Anyone pulled their kids out of High School?

[queenL]

To the OP. Take your kids out if you feel they can manage it. Fact is many parents do and many parents do not. You have decide whether yours can.

 

Right now I'm feeling very blessed to have been raised by my parents.

 

My parents allowed me to miss high school for 4wks to go on an exchange trip to Paris. My brother and I were occassionally pulled out for other vacations here and there. I can also remember my mom and I taking an occasional "mental health day" where she called in sick to work and I missed school. On those mother daughter days, I can't say we ever did anything educational. Sometimes we went to a movie, ate ice cream or even went shopping. I have great memories of those times and I learned something that to me is more valuable in life than perfect attendance.....not to take everything so seriously.

 

I have finished college and grad school and have never been asked if I had perfect attendance. Now that I am in a position where I interview others....I can say it has never been asked on an interview. I couldn't care less about that. If that is important to you...great, hang your perfect attendance certificate on the wall next to your diploma. Just don't berate others "morality" who don't share your passion.

 

My oldest is 6. I guess her life is in ruins because she has only been in school for two years and we have pulled her out each year (once in Pre-K4 and once in Kindergarten for 1 cruise each year). :D I realize that as she gets older, school will get harder and she will have far more responsiblities that will make missing a week more challenging. If she continues to be a good student, we will continue to travel during the school year. As long as we feel she can handle missing the week.

[bus man]

Quite frankly, as a manager, I could care less about whether or not my employees have perfect attendance or not.

 

As a side note, I would rather have a sick employee miss work rather than come in to maintain perfect attendance and make the rest of us sick so we can't work effectively either. IMHO perfect attendance holds no value to me. But hey, if it works for you, more power to you.

 

I am in the midst of interviewing for two open req's -- as a hiring manager "perfect attendance" does not really get me excited. I've got one direct report who regularly martyers herself to come in "no matter what" -- and on those days I have an employee who is distracted (problem at home), or sick (spreading germs to my other employees), or surly (other things she'd rather be doing) -- in short not productive!

 

Well, I'm glad I didn't mention anything about perfect attendance when I was interviewing for my job! :D

 

I have to admit, since having kids, the whole idea of "perfect attendance" has gone out the window. There are days when one of them might be sick (thankfully, these days are very few and far between), or they might have a doctor's appointment, or whatever; and sometimes it falls to me to be the one to stay home with them.

 

Before I had kids, I had a coworker who had kids and had to miss lots of time because of them, and she always complained about how "unfair" it was that she wasn't eligible for perfect attendance. Now that the shoe is on the other foot . . . well, I still see nothing unfair about it. If you show up every day, you get perfect attendance; if you don't, you don't. It's not the company's "fault" if their employees have other needs that prevent them from coming in every day.

 

OK, back to the topic at hand . . .

[bus man]

I have finished college and grad school and have never been asked if I had perfect attendance. Now that I am in a position where I interview others....I can say it has never been asked on an interview. I couldn't care less about that. If that is important to you...great, hang your perfect attendance certificate on the wall next to your diploma. Just don't berate others "morality" who don't share your passion.

 

Not sure if that was directed at me or not, but just to clarify . . . yes, I think that perfect attendance is a good thing, in and of itself, and something worth striving for. But I don't put it as a higher virtue than family bonding. I took my son out of kindergarten for a week for a cruise, so I am in the camp of those who feel that it's not a "sin" to take kids out of school.

 

My wife, on the other hand, has real heartburn about it. We did it, that once, because it proved to be an opportunity too good to pass up. And yes, it was based mainly on financial considerations. Go ahead, flame away! (Note: that was not directed towards the poster to whom I was directly responding, but rather those who have expressed the opinion that it is immoral to schedule vacations at off-peak times, and pull kids out of school, "just to save a few bucks.")

 

But we scheduled our next cruise, coming up next year, for Spring Break -- and paid more for it -- so that the kids would not miss any school.

 

Every family needs to decide what is best for themselves. But I firmly believe that it is the PARENTS who have the final say, not the teachers or principals or school districts. Thankfully, our elementary school was very supportive of our vacation absence. But if anyone in the school system ever told me that I "can't" take my kids out on any given day, I would laugh in their faces. Parents need to remember that they -- not the schools, and not any self-righteous posters on an Internet forum -- are in charge of their children.

[chris.b.74]

In some Schools you can actually get credit for a traveling vacation to a different country.. So I would check with the counselor and see.

[chipmaster]

I'm with you its about values... and then how you perform to those values. Screened something like 170 PhDs in the past year. Its amazing what the demographics of the people getting PhDs in the US. We have the most amazing post secondary education system in the world, very little to say about nor be proud of the pre secondary education, but I'm not suprised given the statistics and discussion here.

