Need to vent! School Days Missed

[palavra]

I don't see what the argument is here. The OP needs to check her school's attendance policy to see if missing 10 days would affect her children. If it would, then she can make an informed decision.

I teach in a private school, and our absence policy is no more than 10 days per semester can be missed without it affecting a student's grade. If a student misses more than 20 days in a school year, the student fails for the year.

Most school systems have attendance policy because schooling is required in America. Truancy laws have been around for many, many years.

Pacrosby, I would really like to know what you definition of critical thinking skills is. I enjoy teaching almost all the time, but my favortie moments are when students take ideas and concepts that we've discussed in class and run with them on their own. Each year, our middle school students participate in National History Day in which they complete a project analyzing a historical event through research of primary sources, interviews with participants and letters of phone calls made to the sites where the events took place. I can assure you that these students are thinking for themselves.

 

[princessmom29]

IDK know what else to say really. Obviously many districts across the nation (including mine) seem to manage fine without blanket policies so it is possible. Is there a bit of a truancy problem in your district? I guess I just don't get the lawsuit argument. If the kids are failing, they are failing. If they are passing, they are passing. Seems to me that attendance should be a seperate issue. Generally speaking a child who is a repetitive offender will end up digging his own grave, no policy required.



Perhaps our definition of 'critical thinking' and 'independent thinking' is not quite the same. I'm not referring to those cognitive linguistic skills generally referred to as critical thinking and reasoning. Sure all schools intergrate the teaching of those skills into their lessons.No, I'm talking about something deeper than that.




Shudder if you will but it's true. And this is not a bottom of the barrel university that I went to (I'm referring only to my undergrad degree of course. Kind of hard to get a Masters Degree without going to class LOL). Keep in mind that we are talking about back in the early 80's though. And I may have exaggerated a tad if I said I never went to class. I did go to those classes that were small (freshman english. labs and those classes specifically related to speech/language pathology) but anything that took place in a large lecture hall with 200+ students (things like Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Logic, Research Methodology, Intro to Computers etc.)? Nope. I think it's probably a function of the subject matter. Anatomy and Physiology is Anatomy and Physiology no matter how you slice it LOL

I get the theory about letting them pass or fail on thier own merits, wether they are here or not, and i don't totally disagree with that. I wish we could do that. The problem comes in when a child's parents choose to take them out for weeks at a time and then expect me to get the child caught up. If I can't or don't they pitch a fit about how it was an "excused absence" so we are legally obligated to provide the instruction missed, and the law is on their side. If it is excused I am legally bound to provide that missed instruction and wsee to it that the child has an opportunityt to make up all work missed AFTER proper instruction. I don't think that is fair becuase it takes so much time away form other students. If we can call it unexcused, then I am not required to do anything, but the policy must be a blanket one that covers all students all of the time or it is unenforcable for any student. I don't think most people truly realize the point to which puyblic school's every move has been legislated due to the multitude of lawsuits filed every year.

so am I. I need my students to be capable of free and independent thought and to be able to come up with novel solutions to problems they have never seen. I need them to be able to design thier own experiments to test their hypothesis, and to be able to critically evaluate those results. If that is not teaching them to think for themselves I don't know what else could be in a math and science class??

I went to school in the mid 90's at a fairly large state university in the honor's program. We never had classes of 200+. There were never more than about 20 in a class, and the professor knew if you were not there. Missing class discussion in the freshman and sophomore level cores meant that you stunk it up on the all essay test that followed. Missing my upper level chem and physics classes was out of the question if I wanted to actually grasp what was going on. One problem often took multiple boards and half an hour to work out. You couldn't miss many of those and pass.

 

[maxiesmom]

I could be wrong but I'm guessing the insult she was referring to was the above quote. It is awfully rude to imply that other people don't have good reading comprehension.

I'm also guessing that her point was that a common sense approach won't work because people will differ in what they feel is common sense. Some people will think that ten days absence is excessive, others will feel it's acceptable. That's why it's important for the school system to come up with a policy and enforce it for everyone. That's also why it's important for those who feel the policy is too restrictive to try to get the school system to change the policy.

You nailed it. Thanks!!

 

[pacrosby]

Pacrosby, I would really like to know what you definition of critical thinking skills is. I enjoy teaching almost all the time, but my favortie moments are when students take ideas and concepts that we've discussed in class and run with them on their own. Each year, our middle school students participate in National History Day in which they complete a project analyzing a historical event through research of primary sources, interviews with participants and letters of phone calls made to the sites where the events took place. I can assure you that these students are thinking for themselves.

