"a terrible message"?!? that not everything worth knowing about the world comes out of a can/textbook? I was pulled out of school for a variety of interruptions as a kid, some of which involved my taking schoolwork along (to keep up) and some of which didn't. there was travel abroad, living in other parts of the country for a season, and a number of other things. I still learned everything of substance that my school was teaching (even if I didn't fill in every workbook page) and did just fine in school. plus, I learned that there's more to life that "getting ahead" -- that there is art, and different ways of seeing the world, and quiet, and valuing things for yourself. none of that made me any less of a "good girl" with respect to school or anything else, but it did prepare me for the possibility that there was more than one track I might choose through life, a lesson which has served me extremely well... at older ages, I can see that the challenges (for them keeping up with the increasing course load, class discussions, etc.) get much larger, but I'm also intrigued by Asha's claim that it's even more important then. I guess I'd aim for less intrusive outings -- maybe a day off for a "field trip" or special event, and save longer travel for summer or vacation times. but will have to see how I feel when I get to that point!

As a teacher, I can tell you why your child's school is so unhappy about you taking your child out of school for any reason. A Public School is also a business, and every day that your child is in school equals a dollar figure to that school, and vice-versa. In addition, there is a tremendous amount of pressure put on administrators, then teachers to improve every student's standardized test scores. This pressure translates into making sure all teachers are utilizing the most effective teaching methods every moment of every class to give students the best opportunity to prove what they know; what they've learned. So here's my two cents as a mother and an educator: Know that time with your children is precious and priceless; That all children would benefit from experiences that enrich their lives and create life long memories. So if you have an opportunity to share such an experience with them, take it, but consider the following: Help your school with fundraising to make up the difference in the money your decision has cost them. Work with your student's teacher to keep them up to date on assignments and learning objectives, so that your child does not get behind or miss anything important. I think if more parents were aware of the business side of public schools, there would be less confusion, and greater collaboration between parents and schools.

My mother was a working mom for a lot of years...but we always got to stay home on our birthdays...we were not sick often, but when I was a teen I might come down with a "sick stomach" on a particularly nice day. I am sure my mom isn't an idiot and knew I just wanted out for a bit. I did not like missing school b/c of the makeup work. When I was supposed to start 9th grade, my mom pulled myself and my siblings out and started homeschooling us. After that experience, I now look at myself as my child's TEACHER, and I send her to public school to make friends and let the "teacher" show her how to fill in a workbook. I depserately want to homeschool my daughter, but she and I just clash at every turn. Even at 6...I feel like sitting her down for a few hours to learn is way more than I can handle. I have another child, I'm an Army wife, my husband is deployed...we are BRAND new to our community and therefore know approximately 2 people. I think taking kids out of school once in a while reminds them, "Yeah, working hard sucks, but then b/c of it you enjoy your time to relax a little more." During Thanksgiving break our family moved from Florida to NY. I asked her teacher if there were some items we could take with us so that she could kind of keep up before she was re-enrolled. I basically let her stay out of school from the last week of November, to the first week of January. Her dad was going to deploy soon, she hadn't seen him for the prior 9 months b/c of training. I felt that at that moment in time, eff learning the alphabet! She can learn that ANY time...I care more about her relationship with her father. I already have plans to take her out of school at the end of the year to visit Florida from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The way the school system is here, this will probably mean she'll be out of school for more than a month. If I were in Florida (OH GLORIOUS LAND OF SUN!), she would actually just miss 3 weeks of actual education. It's not my fault they get out of school in June, start half-way thru September, take a week off in February, and keep them in school until the last possible moments before Christmas!!! I am sure there's a reason, but in Florida those kids are back in August...there is no mid-Winter break (only a fair day for agricultural counties), school is out before Memorial Day, and at my daughter's old school they got a whole week off for Thanksgiving b/c they didn't have half days! My daughter's first teacher didn't seem to have a problem when she was absent, b/c she knew us...she knew we were a close family that tried to take advantage of good days to do things together. But the office staff often seemed to want a better excuse note than, "I kept Jocelynn out of school so we could drive to Micanopy and visit Marjorie Kinan-Rawlings Cross Creek home."

This post only makes me want to homeschool more!