 

I value my vacation :D

 

I am in the midst of interviewing for two open req's -- as a hiring manager "perfect attendance" does not really get me excited. I've got one direct report who regularly martyers herself to come in "no matter what" -- and on those days I have an employee who is distracted (problem at home), or sick (spreading germs to my other employees), or surly (other things she'd rather be doing) -- in short not productive!

 

If I were looking at hiring high school kids, I'd be most concerned with unexcused absences and, if the individual had what I considered to be a high total number of absences -- find out why and then determine whether the absences should be a concern.

[kassimer1]

Omg not graduating cos u were sick . I'm glad the British system isn't that stupid as despite being top of the year in most subjects I rarely did a full week at school... I'd still be there if attendance was taken into account.

 

yeah and we were lucky he was in a charter school because its only 18 days missed instead of 22 for the public school he would have been in and he wouldnt have graduated

[Algebralovr]

Your kids will miss classes, especially 5th and 6th period, if they are apart of student government or a sport team. Chances are that will jeopardize perfect attendance. My son wanted to quit ASB to focus more on his 6th period Algebra 2. I said no, you aren't quitting an elected office, so he ended up with B but other AP grades helped his overall GPA. Sometimes the commitment is more important than the grade. ASB in high school is work

 

At every school I've been associated with, if a student is out of class because they are representing the school, it does not count against them for attendance reasons. They are, however, still responsible for the work as though they were in class. They do not receive extra time to complete, because they were supposed to get the assignment for. The teacher the day before, then turn it in when it was due like everyone else.

 

My biggest argument with students was often about this, especially since I also told them they still had to turn in all their work on time. They were told to turn in the work due the day they were out of class either to me or my mailbox before they left for their outing.

[foxesden1]

As a former teacher, I am very much against this in most cases.

 

As a parent, I am also against this in most cases.

 

As both a parent and a former teacher, for me to consider it I'd have to take into account the child and their learning habits and grades, the duration of the trip, and where the trip will take the child.

 

As a teacher, I'd ask the student to bring back a significant report on their experience in the ports. I'd probably ask some specific questions in advance that I'd like to see answered.

 

As a mom I'd need to make sure this trip provided a learning experience, and wasn't just an ordinary vacation. I personally wouldn't consider it for any Caribbean cruise. The ports would need to be fairly unique and provide a good cultural experience. Not that Caribbean islands are insignificant, I just don't think the typical visit there provides enough of a unique experience.

 

Lastly, from one mom to another, only you know what is best for your child.

 

My daughter is in grade 3, and I have no issues taken her out. She goes to a French immersion school, and I do my best to ensure that at least two French speaking ports are on our trips. So for us, the Islands provide a very unique experience.

 

I also would not care a wit if our trip happened over STAR, Benchmark or any of the 100O tests they seem to be giving kids these days. :rolleyes:

 

As far as High School goes, for grade 9,10 and maybe 11 I would not worry as much, but the last year I most likely would not travel.

[Blk_Amish]

At every school I've been associated with, if a student is out of class because they are representing the school, it does not count against them for attendance reasons. They are, however, still responsible for the work as though they were in class. They do not receive extra time to complete, because they were supposed to get the assignment for. The teacher the day before, then turn it in when it was due like everyone else.

 

My biggest argument with students was often about this, especially since I also told them they still had to turn in all their work on time. They were told to turn in the work due the day they were out of class either to me or my mailbox before they left for their outing.

 

The point is they are out of class, so it could be for school activity (pep rally, rah, rah, rah:-) or family activity. In my district many teachers are very lenient with make up work. We even provide Saturday school several times per triad. Kids with good grades make teachers look good as well. My biggest issue was students getting way too much time to make up assignments when they were present. IMOP, the current system is a mess with pacing guide, teaching to the test, overcrowding, ineffective discipline, and No Child Left Behind. So missing a few days might be the least of your kids problem if you are not involved as a parent.

 

Life is a learning experience and not limited to the class room, therefore every vacation is about life and learning.

[Snooksi]

I agree. I would never take my children out of school during standardized testing. I doubt most parents would.

 

I'm saying this to be honest....not to get sympathy. I never would have dreamed of taking my children out of school for a vacation, but I do now during December. My oldest daughter suddenly died 2 yrs ago and then last Fall my husband died unexpectedly as well. I will never take life for granted ever again and our vacations are now part of our healing process so we can make new memories as a family and spend fun time together. It also REALLY helps to be on vacation on the anniversary of my daughter's death rather than being depressed at home.

