Holidays abroad - or lack of them, impact on child

Andypandyboy

notanewuser wrote: »

I'd say that depends entirely on the nature of the travel.

Agreed. Two weeks in Benidorm is not going to broaden the mind, at least not in any academic way!;)

Mojisola

Andypandyboy wrote: »

As for it being necessary, I am not sure. I think if you never go beyond your own cultural norms then you may become insular. I would say travel does broaden the mind.

It's quite possible to holiday in lots of different places around the world and never step outside your own cultural norms and just as possible to never leave Britain but interact with a lot of different cultures.

It's not travel that changes people but their attitude to life wherever they live.

Andypandyboy

Mojisola wrote: »

It's quite possible to holiday in lots of different places around the world and never step outside your own cultural norms and just as possible to never leave Britain but interact with a lot of different cultures.

It's not travel that changes people but their attitude to life wherever they live.

Of course, but if they do have that attitude then travel adds another dimension. I think that was already stated earlier in the thread.

If they don't or they believe that there is nothing that can't be experienced from within their own locale then no amount of experience of the world will change that. They would have pre judged and decided not to bother without giving it a chance, without wanting to see if going further afield did offer something new.

It is very much about attitude.

pollypenny

Homeownertobe wrote: »

Schools like this are oversubscribed because they are successful. They're successful because generations of middle class parents have forced the school to become more successful. To have a wider net of activities for children, to give them different experiences and push them with good educational standards. Standards that are often far in excess of schools without middle class parents.

This is A Good Thing. Until someone who doesn't fit in/can't keep up with the rest is made to feel excluded, apparently.

I'd suggest the OP weighs up all the benefits (I'm sure there are many) to her child attending this school before deciding it's awful because she can't afford to take her child abroad like the others.

She needs to decide whether all the benefits of having her child in such an environment are worth the odd day of her child feeling out of place because his parents don't have as much money as the others.



Of course it's not - and I never said it was - but there needs to be a sense of proportion. The teacher shouldn't be fired anymore than the OP should remove her child from this school and put them in a school more befitting her socio-economic status.

At the end of the day, the OP can't afford to take her child abroad, that doesn't mean the rest of the school (who can) should have to change to make her feel better. The school is obviously trying to teach the children about other European countries and I'd wager the OP's child will learn a lot.

Holidays may not be a strict necessity but a weekend city break to Barcelona, Bruges, Stockholm etc wouldn't cost the Earth and I'd be skeptical of anyone who says they couldn't budget over a few years to fund one to give their child that experience.

I taught in a very successful school for twenty years, albeit secondary.
It was a true comprehensive, where we aimed for the best for every child and, in most cases, succeeded.

Not one of my colleagues would have acted in such a crass manner.

Re city breaks bring affordable: you really have no idea how some people have to budget, do you? Read the OP's opening post again.

FBaby

I think what we are trying to say is that you can experience different cultures and interest whilst staying in one's own country, and of course going away for a week in another part of the country where you get to experience different cultures and experiences will always be more valuable than a week holiday staying in a hotel full of Brits and spending all that time around the pool. However, if you are lucky to be able to give your children the experience of doing the same than you would do in the UK, but also in different countries, than it is an added bonus.

mumps

We had holidays abroad and in UK, we didn't go abroad every year and I have never been on a package holiday or stayed in beach hotel for 2 weeks. I am not a sun lover and would be bored to death. The thing that always amazed me about many of my childrens friends was they had been to Disney, to Spain, skiing somewhere but had never visited London. I think London is an amazing place to visit with children and for English children particularly to see so much of their history.

Mojisola

FBaby wrote: »

I think what we are trying to say is that you can experience different cultures and interest whilst staying in one's own country, and of course going away for a week in another part of the country where you get to experience different cultures and experiences will always be more valuable than a week holiday staying in a hotel full of Brits and spending all that time around the pool. However, if you are lucky to be able to give your children the experience of doing the same than you would do in the UK, but also in different countries, than it is an added bonus.

Well said.

I'm glad that I had the opportunity to live in several other countries before marriage and kids but I think I made the most of the experiences because of how my parents had raised me and they never went abroad (unless you count Dad's wartime experiences but he said it wasn't much fun visiting other countries when people kept shooting at you).

Homeownertobe

pollypenny wrote: »

Re city breaks bring affordable: you really have no idea how some people have to budget, do you? Read the OP's opening post again.

I've read more than the OP's opening post. Funny how her budget and her OH's accident didn't stop them considering Italy for their honeymoon, or even taking their son on a safari.

Come off it - if the OP didn't want to budget to include an educational holiday for her son, then that's fine. But she needs to own that decision and take responsibility for it rather than moan about the school.

The school, by the way, that has allowed the OP and her son from equipment and opportunities bought by the generous fundraising efforts of the other parents. Fundraising that the OP does not take part in one bit.

Perhaps a thank you card to the other parents and the school would be in order?

bylromarha

TBeckett100 wrote: »

I guess their husbands have better paid jobs though

Or their wives/partners

My OH earns less than me. Primark and a 2004 Citroen Berlingo for us.