal. It’s the student’s job to either catch up when they get back or to negotiate with teachers for work to take with them, depending on the course. And any documentation regarding a short absence for illness like the ones you mention above is handled by the attendance secretary in the main office. Teachers can and should phone home if a student has been missing for a number of classes, but they just pass on what they’ve learned to the attendance secretary, there’s no paperwork to fill out.

I guess we have it pretty good!

Yep
I'm at a (Primary/Middle) school and that pretty much describes how things are done for us.
We have a lot of kids just returning now from extended family holidays.
Also we have a couple of balanced calendar schools that will be going on Fall break soon.
Our board seems to respect the diversity of our families and their needs.
I think we have it pretty good!
Hugs Mel
 
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