Honestly I just don't know that I want to get into this because I don't want to get things going in yet another direction (and have people jumping all over me LOL). Suffice it to say that we have entered an age when people are discouraged from rocking the boat and challenging the masses and I honestly believe that that mentality runs rampant in the schools. "Popular thinking" is in. "Independent thinking" is out. Kids are being indoctrinated into believing there is a 'correct' and incorrect' way of thinking about certain things that would have been off limits in my generation. Sometimes I can't believe the stuff my kids come home spouting. Some (I said 'some' so don't go making assumptions about me please) would call it a 'liberal agenda', others would claim that's pure nonsense. I don't care what you call it, to me it's disturbing.

There's a conservative talk radio station here in Boston that uses the following tag line "96.9 FM Where questioning authority is a Boston tradition". I love that. Some people would argue that questioning authority is arrogant and disrespectful. I respectfully disagree. It's about being willing to think outside the box and really consider all angles of an issue before forming an opinion. It's about being willing to stick your head up above the crowd despite that risk of getting hit by more than a few tomatoes. It's about not always running for that handbook when it's time to make some important decision. I honestly do believe that many schools today are more about teaching compliance and cooperation for what is perceived to be the common good (according to their ideals). Not all, but many. As long as you follow the mantra you're in good standing. Step outside the boundaries and watch out.

More and more people in today's society are relying on 'rules' and 'regulations' to make the decisions in their lives. Everytime you turn around there's someone else writing some new policy that will tell you what to do and how to do it. Some have argued the 'not everyone has common sense' excuse....................the 'we need to save everyone from themselves' excuse. Others bring up the 'overzealous legal system' excuse. Excuses. That's all they are. We created this mess and we have no one to look to to blame. Some say they disagree with what's going on but..... But what? You've jumped on the bandwagon. You're singing their song. You're doing the dirty work. You've stopped thinking for yourself.

Independent thinking means thinking independently. Critical thinking means thinking critically. Too many in our society no longer form their own opinions. They simply adopt someone elses.

Of course, this is not something brand new. It's been going on for awhile and I think all you have to do is listen to some people on this thread to see it's effects. It's one thing to disagree about a parent's decision to take a child out of school, quite another to get all riled up that a parent would have the nerve to question a school's policy. "How dare you. It's THE policy." "Those are the rules. Doesn't matter what you think. Doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Heck your not even allowed to think!" "Deal with it." And how about those folks who pop in with a quick post that reads "why are we even talking about this?" These folks don't even understand the art of discussion. They llive in a world that's black and white. Too many handbooks I'd say. Their brains have gone numb.

Ok, so I've answered your question but honestly this is where I have to draw the line. Part of this falls into the hot topic zone and ties in alittle too closely to the political. I'm not willing to discuss this on a public forum no matter what. For those who know where I come from and agree.....................high five For those who don't......................all's good. We are all entitled to our opinion

 

[princessmom29]

Honestly I just don't know that I want to get into this because I don't want to get things going in yet another direction (and have people jumping all over me LOL). Suffice it to say that we have entered an age when people are discouraged from rocking the boat and I honestly believe that that mentality runs rampant in the schools. Kids are being indoctrinated into believing there is a 'correct' and incorrect' way of thinking about certain things that would have been off limits in my generation. Sometimes I can't believe the stuff my kids come home spouting. Some would call it a 'liberal agenda', others would claim that's pure nonsense. Whatever you call it, to me it's disturbing.

There's a conservative talk radio station here in Boston that uses the following tag line "96.9 FM Where questioning authority is a Boston tradition". I love that. Some people would argue that questioning authority is arrogant and disrespectful. I respectfully disagree. It's about being willing to think outside the box and really consider all angles of an issue before forming an opinion. It's about being willing to stick your head up above the crowd despite that risk of getting hit by more than a few tomatoes. It's about not always running for that handbook when it's time to make some important decision. I honestly do believe that many schools today are more about teaching compliance and cooperation for what is perceived to be the common good (according to their ideals). Not all, but many. As long as you follow the mantra you're in good standing. Step outside the boundaries and watch out.

