Am I the only one who thinks removing the kids from school to go on hols in wrong?

Nanazolie

hi

I guess the title says it all. I had a heated conversation with my husband and his family about removing the kids from school during the term to avail of cheaper flights. Then my friends all rallied to their opinion, and I have the feeling I'm the only one to think it's wrong.

All, including ourselves, have family abroad so when we fly we go visit the grandparents, not spend a week in a holiday resort in the sun. So I can understand one of my friends' arguments that they don't have any choice, and with 3 kids, it cost them as much as a month's pay. But I don't understand how people can say 'at that age (5), they don't really learn anything'. Or 'in May or June, they're finishe with the curriculum, they do nothing'.

I beg to differ. Every day, my 5 years old come with a new letter, some new thing she has learned. And if the kids do 'nothing' from May onwards, why does the school only ends later?
I also don't feel comfortable with the message it's sending to the kids: that school is not that important, that the teachers work is not to be respected.

May be I'm too old school.

Outkast_IRE

Depends on your financial situation, if funds are tight then its totally understandable in my opinion to take them out early while such a young age.

Also July/august can be seriously hot in holiday destinations.
June weather can be better to manage the kids in.

Mossess

Nanazolie, I totally agree with you. Stick to your guns. Plus they do actually miss out and the teachers do remark on it too. At the end of the day you have to give your kids every opportunity. School is one of them.

pwurple

I agree with you. It isn't a great example for kids. Plus, for a lot of people it's a false economy. If you work during the school holidays, you either need to find someone to mind them, or send them to camp because you are at work yourself. Take that cost off the cost of your flights and there is rarely much difference.

Since when did the foreign holiday become normal anyway? We went on hols in ireland mostly. Or twice ever, ferry to brittany.

Sleepy

It depends on a lot of things imo: have they missed much school during the year down to illness? how are they doing in school? what will you be doing on the holiday (e.g. will they be picking up bits of a new language?) etc.

We do it because we couldn't afford holidays at peak times, our little fella doesn't miss much school through illness, isn't having any problems, I like to pass on my love of learning foreign languages to the kids so they'll be learning at least the basic manners phrases in the language of the country we're visiting "please, thank you, hello, goodbye, etc." and frankly, because there is *way* too much padding in the Irish education system: good students can get bored very quickly when they're being held back by classmates. I worry that the "no child behind" stuff of having all levels in the same classroom furthers this but tbh, haven't researched it so am open to correction on it.

Bigus

Kids of all ages learn an whole lot outside school,

especially when travelling,

so there are positives so long as its not overdone through out the year.

dudara

My mother is a National School teacher (of the Old Skool kind) and she hates this - she feels that it takes a while to get the kids settled back in once they return from holidays, that they disrupt the other kids, plus they miss the coursework from that period.

It's fine on a very exceptional basis, but what is a teacher to do when 2-3 sets of parents all feel that it is OK at the same time?

How Strange

Ok I may eat my words in about 4 years time :P but I think it sets the wrong example. We grew up in a family where you went to school unless you had a limb hanging off. We were only ever allowed miss school for hospital appointments or funerals of a very close family member or if we were sick.

I remember friends being allowed take days off for lots of reasons (going Christmas shopping in Dublin) and it was non negotiable in our home.

I'm now if the same mindset. Education, prioritizing education and leading by example are very important for me as a parent. How could I say it's ok to take a few days off because we'll save some money on a holiday but it's not ok for you to want a day off schoool for another reason.

CrazyRabbit

Is it possible to compromise in some way? Contact the teacher and ask if they could prepare some 'homework' that the kids could do during the holiday. Effectively it would be like homeschooling for that week.

planetX

It's not wrong for me - my son is an only child and every one of his cousins live abroad. It's usually a choice of going during our termtime or not going at all. Besides the pace of education in primary is so painfully slow, he has never missed anything worthwhile.

areyawell

Its perfectly okay! We are in a recession and a week or two off school is not going to hurt anyone in primary school or secondary school. They young lads have 14 years of school so I dont think 2 weeks is going to hurt here and there. If families get flights and only way they can bring there own young ones on holidays is through the school term then nothing wrong with that!

areyawell

How Strange wrote: »

Ok I may eat my words in about 4 years time :P but I think it sets the wrong example. We grew up in a family where you went to school unless you had a limb hanging off. We were only ever allowed miss school for hospital appointments or funerals of a very close family member or if we were sick.

I remember friends being allowed take days off for lots of reasons (going Christmas shopping in Dublin) and it was non negotiable in our home.

