Thursday, November 18, 2010
not a story post but a question
So I have a question for all of you ladies that I would very much like your opinion on. Every year for the past three years my son and I have gone on a trip to Pittsburgh for a weekend to do touristy stuff and of course to see the guys play. It has become something that we both look forward to and it has been a great bonding experience for the both of us. I've never been to Canada and thought that it would be cool to see them play one of the canadian teams and the one that I really have my heart set on going to is in Ottawa. The problem with this is that it's on a tuesday which means that my son would have to miss probably three days of school. I called his school today to talk to the principal and the lady was to put it mildly, extremly rude when I asked her if it would be possible to maybe get any homework that they would have and she started giving me a lecture about how important education is and that she just couldn't believe that I would even want to pull him out of school for something as stupid as a trip. And yes those were her exact words. She then went on to tell me that if he missed any days unexcused that I would get a ticket for truancy. A ticket that would be one hundred and fifty dollars that would be issued to me since he is only eight years old. This women basically insinuated that I was a bad parent for even thinking about it which just pissed me off needless to say. Should I say screw it and do it anyway? I think that this would be an awsome experience for the both of us but I can'r decide if it would be worth all of the possible hassle that may come with it? I would love some honest opinions.
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I don't know how your school systems work, but i know if you pull a child out for say, a vacation of some sort, as long as there is at least one educational stop, they can't really say anything about it. This whole ticketing thing, I can't believe just because he'd miss three days, they can't really stop you from taking a vacation, I'd say go, bonding time with your son is priceless right?
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not really familiar with how your school system works as long as you, his parent, excuse your son's absence then they shouldn't really be able to do anything about it. This whole truancy ticket thing is really confusing and I've never heard of it before (my mum was a secretary at multiple elementary schools prior to this year and I myself work part-time in a school). Anyway I say do it. Just call the school and say he's sick or something. Like Penslove25 said, time with your son is priceless. I'd be willing to bet that he remembers this trip and not whatever happened in school for those three days for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeletePlus I think it would be awesome for you to experience Canada. Ottawa is a beautiful city.
Go have fun and send a note with him to school saying he was sick!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback ladies, it is appreciated. I did some research and found out that I should be able to excuse him with a note as long as it's done ahead of time and he does any homework that they may be given over the time that he's gone. It is possible to get a truancy ticket but according to the website the child has to miss five unexcused days in a semester and then it's at the discretion of the school board. I thought about it and came to pretty much the same conclusion as you guys did that this would be something that he will remember the rest of his life and more importantly I want him to be able to experience other places and people than just where we live. I hope that this will make a more well rounded and open minded adult in the future.
ReplyDeleteIf you take him to the Museum of Civilization (includes a children's museum) or the War Museum, it will be very educational, and an 8 year old boy will have a blast there. Ottawa has many of the best museums in Canada and you will see the Parliament Buildings downtown, so he will get an incredible knowledge about Canada. It's not like you're going to Disneyland, you're going to the capital of Canada!
ReplyDeleteIf you have to deal with the principal again, just go in to see her and tell her you understand her point, and you have explained to your son that he should never skip school, but in your opinion the benefits of the trip outweigh the possible problems. Often people are way more rude on the telephone than they will be in person. Talk directly to his teacher and get the homework. Maybe you just caught her on a bad day.