Have you ever taken your kids out of school to go to WDW?

[coachwnh]

Have done it three times and we are doing it again this February. Our kids are 9 and 7. The teachers at school have always been great about getting us the work before we go away. we set aside time each day for school work in WDW. It has never been a problem for them.

 

[71dsp]

We've done it for every trip. My son takes homework, and we make sure he's more than caught up before we go. It helps that my son does very well in school and every teacher he's had said that they were absolutely not concerned about him getting behind.

 

[MattC]

So, all of you guys are the people with kids I see at WDW when my wife and I go during school. I always think to myself, "School isn't out today. We won't see many kids or teens." I'm never right

 

[71dsp]

That's us! It's also easier for work scheduling as many of my coworkers take vacation when school's out, so if I do it while school is in, it's easier to do.

 

[Phonedave]

OMG- nonsense is right! I'm a teacher and I know the Board of Education/government has made our lives ridiculously/hopelessly imprisoned. Now we can't even drink a soda in our classrooms. We have to have it in a "container" of some sort! I can't imagine having to lie about a family member's funeral and/or death notice. It's bad enough you have to have a doctor's excuse. Unfortunately, there are people who abuse the system, and we all have to suffer for it!

One word answers all

Lawsuits

So much of a school districts time and resources is spent trying to make itself bulletproof from lawsuits - from both parents and teachers. That is the main reasons that teachers have so may restrictions. "My kid is obese. He saw his teacher drinking soda in class, therefore he learned that drinking soda is a good thing to do, it's all your fault! Here is my lawyer's contact information." Even if that does not hold up in court, there will still be legal fees to deal with.

Combine that with the fact that everyone wants lower taxes, and a school district budget makes up on the order of half of a homeowners property tax and you have a LOT of people keeping an eye on every dollar that gets spent. On top of that, the curriculum has been pushed foward because that is what colleges expect/require for entrance criteria. They want to push college credit classes (not credit in college, credit to get into college) in this district down to the middle school level. That means kids have to start planning for their future and what college they want to concentrat on in 6th grade.

I would not want the job of a Supertendent. I was friends with one, and it was a constant balancing act between teacher, the teachers union, the Board of Ed, the parents, and what - in the end - was best for the students.

-dave

 

[ellie-badge]

My folks did it with me all of the time, and have done so even while I was still in high school. I always made up my work and made sure not to go during important dates (FCAT, midterms, finals, etc). One of my math teachers from middle school gave me a lot of flack and was very nasty to me for having missed a couple days two weeks prior to when FCAT Testing was supposed to begin (mind you, I have never worried about those tests as I always found them to be so much easier than what all of the teachers built it up to be). I told her flat out that, hey, at least I'm not leaving during the tests and am well prepared for them, and that if it was such an issue that she should talk to my parents about it, not me. After that she kept pretty much to herself for the remainder of that particular school year.

Well, anyway, I'd still probably ditch at least one class a semester to visit the world if I could afford to (both in a financial and educational sense). I have been Disney sober for two years and I still crave the magic and pixie dust. Sigh...

 

[ellie-badge]

"My kid is obese. He saw his teacher drinking soda in class, therefore he learned that drinking soda is a good thing to do, it's all your fault! Here is my lawyer's contact information."

Aw man, do I know this all too well. My high school used to have a few vending machines around campus, and it was a regular sight to see students buy a soda or chips during lunch hours. Apparently a mother complained to the school district and insisted that her son became obese from eating snacks out of vending machines within an entire school year, and wouldn't you know it, our vending machines either disappeared or were filled with "healthy" and "diet" garbage (that's not to say that I think healthy food is garbage, heavens no, but there are a lot of supposedly "healthy" snacks out there that really aren't very good for you).

I remember that they were in a rush to remove the visible vending machines on campus because some sort of authority was coming in to check and see if the school did what they were told. T'is very ridiculous, in my opinion, but hey.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We took our boys out of school during elementary & middle school. Both were great students so it wasn't a problem. This took place with school districts in Georgia, Texas, and 2 in Louisiana. We did start to notice as the years passed and the academics more demanding that it wasn't as easy to rebound or "make it up" after we got home. When our oldest was in the 8th grade we decided that was the last year we'd be taking them out of school to go. At the end of that same school year we had an unrelated event go down at the school and we withdrew both our sons permamently to homeschool. Without going into the long story of it all, know that the decision to homeschool had absolutely nothing to do with our travel preferences. That ended up being a side-perk. Now, if we plan a trip our kids have to work ahead or risk taking their laptops & books with them. If they want to be free to go & have fun then they have to work for it later in the afternoons/evenings or on weekends. Otherwise, school goes with us and they can sit in the room working. There's some things, I think, they find that Mom is a lot more demanding than any public school ever was. LOL!

 

[Phonedave]

Aw man, do I know this all too well. My high school used to have a few vending machines around campus, and it was a regular sight to see students buy a soda or chips during lunch hours. Apparently a mother complained to the school district and insisted that her son became obese from eating snacks out of vending machines within an entire school year, and wouldn't you know it, our vending machines either disappeared or were filled with "healthy" and "diet" garbage (that's not to say that I think healthy food is garbage, heavens no, but there are a lot of supposedly "healthy" snacks out there that really aren't very good for you).

I remember that they were in a rush to remove the visible vending machines on campus because some sort of authority was coming in to check and see if the school did what they were told. T'is very ridiculous, in my opinion, but hey.