This is not something brand new. It's been going on for awhile and I think all you have to do is listen to some people on this thread to see it's effects. It's one thing to disagree about a parent's decision to take a child out of school, quite another to get all riled up that they would even have the nerve to question the school's policy. "How dare you even consider challenging a school's policy. It's policy." "Those are the rules. Doesn't matter what you think. Doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Heck your not even allowed to think! Deal with it."

Ok, so I've answered your question but honestly this is where I have to draw the line. This is a hot topic and ties in alittle too much to the political. I'm not willing to discuss this on a public forum no matter what. For those who know where I come from and agree.....................high five For those who don't......................all's good. We are all entitled to our opinion

All I will say is: being able to think for oneself is not exclusive to a single affiliation, political or otherwise. To think so is NOT using your critical thinking skills!

 

[pacrosby]

I get the theory about letting them pass or fail on thier own merits, wether they are here or not, and i don't totally disagree with that. I wish we could do that. The problem comes in when a child's parents choose to take them out for weeks at a time and then expect me to get the child caught up. If I can't or don't they pitch a fit about how it was an "excused absence" so we are legally obligated to provide the instruction missed, and the law is on their side. If it is excused I am legally bound to provide that missed instruction and wsee to it that the child has an opportunityt to make up all work missed AFTER proper instruction. I don't think that is fair becuase it takes so much time away form other students. If we can call it unexcused, then I am not required to do anything, but the policy must be a blanket one that covers all students all of the time or it is unenforcable for any student. I don't think most people truly realize the point to which puyblic school's every move has been legislated due to the multitude of lawsuits filed every year.

You've got my sympathy as I agree that parents have no right to be unreasonable either. It does go both ways.

so am I. I need my students to be capable of free and independent thought and to be able to come up with novel solutions to problems they have never seen. I need them to be able to design thier own experiments to test their hypothesis, and to be able to critically evaluate those results. If that is not teaching them to think for themselves I don't know what else could be in a math and science class??

again I'm not talking about thinking critically about the information learned in the classroom. I'm talking about thinking independently and critically about life and those very complex issues we face as we live. Sometimes schools are better at just telling kids what they should do.

I went to school in the mid 90's at a fairly large state university in the honor's program. We never had classes of 200+. There were never more than about 20 in a class, and the professor knew if you were not there. Missing class discussion in the freshman and sophomore level cores meant that you stunk it up on the all essay test that followed. Missing my upper level chem and physics classes was out of the question if I wanted to actually grasp what was going on. One problem often took multiple boards and half an hour to work out. You couldn't miss many of those and pass.

200+ in a large lecture hall was not unusual at my university. A class of 20? Never heard of such a thing LOL

 

[pacrosby]

All I will say is: being able to think for oneself is not exclusive to a single affiliation, political or otherwise. To think so is NOT using your critical thinking skills!

That's not at all what I meant to suggest (I'm actually probably as confused by your last post as you were by mine). Wish I could try and clarify but since I promised not to further this discussion I simply cannot. I'm sorry if I just made things more confusing for you

 

[MMitchell29]

pacrosby can you see me shaking my head at you? can you? CAN YOU???
Seem like my "time out" did not work

 

[MiniGirl]

We've been gone all day, so I didn't get back to answer your questions. I was just going to let it slide, but I actually see that the thread has gone in the direction I would've answered anyway.

Fourth, you ask why I don't think they'd make good on that threat? Simply because it makes no logical sense. Why do they want to keep children back who are fully prepared academically to move forward? How does that truly benefit them? In reality it probably creates more problems than it solves. Not to mention the potential legal ramifications. Do they really want to tempt a lawsuit? Even if they thought they could win because, after all, it is written in the "handbook"! Don't you think some parent would drag their behinds into the courtroom? Do they really want to start dealing with that mess? What if they lost? What that mean for the future? How could they then continue to threat once it became public knowledge that they could not legally follow through? Opens a huge can of worms. I personally would like to think they are smarter than that.

Lastly, if you are so for parents' rights and don't have a problem with people taking their kids out of school.....................why are we having this discussion at all?????

The first few points were semantics, and quite frankly, I'm too tired to go back and forth on that. So, I will just respond to the last 2 points.

So, it makes no logical sense to retain a child that is doing well. I agree, but I think we are working under different assumptions. You seem to feel that schools and the courts operate using common sense, and I don't feel they do. I wish they did, but they just don't. We have all heard/seen news stories about crazy decisions made by schools (and the courts, too). Haven't we all seen the stories that just make you shake your head? You may disagree, but common sense no longer has a place in our courts or schools. I wish it did, but laws and rules are absolutes. If someone injures himself while on my property, I am liable. It doesn't really matter why he was there or what he was doing. If a student has more than X number of unexcused absences, they could be retained.