I'm now if the same mindset. Education, prioritizing education and leading by example are very important for me as a parent. How could I say it's ok to take a few days off because we'll save some money on a holiday but it's not ok for you to want a day off schoool for another reason.

Dont take school so seriously, really! 14 years of it and where does it get you no-where. Only thing you have to do well in is your final year of college to get 1:1 or 2:1 or 2:2. People who take school so serious is ridiculous. Its like a holiday and the school system is a joke in ireland

doolox

A week or so is not a problem in my mind especially as the holiday companies jack up the prices during the school holidays esp the 6 week english ones.

I now have a 13 yr old daughter in Secondary school who, I feel, was not challenged enough in Primary school but is now finding secondary school challenging but manageable. She gets 80 to 95% in all her tests and is finding it enjoyable. While I would have had problems motivating her to attend primary school I have no problems now as she wants to go every day to secondary school.

I think that teachers, coming from a strongly middle class background with middle class money and values, might take umbrage for people taking holidays at off peak times to save money without realising that poor people have less choice than they have and may not be able to go on holidays at all if they do no avail of the off peak times.

Teachers were used to dealing with less educated people from a position of unchallenged authority and got used of not being contradicted in their views and recommendations of how life is supposed to be but now most people are educated enough to realise the dangers of abuse of school attendance. I would have a problem with , for example, 2 weeks or more in a school year missing for non urgent reasons as there is no way of knowning when an urgent need for absence will arise, but if a child has done near perfect attendance and it is towards the end of the school year, then a week is no harm in my opinion.

Jogathon

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Is it possible to compromise in some way? Contact the teacher and ask if they could prepare some 'homework' that the kids could do during the holiday. Effectively it would be like homeschooling for that week.

I'm a teacher and I refuse point blank to do this. Why should I do extra work to accommodate you because you choose to holiday when I'm teaching? Total joke and unbelievably cheeky. Also, some concepts are very specific with how they are taught, are you a trained and experienced teacher?

One example of a child that missed one week of school, directly before the mid-term break one year - she missed learning long multiplication in 4th class, I worked so hard with her when she returned but she struggled and struggled with the concept as she had missed all the building blocks leading up to actually doing the sum. This child was so upset and it all could have been avoided. The parents were in, asking how could they help her, etc etc. This is a child who was very/exceptionally bright so to all the above posters who believe that their bright child is bored in school, I disagree. They might say they are at home but observing daily how hard they work in school means that I know better!!

So, in short, every week in school is important and a child absolutely should not miss school unless very sick.

hungergamer

I think its a bit rich suggesting teachers prepare work for the child going away. Teachers work in a school and teach the children in front of them, they shouldnt have to 'teach' children who's parents have decided to take them out of school and on holidays. Also parents then expect teacher to catch up their child when they come back. The school calendar is available up to two years in advance, so book your holiday during holidays not term time!

Charl0tte

Jogathon wrote: »

I'm a teacher and I refuse point blank to do this. Why should I do extra work to accommodate you because you choose to holiday when I'm teaching? Total joke and unbelievably cheeky. Also, some concepts are very specific with how they are taught, are you a trained and experienced teacher?

One example of a child that missed one week of school, directly before the mid-term break one year - she missed learning long multiplication in 4th class, I worked so hard with her when she returned but she struggled and struggled with the concept as she had missed all the building blocks leading up to actually doing the sum. This child was so upset and it all could have been avoided. The parents were in, asking how could they help her, etc etc. This is a child who was very/exceptionally bright so to all the above posters who believe that their bright child is bored in school, I disagree. They might say they are at home but observing daily how hard they work in school means that I know better!!

So, in short, every week in school is important and a child absolutely should not miss school unless very sick.

You wouldn't be just doing it for her, you'd be doing it for one of your students. I find your attitude very aggressive.

The teachers teaching my children generally have their curriculum pre-planned. I know this because I was concerned about my children missing out on work in the past. I'd never take my children out of school willy nilly, and their teachers have been most helpful.

The way I see it is, you're only seeing how taxing it would be on yourself. The original poster said that it was not a holiday resort they were going to, but to see family when they can't afford it while the school are on breaks. Perhaps it's down to the individual teacher, but I've been fortunate so far in getting support from my childrens teachers. The idea of a mother being concerned for her childrens education being called "cheeky" is rather strange.

MrTsSnickers

Charl0tte wrote: »

You wouldn't be just doing it for her, you'd be doing it for one of your students. I find your attitude very aggressive.

