just wondering....

[iluvdumbo]

i was just wondering this, but do u think its okay to take your child out of school to go to disney world?? i absolutly think so, but i dont think most teachers enjoy it that much for their student to come up to them and say "im going to disney next week and not going to be here!". i knew my teachers didnt like that saying, and still dont! i was just wondering this question because my mom wants to take me out for columbus day but i would have to miss 3 days of school. IF THERE ARE ANY PEOPLE THAT KNOW THIS ABOUT HS I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE KNOWING THIS! especially if they know about sophmore teachers!

thanks,
Hannah!

[SBETigg]

I think it depends on the kids, what kind of students they are, how diligent they are about making up work.

We've taken our kids out for trips, once when they were in elementary school and it was no problem. We did once when my son was in high school, and to be honest, it didn't work out well. He's a great student but he missed some vital information. Plus, the school reserves the right to fail students for unexcused absences. Technically, his teachers didn't even have to give him a chance to make up work but could have failed him just for missing it. Fortunately, they were nice about it. But still, I wouldn't take kids out of high school for vacation again. You're only talking about three days, and it depends on the timing and your school's policy on absences. I think family time is pretty important, too. Best wishes with it.

[gwfx1031]

We have done this severa; times with our kids when they were younger and did not think twice of them missing a week of school. My oldest daughter is in Jr. High now and the work load is greater so I may not take her out a full week, but only a few days out of the week so she would not get too behind. We instructed our kids to not broadcast what their plans were to everyone to keep it low key.

[VWL Mom]

I have a Jr in HS and a 7th grader. I have taken them out every year for two days. This year DS was going to miss one of his mid-terms and the teacher let him take it early. Never really had a problem, mind you they are both good students and are very rarely out sick.

[MickeyMousse]

I have always taken my kids out of school for WDW. They are both good students, and were given work to complete while away.

[WeLuvBuzz]

I now have 2 in college and 1 in high school and never would have considered taking them out of school for vacation. Of course they were/are all varsity athletes and have to miss some days for state championships/districts/league champs etc that are excused. Now, my kids are also in private schools they had to test into where over 2/3rd's of the kids who take the test do not get in. I also pay a small fortune for them to attend and want to get every penny's worth of that education. Every school and every child is different and only you can decide for your situation if it will be an issue.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I agree with the other posters that it really depends on the student.

My DD is only in grade 5, and we take her out of school for trips on a regular basis. We always talk to the teacher in advance, and usually get quite a bit of work to complete while she's gone. As well, we design our own "projects" for her to complete and present to the class when she gets back.

Each situation is different, we believe that education extends far beyond the classroom, but this might change as DD gets older and the work done at school gets more intense.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I would say it would depend on each individual situation...like, what is your school's policy, how many absences does your child have and how long are you talking about?

My son's school is very strict about absences...they only get 5 unexcused absences each semester and if you miss a test you must have a doctors note...we had considered going this Mardi Gras because the school's here get off for two days and taking him out of school three days. I wouldn't take him out more than that though.

[disneyworld55925592]

Usually one or two days is fine. Its easyer when the kids are younger. One they hit Jr High and HS there can sometimes be to much work to make up.

[IamBelle]

It depends on the kids, my parents did that for my first trip towards the end of the school year in 3rd grade, and because I was a good student, it didn't really affect me.

[dtootsie42]

We've been going to Disney, about every 2 years, since our youngest was in first grade. We have never had a problem taking them out of school. All three of them are or were top students and all have been involved in various sports and other activities.

As others have stated I think a lot of it depends on what type of student you are and how you approach your teachers. When my girls got into high school I let them talk to each of their teachers and work out all the arrangements. Most of the teachers asked if they could fit in their suitcase and come along. One year they came back with all their work done ready to hand in and discovered the schools here had been closed for a few days due to ice and snow so they were actually ahead.

So my advice would be strong communication with your teachers and take your work with you and be prepared to do a little bit of work while on vacation. My girls usually scheduled pool time for an hour or so each day and broke up playing in the pool with getting homework done.

Dec. 1997---Contemporary
Dec. 1999--Poly
June 2000--Disneyland
Dec. 2001---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2003---Poly Concierge
Dec. 2005---Poly Concierge
Nov. 2007---Poly Concierge
Oct. 2008--DisneyLand
Next trip Dec. 2009--Poly Concierge

[PETE FROM NYC]

mi fokes tok me owt of skool to go to diSnee,and lok hou i turned owt.