Many of your posts mentioned fighting these crazy rules. I think that is great. I am grateful for those that came before us and fought to have many laws and rules changed. However, many parents are not in the position or really have the resources and/or desire to fight that battle which is why they are generally scared into submission when they get their first warning letter. So, are the schools bullying parents into complaince with a exceedingly restrictive policy? Sure. Do the schools' policy makers care? Obviously not. Do the parents care? Maybe, but at least in my district nobody cares enough to fight that battle.

Finally, why am I in this discussion. Simple. The OP came and asked a question. This question comes up a lot, and many people will also say, "Sure. Go and have fun. Your child will have no problem making up the work." Maybe it is because I do live in a strict district, but I think that is bad advice. That is why I will post that the OP needs to find out what the policy is in her home district because the fact that another poster's district has no problem with it really doesn't matter. I got into this later part because you asked if anyone knows of anyone who is a solid student that was actually held back due to poor attendance, and I answered. Your district seems much more lenient than districts in other parts of the country as far as attendance goes, so I can certainly understand your skepticism. For those of us in strict districts though, who do know of people called before a truancy board, etc, we know what the ramifications can be if the OP lives in a district like ours. I just think if someone takes their child out of school for vacation, they need to know what could happen. Do they still have the right to do it? Sure. Are they willing to accept the consequences? Well, that is up to each individual to decide.

Districts have different rules and some are more bendable than others. Here in Florida the public schools are pretty tight on the rules. For example there is a child who went to a performing arts school here in Central Florida who actually appeared on America 's Got Talent and is on tour with them this fall. She just got kicked out of the school for too many absences-even though she is doing what the school is set up to do....learn a performing art and get into the business as a career. Several years ago a student went to the Olympics as a soft ball player for the USA team and missed more than 10 days in a semester and was told she would fail the semester and have to repeat the grade. In that instance the Olympics intervened and talked the district into allowing her to make up work and stay with her class.
Kids need doctors notes if out more than a day. The school calls our homes everyday the child is out. Unexcused absence are definite 0 for the day days with no makeup of work missed.
So to answer your question of a vacation putting you over the # of days allowed out of school. Here your child may have to repeat a grade. The alternative offered might be having them go to an alternative school for students who have caused problems in the classroom or who have a truancy issue. It is a tough policy. I think we did have to show obituaries when we went North for funerals to get the days excused.

I'm on the space coast, too, so I am thinking we are in the same district. Crazy, isn't it? The principal at our school will not excuse any absence without a doctor's note. In the case of an out of town funeral, etc. It is still unexcused. The parents are told to save the obit and if their student goes over the set amount of days, the principal MAY go back and excuse those days retroactively thus bringing that student back into an acceptable number of absences.

 

[pacrosby]

We've been gone all day, so I didn't get back to answer your questions. I was just going to let it slide, but I actually see that the thread has gone in the direction I would've answered anyway.



The first few points were semantics, and quite frankly, I'm too tired to go back and forth on that. So, I will just respond to the last 2 points.

So, it makes no logical sense to retain a child that is doing well. I agree, but I think we are working under different assumptions. You seem to feel that schools and the courts operate using common sense, and I don't feel they do. I wish they did, but they just don't. We have all heard/seen news stories about crazy decisions made by schools (and the courts, too). Haven't we all seen the stories that just make you shake your head? You may disagree, but common sense no longer has a place in our courts or schools. I wish it did, but laws and rules are absolutes. If someone injures himself while on my property, I am liable. It doesn't really matter why he was there or what he was doing. If a student has more than X number of unexcused absences, they could be retained.

Many of your posts mentioned fighting these crazy rules. I think that is great. I am grateful for those that came before us and fought to have many laws and rules changed. However, many parents are not in the position or really have the resources and/or desire to fight that battle which is why they are generally scared into submission when they get their first warning letter. So, are the schools bullying parents into complaince with a exceedingly restrictive policy? Sure. Do the schools' policy makers care? Obviously not. Do the parents care? Maybe, but at least in my district nobody cares enough to fight that battle.

