Fined for holiday in school time

cakeordeath_2

zara*elise wrote: »

Can someone please explain to me the educational value of riding a rollercoaster?

Maybe the reason we have so many demotivated, selfish, clueless and zombie-like children in this country is because their parents see taking three weeks off school as reasonable. How, please explain, can you teach a child of any age that comittment and dedication are important when you take them out of their scedule, because you feel like it?

Well with a five year old you would first measure them at the entrance to the rollercoaster (maths) then you would explain to them (English) that for reasons of safety they are too small to ride the rollercoaster (science)

The reason we have so many demotivated, selfish, clueless and zombie-like children in this country is because from an amazingly young age they are moulded to meet the mainstream educational system rather than have their education tailored to the individual.

shirlgirl2004

cakeordeath wrote: »

Well with a five year old you would first measure them at the entrance to the rollercoaster (maths) then you would explain to them (English) that for reasons of safety they are too small to ride the rollercoaster (science)

The reason we have so many demotivated, selfish, clueless and zombie-like children in this country is because from an amazingly young age they are moulded to meet the mainstream educational system rather than have their education tailored to the individual.

I'd find it very sad if my child needed to be taught this at 5. My 2 1/2 year old understands how to measure properly and understands the concept of being too short for certain rides and even that the bar needs to be tight against her to hold her in. Your average child doesn't need that explained on more than one day trip so a day out would suffice. My question is if the class are learning about verbs whilst your child is absent(my child knows about verbs at 5) then how will you know to cover this on your holiday? Will even half the adult population be able to explain something as basic as verbs? I doubt it.

On the positive, I agree mainstream education isn't tailored to the individual but taking your child out of school during term isn't going to resolve that.

zara*elise

cakeordeath wrote: »

The reason we have so many demotivated, selfish, clueless and zombie-like children in this country is because from an amazingly young age they are moulded to meet the mainstream educational system rather than have their education tailored to the individual.

Eeerm, I don't actually think that's true, many children come out of school and do fairly well (of course they're usually the ones with great attendance record.) It would be unreasonable to expect the state to pay for individual tuition, especially if their parents are teaching them that they can learn about measuring at Disneyworld.

And if the education system is too harsh in saying that a 3 week 'holiday' is unacceptable then you have the choice to homeschool or send them to a private school You [meant in the plural] can't expect children to learn if you teach them that BEING at school isn't important!

gabyjane

zara*elise not all parents take thier kids on rollercoaster holidays though do they? I admit when dd was younger she went to Florida and we did the disney world etc BUT she also did a safari tour seeing lots of different animals, a tour of certain areas she may never visit again, churches, monastrys etc and still remembers them well from photos..in Feurteventura we went up to a part of it that was covered in snow which she had never seen before, priceless to see her face imo and not something seriously she could do here unless i take her up north at the mo!! not a huge lesson on anything practical apart from learning how to roll a snowball but hey!..so lots of holidays can be educational in thier own ways and a life experience for them.

cakeordeath_2

shirlgirl2004 wrote: »

I'd find it very sad if my child needed to be taught this at 5. My 2 1/2 year old understands how to measure properly and understands the concept of being too short for certain rides and even that the bar needs to be tight against her to hold her in. Your average child doesn't need that explained on more than one day trip so a day out would suffice. My question is if the class are learning about verbs whilst your child is absent(my child knows about verbs at 5) then how will you know to cover this on your holiday? Will even half the adult population be able to explain something as basic as verbs? I doubt it.

On the positive, I agree mainstream education isn't tailored to the individual but taking your child out of school during term isn't going to resolve that.

And I'm betting your 2 1/2 year old didn't learn it in a mainstream classroom either, she learned it with her family did she not? A family holiday to Florida isn't about a ride on a rollercoaster, it's about family bonding, and when children are having fun they ask so many questions, their natural inquisitiveness kicks in and they are genuinly interested in learning answers to their questions. In school children are even taught what questions to ask, ones that will get them through the performance tests, no wonder teaching is so hard for the teachers these days. Children are pushed into formal education at such an early age that the family values are often lost as they spend so much of their time away from the family unit.

As you say, you doubt that half the adult population will be able to explain something as basic as verbs and considering the fact that a whole lot more than half the adult population will have been in school from age 5 it doesn't really seem to say an awful lot for the success of the classroom environment.

cakeordeath_2

zara*elise wrote: »

Eeerm, I don't actually think that's true, many children come out of school and do fairly well (of course they're usually the ones with great attendance record.) It would be unreasonable to expect the state to pay for individual tuition, especially if their parents are teaching them that they can learn about measuring at Disneyworld.

And if the education system is too harsh in saying that a 3 week 'holiday' is unacceptable then you have the choice to homeschool or send them to a private school You [meant in the plural] can't expect children to learn if you teach them that BEING at school isn't important!

How about teaching our kids that education is important and then we can teach them to learn from virtually any situation they are in rather than just plonking the whole responsibilty on the shoulders of the school system and then blaming that system for churning out a bunch of teenagers with a string of GCSE's and no knowledge of what to do with them or how to cope away from such an enclosed environment?

gregg1

emlou2009 wrote: »

i'm amused you're still dragging this over and over. i havent actually said i dont get it, i have simply said i for one am bored of hearing about the dreadful life teachers have to live! there are clearly many others that feel the same. i'll repeat my point again in case you didnt understand it the first time
every time a thread is started relating to schools or teachers, it eventually gets taken over by teachers telling us what a hard life they have.

just like this thread...

all you've done is prove my point rather than actually put one of your own across! :rotfl:

I have not said teachers have a hard life. Although to be fair I think most teachers are only trying to defend themselves against the onslaught against them which appears often on these threads.

There are actually an awful lot of people who do not agree with kids being taken out of school during term time who are NOT teachers.

shirlgirl2004

cakeordeath wrote: »

And I'm betting your 2 1/2 year old didn't learn it in a mainstream classroom either, she learned it with her family did she not? A family holiday to Florida isn't about a ride on a rollercoaster, it's about family bonding, and when children are having fun they ask so many questions, their natural inquisitiveness kicks in and they are genuinly interested in learning answers to their questions. In school children are even taught what questions to ask, ones that will get them through the performance tests, no wonder teaching is so hard for the teachers these days. Children are pushed into formal education at such an early age that the family values are often lost as they spend so much of their time away from the family unit.

As you say, you doubt that half the adult population will be able to explain something as basic as verbs and considering the fact that a whole lot more than half the adult population will have been in school from age 5 it doesn't really seem to say an awful lot for the success of the classroom environment.

I have agreed with you that mainstream education is not great but if that is what the parents have chosen then they should embrace it wholeheartedly. My both my 5 and 2 1/2 year old attend Montessori nursery/school so they have an individual education. Some of their skills are taught at home by well educated parents and some by their teachers. There's a lot of what you say that I agree with but those views are not really compatible with mainstream education. From what you say I'd assume that you favour home education but that isn't what this thread is about.

PolishBigSpender

shirlgirl2004 wrote: »

My both my 5 and 2 1/2 year old attend Montessori nursery/school so they have an individual education.

Are they attending on a private basis?

If so, I'd expect the average 5 year old to be *far* ahead of their peers in public school.

adouglasmhor

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Are they attending on a private basis?

If so, I'd expect the average 5 year old to be *far* ahead of their peers in public school.

Public school in Britain is posh private school like Eaton or Harrow or Gordonstoun not ordinary school PBS. Oposite of American English. Not being picky just explaining mate.