The problem with those machines was that some of the food that was in them was horrible. I lot of it causes sugar crashes, in addition to poor diet choices. So, why was it put in schools? Because the soda and snack companies paid big bucks to the school districts. When sales where not where they wanted, the districts got pressure to get the kids to buy more or else the funding may not be there next year. That is why State level laws were written in many cases that prohibit the vending machines. Districts needed money, and they were making it by encouraging their students to eat crap.

-dave

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

No, just locked them in the cellar.

 

[xsupaxmanxsfnex]

We used to live in Tampa when I was a kid and my mom would take my sister and I for a day at the Magic Kingdom instead of going to school. Oh how I love her.

 

[loveofamouse]

We are doing it for the upcoming week and when my son's Make-A-Wish trip comes up. The way I see it, my kids aren't the type that struggle in school. They are only in 3rd,2nd, and K.

 

[luv]

Our school didn't allow tardiness for any reason but illness.

The English teacher working the tardy counter was handed a note that read...

"My children are late due to a case of Car Stuck In The Drivewayitis. Please excuse this illness."

He laughed and then held it up and cried out with faux indignation, "They're lying to us! They're OUTRIGHT LYING to us!" He then proceeded to document that the students were eight minutes late due to excused illness, lol.

It's all government craziness. Normal, intelligent people ignore it. The mindless and the mean take it all very seriously.

 

[jamesgf]

I've done it twice for my daughter in elementary school (2nd and 4th grade) and will be doing it again at the end of Jan 2013. She is in middle school now (6th grade) so she may have a bit of homework to make up, but I am not worried about it. I have never had an issue with her teachers, I hope that continues this next trip.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

My parents have, but as we got older we stuck with the first week in November when schools in NJ are always closed so we didn't miss many days. Next year, I am taking my goddaughter for her first trip from 11/6-11/12, she will be in the 2nd grade and her school is closed a few of those days so she will be missing 2 days, and we are still planning on getting her schoolwork beforehand. I don't think it will be a problem, since it will only be two days.

I don't think I would do it so early in the year, like September, but that is just me.

 

[DonnaBell]

We are taking our two grandboys for 10 days at the end of November. They will miss 7 days of school. I was most worried about the older one (he's in 5th grade). I contacted their teachers and was given "That is awesome! Have a great vacation!" They will be giving the boys any worksheets and reading assignments to take with them. The boys will be keeping a journal for their trip.
With technology today, they can do their work on the go, while waiting in lines and for shows. On our tablet will be their scanned worksheets and ebooks for reading.I have made a passport for EPCOT-World Showcase with fun facts about each country. I have a trasure hunt of sorts, where they have to find something unique in each country. This is an area we usually just walk through looking for meet and greets, now it will be a geography/history lesson.
I never would have taken my children out of school, but a whole different story for my grand boys!

 

[pixiesteno]

We pulled our son from classes for 3 disney trips while he was in HS and 3 days early for spring break one year to go to the USVI. We also pulled him for days here and there when we had conventions to attend in fun places like Maine or VA, etc. I think there is a lot to be said by traveling and experience to be gained by living life. This experience in travel served him well when he was flying back and forth to FL during holiday break when he was at college. We only had a problem with one teacher in all of those trips and she outright said she was jealous when we told her beforehand and gave us this very nasty "well, it must be nice." My response was, "yes it is! " She and her little student teacher tried to give him a hard time when he got back but I straightened that out. You see, during non peak times was the only time our son could handle all of the sensory stimulation at WDW as he has autism. Don't get me wrong, he functions in the world pretty well, but to take him to WDW when there are a ton of people there would have ruined it for him and we would have never got him to go back. He absolutely loves it now and did a SWW last year just after his graduation from college and he did well with the crowds then.
Yes, our school system tends to lean toward the "nazi" side of the spectrum on dictating everything in the student's life -- or at least trying to. They gave up on me when the youngest was in 5th grade on the whole Dr. excuse thing. He had braces and I sent a note saying when I would pick up for his appointment and that was , by law, all they needed and I reminded them of that when I cordially declined to get a note from the Dr. office. I think they were in a way glad to see him graduate as mama made it a point to know what the laws and his/our rights were. LOL

 

[DisneyGirl3820]

You bet! The question for our family is..."when DON'T you take your kids out of school for Disney?" My kids are in 6th Grade and yes, they have work but they're good kids and work hard the rest of the year. I always bring the homework for that week with us and we do some on the plane but I have never been successful getting them to do homework once we get to WDW.

 

[Allygator]

I have taken my daughter out of school now twice for Disney trips. The first was in September and our last trip was March. My daughter does struggle with math so I have to say that taking her out in September was soo much better since they were still reviewing so she knew everything. I just booked another vacation last night for another September vacation!

 

[UPbeekeeper]

We have always taken our kids out of school for Disney vacations, and will continue to do so, regardless of who may like it or who may not. I also do not allow them to bring schoolwork with them on vacation. There is a reason it is called "vacation". I wouldn't dream of bringing work related things with me, so why should I expect them to do school work on their vacation? However, they know that before the trip & after, they have to bust their butts to achieve better than average grades and we ask for every extra credit assignment we can get our hands on. I inform teachers well in advance and request extra work from all of them. It's a lot of hard work for the kids, but they don't mind, & their grades have never suffered. We take grades very seriously, but 1 week out of the year, every few years isn't the end of the world.

Kids are only kids once, and the time goes by way faster than you think it will. You have to stop once in awhile and look around to smell the roses.