 

Life is way too short and no one ever thinks the worst can happen to them but sadly, it can.

 

As long as their grades are good (thankfully, my children have always done great in school) and they get the work to make up before they go, MAKE MEMORIES and have a fabulous time!!!

[ShakyBeef]

I agree. I would never take my children out of school during standardized testing. I doubt most parents would.

 

I'm saying this to be honest....not to get sympathy. I never would have dreamed of taking my children out of school for a vacation, but I do now during December. My oldest daughter suddenly died 2 yrs ago and then last Fall my husband died unexpectedly as well. I will never take life for granted ever again and our vacations are now part of our healing process so we can make new memories as a family and spend fun time together. It also REALLY helps to be on vacation on the anniversary of my daughter's death rather than being depressed at home.

 

Life is way too short and no one ever thinks the worst can happen to them but sadly, it can.

 

As long as their grades are good (thankfully, my children have always done great in school) and they get the work to make up before they go, MAKE MEMORIES and have a fabulous time!!!

 

Christine, I'm so sorry.:( Even though I understand you didn't tell us your story for sympathy, I can't help but extend mine. Thank you for sharing your story and reminding us to make the most of every day with our loved ones, and that vacations are important too.:o God bless you.

[Snooksi]

Christine, I'm so sorry.:( Even though I understand you didn't tell us your story for sympathy, I can't help but extend mine. Thank you for sharing your story and reminding us to make the most of every day with our loved ones, and that vacations are important too.:o God bless you.

 

Thank you ShakyBeef.

 

I just try to stress to everyone I talk to....Life is too short. I guess my priorities have also drastically changed now. My new motto is: Don't sweat the small stuff. There is so much "stuff" in this world which is completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things. :)

[Buffalofirsttimer4]

Thank you ShakyBeef.

 

I just try to stress to everyone I talk to....Life is too short. I guess my priorities have also drastically changed now. My new motto is: Don't sweat the small stuff. There is so much "stuff" in this world which is completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things. :)

 

That is a wonderful way of thinking!

[hoparonious74]

We are taking our kids out of school for 4 days at the end of January 2014 for a cruise and we never second guessed the decision. The savings were huge and our kids are excited to have this kind of a family memory with us. Like many have said, life is way too short to worry about a week out of school for your children. Having your kids work a little harder before and after the trip to "keep up" in school is a great life lesson as far as I'm concerned.

[Blk_Amish]

Thank you ShakyBeef.

 

I just try to stress to everyone I talk to....Life is too short. I guess my priorities have also drastically changed now. My new motto is: Don't sweat the small stuff. There is so much "stuff" in this world which is completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things. :)

 

Ha priority, faith above all but school, work, vacation, sometimes get adjusted or shifted to accommodate the other.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[tkportersat]

Me personally, no. Both of my kids are graduated now, but in HS they were both in AP classes and I didn't want them to get that far behind...so we always cruised when school was out.

[Warm Breezes]

Ha priority, faith above all but school, work, vacation, sometimes get adjusted or shifted to accommodate the other.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

 

This is how we prioritize. Faith always first but there are times when you need to be a little flexible with everything else. Sometimes family needs to be front and center, sometimes work, sometimes school, and sometimes extracuricular activities. We try to look at all factors when deciding when to cruise and make a compromise that fits everyones needs, in nearly every time period something has to give. On our upcoming cruise DD will miss 2 "mandatory" ballet technique classes. Life goes on, she will catch up. Sometimes the kids will need to miss a day or two of school. Sometimes DH has to pull a personal day to make it work with his vacation schedule...and sometimes I have to reachable in case there is something going on at work that needs my attention via e-mail. Somehow we always seem to make work, even if means a little compromise.

[flossy999]

I am from the UK and have 3 kids 13,11 and 10 have not taken kids out since Dec 10.

We are taking them out 21st September all immediate family going away.

They all have excellent grades so I am not at all concerned about what they could be missing.

In the UK we are fined for taking kids out of school at £120 per child starting from September luckily we have already had ours authorized by our excellent headmistress.

I am of the belief that we work very hard and want to give our kids experiences of different life's and cultures this can not be gained in a classroom. Family time is so precious and I want to grab opportunities with both hands.

 

I do not believe there is a right or wrong everybody is different and all children have different needs both in and out of school

[blitznbobs]

Just to let you know those fines aren't enforceable ...

[Onessa]

Education=Faith=Family=Life are not mutually exclusive. The line between each is not dark and crisp, nor is it carved in stone somewhere.

