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Post by myshelly on Jun 20, 2016 16:56:15 GMT
I think if you have the days you're entitled to take them. My DH is an elementary school teacher. He's taken off a week during the school year several times so we can go to places like WDW at off peak times. He did get paid as he had enough paid vacation and personal days to cover each week. He was teacher of the year last school year and next year he's lead teacher. So it clearly hasn't affected his career or his principal's perception of him. I have never heard of a teacher getting paid vacation days. Personal days, yes. Sick days, yes. But we only get 2 personal days (and can bank one for a total of three). I can't imagine missing an entire week of school except for something extraordinary (and I don't consider WDW off-peak extraordinary). Do you have year-round school? SaveSaveNope. We go late August through the first of June. And we'll just have to agree to disagree because my family definitely considers Disney at the slowest times of the year extraordinary.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Jun 20, 2016 17:07:34 GMT
As a parent I wouldn't mind.. it seems like so little gets done the last week of the year... that if grades were done.. it would be the least disruptive time to miss.
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Post by christine58 on Jun 20, 2016 17:12:35 GMT
And we'll just have to agree to disagree because my family definitely considers Disney at the slowest times of the year extraordinary. Yeah that wouldn't fly in my district at all. I'd have no issue with your DH going but using paid days?? That's just so morally wrong in my eyes. So I will agree to disagree with you.
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Post by myshelly on Jun 20, 2016 17:17:09 GMT
And we'll just have to agree to disagree because my family definitely considers Disney at the slowest times of the year extraordinary. Yeah that wouldn't fly in my district at all. I'd have no issue with your DH going but using paid days?? That's just so morally wrong in my eyes. So I will agree to disagree with you. It's morally wrong to take vacation days that you have *earned* as part of your compensation package outlined in your contract? Just like every other profession gets vacation days as part of their compensation for doing their job? I can't understand how that could possibly be morally wrong.
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Post by realm on Jun 20, 2016 17:17:21 GMT
I wouldn't plan to do it, but if I had a chance for a free cruise with my friend? Absolutely! But I would also make sure all my work was completed and would not expect others to pick up the slack for me particularly given the unfortunate timing of the trip.
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843
Jul 12, 2014 21:58:10 GMT
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Post by pridemom on Jun 20, 2016 17:21:27 GMT
Where I teach it would be without pay and no I would not Same for the district DH works for. We schedule travel for his off contract time.
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Post by ihaveonly1l on Jun 20, 2016 17:23:37 GMT
I've taken a week of unpaid time off to go on vacation. We were going with couples and the best time for everyone was November. I actually lost more than a week's pay because our contract said that if you were on unpaid time, you had to pay your contribution to insurance at a daily rate. It was still a better deal for us because the cost of the trip was so much cheaper at that time.
If you are a specialist and pull your daughter out to do these things with, who's going to be doing your job? Wouldn't that then be the same thing? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your role, but in my district specialists are everyone from speech teachers, read teachers, Title teachers, art, music and phy ed.
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Post by peasapie on Jun 20, 2016 17:28:14 GMT
For a free trip like that? Absolutely. Yes.
