Taking your children for holidays during school is illegal in the UK

[sam_gordon]

Vacation would fall under liberty. But then again I guess not since taking your kids out of school for vacation is no longer your decision since you can be fined for it.

Sure it is... make the decision and accept the consequences. Why is that so bad?

 

[Flight]

Whose child is it: The State or the parents?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It affects other children in the class if the teacher has to take time out of lesson B (which is supposed to build on lesson A) to teach lesson A to your child that missed it while you were on vacation last week. THAT'S how it affects others.

Oh, and back to that funding thing. Less attendance means less $$$ for the school. It's hard to attract quality teachers and maintain reasonable class size when the state is docking hundreds of thousands of dollars out of your budget due to poor attendance.

Hopefully, those who take their kids out of school to save travel expenses over peak travel times are also voting "yes" when the school asks for tax increases

 

[Colleen27]

Sure it is... make the decision and accept the consequences. Why is that so bad?

Because in many places the consequences don't fit the "crime". For example: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kendalltagg...to-adult-jail-for-skipping-school#.tpqVVPPya6

 

[Flight]

There are many students that spend all year in the classroom yet receive no education.

 

[Minniesgal]

In my job I hire graduates. I'd far rather hire a graduate with family travel experience than someone who has done nothing but school. But those are extremes.

The point of education is to prepare a kid for independent life and work and family. The point of education is not to be able to recite speak spear quotes or math formulae. In that life and family experience is as important as anything that happens in school. To be effective adults kids need street smarts as well as book smarts not either or.

Schools act as if they are the be all and end all to a kids education. They are not. Any kid who cannot catch up in his own time after only 1 weeks absence is gonna struggle in life, in work. Schools need to realise they have a place in kids lives but they do not come first family does. Family are responsible for a kids support and education long before school and long after.

 

[eliza61]

I'll be honest - I think it should be. I think our country is terribly backward in our attitudes toward leisure time and that it creates a culture that verges on toxic for families who are expected to squeeze in time together only if and when the competing obligations of multiple school and work schedules align in such a way that there is an opportunity, however fleeting. I think it is a damned shame that so much of our workforce gets little/no paid vacation time and that many of those who do get it know full well there are professional consequences should they actually use it and that schools can impose fines and other criminal penalties on families who can't just plan around the school calendar (which, by the way, often comes out too last minute for vacation time requests and changes on even shorter notice based on weather, power outages, and other uncontrollable factors).

but who's doing is that Coll? Families uber schedule their kids. No one forces us to sign our kids up for every sport known to man. Sure there are professional consequences to taking vacations, just as their are professional consequences to being a stay at home mom, It's choices.

we lived in Lisbon for a few years when we were first married. Parent's got 6 months maternity leave paid for, yet we would scream at the taxes imposed if we implemented such a plan.

time together does not have to be a "vacation" as we think of such. It could be some thing as simple as Sunday dinners. look at the decision to keep stores open on Thanksgiving. who drives that? look to these boards, how many people swear by all that's holy that yes they have to shop on thanksgiving.

We can't have it both ways. Gumbo has it right, I wonder how much bloody hell folks here would raise if they were charged the cost basis for taking their kids out of school.

If we truly valued family time than our behavior would not support our current policies.

interestingly enough, since my kids lost their dad, "vacations" are not the things that are their "memories". it's the every day little things like the fun they had with dad at bath time.

WE (us consumer and parents) somehow turned that into "must have a 2 week paid vacation".

So let me ask you, if you didn't go on vacation, your kids would have no happy memories?

 

[sam_gordon]

Because in many places the consequences don't fit the "crime". For example: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kendalltagg...to-adult-jail-for-skipping-school#.tpqVVPPya6

From your article...

Students are not sentenced to jail for missing school outright but rather for failing to follow court orders associated with their truancy charges.

So the kids who are truant have to pay a fine. When they don't pay the fine, then they get thrown in jail. So how many truancies does it take to rack up $2,700 in fines? What kind of reporter doesn't ask that question?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

In my job I hire graduates. I'd far rather hire a graduate with family travel experience than someone who has done nothing but school. But those are extremes.

The point of education is to prepare a kid for independent life and work and family. The point of education is not to be able to recite speak spear quotes or math formulae. In that life and family experience is as important as anything that happens in school. To be effective adults kids need street smarts as well as book smarts not either or.

Schools act as if they are the be all and end all to a kids education. They are not. Any kid who cannot catch up in his own time after only 1 weeks absence is gonna struggle in life, in work. Schools need to realise they have a place in kids lives but they do not come first family does. Family are responsible for a kids support and education long before school and long after.

All other things being equal, you would actually tilt the scales in favor of a kid who's had more vacations than another when deciding who to hire?

I vacationed a LOT as a kid and I can tell you one thing I most certainly did not pick up on vacation was "street smarts".

 

[Flight]

Schools need to realise they have a place in kids lives but they do not come first family does.

Exactly. Read biographies of great men and women. The common theme is how much their family influenced what they became and how they succeeded. Their schooling is mentioned in passing.

 

[Flight]

What kind of reporter doesn't ask that question?

Maybe one that attended school full time and never took family vacations.