It's not aggressive, it's practical. Who'd have to go through all the concepts when the child comes back from hiatus?

Charl0tte wrote: »

The teachers teaching my children generally have their curriculum pre-planned. I know this because I was concerned about my children missing out on work in the past. I'd never take my children out of school willy nilly, and their teachers have been most helpful.

So the teachers teaching your kids don't mind. Great. Maybe some teachers don 't want to? They're not there to fit in with your schedule. Now it is different, if someone is not just going on holidays, but to see family or something actually important rather than a cheap week in the algarve. If it's a holiday, it's the parents problem to sort the schooling out if their kids are missing school. They should speak to both the teacher and principle as soon as they know and I'm sure that most teachers would point the parent in the right direction or maybe advise the parents to wait for x amount of time as they're covering something particularly complex in class over that time.

Charl0tte wrote: »

The idea of a mother being concerned for her childrens education being called "cheeky" is rather strange.

If the mother was that concerned surely they wouldn't take the child out of school during term for something as trivial as a holiday?

Jogathon

Charl0tte wrote: »

You wouldn't be just doing it for her, you'd be doing it for one of your students. I find your attitude very aggressive.

The teachers teaching my children generally have their curriculum pre-planned. I know this because I was concerned about my children missing out on work in the past. I'd never take my children out of school willy nilly, and their teachers have been most helpful.

The way I see it is, you're only seeing how taxing it would be on yourself. The original poster said that it was not a holiday resort they were going to, but to see family when they can't afford it while the school are on breaks. Perhaps it's down to the individual teacher, but I've been fortunate so far in getting support from my childrens teachers. The idea of a mother being concerned for her childrens education being called "cheeky" is rather strange.

"I worked so hard with her when she returned but she struggled and struggled with the concept as she had missed all the building blocks leading up to actually doing the sum."

Quote from my original post... I think Charlotte, that you are only seeing what you want to see. I would never let a child suffer because their parents are not concerned with their child's education, as is obvious when they choose to holiday rather than attend school.

I have no problem with children missing school due to illness and would gladly send certain easy, non-technical, work home then if they were able to do it.

Sunny Dayz

We took our son out of primary school (2nd class) for the second week in September just past. He was back a week and half so was just settled in. I was nervous clearing it with school principal but she said it was no bother! He has great attendence otherwise. When he was back he caught up on the work in a couple of days. At that time of the year, they are only getting started into the coursework.
Was a once off, it was our first ever family sun holiday due to winning a few yoyo's in a draw and getting a last minute deal. However, if you were doing that every year, I can imagine the school would kick up.

byhookorbycrook

If five or six kids do this -and it does happen, it can totally disrupt the months of May and June. Kids miss the standardised tests, sports day, school tours as well as revision of the year's work.

When we were kids, our parents couldn't bring us on holidays because we didn't have that money. Since when did a week in Lanzarote become compulsory?:p

It is often the parents who take kids out at the drop of a hat that will complain about a snow day or teachers on a course etc.

CrazyRabbit

Jogathon wrote: »

I'm a teacher and I refuse point blank to do this. Why should I do extra work to accommodate you because you choose to holiday when I'm teaching? Total joke and unbelievably cheeky. Also, some concepts are very specific with how they are taught, are you a trained and experienced teacher?

One example of a child that missed one week of school, directly before the mid-term break one year - she missed learning long multiplication in 4th class, I worked so hard with her when she returned but she struggled and struggled with the concept as she had missed all the building blocks leading up to actually doing the sum. This child was so upset and it all could have been avoided. The parents were in, asking how could they help her, etc etc. This is a child who was very/exceptionally bright so to all the above posters who believe that their bright child is bored in school, I disagree. They might say they are at home but observing daily how hard they work in school means that I know better!!

So, in short, every week in school is important and a child absolutely should not miss school unless very sick.

It was just a suggestion...

Better the child has some schoolwork to do while away rather than none, if indeed the parents do indeed decide to go on holiday during the school term. As for the extra work for the teacher, well that's up to each teacher to decide. Of course they have every right to say no.

tacofries

Nanazolie wrote: »

hi


I beg to differ. Every day, my 5 years old come with a new letter, some new thing she has learned. And if the kids do 'nothing' from May onwards, why does the school only ends later?

I missed over 20 days of school at least every year, through going on holiday or long weekends with the family.Sometimes my mam would randomly turn up at my school and take me out on an unofficial halfday as a surprise.. Did i miss anything? No, I got 515 in my leaving cert.

