Skipping School for Vacation: Good for Families, or Bad for Students?

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Credit Illustration by Jessica Lahey

In the article “Taking My Kid Out of School for a Family Vacation Shouldn’t Be ‘Illegal,’” Jeanne Sager recounts the time she took her daughter out of school for a family vacation, and the school responded by labeling those absences “illegal.” Ms. Sager wrote, “I hate my kid’s school and the state education department for making me feel ashamed of spending time with my daughter,” adding, “I think there’s something to be said for education outside of the classroom, and certainly something to be said for the value of family time.”

While the label “illegal” does not confer any actual legal implications in Ms. Sager’s case, plenty of school districts do employ the term in its literal sense. Some states give schools the authority to impose fines for truancy, and others allow parents to be charged with misdemeanors if truancy becomes chronic. In Britain and the Netherlands, truant officers are posted at airports and train stations to ensure parents don’t attempt to take children on vacation during the school term.

I’m a parent and a teacher, so I’m of two minds on this issue. I have taken my children out of school for family events and other trips we deemed valuable enough to warrant a school absence. On the other hand, I am also an educator, and I have seen the havoc these absences can wreak on students and their teachers. It takes a lot of time to pre-plan for student absences, to package work that will approximate missed lessons, chase children down for that work, and invest extra one-on-one time in makeup sessions.

I sent Ms. Sager’s article into the world via email and Facebook to solicit teacher and parent feedback on the topic, and I received more responses than to any other article I’ve circulated.

Most teachers ceded that while family time is important, resulting absences do create an undue (some argued unfair) burden on teachers. Kira Del Mar, a middle school English teacher in California, articulated the position of these teachers:

I certainly don’t think that absences should be “illegal,” but as a teacher, I find them incredibly disruptive and wish that they happened less frequently. It takes considerable time to put together homework in advance, to check in with students, and to decide what missed classwork should be adapted, what should be excused, and what needs to be made up outside of class time. Dealing with absences takes away from teachers’ ability to devote time and attention to other aspects of our jobs.

Zach Galvin, assistant principal at Natick High School in Natick, Mass., points out that technology may be changing the nature of the word “absent”:

As more teachers and classrooms use technology to post assignments, flip classrooms and utilize this wonderful world of the Internet, I see the century-old argument that occasional absence is bad as a dwindling argument. Tech is not a replacement for teachers in those family trips, but it does become an extended connection for the student.

A few parents highlighted the economic inequality at the heart of this debate. A school would be more likely to label a trip to Rome “educational,” and therefore acceptable, but very few families can afford to take their children to see the Coliseum firsthand. Conversely, travel is more expensive during school holidays, so restricting family vacations to school holidays imposes an unfair financial burden on some families.

For parents wrestling with the decision of whether to take their children out of school during term time, Sara Dimerman, an Ontario psychologist, suggests a simple acronym, FLAG, to test whether an “illegal” absence is advisable. Here is her advice (paraphrased, with her permission):

Frequency. Is this absence a rare treat, or a regular event? If you take your children out of school frequently, teachers may interpret your actions as lack of investment in school.

Length. How long will your child be out of school? A few days may be reasonable for some children, but for others, the loss of those same days could set them up for long-term struggle.

Ability. Will your child be overwhelmed by the missed instruction or collaboration with classmates? Does your child tend to get anxious or upset by situations like this? Take her temperament and ability into account.

Grade. Missing three days during first grade are not the same thing as missing three days during junior year of high school. Additionally, if your child is on a block schedule, those three days could easily equal an entire week or more of a semester schedule.

The decision to take a child out of school is complicated, and no matter how well planned, school absences are disruptive. Tracy Zager, a math teacher, urges parents to look at the big picture, and consider the impact absences can have on students.

Teachers work hard to create dynamic learning experiences that build deep conceptual understanding. These experiences cannot be “made up,” done online or stapled into any kind of packet. Absences are like a “missed button,” like when you’re buttoning a shirt and you miss one, the whole series can be off-kilter. Math teaching is especially like that, and even one missed button can cause a student to lose understanding and confidence.