 

Travel is educational -

• some is very much in line with a child's formal education:
  
  • museums,
    
  • historical sites,
    
  • natural sites,
    
  • encounters with native speakers of a foreign language that the student is studying);
    

  [*]while other experiences allow the student to practice some skills:

  • currency conversion-math,
    
  • Live performances-music appreciation,
    
  • introducing yourself to the kid's club-communications); and
    

  [*]some are life skills:

  • which fork do I use?-etiquette,
    
  • why does that person talk differently?-diversity
    

Education can involve the whole family - the whole familay can help collect some sea shells and learn what kind some of them are.

 

Faith, we belong to the OCA church and during our travels have visited Orthodox churches in Greece, Russia, Croatia, Estonia, Alaska, Finland, Denmark, etc. We have visited historic sites and learned about their historical significance (the Vatican, the Hauge-Sophia, Ephasis, etc.). We've found beautiful places in which to relax and meditate.

 

What it all boils down to, is use what time you do have with your family. Cherish the time and make the most of it. Don't be so concerned with the "rules" (school work or job or whatever) that you forget to enjoy living :)

[Hozhoni]

I have cruised with 5 kids for over 12 years...three have now graduated with honors two are IB graduates. Ages now 21, 20, 18, 15, & 9. One is now about finished at UF (go Gators) the first few years we tried hard not to disturb their school schedule. We'd plan a cruise during their days off which limits us, then I'd be darned they'd miss a day bc of hurricane make up day or whatever...That being said life is short, create family memories, and for the past several years we have pulled them out for cruises...not a whole week but a couple of days such as this next cruise. They will miss a couple of days. They will make up the work or write a geography report. Besides if we are writing here on CC we are all far more blessed and can afford a day away, many times my children witness how others live in some of the port cities and they have been generous with their own spending money...you cannot teach compassion in a classroom but in real life :) ENJOY!!!!!

[katmandoo]

Do it!

[4 tater]

I have taken my three out of school for a week in grade school for a Disney world vacation And will again in 2015 when my oldest will be in 7th grade for a cruise .. My three girls get straight a's and they are very quick students so I have no issue doing this at all. And the school does not own my kids, I will take them where and when I want to.. I'm their mother .. If I see they aren't performing in school well then I'd say no... Also prices during off season is much cheaper than when our kids are out of school so this helps us afford to take them

[fritolayNY]

I agree. I would never take my children out of school during standardized testing. I doubt most parents would.

 

I'm saying this to be honest....not to get sympathy. I never would have dreamed of taking my children out of school for a vacation, but I do now during December. My oldest daughter suddenly died 2 yrs ago and then last Fall my husband died unexpectedly as well. I will never take life for granted ever again and our vacations are now part of our healing process so we can make new memories as a family and spend fun time together. It also REALLY helps to be on vacation on the anniversary of my daughter's death rather than being depressed at home.

 

Life is way too short and no one ever thinks the worst can happen to them but sadly, it can.

 

As long as their grades are good (thankfully, my children have always done great in school) and they get the work to make up before they go, MAKE MEMORIES and have a fabulous time!!!

 

Sorry sorry for you. I can"t imagine the emotions involved. Yes life is too short and unpredictable. My dad fell down a few years ago and became a partial paraplegic and we just lost my healthy mother-in-law in with a 2 month battle with an infected cyst that went sepsis.

 

We usually take our kids out as it is more affordable but decided this year with one is going to be a freshman and one entering junior high to finally schedule one during their vacations. Do what you need to do for your family and situation.

 

PS Trying not to offend anyone but I am always glad for others when children receive awards but not for "best attendance". Please don't tell me your child never got sick and when he or she went to school so not to lose that perfect attendance. Who did she or he infect? There are many students and teachers with medical issues that you may have compromised.

[ShakyBeef]

PS Trying not to offend anyone but I am always glad for others when children receive awards but not for "best attendance". Please don't tell me your child never got sick and when he or she went to school so not to lose that perfect attendance. Who did she or he infect? There are many students and teachers with medical issues that you may have compromised.

 

I've thought about this before, too. I am willing to believe there are some kids that never got sick with anything contagious for the entire school year. But I also know for a fact that there are kids that go to school knowing they are contagious, by their own choice, or by their parents', either chasing that "Perfect Attendance" award, or because the parents have to go to work and can't stay home with the kid. I have seen it happen many, many times.:mad:

 

I have kept my daughters home from school on occassion, even though they felt well enough and wanted to go, because I knew they were still in the contagious stage of an illness. Sometimes we take our kids out of school for our own sake, and sometimes we do it for the sake of others.;)