Should Kids Miss School To Travel?

When my son was younger we would travel whenever we could. The relationship he built with family out of town was priceless and the experiences we had together are memories that will last a lifetime. Even his 4th grade teacher encouraged travel as there is so much life learning when doing so. We attend a private school in pa so it was wonderful.

Fast forward to 6 th grade. I have been VERY diligent about traveling around the school schedule now so that my child has a good attendance record. He was so proud to have only missed 1 day the entire year. We are in the 3rd and last marking period . To my shock when I got his winter report they had him as missing 5 days! I called they looked into it and said that all children who went on the class trip ( that's a requirement) for 4 days were marked as absent. They can do this because they are a private school :/. Well with that response my conclusion is travel to your hearts content. Schools are so backwards these days they will learn more with you then in the classroom ( this coming from a former educator) Just make sure they aren't falling behind in studies or missing too much. Other than that live life! It's far too short my friend

Our son will start Kindergarten next Fall he is currently in pre-k. We have a big trip planned for April 2017 flying from California to Brisbane Australia spending a few days then boarding a cruise ship with many ports in Australia -Bali-Malysia-and we are going to disembark in Manila and then going to Boracay spending 10 days before heading home; we have a sponsor child who is now in College and want my son to meet her and see how life in the Philippines is. We will be gone five weeks in total. I haven't talked to his School yet as he was just enrolled but hopefully it won't be a problem as long as we do the home study; I think a lot will be repeated in Kindergarten next year that he is learning in pre- k anyway. I feel it will be a trip of a lifetime and he will take a lot in. Has anyone in California school system taken a student out this long?

The learning experience gathered from travelling is "priceless". For children to experience different cultures, learn about the world around them, learning about history and above all just spending quality time with their family are reason enough to travel when you need to and not when the school/school district dictates!

Whilst I would condone people always taking their children out of school for every trip they do, the odd few days each year won't hurt a child's education.

I know whey my children were little (and something my parents did with me) they had to write a journal or read a book/travel guide etc each day whilst we were away. Even when they were pre-school aged they did a scrapbook each night about the day they had. We also encouraged them to talk about the activities of the day and always refer back to them our trips.

Travel is a great form of education!

From elementary school until high school, I regularly missed about a week of school to travel since my mom would take the family along with her on business trips to touristy places. My parents always notified the teachers in advance so they would have ample time to prepare a packet of work. The absences were a little more complicated junior high and on, since there were multiple teachers to try to work with but I don't recall any negative backlash or falling behind. Senior year of high school, I missed a good 2 weeks of school to travel internationally for a big family event. Fortunately, I had already submitted all my college apps, but with AP courses and some projects I just wouldn't be able to complete independently, it was a bit of a challenge.
I don't have kids myself, but as long as you are proactive and keep a few hours a day set aside for homework (for instance on the plane would be perfect), it shouldn't be an issue. I had friends growing up who would go to Disneyland for several days and leave the park to go do homework...not fun by any means but still good discipline.

"He takes his passport, boarding passes, Nexus card, and photos of him in Emirates First Class in to show and tell.."

I doubt you are impressing the teacher all that much. As a teacher I can tell you that these trips are a huge pain in the ass. I can't tell you how many times I've had to resort to almost bill collector type tactics to get the make up work submitted. When it is, inevitably it is done in a haphazard manner. It's great you have the means to fly your kid in Emirates First, but there is a ton of extra work you've created for the teacher. We really don't appreciate having to subsidize your trip. I can tell you most of my colleagues scrimp and save to afford a more modest trip every three or four years. You deserve the fruits of your success, but rubbing others' noses in it isn't cool.

The extra work happens outside of our work day. There have been numerous mornings I've had to get to work before 6 AM so I can use a scanner that is shared by 90 teachers. I can't just push a button and get instantaneous make-up work custom tailored for the situation. Seriously, I hope you send an e-mail thanking the teacher for the extra work.