I would do all the things I needed to do for end of year and let the substitute have fun with the kids the last week of school.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jun 20, 2016 17:30:13 GMT
Yeah that wouldn't fly in my district at all. I'd have no issue with your DH going but using paid days?? That's just so morally wrong in my eyes. So I will agree to disagree with you. It's morally wrong to take vacation days that you have *earned* as part of your compensation package outlined in your contract? Just like every other profession gets vacation days as part of their compensation for doing their job? I can't understand how that could possibly be morally wrong. I don't think it's morally wrong as long as that's how the days are labeled. Ours are listed as "personal leave" and they are to be used for "sound, pressing and unavoidable reasons only," per our contract. A planned vacation would, in my mind, be a violation of that. I was lucky to be able to use mine, as the days I was to be gone were not part of the original teaching contract, and my leave was unavoidable as our plane tickets and reservations for hotels and stuff had already been purchased when the school year dates changed. But, technically, they *could* have denied my use of the days and I'd have had to go unpaid. Which I would have done without complaint. If your contract does not stipulate how the days are to be used, then I would not think it's wrong. I just still personally wouldn't choose to be gone during the school year if it could be avoided. SaveSave
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Post by peasapie on Jun 20, 2016 17:31:46 GMT
And we'll just have to agree to disagree because my family definitely considers Disney at the slowest times of the year extraordinary. Yeah that wouldn't fly in my district at all. I'd have no issue with your DH going but using paid days?? That's just so morally wrong in my eyes. So I will agree to disagree with you. I don't understand what you mean by morally wrong. Did the individual not earn the paid days? SaveSave
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Post by myshelly on Jun 20, 2016 17:33:01 GMT
It's morally wrong to take vacation days that you have *earned* as part of your compensation package outlined in your contract? Just like every other profession gets vacation days as part of their compensation for doing their job? I can't understand how that could possibly be morally wrong. I don't think it's morally wrong as long as that's how the days are labeled. Ours are listed as "personal leave" and they are to be used for "sound, pressing and unavoidable reasons only," per our contract. A planned vacation would, in my mind, be a violation of that. I was lucky to be able to use mine, as the days I was to be gone were not part of the original teaching contract, and my leave was unavoidable as our plane tickets and reservations for hotels and stuff had already been purchased when the school year dates changed. But, technically, they *could* have denied my use of the days and I'd have had to go unpaid. Which I would have done without complaint. If your contract does not stipulate how the days are to be used, then I would not think it's wrong. I just still personally wouldn't choose to be gone during the school year if it could be avoided. SaveSaveWhen we have gone DH flat out tells the principal exactly what he's doing. "We are going on vacation to WDW." And the principal approves it. I can't see how that could possibly be immoral. He doesn't lie about it and the principal approves it because *by contract* the days CAN be used this way.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jun 20, 2016 17:34:50 GMT
I don't think it's morally wrong as long as that's how the days are labeled. Ours are listed as "personal leave" and they are to be used for "sound, pressing and unavoidable reasons only," per our contract. A planned vacation would, in my mind, be a violation of that. I was lucky to be able to use mine, as the days I was to be gone were not part of the original teaching contract, and my leave was unavoidable as our plane tickets and reservations for hotels and stuff had already been purchased when the school year dates changed. But, technically, they *could* have denied my use of the days and I'd have had to go unpaid. Which I would have done without complaint. If your contract does not stipulate how the days are to be used, then I would not think it's wrong. I just still personally wouldn't choose to be gone during the school year if it could be avoided. SaveSaveWhen we have gone DH flat out tells the principal exactly what he's doing. "We are going on vacation to WDW." And the principal approves it. I can't see how that could possibly be immoral. He doesn't lie about it and the principal approves it because *by contract* the days CAN be used this way. Well, then, he's well within his contractual right to take vacation during the school year if it stipulates that he can do so. I personally wouldn't make that choice, but this is one of those "Good for you; Not for me" situations. SaveSave
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Post by alexa11 on Jun 20, 2016 17:35:32 GMT
Nope- that would be against policy here. And I would never do that to my team members- that's terrible! No- I wouldn't do any of her work for her.
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Post by ntsf on Jun 20, 2016 17:36:17 GMT
I onced subbed the last week of school..high school. I had to supervise the final project and the kids were very disappointed, cause they knew the teacher would not grade it. they did not respect her. I thought it was not good at all for the kids.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,419
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Jun 20, 2016 17:45:01 GMT
Yeah that wouldn't fly in my district at all. I'd have no issue with your DH going but using paid days?? That's just so morally wrong in my eyes. So I will agree to disagree with you. I don't understand what you mean by morally wrong. Did the individual not earn the paid days? SaveSaveI view it as ethically wrong. The kids count on you being there everyday to do your job. I managed to take ZERO days off last school year until maternity leave starting March 7. Most years I have perfect attendance. I just feel that a sub cannot do the job of the regular teacher. Ethically, I cannot leave my kids with a sub unless absolutely necessary. I do not view off peak vacation as necessary. For some people, it is. For me, it is not. yes, the last week of elementary is usually a wash and full of "non academic" stuff but learning still happens. It's just not graded or specifically on a standard.
