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Holidays with kids in school time, have you done it?

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  • Zoetoes
    Zoetoes Posts: 2,496 Forumite
    kelloggs36 wrote: »
    The reason why you are being selfish is because you are a parent and have signed up to this - therefore you sign up to the downsides too! I don't buy the they learn so much when they visit the other places - yes they do, but they can visit them in the holidays when they are supposed to. I guess you have signed up for the 'I want so I shall have' regardless of waiting until you actually can afford it. I understand the temptation, but in my book my children's education is paramount to any wish to go on holiday! If I can't afford to go when I want to, I either don't go, or I have to accept that I will have to wait until I can. I don't understand why people feel that they have a given right to do what they want to when they have children - there are sacrifices to be made.

    Right ok, so when the class were being shown pictures of the pyramids and the items in the Egyptian museum while my son was actually there, my son was disadvantaged? Or the rest of the class were disadvantaged?

    Considering that the school authorised it and told us to have a wonderful time I don't think neither the teacher nor the head thought 'that mother obviously doesn't think her child's education is paramount'.

    Maybe it's not a case of I can't afford to go in school holidays, maybe it's a case of I could take them to another country once every year rather than once every 2 years!
    If you're going to stalk me, while you're at it can you cut the grass, feed the dog & make sure I've got bread & milk in :D
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    That's great if you are capable of doing that, but lots of parents aren't, and as they get older you will be less able to help them - unless you have A levels in 11 subjects, or degrees in several.

    Sorry but they don't miss so much on one week that they cannot be helped by any parent with an average level of education! I helped my children with their GCSEs anyway and there was nothing terribly difficult, or that could not be found with a quick google and a bit of reading. I don't have A levels in 11 subjects or a degree in any subject so it's not that difficult.

    I think the point here was that a dedicated teacher will try to ensure that everyone who needs to has caught up, as a dedicated teacher will want everyone in the class to do the very best they can.

    A dedicated parent (and many of us are) will also do all they can to help their child.

    In support of this argument...
    If the kids aren't in class, we can't teach them. If the catch up work that we sometimes set was adequate, then the government would have replaced us with computers and revision guides long ago.
    If teaching by parents was adequate (for example knowing the particular slant of an examination board towards a particular topic) then we would have been replaced long ago.

    kelloggs36 wrote: »
    The reason why you are being selfish is because you are a parent and have signed up to this - therefore you sign up to the downsides too! I don't buy the they learn so much when they visit the other places - yes they do, but they can visit them in the holidays when they are supposed to. I guess you have signed up for the 'I want so I shall have' regardless of waiting until you actually can afford it. I understand the temptation, but in my book my children's education is paramount to any wish to go on holiday! If I can't afford to go when I want to, I either don't go, or I have to accept that I will have to wait until I can. I don't understand why people feel that they have a given right to do what they want to when they have children - there are sacrifices to be made.

    I'm afraid we aren't all in awe of teachers. Yes you do a good job and one I couldn't do myself, but the main skills are crowd control and trying to teach a class full of children with varying abilities.

    It is perfectly possible for a parent to recreate an education at home!

    We are talking up to GCSE level here! Some parents believe they are unable to teach to that level but that is because they haven't had a good look at the curriculum. The subject matter really isn't that complicated!

    Further, there is plenty of poor teachers out there and plenty of children who would receive a far better quality of education at home.

    As I said earlier, it is not a black and white decision!
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    It's natural for a profession to defend their role and want parents to believe they are the experts and indespensible, but I don't think we need overdo it!

    Ideally, it is a partnership, not a case of 'we know best for your child and if you go against us, they and the rest of their class will not be properly educated.'
  • Nicki
    Nicki Posts: 8,166 Forumite
    edited 6 March 2011 at 8:46PM
    When my child does a topic like Egypt it is for an hour or so a week for about half a term. So even if he was studying Egypt at school I would not think by taking him out of school for a whole week during term time that I had given him a better education than he would have had at school. What about the other 34 hours of maths, literacy, science, music, art, history, ICT etc they would also have benefited from that week? Particularly maths and literacy, as these are subjects where a building block could easily be missed.

    I'm firmly in the camp of holidays should be taken in the 13 weeks off school, and if you want to make the holiday educational that's great, but most people spend most of their one or two weeks holiday having fun, not trailing round historical sites and museums every day, whether they go in holiday or term time.