Sorry - accidentally hit 'Return' before I finished that last thought about year round school. One reason I would advocate for that is because so much of what is learned throughout the school year is not retained after an almost three month break. Rather, if that were split up into an extra week here or there, students would retain more and teachers would not have to spend the first six weeks of school reteaching last years skills.

@Hans Thank you for your well thought out points of view. As always, right on target. (well, maybe not 'always' ;-) )

My son was 10 when we had the opportunity to travel to Thailand. It was a tag-along on someone else's trip, so we didn't get to control the timing, and it fell while he was in school. I got permission for him to go, and he got as many assignments ahead of time as possible. Luckily, he was in elementary school--his middle and high school teachers he's had since probably wouldn't have been as nice about it.

However, his teacher did make it clear that he didn't appreciate him being gone so long. Worse, the teacher clearly had some pre-conceived notions about Thailand, as he made some rather disparaging comments when my son did his presentation on it (for an assigned project, and he was granted permission to have Thailand and his trip be the topic). The most egregious thing, in my opinion, was the teacher not allowing my son to use his favorite photo from the whole trip, of a massage place in Bangkok called "Miss Puke." My son thought the name was hilarious, and actually pulled the photo up on his camera throughout the trip just to look at it and laugh, so of course he wanted to include it in his presentation so his 5th grade classmates could also laugh at it. But his teacher told him he couldn't use it, and said it was "inappropriate." My son couldn't understand why it was inappropriate, and I suppose I could've just told him it was because of the "puke" thing (though it was a proper name), but he's smarter than that and would have kept pressing, so I ended up having to try to make a very non-kid-friendly topic more kid-friendly. I doubt that particular establishment was anything but an up-and-up actual massage place (and my son had gone with me to a legitimate Thai massage arranged by my brother's mother-in-law), but even if it wasn't, neither my son nor the other kids would have known any different, as it was just a photo of a sign, but by commenting on it, the teacher put it out there that there was possibly something inappropriate about it. It just pissed me off the way the teacher handled it.

But overall, my son (who had previously only visited a couple other US states than the one he was born in, and no foreign countries) got invaluable exposure to a very different culture. We talked about other religions, and being respectful in the Buddhist temples we visited. He learned to eat new-to-him foods, some of which he liked and some of which he didn't, but he was polite when refusing further helpings of the ones he didn't like. He met people who looked different from him and spoke VERY differently from him, and made some legitimate attempts to learn a few basics of the language, and use them when appropriate. He visited a school and got to experience the morning calisthenics and a few minutes of English class with kids his age. He learned about a different culture, such as taking off one's shoes, feet being "dirty" and heads being "sacred," and not having complete freedom of speech (can't denigrate the king). In talking with the family we stayed with and traveled the country with, he also got to learn more about how their schooling works, how the school year and vacations are structured, etc. He learned about a different climate, how the day lengths and tilt of the moon are affected by proximity to the equator. He got to see a large city with lots of pollution, a rural village with "heirloom" crops and animals (i.e. scrawny chickens and cows) grown alongside houses ranging from tin shacks to nice brick houses with satellite dishes, and pristine wilderness. He got to visit a zoo and see that while their animals in captivity aren't kept as nicely as most of our American zoos, at least the laws about liability there allowed him the chance to pet an adolescent tiger. :-) He got to ride in planes large and small, a subway, a tuk-tuk, a taxi, and a long-tail boat, among other conveyances, plus see what it's like to drive (well, ride) on the left side of the road.

I'd say he learned a LOT more in that trip than he would have in the 9 or so days of school he missed, but what do I know? :-)

Missing any amount of school for nearly any instance IMO sends the wrong message to students/children. Aside from an extreme illness, death of a family member kids really need to be in school. It's hard enough for students to catch up on material they've missed (across age levels) and it also creates extra work for the faculty. Most importantly, it sends the wrong message to your children. Missing school for cheaper flights or award availability is non-sensical (at least that's how I was brought up).

This is so odd to me. When I was in school 20 years ago, excused vs unexcused was based on whether my parents wanted it or not. Maybe I just never realized that wasn't actually the dynamic. My mom probably just called in every day saying I was sick.

