Kids & School - Page 2 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

sue miller · 11-02-2006, 09:36 PM

My Mom, 95 lives with us!! She can be cranky, and could be a problem, but having the children sail with us, and seeing, meeting and talking to older passengers, have shown them there are a lot of elderly out there, and I believe they are more patient because of it!! Even at the grocery store they always say hi, and Emily, 7, will comment on a pretty dress, I like you hair, and other cute comments, It always makes them smile!! That is a good thing!!

Mrs Factor · 11-03-2006, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chucksta

Would you or have you pulled your child out of school to take a cruise?
I am going to do it for the first time in Jan.
I think he will get a great education seeing other parts of the world. He is a good student & I think he will be able to stay with the class in learning.
What are your thoughts?
Heve you?
Would you?
Won't you?
Why?
Pros & cons would be nice...
Thanks
Chuck

I have done it and would do it again. It wasn't for a cruise but to Niagara Falls in Canada. She even wrote a review of her trip for her teachers. Teachers even gave her less homework for the trip knowing we were having her write a review of her trip through her own eyes. I think kids learn a lot from a vacation. And even more when your together as a family. I'd do it again in a heart beat. It even may happen in 2008 when we take our 3 kids(2 in school) to the Med. on a cruise. A lot to learn for them. So I'd just do it. And her grades weren't affected by it either. Happy sailing!

jp20 · 11-06-2006, 12:32 AM

What a great question, and the answer is absolutely I would take my kids out of school to cruise. First, I believe school wants the money more than what's best for the kids. Sorry I work in the school district and see it all the time, its the politics in school. Two years ago I had enough and decided to home school my boys. One is graduating H.S. in January instead of June due to taking accelerated courses and has been accepted to his choice college. The other son is doing great too. Been there and done that with the magnet schools too, sorry it just gets worse, so I'll stop. Children learn more by doing, living, and experiencing. Please remember they are only yours to mold such a short time, take advantage of there youth. The grades in elementary school will never be on their transcripts.

djgifford · 11-06-2006, 10:00 AM

I haven't taken the kids out for more than a few days...for pre cruise...but it depends on their age and grade.

My daughter is a senior and doesn't want to miss school for obvious reasons. My son is in 8th grade and will be going to the private high school my daughter is in...so he really needs to be good this year.

Also, it would depend upon the time of year, as well.

Some school systems are really tight and discourage missing school. I for one feel that the kids can get a great wealth of information cruising and seeing and learning about where they are visiting.

I do however, try to plan trips around school vacations for the most part.

attagirl · 03-30-2007, 03:09 AM

My children all home school and so traveling and cruising is part of their education, especially when we plan where we are going to see certain points of interest that will teach them about important historical facts.

Warm Breezes · 08-25-2007, 12:32 AM

We will be going on our 4th cruise in November where we have taken the kids out of school. This year it will only be for 2 days. Last year it was for 3 days. My son, who is a straight A student going into the 8th grade really struggled last year with missing the days. We let the teachers know at the Parent Teacher conferences and no one had a problem with him being gone. I requested his homework 2 weeks ahead of time as the school requires. Only a few of his teachers gave him his homework ahead of time. We had a full week of Christmas break after our cruise that he could have gotten the homework done. Instead the majority of the teachers gave it to him after Christmas break and wanted it back right away along with the current homework. That was really hard on him. Especially since he is on the Basketball team and had practice and games after school for 2 hours every night. I got it down to two days this year but with my work schedule, my husband work schedule, DD's dance schedule, and DS's soccer and basketball schedules we have very few times a year that we can fit a vacation in.

We may have to give up cruising for a while with the kids move into the higher grades if making up the time becomes to difficult for them.

hrt4girls · 04-04-2008, 12:12 AM

I teach at a public school in Wisconsin. I am also a mother of school age children. I totally agree that the experience that the kids get on a trip cannot be duplicated in a classroom. Having life experiences is so very valuable.

My frustration is not the fact that parents take their kids out of school for a trip. My frustration is when they ask me for the homework with 2 days notice and then return to school with a note that says they didn't have time to do it. I do not always have lesson plans completed for that far in advance and it takes quite a while to pull things together for just one student. I guess if I am going to get things organized, I would like the child to do the work.

The other part of that is that if the child misses an important assessment or project, I need to spend recess time to reteach to just him. Math is usually the easiest to catch up on. Classes like science and social studies where there are more demonstrations and discussions is almost impossible to make up for any missing student. And then there are the state tests. If a child misses those, they can't be made up and the school is given a lower score for any student who does not take the test.

So, yes it is hard for teachers when kids are gone. Do I still think it is a valuable life lesson for them? You bet. Would I discourage a child from going on a trip with their family? NEVER

sue miller · 04-04-2008, 06:31 AM

We send a note to the teachers about two months before the cruise, with reminders. The kids take up to two hours each day to do homework, as well as keep a journal of things done, seen, and enjoyed, or not. Each time they have written a report of the week, the ports, culture, differences, local crafts, ship, passengers, that they bring to school to share with the other kids in class. They love it. I find the experience for children on a ship going to different places and seeing so many things that they otherwise would only read or hear about, is an awesome life and learning experience!!

Peace2u · 12-07-2008, 09:36 AM

I haven't and personally I wouldn't. Granted he's only in Kindergarten but I just don't want the days missed on his record, having to make up homework, thinking it's okay to miss school for stuff. Since they do get days off during the year, I'd rather just wait until the vacations come up.

blueyes23701 · 04-18-2009, 10:11 AM

My son's school district only allows 10 days missed in a year or they fail them. Would love to take him on a cruise. He usually misses 7 days ( allergies, asthma attacks), so I have to be very careful. I have spoken with him about taking him on a cruise next year, if I can get the teacher to agree and the school district, since he will be going into HS. He'll be in the international magnet program and maybe I can get by the missed days, if he does a report.

Pat