To ask if you agree with term time holidays to please sign this petition...

[TermTimeHolidays]

here

It needs 100,000 signatures before it can be discussed in parliament.

tin you should have a quick a squizz at your own grammer It was low, and easy is that even grammatical correct? Thought it would be second nature to an English teacher?
One poster used the not so great reason skiing, not every one.

Skiing and snowsports in general are as educationally valid as any other sport that is on the curriculum in this country. In countries where it is possible, it is on the curriculum.

Any holiday, including skiiing, is an educational opportunity - you can look at the differences in landscapes (geography), travel times and distances (maths), and practice language skills etc.

Anyone who cannot see that education does not need to confined to the classroom is being rather narrow minded and unimaginative.

tinlegs "However physically demanding skiing is, it is not a well rounded education. It might contribute to PE, or even to emotional well being. However, if you want to pass an exam in, say, Physics, it is no use at all"

What exactly is your point here? No subject alone is a well rounded education. But you're right undertaking PE is never going to help one pass a physics exam

Shorthand...."low" as in "a low blow" and "easy" as in "easy pickings". More dialect than grammar.

I don't think anyone, anywhere believes education should be (or can be) confined to the classroom. My son learned code from YouTube, my daughter is upstairs reading....neither directly part of school work. However,both would be ditched in favour of work towards exams or set by their teachers.

I am less clear about Primary. However, in High School, when doing exams, any form of holiday is, in my opinion, taking an unnecessary risk with their futures. Yes, many children may well survive it unscathed. However, it is a risk.

Snowmummy, my point is that, during vital exam years, whatever they are learning on the slopes, however much Maths, Geography or whatever you suggest, these will not directly contribute to school subjects that they will need to pass.

The educational value of a skiing holiday does not outweigh the educational value of a week of lessons in secondary school with exams round the corner.

But, if you want curricular skiing, I can recommend a good Scottish primary school....

Of course it isn't but I'm not advocating holidays in vital exam periods. If I took my children out of school at such a time, I'd get hold of the syllabus and make sure they knew what they needed to know. In fact, I'll probably do that anyway.

What I am saying, is that any holiday can provide learning opportunities that are far more real, valuable and enriching than what takes place in a classroom.

Where is this Scottish primary? We'd love to move up there and we're in the process of looking into it.

I think skiing is an excellent life skill as well as being good fun. Both my DSs have been skiing and benefitted from it as described by others. However they have never had a day off school for skiing.

They have had time off from school 3x:

1. Grandpa's funeral
2. When their dad returned from service overseas with the Navy for 1 week in 9 months, inconveniently not in holidays.
3. And the controversial one...4 days off to see 3 days of the Tour de France. This event does not take place during holidays and it was inspirational. DS wants to be a pro cyclist and trains at herne hill velodrome like his hero Bradley wiggins.

I won't be signing. Leave was allowed for the important holidays. Next year we'll see the tour during a weekend in Yorkshire!

I think in some ways school is quite anti-culture. We all enjoy some activities such as skiing or tennis which are not going to help us pass exams in academic subjects. We have benefited throughout history from great works of art, plays, music and enjoying sport. Some people develop these interests and become exceptionally talented, some even attend special schools that focus on these skills. Physics is no more a worthy pursuit than dancing especially if one is talented in dancing but crap at physics.

you speak sense minitheminx

By 'vital exam periods', do you mean years 10 - 13, snowmummy?

snowmummy you can look at differences in landscapes, travel times and distances quite easily in a classroom. You don't need to be on a skiing holiday to do it.

lteve I actually said 'pointing skis' not 'pointing sticks'. I wasn't being sarcastic about skiing itself. I just don't think it's educational. It's a holiday.

No I don't. I mean the periods they are taking the exams and the immediate run up to them. I probably wouldn't take my children out during those years - that is my choice. I wouldn't judge anyone who did though as long as they made the proper arrangements.

Yes of course you can bowlersarm but surely you can see that experiencing something for real is far more interesting than sitting in a classroom reading about it?

Snowmummy have pm'd you.

Tin, I didn't realise ' , and ' could go next to each other.....

Yes snowmummy when you are skiing in holiday time, you can reiterate what your DC have learnt in the classroom.

snow spot on.

Skiing is ace. Not that I've ever been, but it looks good and the hundreds of secondary schools running ski trips in February half term seem to think it a worthy pastime.

As a defence of some entitlement to withdraw one's children from 5% of their class time a year though, it's utterly shit.

Snowy, are you an agent provocateur?

I have seen the Grand Canyon on TV but I can assure you it is far more inspiring in real life.

Nope, bowlersarm I'll be snowboarding and skiing when I choose. That will be during termtime because its safer. I am capable of making that choice for my DC and am quite comfortable doing so. You, however, feel free to obey the rules.

They can!

The cats were black, and white.

The cats were black and white.

In the first, there are black cats as well as white ones.
In the second the cats are all both black and white.

Did you miss that one while on holiday?

Apologies Bowlers, I didn't scroll back up to check.

That's fine then snowmummy just don't lie to your children that they are skiing for 'educational' purposes

I'm sure it looks exactly the same in the official summer holidays as it does in term time, mini

*BigButtons"

of course my statement is ridiculous, it is ridiculous that this is the case.
far more education happens outside the classroom and school in general.
Providing an education isn't about sticking almost rigidly to a pre determined curriculum, like most schools do. It's not teaching so that children can pass a test at a pre determined time in their life.
Well not for my dd it isn't.