    My suspicion is that those who do take their children out of school during term time don't themselves have an education to a particularly high level and this is why they don't value their children's education or the job that teachers do. Ducks and runs for cover!
  • milliebear00001
    milliebear00001 Posts: 2,120 Forumite
    Mojisola wrote: »
    The problem with saying that "it's only a week/two weeks and my child attends the rest of the time" may be right from that family's viewpoint. Look at it from the teacher's point of view who has 30 pupils - if all the parents felt like that about holidays, there could be children missing from the class every week of the school year and that's without taking any sick children into account.

    Every child who misses a week has to have special attention while they catch up with the rest of the class. The progress of the whole class is slowed down and the other children have less teacher time given to them while the holiday children are brought up-to-date. Although it might not seem as if your child going away has any detrimental effect on their individual education or on the progress of the whole class, it does.

    I am a teacher, and for better or worse, I don't give any 'special attention' to children who miss lessons through holidays. Nor do I prodide extra work for them to complete. I choose not to do this because I refuse to compromise any of the time I need for the rest of the class.
  • milliebear00001
    milliebear00001 Posts: 2,120 Forumite
    bestpud wrote: »
    I'm afraid we aren't all in awe of teachers. Yes you do a good job and one I couldn't do myself, but the main skills are crowd control and trying to teach a class full of children with varying abilities.

    It is perfectly possible for a parent to recreate an education at home!

    We are talking up to GCSE level here! Some parents believe they are unable to teach to that level but that is because they haven't had a good look at the curriculum. The subject matter really isn't that complicated!

    Further, there is plenty of poor teachers out there and plenty of children who would receive a far better quality of education at home.

    As I said earlier, it is not a black and white decision!

    As you have never trained as a teacher, I would suggest you know very little of the 'skills' that are required. The rest of your post certainly suggests this is the case. We don't just 'fill 'em up with facts' you know.
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    Nicki wrote: »
    When my child does a topic like Egypt it it for an hour or so a week for about half a term. So even if he was studying Egypt at school I would not think by taking him out of school for a whole week during term time that I had given him a better education than he would have had at school. What about the other 34 hours of maths, literacy, science, music, art, history, ICT etc they would also have benefited from that week? Particularly maths and literacy, as these are subjects where a building block could easily be missed.

    I'm firmly in the camp of holidays should be taken in the 13 weeks off school, and if you want to make the holiday educational that's great, but most people spend most of their one or two weeks holiday having fun, not trailing round historical sites and museums every day, whether they go in holiday or term time.

    My suspicion is that those who do take their children out of school during term time don't themselves have an education to a particularly high level and this is why they don't value their children's education or the job that teacher's do. Ducks and runs for cover!

    Do you really think children receive 35 hours of education a week?

    Take out registration and other admin tasks, break time, lunch, handing out books, time spent getting everyone quiet, time spent getting from one place to another, lesson such as P.E. and I can assure you they receive far less than that a week!!!

    It is actually easy to check what they have missed and fill in the gaps because they do have ongoing topics.

    It's not difficult!

    I received a good education by the way. :)
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    As you have never trained as a teacher, I would suggest you know very little of the 'skills' that are required. The rest of your post certainly suggests this is the case. We don't just 'fill 'em up with facts' you know.

    My opinion comes from being a parent and seeing what my children have done in school.

    Like I said, it's nothing that spectacular when you take out all issues like crowd control. I know you won't agree - why would you?
  • milliebear00001
    milliebear00001 Posts: 2,120 Forumite
    bestpud wrote: »
    My opinion comes from being a parent and seeing what my children have done in school.

    Like I said, it's nothing that spectacular when you take out all issues like crowd control. I know you won't agree - why would you?

    Perhaps because I trained, and do the job day in day out, am also a parent, and clearly know a whole lot more about it than you do. You get a very tiny insight into what is required from a good teacher.
  • bestpud
    bestpud Posts: 11,048 Forumite
    Perhaps because I trained, and do the job day in day out, am also a parent, and clearly know a whole lot more about it than you do. You get a very tiny insight into what is required from a good teacher.

    And you feel the need to defend your profession - I understand that.

    You are wrong to suggest a parent cannot educate their own child to the same level however. :)
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