Finally, why am I in this discussion. Simple. The OP came and asked a question. This question comes up a lot, and many people will also say, "Sure. Go and have fun. Your child will have no problem making up the work." Maybe it is because I do live in a strict district, but I think that is bad advice. That is why I will post that the OP needs to find out what the policy is in her home district because the fact that another poster's district has no problem with it really doesn't matter. I got into this later part because you asked if anyone knows of anyone who is a solid student that was actually held back due to poor attendance, and I answered. Your district seems much more lenient than districts in other parts of the country as far as attendance goes, so I can certainly understand your skepticism. For those of us in strict districts though, who do know of people called before a truancy board, etc, we know what the ramifications can be if the OP lives in a district like ours. I just think if someone takes their child out of school for vacation, they need to know what could happen. Do they still have the right to do it? Sure. Are they willing to accept the consequences? Well, that is up to each individual to decide.




I'm on the space coast, too, so I am thinking we are in the same district. Crazy, isn't it? The principal at our school will not excuse any absence without a doctor's note. In the case of an out of town funeral, etc. It is still unexcused. The parents are told to save the obit and if their student goes over the set amount of days, the principal MAY go back and excuse those days retroactively thus bringing that student back into an acceptable number of absences.

Points taken and respected Thanx for the taking the time to come back and finish the 'chat'. Just hate it when people get on the attack but then run away into the abyss.

 

[Leajess99]

But doesn't this specifically state that "it will be the parent/guardian's and student's responsibility to schedule make-up time for any additional unexcused absences" and that "students may make up time by attending Saturday School"? To me this reads that if they don't make up the time they will lose class credit NOT that they will lose class credit for additional unexcused absences.

Certainly there is a point when unexcused absences need to be dealt with.....either in the case of outrageous abuse by parents or truancy on the part of the student. I don't think anyone is arguing that unexcused absences will/should never and/or never do really result in some sort of serious consequence. The issue here has specifically been how schools choose to handle 'unexcused' absences of students with otherwise exemplary records due to their family's choice to go on vacation when school is in session. I could go on and on with a good debate forever but we've got to keep with the core issue. People are getting all up in arms and jumping down one another's throats and, funny thing is, we're not even all having the same conversation LOL

Seriously, around here not many parents or students, even the "otherwise exemplary ones", are willing to attend school on Saturday. We have many kids and parents not caring and generally those are the ones pulling kids out for vacations and whatnot as well as letting the kids skip school. The majority of the "otherwise exemplary ones" are in AP or Honors courses and cannot afford to miss that much school.

And for the record, I could care less what anyone else does because as long as it does NOT affect my child's education than it has no bearing on us. I just feel that those willing to take the vacations also need to be willing to take the punishments that go with it. Maybe you should come sit in court here one day to see the number of parents being brought up on truancy charges. It is NOT cheap and ultimately causes more issues because the parents must always take their child to the doctor should they be sick and need to miss school or face yet another fine or jail time. And if you think the newspaper cares whether or not a kid going on vacation passes than you are sorely mistaken around here and in other areas. They could care if it were a military family where the military member just returned from a year long deployment or even just R&R during deployment. Otherwise, Little Johnny's mom can write letters and call the newspaper all day but the majority of the staff have the same thing to say, "you should not have violated the school's policy."

My point of view on my children's education is that the teachers are doing their jobs by teaching the information, my children are doing their jobs by learning the information, and I am doing my job by supplementing the information as well as by ensuring my children are doing their jobs. I can honestly say that my children and myself tend to do a pretty good job with our jobs and my children know that a job well done gets rewarded.

 

[Leajess99]

In our public school there is no formal 'enrollment process'. You fill out a form when your child first starts school in the district. That's it. If they start in Kindergarten that's the one and only paper you fill out. You are officially 'enrolled' until you leave the district. As a result the term 'enrollment process' sounded like something that would occur in a more private setting. To me anyway. Based on my experience. Perhaps I'm wrong

In my district you have to re-enroll every year. It is just a matter of filling out new paperwork as information can and often does change from year to year. You are also given a new student/parent handbook EVERY year as that also get updated with changes to dress codes and policies and whatnot. You are required to sign the statement saying your have received and read the handbook and turn it back in. The school keeps that on file and please do not even attempt to say you did not read it because you signed stating you had. Our district also has parent contracts that are sent home to be signed and returned. While I hate the paperwork I also understand the need for it as some parents do not take their children's education seriously.

 

[Leajess99]

Kids need doctors notes if out more than a day. The school calls our homes everyday the child is out. Unexcused absence are definite 0 for the day days with no makeup of work missed.