Seriously,I agree with the other posters.It depends on the individual student,their teachers,and school policy.
Once ,on a trip in March, I ran into a troop of Boy Scouts from New England. Being a scouter myself, I asked the scoutmaster how he was able to take the troop to WDW.He told me that he needed two notes from each scout. One note from the parent(s),agreeing to the trip and finances,and a note from their school saying that they could make up their work.

Now, remember something else. If enough people did not take their kids out of school to visit WDW, then I think WDW would go broke.

[sportsguy2315]

I did WDW my freshman and sophomore years of HS and DL my senior year (In fact, the argument could be made I learned more on my trips than in school! ) All in all it wasn't too bad (Outside of the jealous teachers) as long for two main criteria are followed:
1. The absences are somewhat short and/or around a school break period. All three of my trips I was missing 1-3 days around Thanksgiving Break so in the school's eyes it was essentially no harm no foul.

2. Your kids are caught up and doing well. Of course, this varies for each kid but generally you don't want to pull Pete out if he's averaging D's and F's.

[PirateLover]

I have had 4 students go to WDW this year. I teach social studies to 6, 7, and 8th grades. Two students were good students and everything was fine. The third student was a mediocre student and did need an extra day or two to catch up when he got back. The fourth student unfortunately is a student who is behind to begin with. He did not inform me personally that he was going to Disney. I just assumed he was sick for the whole week. Apparently he told the homeroom teacher who said "Go ahead and have fun, don't worry about school" Now he is behind.

I would just be upfront and honest with your teachers and have them give you as much work as you can. One thing to always keep in mind is that a kid is in school for 6/7 hrs a day. You can't simply replace all of that learning with 2hrs of homework each night. That being said, I think vacations and spending time with family are important parts of life. You just need to be honest and realistic.

High school is always even harder to miss because you have even more classes and the workload is much heavier.

[MistressGracey999]

Before I started homeschooling my children, I took them out of school each year to go to WDW. I always talked to the teacher, and make as many arrangements in advance as I could. Some teachers were fine with it, some teachers make you feel as if you're committing a crime against nature.

I say-In 20 years, nobody's going to remember that your child missed a few days of school. But your child will always remember these special family times. An WDW can be quite educational!

[Disneyfamilyof3]

Hello Everybody

Interesting topic. I am a homeschooling mom of one son , age 12. Obviously, this gives my family some leeway regarding trips because we don't have to adhere to the school calendar, we can make up days on weekend and over the summer.

However, we usually bring another kid along . So far, the kids who have accompanied us have been public school students in 10th grade . The schools have been quite supportive once they knew that WDW was the destination! One kid, my 15 year old nephew,actually became a better student because of the trip because he went with us on the condition he would make honor role when he returned. It worked. The teachers gave him extra work before he left, and extra work and extra help after school when he returned. That's just one example of how it works.

[TennesseeTink]

I took my youngest DD(5th grade) out of school this past fall for a WDW trip. School was already out on Thursday so she missed Friday and Monday. We told her teacher a couple of weeks ahead of time and asked that she be given her assignments in advance to be turned in on Tuesday. Her teacher told her to enjoy her trip(even said she was jealous) and didn't give her any assignments. She had to make up a couple of things(spelling test, etc.) when we got back but was able to complete them during school hours and never had to bring anything home.

On the other hand, oldest DD is in the 11th grade, a very crucial time if you're interested in college. I didn't feel it was proper to pull her out for a trip. She's not as strong a student as my youngest and a lot of makeup work may have been too much for her.

[paragon]

I was always taken out of school for our trips. Some teachers may look at it as an educational opportunity.
We took my son a few years ago, during school session, but it was early in the school year, mid September. he was given a few assignments to take with him and they were geared towards the trip.
This year however, we are going during vacation week because they now have a rule against missing more than 5 days. ( students cannot have more than 5 days out -which actually is a pain considering he broke his leg this year during HS football, and has now used up his 5 days! )

Both he and I are/were A/B students.

I don't thinks its a horrible thing to take a kid out of school for the trip.

[iluvdumbo]

Jeez!! all of you are so so smart! i know when i was in elementary school, i had no problem getting out of school, but now looking at all of your posts, i know its going to be a lot harder! thanks for the support!

[MickeyMousse]

We home school our oldest DS12 and because we are learning about plant cells and more, I took him on the Behind the Seeds tour at The Land. Very informative, he learned alot, a great experience for the both of us. When we got home, he was able to get right back into his Science studies with great interest and drive!