 

[eliza61]

All other things being equal, you would actually tilt the scales in favor of a kid who's had more vacations than another when deciding who to hire?

I vacationed a LOT as a kid and I can tell you one thing I most certainly did not pick up on vacation was "street smarts".

We have job fairs at quite a number of colleges on the East coast. for Chemist, chemical engineers, biochemist and the like. I've never even seen a resume that had family trips on it. (doesn't mean it doesn't exist though).

When I graduated from undergrad and started applying to grad school, I certainly was not asked any thing about my vacations. I think once during a second interview for a grant I was applying for the guy asked me what I liked to do in my free time.

I think this might be a college applicant thing.

edited to add: I went to college in the dark ages and it's been almost 25 years since I've job hunted. my opinion maybe old.

 

[sam_gordon]

Exactly. Read biographies of great men and women. The common theme is how much their family influenced what they became and how they succeeded. Their schooling is mentioned in passing.

So the only way families can influence kids and help them be successful is by taking family vacations?

We took vacations every summer when I was growing up. My grandparents lived in Florida and we went to stay with them for a week. I have few memories of those vacations and couldn't tell you one thing I "learned" while gone.

 

[sam_gordon]

Maybe one that attended school full time and never took family vacations.

 

[eliza61]

Exactly. Read biographies of great men and women. The common theme is how much their family influenced what they became and how they succeeded. Their schooling is mentioned in passing.

oy vey, they've got 500 pages to fill of course they are going to say their family influenced them.
What else are they going to say?

the only way you can influence your kids is by taking them to Disney? no one is saying parents aren't the important factor. what we are questioning this "right" that kids some how need a 2 week vacation or they cannot flourish.

So happens the other 50 weeks?

like I said, my kids did lose their dad, what they talk about is the stuff they did with their dad during normal every day life. Not once in the 3 years have they mentioned our Disney trips, which now that I think about it, is ticking me off. these suckers ain't cheap.

 

[gwynne]

Exactly. Read biographies of great men and women. The common theme is how much their family influenced what they became and how they succeeded. Their schooling is mentioned in passing.

It's nice if you happen to have a family that is a positive influence. It's not the end if you don't.
I think it's much more important to have a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. It helps to keep you a life long learner. I consider that much more valuable than a "good" family or having done a little travel.

 

[EMom]

I used to teach and had no children. As long as the students asked me well ahead of time for their work, I was happy to make up a packet and send it with them on vacation. I never really put a lot of thought into WHY they were missing school (dad lacks seniority, mom is an accountant, they got a great deal on flights, etc.) and just graded the work when they returned. It was up to them to keep up.

Once I became a mom and wasn't working anymore, we initially tried to plan around school, but it was a pain and sometimes made the trip impossible. I figured we'd just take an alternate trip at another time, because I knew the school would frown on absences, due to school funding laws. Early on, I realized the school DD attended had very different rules from where I had taught. The TEACHERS were the worst about taking off on school days for vacation and it was no secret. Everyone knew who was flying where, or that they were vacationing for a week. In elementary school, with a split schedule, a teacher has about 65-90 students. It seemed that if Mrs. Smith could be gone for a week, thereby impacting the education of 65-90 kids for that week, then it was fair enough that my child miss a week so our family could vacation. That only impacted her and the teacher. If our school didn't have teachers taking off left and right for vacations, I might have felt differently. Finding a sub on Fridays was sometimes next to impossible and we started having to pay a bonus for subbing on Fridays to attract subs. So many teachers wanted long weekends that we had to get subs any way we could.

If we'd been at a school where teachers were constantly going on vacation, I probably wouldn't have pulled DD out for our own. If she'd been a poor student or sick often, we wouldn't have done it. But she made good grades and was rarely sick. Missing a week of school ended with elementary because it was just too difficult to make up. We did miss a few days in junior high, I think. High school? Forget it.

 

[cjbcam]

No one is saying kids won't flourish if they don't take a vacation. People are saying it should not be illegal to take your kids on vacation.
I think anytime spent as family time is good. But vacations are the only time we can drop everything else and concentrate on family time. These memories are just as important as everyday memories.
I know my kids talk all the time about Disney. They also talk about memories made at home. You can make memories anywhere however I choose to make some at Disney, some in Ireland, some at the cabin, some at home ect. I personally would hate not having the control and feeling like a criminal while doing nothing wrong.

 

[sam_gordon]

It seemed that if Mrs. Smith could be gone for a week, thereby impacting the education of 65-90 kids for that week, then it was fair enough that my child miss a week so our family could vacation.

That brings up a good point. I don't think teachers SHOULD have vacation days during the school year, ESPECIALLY if the kids aren't allowed "vacation". Sick days or bereavement leave, sure.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Where I live, if a student missed 30 days in a year, no matter if it was done in single days or in week long blocks, they would already be in court with a court mandated attendance sentence. I know of what I speak. A relative of mine decided she did not like high school, so she ditched. A lot. I believe she had 20+ absences the first semester. Parents and school worked together to try to keep her in school, but the minute somebody wasn't watching her, she was out the door. She ended up in court with the judge ordering her back to school. She did not follow the judge's orders either and she was then sentenced to a lock down school.

Not here.