We debated this issue before we did the same thing and came to this conclusion - your children will always remember that one week at Disney more than they will ever remember that one week of school.
Yes, they will be able to remember that week more specifically than a week at school ... but what they would've learned in that one week would be incorporated /blended into what they already know and would not specifically stand out, but that doesn't mean that week was in any way unimportant.
As a retired teacher who gave many years of my life to teaching, I can't disagree more. There are several weeks of vacation scheduled in the school year. The 36 weeks or so of school are jammed packed with learning that can not be made up with busy work sent with the child. Every day important learning happens in the classroom and your child needs to be there. Would you be willing to give up Thanksgiving or Christmas or Spring or Summer breaks because nothing crucial happens at home during a week? I did a great deal of planning educational actvities for my students and found it insulting when parents asked if anything important would be happening or would it be ok for child to miss a few days (or weeks). Important learning is a daily event in a classroom!
A a
current teacher, I second everything you've said.
What your teacher SAYS isn't necessarily what he or she THINKS; I promise you, the conversation in the staff room is quite different. When you ask this question, your teacher
knows that you've already made the decision to take your child out of class that week, already have flights and a hotel booked -- the teacher knows you're going regardless of how the conversation goes, and it's smarter/easier to stay on your good side/hope for parental cooperation rather than point out what your child will miss in a solid week of class. You're going to go regardless of what the teacher says, so when the teacher agrees and acts happy about it, he or she is actually practicing damage control.
Shocker! Teacher advocates not vacationing during school. School is important, but so is family time. If it has to occur during school, a week won't make a kid a high school dropout. Teachers spend way more time on distracted students than actually teaching anyways.
True, family time is important ... but you have 185 days a year when kids
are not in school. If you're
not making memories at home on a regular basis -- simple things like cooking together, sharing books, going to the playground together -- then that one week isn't going to suddenly provide those family memories that you need.
No one's said a kid's going to become a high school drop out -- hyberbole doesn't help your agument -- but when a kid misses school, there's
always a cost. You may argue that the cost is negligible, and the reality is that it will differ from one student to another, but the cost is still real.
You're right that teachers have to spend time on distracted students -- also unprepared students, hungry students, sick students, belligerent students, students with special needs, students behind grade level, the list could go on -- but that is irrelevant to this particular discussion.
. I wish I was more heat tolerant...
