Taking kids out of school for vacation (genius, pupil, rates)

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by icibiu

But if the school is uncooperative it's probably because they are keeping her child’s best interest in mind.

IME, the schools are in the business of keeping in mind what they believe is best for all their students. Which is not necessarily the same as keeping in mind what is best for an individual student. Sometimes it's different altogether.

And I'm not making a value judgment about that; I'm simply defining a difference.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by carolinacool

I think I will probably be more rigid on pulling my kids out of school for "normal" vacations. Someone mentioned this beach above. I couldn't in good conscience pull my son out of school to go to the beach, even though prices plummet after Labor Day.

That's easy for you to say when you live in North Carolina! The beach is anything but a "normal" vacation where I live. In my region, a normal vacation is camping a few hours away from home.

We took our children on many different types of vacation experiences, throughout the US and in foreign countries, not just trips to the beach. I simply used the beach as an example of the savings. That savings can mean the difference between a family having a vacation or not.

It's almost like you're implying that only children whose parents can financially afford to travel in-season should get a vacation. Or worse yet, it's like you're implying that people shouldn't have children unless they can afford to pay for peak vacations or chose to not take their kids on vacation. Strange.

Originally Posted by carolinacool

When we decided to have kids, we realized that our dirt cheap off-season trips would be over when our DS turns 5. LOL

That's the beauty of choice. I'm glad choice exists because I couldn't have lived in the world you chose. I would never give up an opportunity for my family to have vacations. Dirt cheap is the only way some families can afford vacations at all. As others said, there are some parents who are employed in careers where they are only permitted to take vacations in the winter. There is no way your choice could apply to every family. It's simply your choice. Just as my way is my choice.

[Book Lover 21]

I pulled my kids out of school to go to Disneyland twice. An off-topic note; the BEST week to go is the 1st week of December. It's all decked out for Christmas, but the Xmas crowds haven't shown up yet.

They have ONE childhood, so to me it was well worth it. Not just the lower cost, but the shorter lines. Also, don't underestimate avoiding the horrible heat of the summer.

I'm more concerned about MY budget than how many $$ the school gets for my child's butt warming a seat in their school.

My adult son told me he learned more from me than he did in school anyway. One year, we went to Disneyland and another close by theme park. I showed him the differences in the prices, but also had him notice the difference in the service, cleanliness, type of people who frequent the parks. It was one of dozens of lessons he got from that trip. I also had him navigate, calculate mileage, set up a daily budget, etc etc.

[carolinacool]

Originally Posted by Hopes

That's easy for you to say when you live in North Carolina! The beach is anything but a "normal" vacation where I live. In my region, a normal vacation is camping a few hours away from home.

We took our children on many different types of vacation experiences, throughout the US and in foreign countries, not just trips to the beach. I simply used the beach as an example of the savings. That savings can mean the difference between a family having a vacation or not.

It's almost like you're implying that only children whose parents can financially afford to travel in-season should get a vacation. Or worse yet, it's like you're implying that people shouldn't have children unless they can afford to pay for peak vacations or chose to not take their kids on vacation. Strange.

That's not what I mean at all. Because I live in N.C., my view of the beach is skewed a bit. It takes us three hours to get there, so it's easy for us to do long weekend type trips if we need to. I wouldn't mind taking DS out for that. But some people go to the beach for a week or two. I wouldn't do that. But like you said, the beach is "normal" to me. For a bigger trip "lifetime" type of deal, I would pull my kids out of school. But as my kids got older, it would really depend on how well they do in school and how easy it is for them to catch up.

I just don't see myself pulling my kids out of school for a week or two every year. And I can't afford long peak vacations, either. But I don't want my kids to end up struggling so I can save a few dollars. My son in only 20 months old, so I don't know what kind of student he will be. So I reserve the right to change my mind. LOL

[Zimbochick]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

One of the school districts near here could not make up its mind for the 2011-12 schedule. It 'Approved' it in March, then in June, It changed it to start school 5 day earlier then the 1st 'approved' schedule. Alot of parents at that point had commited to vacations, summer camps, etc based on the 1st approved schedule. I think that would fall under un-avoidable vacations.

That would be our school district! Many people had already made vacation plans, and paid for them, and most I have spoken to have no intention of cancelling. It's going to be very interesting to see how the school board handles this situation.

[Ceece]

We did this a couple of times over the 18 years our kids were in public school. Since I'm not a believer in the whole "summer vacation" school model anyway I had no qualms about it. Life is not on the schedule set by our school board. If it's not something that happens all the time it's not a big deal at all IMO.

[psr13]

Originally Posted by NJGOAT

Not sure how it works where you live, but in my area, my tax dollars pay for the school. They're getting paid by me whether I have kids or not or they show up or not.

In California they get paid a certain amount per kid per day. An unexcused absence means the school doesn't get paid for that kid that day. You also aren't allowed to make up work when you have an unexcused absence at every school I have been to, so her kids would take zeros for everything they miss. It's only the second week, though, which is mostly review. I would totally do it.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by CharlotteGal

I take it you've learned nothing since you got out of school? You've learned nothing that wasn't labeled "educational"? Kids can't NOT learn. They learn from everything, every experience - and if they're having fun at the same time, that's a fantastic bonus!

Every July 24th, friends and I celebrate "Learn Nothing Day" - it's a joke; since we say our kids learn ALL the time, this was set up as "a day off" for them. It's a joke, because you can't learn nothing; if you're a fully functioning human, you really are learning all the time.

I learn all the time. I have also been to Disney many times and I can honestly say I have never learned anything useful there. How do you make the leap from "I don't consider Disney to be educational" to "Nothing outside of school is educational." That is quite a leap.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I learn all the time. I have also been to Disney many times and I can honestly say I have never learned anything useful there.

Ah, Momma_bear. You should have had me as your tour guide. I can give you a lecture on vegetable growing in Tomorrowland (that would be horticulture) and the history of the Monorail in America (public transportation).

Any child (and I get asked by my friends to take their kids all the time) that goes to Disney with me gets all kinds of cool info. Yep. An education and they don't even realise it. Best kind, IMO.

[nana053]

If you are in Texas, you can be taken to family court for truancy with that many unexcused absenses especially all in a row.