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Post by myshelly on Jun 20, 2016 17:48:42 GMT
I don't understand what you mean by morally wrong. Did the individual not earn the paid days? SaveSaveI view it as ethically wrong. The kids count on you being there everyday to do your job. I managed to take ZERO days off last school year until maternity leave starting March 7. Most years I have perfect attendance. I just feel that a sub cannot do the job of the regular teacher. Ethically, I cannot leave my kids with a sub unless absolutely necessary. I do not view off peak vacation as necessary. For some people, it is. For me, it is not. yes, the last week of elementary is usually a wash and full of "non academic" stuff but learning still happens. It's just not graded or specifically on a standard. I don't view perfect attendance as anything to brag about. Paid days off are part of the compensation package. If you don't take them you aren't receiving all of your compensation. I don't view that as a good thing.
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craftykitten
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,304
Jun 26, 2014 7:39:32 GMT
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Post by craftykitten on Jun 20, 2016 17:50:22 GMT
I've taken a week of unpaid time off to go on vacation. We were going with couples and the best time for everyone was November. I actually lost more than a week's pay because our contract said that if you were on unpaid time, you had to pay your contribution to insurance at a daily rate. It was still a better deal for us because the cost of the trip was so much cheaper at that time.
If you are a specialist and pull your daughter out to do these things with, who's going to be doing your job? Wouldn't that then be the same thing? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your role, but in my district specialists are everyone from speech teachers, read teachers, Title teachers, art, music and phy ed.
When OP said 'my kiddo' I think she meant the kid she works with, not her own child. I find it strange that it seems a lot of teachers in the US are essentially 'unemployed' over the summer break. As I understand it here, teachers get the school holidays as 'holiday' and that's when they take their breaks. They wouldn't be able to take additional term-time off.
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Post by myshelly on Jun 20, 2016 17:52:19 GMT
I've taken a week of unpaid time off to go on vacation. We were going with couples and the best time for everyone was November. I actually lost more than a week's pay because our contract said that if you were on unpaid time, you had to pay your contribution to insurance at a daily rate. It was still a better deal for us because the cost of the trip was so much cheaper at that time.
If you are a specialist and pull your daughter out to do these things with, who's going to be doing your job? Wouldn't that then be the same thing? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your role, but in my district specialists are everyone from speech teachers, read teachers, Title teachers, art, music and phy ed.
When OP said 'my kiddo' I think she meant the kid she works with, not her own child. I find it strange that it seems a lot of teachers in the US are essentially 'unemployed' over the summer break. As I understand it here, teachers get the school holidays as 'holiday' and that's when they take their breaks. They wouldn't be able to take additional term-time off. Teachers here don't get paid for the summer. They don't work over the summer so they aren't getting paid for it. So paid vacation days, paid time off, paid personal days, paid sick days, whatever they have in their contract, would be different than the summer.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,419
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Jun 20, 2016 17:54:19 GMT
I view it as ethically wrong. The kids count on you being there everyday to do your job. I managed to take ZERO days off last school year until maternity leave starting March 7. Most years I have perfect attendance. I just feel that a sub cannot do the job of the regular teacher. Ethically, I cannot leave my kids with a sub unless absolutely necessary. I do not view off peak vacation as necessary. For some people, it is. For me, it is not. yes, the last week of elementary is usually a wash and full of "non academic" stuff but learning still happens. It's just not graded or specifically on a standard. I don't view perfect attendance as anything to brag about. Paid days off are part of the compensation package. If you don't take them you aren't receiving all of your compensation. I don't view that as a good thing. Ours are not paid days off. They are "no tell" for 3 and personal necessity for 7. Of the 7, 3 must have medical notes and 4 can be for other things but cannot be taken consecutively. We also have wording in our contract that says days cannot be taken to extend a long weekend or vacation. Sometimes it is enforced, most times not. Depends on who you are.
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craftykitten
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,304
Jun 26, 2014 7:39:32 GMT
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Post by craftykitten on Jun 20, 2016 17:55:23 GMT
When OP said 'my kiddo' I think she meant the kid she works with, not her own child. I find it strange that it seems a lot of teachers in the US are essentially 'unemployed' over the summer break. As I understand it here, teachers get the school holidays as 'holiday' and that's when they take their breaks. They wouldn't be able to take additional term-time off. Teachers here don't get paid for the summer. They don't work over the summer so they aren't getting paid for it. So paid vacation days, paid time off, paid personal days, paid sick days, whatever they have in their contract, would be different than the summer. Oh yes, I see how it works - just not what I'm used to. I would have thought it is very disruptive for teachers to take vacation time during term time, but I guess it works otherwise they wouldn't do it. My ex was a non-teaching staff in a school, and even he wasn't allowed to take time off during school hours because it was too disruptive.
