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 do take my Grandchildren out of school when they sail with us, usually in October!! I certainly see it as an education to see other parts of the world they would not normally see, and meet a lot of people, and do different things!! They are now 10 & 7, and 13, 18's. The youngest take a journal, and write something every night about what they did and saw!! Including the pre and post hotel!! Then they take it to school and give a trip report, always wearing a t-shirt with a ship or port logo, as well as something that was made by locals in the islands!! They get homework requested ahead of time from the teachers, and do it at the hotel, on each end of the cruise!! Florida schools encourage family together time, and they have 19 absent days through the year!! We have never had a problem!!
This is how I look at this too..
What an experence that they just are not going to get in the public schools...
I was thinking about seeing if we could encorprate this into a school thing to like a report to the class.
That sounds Great Sue!!!
Thanks!!
The teachers love it Chuck!! When you let the teacher know the date you are going, to get the homework ahead of time, let the teacher know then that he would like to give a report in class about his trip!! The teacher should allow time for it on his return!! They do here!!
When my daughter was in kindergarten, we got a fantastic deal on a cruise (an employee discount). So I asked her teacher if we could have her "homework helper" (it's the packet with the homework assignments for the week that some teachers in the lower grades will hand out) early so she could do some of it on the cruise. (which she really didn't finish on the cruise, but we did bring the scissors, gluesticks, crayons, pencils, etc. anyway). The teacher wasn't completely happy but another girl had gone out for a week earlier so she couldn't turn us down.
Since then, we are a bit hesitant to take her out for more than a day. There's so much classwork and homework every day that if a child is out for a few days, even for an illness, they still have to make up all that work.
A big reason for this is that the schools have to cram so much into the kids' little brains before the state tests. I won't go into my true feelings for the LNKB Act here. But if a school's performance is lower than expectations, they are put on notice (while other schools that really improve may be in line for bonus money). So the federal government has put pressure on the states, which has put pressure on the local districts, which in turn has put pressure on the schools, and so forth.
Schools can set a limit on permissable non-excused absences. I think ours is five before they consider asking you to leave -- and this is a magnet school that's hard to get into.
I do believe that a cruise can be beneficial to children (the relaxation factor and being with the family). I think my child learned a lot about Hawaii from going to Sea Life Park, viewing the volcano from the ship at night after we left Hilo, our excursion in Hilo. In Alaska, we saw totem poles a year or two before her class studied native Indians.
There was a thread about this subject next door last year. One guy, who said his wife is a teacher, was so adament about how terrible parents are for taking their kids out of school. Even when some posters pointed out that many people can only go on vacations when their work permits them -- not always when kids are out of school, this guy said those people should change their jobs. Some of us went toe-to-toe with this bully, even when he was sarcastic. I flung his words back at him and got banned for a day.
There are some cruises (Panama Canal, Southern Caribbean from FLL) that we would love to take but would involve her missing school. Maybe one day things would work out so the rules are relaxed.
I am very lucky that the kids go to a small school district and that the Principle/Superintendent is very open to the idea of learning outside the class room.
I personally challange my kids to do an extra project out side of class on their own time in the months before the cruise. Last year both kids did projects on Hawaii. DS did a research paper on the voyages of Captain Cook and DD did a geography report on the Hawaiian Islands.
This year they are working on Mexcico reports.
Both kids are excelling in school, even with their hectic extra curricular activities schedule. If the situation was different with them needed extra attention to be at grade level, I think I would hesitate for them to miss a week.
Last year the teacher assigened them journaling while on the cruise. What a great souvenir of their fist cruise.
In our school district if a child misses more than 15 days for the semester, they are failed and cannot go to summer school to make it up. I'd say it would be risky to take a child out, for a week long vacation. If and illness or something else beyond a parents control came up, you could be looking at a failing student. I do agree that traveling is a great adjunct to formal education, but with the strict rules here, I wouldn't risk it.
When the grandkids come to visit (in Florida) they are taken out of scool for the week, come with homework and write a report for the class back home. Of course they come to see "Mickey" and the best time to get the most is off season. I would think cruising would be the best if it wasn't during school break also. The kids would learn manners, social skills etc. by spending more parental time while on the cruise. Education should not be the sole responsibility of actual classroom hours, spend one on one time as if home schooling. Sorry if I sound like a lecturer!
Mary makes an excellent point. I don't agree with the state school laws but it is what it is. I am not sure if things vary here district to district but I know it is more lax at the high school then it was at the middle school.
Suzanne's first year here in Rhode Island she was ill a lot. Doctor's notes and all. finally the sixth graders councelor said I had to bring her to school to have the school nurse see her before she could be considered sick. I brought her into school with a fever and very sick. The VP wasn't happy that the councelor made me bring her in. The councelor had even sent the cops to our house. If they miss over a certain amount of days the detention officer comes to the house. More misses it goes further. As Mary stated not even summer school will allow you to go to the next grade.
Suzanne's second year here she was in the seventh grade. Pat was in Iraq and our family was taking a cruise. (ZZKat, EPSantaman and ReggieRail were on this cruise) I went to the princepal and got the permission from him to take her out for the week. The councelor for her last grade had moved to this grade and was very displeased. The princepal told her it was good for her to go and be with family with her father in Iraq.
Now onto when we have lived in other states. Some of the states are all for taking the kids out an for trips that will broaden their knowledge. Areas surrounding military bases tend to be more lax in missed school. Our area here has a Military Base but since it is the Naval war college you don't tend to get a lot of families here. Some but not a lot.
I think it can be a great thing for the kids. Depending on where you live it can be difficult too.
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