As someone who has done a fair number of school observations for work, I find it off-putting that a school would consider the academic part of what it does to be totally unmissable. I can see the point that asking for individual lesson plans adds work for the teacher. But to say that I can't sit down and keep them on track overstates the product the education system provides. There are alternative schools and distance learning primary schools that get creative with scheduling all the time. I work with kids that are in class one day a week and graduate with full diplomas and AP credits. So I don't buy that my kid needs to sit in class X hours X days to learn. At the end of the day if they can complete work and display proficiency isn't that all that matters? I know legally the answer is no, that they can't have rules designed to keep some kids in school and not others. Still, I've sat in on every class from art to AP at very prestigious schools and there isn't a whole lot going on that a dad with a textbook couldn't do himself. Or maybe better stated: that my kid, his iPad and an Internet connection can't do. I'm sure the response will be "then you should home school if you think you're so smart" or "well then take him to those alternative schools". Fair. But then I'd be neglecting the social product public and traditional schools offer more than I think is prudent.

I hope that when my kids are ready for school I can have a relationship that allows me to approach the school and collaborate on something like taking a month off to go live in France. Granted I will be swinging it as a work thing and not vacation so maybe that's the trick.

I'm also a teacher who travels. Very few of the kids who are pulled out are going on trips with an educational purpose. Disneyland, cruises and trips to Vegas for select sports teams have little if any educational value, so when you try to spin the trip that way we get annoyed. Last year, I had a student who missed a month of school because of pneumonia then within a month missed two weeks of school for a hockey tournament. The mother couldn't understand why the student had a "C" grade.

Personally, I try to schedule work time for major projects and assignments around vacation periods, so my students aren't missing a lot of critical information.

Several tips to help the situation:

* You might be creating a lot of unpaid extra work for the teacher. A thank you e-mail or card after the fact recognizing this will help. Few parents understand that grading assignments after the fact, making packets for the trip and the extra tutoring are time consuming tasks not included within our paid work day. Please don't take on an entitled attitude - we have lives outside of work too.
* Few students come back to school ready to work. It's hard to anyone to transition from vacation mode to school, but please realize that your kid's grade may take a hit. I rarely see a student coming back from a trip who is ready to go. If your student has an iffy grade in the class already, it is very hard to overcome a lot of absences.
* By the time you get to high school, much of the work is based on a scaffolded approach where topics build on each other. Missing a couple of days might have a negative impact.

My wife and I decided to homeschool our child for many reasons, but one was we wanted additional flexibility to do things like travel and take time off when "normal" people don't. It has worked really well for our family and we are extremely happy with our decision. My son is advancing through grades faster than the pace schools set and is thriving in this environment. Our trips also always include an educational component (even when we travel during summer break). Our school never totally stops.

The problem we are faced with is slightly different though. We pay for extra curricular things for my son to participate in. Most times those things would be included as part of attending school. So, when we make the decision to travel somewhere during the school year, we are faced with missing events we have paid for him to be part of.

As a final thought, if you travel to Disney see if you can get connected with their Youth Education Series. It is excellent. This past November, my son learned a ton about Physics in a 90 minute session...and we did it on the attractions at Disney. It was great!

Let’s be honest, taking a vacation during school term is for the parent’s benefit (better fares, better awards) and not the child’s. The child can still experience all the enrichment of travel – they just need to do it when school is closed. “You can’t always get what you want” is the mantra here.

Missing a week of kindergarten is not a big deal but with my oldest in 2nd grade I’m very reluctant to take her out anymore. It is a big constraint when booking travel but I just suck it up as I know that travel is my hobby, not theirs, and it has to take a back seat to my children’s education.

Schools are closed for 4 months a year so there is still plenty of scope to travel. We’ve got 4 foreign trips in the calendar for 2016 and my two will miss a grand total of 1 day of school each. That includes 4 x J award seats on JAL to Tokyo for the exact dates I wanted in the spring recess week. Arranging award travel for a family is like hunting unicorns but occasionally you can bag one.