We get the calls as well. I got one today for my youngest as she was home sick and we slept in late because of it. If you call the school you generally don't get the call.

 

[Leajess99]

I am curious. Do the school districts that are tighter with the rules ever allow Band trips, choir trips or sporting teams to travel during the school year?

My dd's school allowed the band to miss three days of school for a trip and the boys basketball team missed two or three days to travel to an out of state tournament. The kids were allowed to make up any work upon their return.

Here they can but those are excused school events. I know when I was in high school and in Choir my mom got a call from one of my teachers saying I had missed like 10 days of class and they were all unexcused. I was so grounded from that even though I tried to explain to my mom that I had only one unexcused absence from that class and she already knew about that one. the only other reason I had ever missed was for choir. It took my Choir teacher getting involved to get it all cleared up. The teacher then had to call my mom and apologize but I had already missed my choir banquet that year.

We had one year where the school district let 3 schools (hs, ms, and elem) out for one day because the high school boys basketball team was in state playoffs. The 3 schools are all next to each other so those were the ones let out. A month later my son's choir teacher passed away and the school board tried to deny closing that school even though all the teachers were to be gone for his funeral. There was a big uproar but the district caved because of the sporting event. They have not allowed a day off for a whole school for a sporting event since. The teams can miss and make up their assignments as can the bands and the choir but again those are all school related absences.

 

[Leajess99]

This is actually really disturbing to me. The word controlling is an understatement.

I have personally known alot of kids in my time who have had circumstances that led to them missing alot of school (unrelated to illness). A couple of competitive athletes (figure skating and skiing), the child of a parent with a very exciting job that allowed for alot of interesting travel (safaris, sailing trips), a child who was in the modeling/acting industry. In each one of these cases the schools worked coopertively with the parents to make sure the kids had access to the public education system. The goal was to make sure the children were getting their education not to make sure the parents were obeying the almighty rules and regulations. They used their heads. They were flexible. These children went to school when they could, they had tutors when and if they needed them, they made up work when they had to. No one said it's all or nothing. I cringe at what you report. Who the heck is running our school systems anyway?

In this day and age there are other options for those kids in the cases in which you speak of. Many states offer free public school virtual academies in which kids, in whatever grades the school district doing it has set up, can go to school online with a teacher teaching them. They do not see the teacher daily but would meet with the teacher on occasion. I do wish they offered that option in my state but it is one of the states in which it is not offered for free.

 

[zus888]

HIPPO

I should probably not comment considering how rude things got the last time I participated in a thread Just Like This, but I can't help myself. I think it's total BS that attendance is such a big freaking deal if the student is doing well in all classes. Does it make ANY sense to hold a student back merely because his attendance wasn't up to par, but the grades were? No. The whole point of school is to LEARN. We show what we are learning by doing the homework and doing well on exams.

I really don't get the whole "follow the rules" stance either. Arbitrary blanket rules that are instituted in order to deal with the few bad apples and thereby stifling the rest are ridiculous. Thank goodness there ARE people willing to break the rules because there have been major changes in our history because of those who have done that. Good thing THEY didn't listen to those who say, "FOLLOW THE RULES!"

 

[EKW]

Hm. In some states you could be charged with educational neglect for choosing to take your child out of school that long. On the other hand, it's your right.

However, school has changed a lot since we were kids. Where I teach your kids would miss two complete reading themes, a social studies or science unit, and a math unit. Unlike the old days, we don't have text books for most of that. I simply wouldn't be able to send chemicals and science materials home. As far as math goes, I would copy the entire unit, I guess, but how would you have the materials...templates and game cards and other manipulatives...to do the lessons? In addition, we have a three-prong math system, and you'd only have access to information for one of the three prongs. In reading, again, I could copy the teacher's edition for you, but I don't see how you'd have the time needed to commit to it. In writing, unless you were trained in our writing curriculum and have the same program training I've had, you'd be lost.

Obviously, it is your right as a parent to take your child out of school for as long as you wish, but is it really fair for your vacation to cause the teacher to spend hours and hours gathering materials and writing lesson plans for you? (Writing out plans for a sub takes me about 2 hours for one day that I'm gone!) Personally, I would be upset about being asked to spend the amount of time required for preparing what would equal two weeks of sub plans for one child. Will your children get the same quality of instruction...and, if you're on vacation, will you really have the time to cover that material in a appropriate manner?

