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.

That's alright lteve I like skiing, I wouldn't have spoken in a derogatory manner about it which the slight change in words made it look like!

Tinlegs - right behind you on this. Countless times I have missed time with my own kids (who I pay for to be in childcare) while I stay behind to help kids catch up missed work. Primary may be different, but late secondary (exam classes) is inexcusable. Surely not having holidays in term time is doable for those vital years folks?

I am not lying to anyone bowler. We go skiing, I make it an educational opportunity. Do not accuse me of lying and unnecessrily offensive.

Tinlegs are you in England? I always thought the 'Oxford Comma' was widely used in America, but is discouraged in England.

acer like your use of the term 'grey people'. There seems to be a few on her. Like you said, life's too short.

Nowt wrong with an Oxford comma.

Anyway, I don't think it actually was an Oxford comma.

I love a good comma, well placed.

No, in Scotland (but English..) and, yes, you can do wonders with a good comma.

Let's eat, Grandma.
Let's eat Grandma.

I thought the Oxford Comma was just the British name/nickname for the Serial Comma. A comma that comes after 'and'? I could be wrong, it's a long time since I was at school.

I like semi-colons best. Good for a deep breath (and tend to confuse people )

Morethanpotatoprints. Not sure how we can do anything other than teaching the curriculum. It is our job and it is what is required for the outside world. Yet all good teachers do far, far more than that. However, for exams it tends to produce better results if we teach the curriculum.

I am not sure, unless you home educate, how you can avoid a curriculum.

Oxford and serial comma are the same thing. Correct in US English usage, not in UK English usage. It's the comma that comes after the 'and' in a list, eg: I bought apples, oranges, and pears - it's that last comma.

Mine was not an Oxford comma; it was there to make the meaning clear. Oxford comma is just the one before and in a list, only used by some.

I too love the semi colon. It is vastly underrated and, I suspect, too often taught during peak skiing weeks.

Tinlegs.

I do H.ed but not because I have anything against teachers. In fact, the reverse. I did teach for a while (F.E). I think teachers on the whole do a fantastic job with the system they are given.
I have to disagree that the curriculum is what is needed for the outside world, tbh.

I have been off thread for a few hours and would like to point out that just because I take my DC's out of school during term time does not make me uncaring about their education or them unable to keep up with the work. DC1 is sitting 13 GCSE's this year with predicted A's so perhaps had we not taken her out for 10 days every year she would have been at uni by now. Yes I accept that some children will have problems but again it comes back to trusting the head and their staff to use their discretion and their knowledge of the individual family and make the decision themselves. heaven knows I have read enough threads on here from teachers whinging that no one trusts them to just do their job and make decisions. well I do so why aren't you agreeing with me tinlegs.

Oxford comma is less common in the UK than the US but not incorrect.

"No comma before 'and' " rule is bonkers.

A generation ago, some teachers, and I use the word generously, taught blanket rules that didn't actually help. "Don't end a sentence with a preposition", "No comma before 'and' under any circumstances" and "not 'me and him', 'he and I', you idiots" ... ARGH.

It is what is needed for the outside world because employers and Universities want recognised qualifications. They are far less interested in "experiences" or other parts of education. We have a system with summative assessment and, where that is the case, there has to be a defined curriculum. Interestingly, in Scotland, we are in the middle of a "revolution". Teachers expected radical change. What we got was a rebranding of the old exams!

If you trust me to do my job, mummymeister, then you should trust me that, in final exam years, time off is not advisable. I can help pupils catch up after illness, bereavement, family problems, even the odd wedding. What I can't do is offer guarantees for pupils taking 10 days off ( 2/38 weeks) as holidays.

Ill have to read eat,shoots and leaves left over book from DD
It could have been on one of the days I was off due to my brother being killed in a motor bike accident ,was off for three weeks with my mum or when my DGF who I lived with at the time as Dm had breakdown because of brothers accident, died suddenly.

Life is for living, not sitting in a class room obeying grey rules and regulations and learning about fictional characters.

No one is going to die if they dont know why lady Macbeth was having nightmares...

Of course children shouldn't be 'entitled' to 10 days off a year, but there should be some leeway. I personally know of a little boy who was refused the time off to attend his parents wedding! (Admittedly it was abroad, so was more then one day) but seriously??! Who the fuck gets to make that decision for your child?!
Education isn't all about plonking your child in a classroom 5 days a week.

Morethanpotatoprints - if you want your children to pass their GCSEs, AS, and A levels, they are going to have to study the curriculum, and no amount of the life lessons learned outside the classroom will replace missing knowledge when your dc are in the exam hall.

tin your utterly wrong about employers wanting qualifications over experience .

Getting a uni ed isn't the be all and end all . You only feel like that because of your academic background. I know plenty of uni grads with doctorates and can't get work anywhere and full of debt .

No, they won't die. But they also might not be able to answer an exam question, which might mean retaking, or accepting a fail or lower grade in their exam.

Anyone missing school for bereavement, illness etc gets all my attention. (And a full breakdown and help with what they have missed) I just resent it when I give up my own time for them ( willingly) and also get similar expectations from the parents of those who have just come back from holiday.

tinlegs you cannot advise me personally because you do not know me, my family or my circumstances. broad statements like this are unhelpful to your profession. this year I will do as before. consult with the schools first - the head teachers and year teachers who know us well. DC1 will be on exam leave and I will fit in with whatever the professionals who know us advise. we are not all the same. one size does not fit all and never will. this is my whole objection to this legislation and actually it should be yours as well. pretty soon the govt is going to be even more rigid with your contracts. your holidays are going to be cut. you are going to be required to increase contact time through after schools clubs and holiday clubs Gove has been hinting about this for years - child care on the cheap. you will then be looking to parents like me to support you when you complain about the rigid one size fits all approach. don't count on my support if you cant see that this isn't about holidays its about treating people as individuals and adults who can take personal responsibility.

No one died through having to retake an exam .....

Acer - I firmly believe that education and knowledge are what enable you to make the most of your life and the opportunities you are given. Like it or not, in many, many cases, qualifications are the keys that open doors - the more qualifications you have, the more doors you have to choose from.

I think that a life where your choices are restricted, is going to be a grey life - and if that means not having all the fun you want during your school years, I believe that is better than living the rest of your life limited in your choices and wishing you had better qualifications.