This fall our family is going to Yellowstone and all of my grand kids will miss 4 days of school. Yes, we could go in the summer and fight the crowds but if we go in September it won't be near as crowded and we can take the time for the kids to learn more and experience the natural wonders of the park. Their parents are already teaching them facts about Yellowstone. The schools here won't like it, up until 3 or 4 years ago, individual districts had enacted policies that were contrary to state law. Some tried to say you had to have a doctors excuse for every absence, or it would be unexcused, and your child was only allowed 4 unexcused absenses before they turned you in to authorities. The State Board of Education finally reigned in those districts, and it appeared the districts were only doing this because they lose money every day that the child is absent. Now state law prevails, I think it is 10 days per semester, no matter what the reason, no doctor excuse needed. I view it as a parents decision, if you want to take your child on vacation, go. Some peoples work schedule doesn't allow summer vacations.

Hey Mike,

Thank you so much for posting this! I don't have kids (yet!) but when I was younger my parents would let us miss school from time to time to travel, and it was such a great experience! I learned more than I would have learned staying in school. As my sister and I got older, it became harder to miss school, simply due to the workload, but the school had a rather generous policy, and I actually missed about 2-3 weeks in my junior and 2 weeks in my senior year, simply due to traveling, or trip organised by the school, which were even more fun! I learned more in the few months of lost school that total up than I would have learned spending an eternity in school, and I hope I'll be able to give my kids the same opportunity one day!

I teach at an international school so often have kids who are travelling for a variety of reasons - family bereavements, weddings etc.

With regards to attendance - children who attend school consistently are likely to stay at school longer and live more successful lives. That is why governments and school districts have policies regarding attendance. Patterns for schooling attendance are often set by behaviours in the first two years at school. Children whose attendance is lower are more likely to leave school before achieving the necessary qualifications for success.

A week or two of 'extra holidays' might not seem like much, but when you factor in days for illness those absences start to add up. It is worth noting that a child who has an attendance rate of 90% at school has already missed a year of schooling by the time they reach middle school.

With regards to setting extra work - early in my career I spent countless hours preparing extra work for the children to do on holidays and been keenly assured that the children would concentrate on their school work. Then the kids show up at school completing a sum total of zero of the tasks I spent time preparing.

These days I encourage daily reading, commenting on the class blog, sending in updates, journals, photographs by kids, maybe some maths around exchange rates etc. At the risk of sounding sanctimonious, if the parents believe this is an 'educational trip' then surely the shouldn't need work set by the teacher.

Who knew this was such a controversial topic? I take my kids out of school pretty regularly for travel. We travel for leisure and also one of my kids participates in travel sports so we travel at least once a month.

It's important that you learn the school policies as it varies by district for public schools and private schools have their own rules. Most public schools have independent/travel study that must be requested 5 days in advance and cannot be for longer than a specific amount of time (ours is 15 days). If you go this route, it's important to schedule time for the kids to do their work each day so that it's not too overwhelming and as they get older, the work can be significant. Also, sometimes if you tell the teacher where you are going, the teacher may customize some of the work to the trip. My kids got to learn about marine biology in Hawaii, draw art from the Louvre, write a report on the history of theater after visiting Italy, etc. Good luck with your future kid travel experiences!

PLEASE READ and ignore the useless rants.

Unexcused absences are ones that are not "approved".

So how do you make them approved? Easy!

Most school districts have "Travel Study" programs. You fill out a form, specifying your absence period in advance. A lesson plan and homework is prepared. Do the homework in advance and/or on the trip. When you return, the district takes the homework as proof academic work was done. This is the way we do all our trips now. Problem solved!

Unlike when many of us were children, the school systems are handicapped by "performance-based" funding mechanisms now. If your child's butt isn't in a seat, they don't get paid for those days. It's really that simple. If you are taking your kid out for only a day or two, just call in sick. Sick days don't penalize school funding. WE all made this system the way it is. It's like being angry at your computer, it doesn't help. Learn how it works , then operate it within it's boundaries.

I could talk about this topic forever.