You may just need to reconcile yourself with the fact that your children will miss two weeks of instruction and it will most likely affect their grades and, at least in the short run, they'll be playing catch-up when they return.

I haven't read any of the other replies...I would guess that the rampant disrespect for education that is seen in our society will have reared it's head. Just remember, when you hear all this talk about the failure of the US educational system, you're part of the problem if your family doesn't place a priority on education.

 

[sam_gordon]

I really don't get the whole "follow the rules" stance either. Arbitrary blanket rules that are instituted in order to deal with the few bad apples and thereby stifling the rest are ridiculous. Thank goodness there ARE people willing to break the rules because there have been major changes in our history because of those who have done that. Good thing THEY didn't listen to those who say, "FOLLOW THE RULES!"

zus, I'm picking on you simply because you were the last one to post this...

Rules are in place for a reason. Whether in school, business, or your home. If you don't like the rules, work within the system to change them... get involved with your school board, or your school based council, something.

I also wonder for those of you who are advocating breaking the rules if you disagree with them, what would you do if your child broke curfew? I assume you expect your child to follow the "rules" of your household. But at the same time you seem to say it's ok to break rules if you disagree with them.

Granted, some rules that are in place might not be the best. But does that mean they shouldn't be followed?

 

[spacemountainmom]

I am a parent who places a great deal of importance on my children's education. I also have volunteered as a reading tutor and worked as a study hall monitor. It saddens me to see how little some parents care about their child's education. One of my study hall kids once told me how sad it was that I cared more about his grades than his mother did. It really was sad! I will never forget that child as long as I live.

My kids know the deal - school work comes first. I will cut off any activity or fun if their work is not caught up and up to par.

I still just can't get over the fact that school districts have these attendence policies and still mandate teachers attend more meetings out of the classroom than my kids ever miss. I also know that teachers can spend a great deal of time on a lesson plan for a sub and the sub spends the whole day on crowd control, not teaching. It is a lost day of learning for my student. If the teacher only misses one day a month for the mandatory meetings, they are out of the classroom for 10 days during the school year. We then add in any sick days, sick child days, etc...and how many days does the teacher miss during the year?

I don't advocate thumbing your nose at the school. I don't personally think I would pull my kids out of school for 10 consecutive days. However, in the end my kids' teachers miss far more school than my kids do and this is ok because they are at meetings? I don't agree. As a parent, I am asked to schedule appointments and vacations around school, why can't the school schedule their meetings around classtime?

I understand there has to be a line drawn. I also feel there is room for understanding and compromise for individual situations and circumstances.

 

[zus888]

I think what it boils down to is picking your battles. If I understand the necessity and importance of such stringent rules, I will typically follow them. But if they seem insane (like holding a child back merely due to attendance and not grades), I will go against them and fight with the school board about it. But, I've already had encounters with the school board and they are about as Good Ole Boy as you can get. They don't give a rat's *** about what their constituents think; and from my limited experience, they've been downright condescending and borderline rude. I have learned that going through the school board is a complete waste of energy and time. Having worked in the government, dealt with bureaucratic BS, and studied a bit of political science, I know that sometimes it's just easier to "work" the system. Is it the best route? No. But the system doesn't give a damn about what the best route is.

At least with curfew or other house rules, they can be explained, and we can discuss a change if necessary and if they can argue their point well enough. I am perfectly capable of being a reasonable person.

Rosa Parks didn't follow the rules. Heck, we wouldn't have the USA if we didn't buck English Rule.

I've already had to deal with being denied vacation for our trip to Disney this year for my oldest DS who is in KINDERGARTEN, and he is above and beyond most of his classmates in reading and math. After questioning the principal about it, he approved the vacation. We would have gone regardless, but my concern was about having more than 5 unexcused absences and being cited with the district magistrate. I was (and still am) completely prepared to take my child out of public school altogether and either homeschool him or do the cyber school. I'm not sure many here would do the same. But that's how strongly I feel about it. Luckily, the principal is a reasonable man, and I've found would not have cited us even with the unexcused absence.

For the record, I did not realize that books are not the primary source of information these days. I figured that (in the future) we can bring textbooks and keep up with the class by following the lessons in there. I would not expect the teacher to put in all that extra work to allow my child to go on vacation. I figured it would be a matter of assigning reading and lessons out of a book. I guess things have changed a great deal since I was last in school.