Did i get anything from the holidays? Yes, lots of memories that will last forever. Your sayin that when your child misses a day of school she is missin out on learning! Well when i was out for a day I learned the most important things, things like how to live my life!

tacofries

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

If five or six kids do this -and it does happen, it can totally disrupt the months of May and June. Kids miss the standardised tests, sports day, school tours as well as revision of the year's work.

When we were kids, our parents couldn't bring us on holidays because we didn't have that money. Since when did a week in Lanzarote become compulsory?:p

Since when did sports day, school tours or end of year revision become compulsory either?!

pwurple

tacofries wrote: »

I missed over 20 days of school at least every year, through going on holiday or long weekends with the family.Sometimes my mam would randomly turn up at my school and take me out on an unofficial halfday as a surprise.. Did i miss anything? No, I got 515 in my leaving cert.

Did i get anything from the holidays? Yes, lots of memories that will last forever. Your sayin that when your child misses a day of school she is missin out on learning! Well when i was out for a day I learned the most important things, things like how to live my life!

I know right, the children who have 9 weeks off in the summer, plus easter, christmas and mid-terms, must have no idea how to live their life, versus those who take that extra one on top of it. :rolleyes:

And it seems fairly unlikely to me that someone with 515 points in the LC would have the grammar and punctuation of that post, so I won't be believing that one in a hurry either.

I guess if a parent doesn't value an education highly in the first place, then nothing will change their priorities. We all have different values.

pwurple

tacofries wrote: »

Since when did sports day, school tours or end of year revision become compulsory either?!

1922

Side Show Bob

dudara wrote: »

My mother is a National School teacher (of the Old Skool kind) and she hates this - she feels that it takes a while to get the kids settled back in once they return from holidays, that they disrupt the other kids, plus they miss the coursework from that period.

It's fine on a very exceptional basis, but what is a teacher to do when 2-3 sets of parents all feel that it is OK at the same time?

So the settle back time out weighs the time that the parents spend doing overtime at work for maybe up to 6 months or more to pay for over priced high season flights?

Kids who are not in exams an year will learn more on a holiday (adventure) than they ever will in just one lost week at school,

Stark

Depends on how the kid is doing at school I suppose. Never bothered me being taken out of school for a week as I was easily able to catch up and just meant being slightly less bored for a week or two after I came back. If the kid was struggling a bit in class, then it would be fairly irresponsible to take them out of school.

dahamsta

The OP's child/example is 5 for feck's sake. There's no revision or tests, no multiplication, and there's as much a chance of disruption from a dog outside the window as there is from What I Did On My Holiday.

OP, your child will have enough to worry about later on, let it have some fun while it still can. If you feel the need to worry about something, find something /important/.

And let other people worry about their own kids. Mind your business.

Ickle Magoo

We try not to take them out of school in term-time but since my family are in another country, there are always the odd family occasions/weddings/funerals that we go to which means a day off here and there.

We're lucky in that the kids go to a school where a not insignificant number of the pupil population have at least one non-irish parent and while it's certainly not advocated, they acknowledge that those kind of ever more common non-parochial family dynamics can mean the odd school day is missed and are very supportive/helpful/understanding in terms of syllabus to be covered/work to do while away/to catch up on return. :cool:

Nanazolie

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Is it possible to compromise in some way? Contact the teacher and ask if they could prepare some 'homework' that the kids could do during the holiday. Effectively it would be like homeschooling for that week.

The argument happened because my brother in law is getting married next year, mid-may. When I said that because it is during school time, we would travel on the Friday, back on the Monday, and I would explain to the teacher that it is my husband's only brother so we cannot miss it. My mother in law and my husband wanted us to stay the whole week, I said no way.
I'll ask the teacher for extra homeworks, but to be honest, there is a reason why he is a teacher and I am not: I have the patience of a mosquito and homeworks are always a struggle (for me!).

Nanazolie

dahamsta wrote: »

The OP's child/example is 5 for feck's sake. There's no revision or tests, no multiplication, and there's as much a chance of disruption from a dog outside the window as there is from What I Did On My Holiday.

OP, your child will have enough to worry about later on, let it have some fun while it still can. If you feel the need to worry about something, find something /important/.

And let other people worry about their own kids. Mind your business.

Are you always so aggressive? There is no need to, I was asking a simple question because I found that whenever I was talking to my friends, I was alone in thinking that it wasn't a good thing for the child. If the child is 5 and learns nothing, why bother sending her to school then?