You know your kids best, what they can handle and you know what travel will positively affect them best. Most here have mentioned the things to take into consideration as far as keeping up with School. I will start to be the most careful once my kids are in High School.

The fact is that the right travel has the ability to be defining factors in your child's character development. Beyond that not only do I see my children's character grow with each trip, but they seem to come back smarter and more confident than when they left. They are known as knowing more geography than anyone else in the school. :) Of course perhaps the greatest part is it brings us closer as a family which is great for a child's self-confidence.

Here's one idea: Have each kid do research into a topic/location related to where you are going. Have them write a script for a video they'll make. Then have them practice and have them make a video on the trip. Depending on age you'll need to help them more and provide more or less guidance. I've done this a lot and so they've got a growing number of nice videos now on youtube. This one project teaches a TON of skills. If you mention that's the plan (and follow through) on the form you have to send in to request the absence I think that will go a long way as well.

I'm struggling with this too because this year I'm taking out my Kindergartener and 1st grader out for a week to go to, yes, Disney World. I initially booked it for spring break but my husband really wanted to go when the crowds weren't as heavy. I still kind of feel bad about this but I figure it's K & 1st grade so most likely they aren't missing much (side note: we do a LOT of independent study at home anyway that's usually ahead of school level, example: Kumon). I THINK this will be the last time I do this. As they get older I'm not sure I will take them out for international trips. Right now we just do them in the summer. We will probably continue to use the summer, spring break and Christmas holiday to travel.

If something really special comes up then I'll think about it because like I said I'm still a little uneasy about taking them out for Disney. I'd probably feel better if we were going to the Galapagos or something, more educational. I don't know. BUT, I do think us having a nice family vacation is important too. Spending time together is always important and both of my kids love to travel so they tend to be super happy and loving while traveling. Plus, our phones and iPads are out of our hands because we're too busy exploring new places together.

Stop with the "all trips are educational" line of crap. The kid is in Kindergarten. At 4th grade, the kid won't remember anything about the trip. Time to act like a responsible adult and put your kids first and this game of finding a free business class ticket as second option. Many of us find tickets during the summer months. I have taken my family to Mexico, Hawaii, UK, Amsterdam, Spain, Italy, Paris, and many domestic states during the summer on award tickets. The first world issues this blog is creating is enough to explain the problems the country faces. Adults have lost their moral compass and sense of reality.

We have been going through this same issue with ours son, which is now in first grade. In preschool, he was literally there 60% of the time and traveling the rest.

In kintergarten, we managed to have him miss only 4 days of school- 1 for a funeral, 1 for a trip to Panama & Santiago, and 2 for our first ever trip to Hawaii that I bought crazy cheap lie-flat business class seats for.

He's in first grade now and has missed 2 days (1 due to travel, 1 due to illness). He was 15 minutes tardy one day.

He is already known by his teachers and principal as the one who travels all the time. We read the school policies closely, and we can pick him up 89 minutes before the official dismissal time without having it count against him at all. That makes it possible to drive 2hrs to our closest major airport, and take the early-evening flight out.

The school allows 10 missed days before needing doctors notes, and also allows for up to a 10-day 'educational trip'. Most families abuse this for a week in disney. We would never do that, and he instead enjoys museums, science, history centers, and about culture. We took him to DC for the Cherry Bloom, and he came back with a book for the teacher to read to the class and a huge choclate US Capitol building that we bought at Costco there. He takes his passport, boarding passes, Nexus card, and photos of him in Emirates First Class in to show and tell..

Mike -
I agree with your sentiment, and especially the letter about the family trip to Boston. But I think you're approaching it wrong - your argument seems to boil down to "it's too expensive to travel during peak summer season, so we'll do vacations another time".

Instead, the other father's letter focuses on the learning that comes from traveling; experiencing history, geography and cultures first hand.

I have no problem with kids missing school now and then. Probably not 2-3 weeks at a time, but 2-3 weeks over a year? That's only 3-4 days per quarter, and excused or not, my kids will have a much stronger learning experience for having visited many of the notable or historical cities across the US than if they had perfect attendance.