to wonder why some people bother sending their children to school?

[StatelyPoshBeartrothal]

This was sparked by the term time holiday thread, but is NOT a thread about a thread. Choosing to take your DC out for a holiday, while not something I will do (preschoolers ATM) doesn't mean you don't value your child's education IMO.

However, the thread is riddled with people saying "they'll learn as much on a family holiday as they do at school", "Ask what the lessons planned are - no doubt watching a load of DVDs" etc etc

Do people really value the education provided to their children so little? Or are these the people who home ed or go private? How does the panic over getting into a "good" school at admission time turn into such dissilusion a few years later? Is this the schools' fault?

What did she say ?

Haha, she is hugely advanced you know, must be down to my great teaching.

I think my children have had a wonderful time at their school. And been considerably enriched by all the efforts their teachers have made.

However, I think the school term is far too long, the school day itself is far too long for infants, and a bit of leeway here or there is not disrespectful.
Most people are not going to take extra days off in termtime anyway because they need to save up every bit of annual leave for holidays and halfterm, so it is not exactly going to open the floodgates.

Everyone is getting completely worked up over nothing, and Stately please don't worry, your children will enjoy school, and you too will want to take that extra time and wonder what all the fuss is about.

I have never ever noticed any of my children's teachers coming up to me when dd was for example off having her teeth out, and saying, right so x has missed the lesson I did on the Saxons, please will you make sure she covers it, or her education will be imcomplete. Certainly not. And why not? If this little bit of her education is so very very important? Because education is not like making a cake where you leave the baking powder out.

And the person who talked about lesson plans. 28 other people have benefited from your lesson plan, why are you so upset about one person missing it? That is their choice. Perhaps one of the other 28 people will miss another day...

While I'm at it, has anyone, ever, been asked for thier school permanent record? Because it was always a threat that things would go on it, then when we left school, it was never mentioned again.

Shame, really, I would have liked to have read thier excuses...

I don't see private school as the answer BTW, not at all. I'm not so concerned by test results etc as I used to be. I'd definitely rather homeschool, personally. DD loves nursery and is excited about 'big school' but it's still an option if we ever need it.