Colleen27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
Is that a good idea though (eliminating all but the "core" classes)? Don't PE, art, music, and recess all benefit the kids in different ways? If not, why is there such an outcry when these programs get cut back (if not eliminated)?
A question for anyone... is there ANY limit that you'd be ok with? In other words, if you think it should be ok (fully excused) for a student to miss a week of school, what about two weeks? Three? A month?
Those things are a benefit as enrichment, but not as education. PE and recess are basically designed to offset the mental and physical impact of expecting growing children to sit still for long stretches of time - without them, it would be very hard to maintain control of a classroom full of kids who have no physical outlet for their natural energy. Art and music add value too, but as part of an overall, well-rounded package - again, providing a creative outlet that balances the analytical/academic demands of the rest of the school program. I believe they're absolutely essential as part of the big picture, but I also believe there's a reason we don't stress over a child missing a day of PE or have them studying for art class.
As far as limits go, I personally feel that academics should be evaluated based on performance rather than attendance. But I can understand the need for limits, especially in a public school setting where there's a need for rules to apply evenly to everyone regardless of the uneven conditions that might exist. Our public schools will only approve a single vacation request per academic year. I'm not sure if there are limits on the duration of that request; it probably isn't something that comes up because month long vacations just aren't on the radar for folks in our tax bracket. Going by the kids that we've known over the years, a week in Disney, maybe a cruise or a trip to the beach, that's about as big as vacations get for families around here.