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Post by ihaveonly1l on Jun 20, 2016 17:56:12 GMT
I don't understand what you mean by morally wrong. Did the individual not earn the paid days? SaveSaveI view it as ethically wrong. The kids count on you being there everyday to do your job. I managed to take ZERO days off last school year until maternity leave starting March 7. Most years I have perfect attendance. I just feel that a sub cannot do the job of the regular teacher. Ethically, I cannot leave my kids with a sub unless absolutely necessary. I do not view off peak vacation as necessary. For some people, it is. For me, it is not. yes, the last week of elementary is usually a wash and full of "non academic" stuff but learning still happens. It's just not graded or specifically on a standard.
I don't view taking either paid or unpaid leave that fits the guidelines of the contract something that deserves a judgement on.
It quickly turns into: "Teacher A gets here at 7:00 and stays to 5:00-They must be more dedicated".
I don't think this, but if you judge other people's APPROVED use of leave, then wouldn't you plan to have your baby in the summer? Please understand that I don't think you should have to do that- but what I'm saying is that it seems harsh to judge APPROVED leave of someone else, but justify why you are being absent. Know what I mean?
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Post by myshelly on Jun 20, 2016 17:58:44 GMT
I view it as ethically wrong. The kids count on you being there everyday to do your job. I managed to take ZERO days off last school year until maternity leave starting March 7. Most years I have perfect attendance. I just feel that a sub cannot do the job of the regular teacher. Ethically, I cannot leave my kids with a sub unless absolutely necessary. I do not view off peak vacation as necessary. For some people, it is. For me, it is not. yes, the last week of elementary is usually a wash and full of "non academic" stuff but learning still happens. It's just not graded or specifically on a standard.
I don't view taking either paid or unpaid leave that fits the guidelines of the contract something that deserves a judgement on.
It quickly turns into: "Teacher A gets here at 7:00 and stays to 5:00-They must be more dedicated".
I don't think this, but if you judge other people's APPROVED use of leave, then wouldn't you plan to have your baby in the summer? Please understand that I don't think you should have to do that- but what I'm saying is that it seems harsh to judge APPROVED leave of someone else, but justify why you are being absent. Know what I mean?
I agree. The key word here is APPROVED. Obviously teacher contracts are different in different districts. If someone is entitled to days under their contract, I don't think they deserve judgment for using them. If they were doing something wrong it wouldn't be APPROVED.
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Post by secondlife on Jun 20, 2016 17:59:14 GMT
I don't understand what you mean by morally wrong. Did the individual not earn the paid days? SaveSaveI view it as ethically wrong. The kids count on you being there everyday to do your job. I managed to take ZERO days off last school year until maternity leave starting March 7. Most years I have perfect attendance. I just feel that a sub cannot do the job of the regular teacher. Ethically, I cannot leave my kids with a sub unless absolutely necessary. I do not view off peak vacation as necessary. For some people, it is. For me, it is not. yes, the last week of elementary is usually a wash and full of "non academic" stuff but learning still happens. It's just not graded or specifically on a standard. I guess I just don't view it as ethically wrong. I'm a school administrator. I assume that most teachers will be out for a certain number of days during the year. This is why we have subs. It impacts the students anytime you're out. So the kids whose teacher takes vacation during the year are impacted the same as the kids whose teacher takes maternity leave during the year. Obviously one is voluntary and one is less so, but the impact to the classroom is the same. There's a sub and the kids have to deal with it. (NB: I am a huge proponent of paid maternity leave and find it in no way ethically problematic for a teacher to take it.) IMO if the teacher is doing his or her best work for the kids and needs time off for whatever reason - and mental health and avoiding burnout counts too - that is fine. My daughter had a sub last week, the next to last week of school. Their buddy class invited them to hang out and write stories related to books they had read. The reality probably is that they missed out on some learning opportunities but - it is the middle of June. Hopefully they have had plenty of learning opportunities already. My contract doesn't stipulate the use of my PTO and neither do my teacher contracts. Obviously we are going to have some variances because we are a private school and that changes things. But I had a teacher go to Germany, another go to California for a class reunion, one admin go to Hawaii for two weeks, one going to New Zealand for a month over Christmas, and a teacher go on a cruise last month. Things worked out fine. The teachers are doing a good job in their classrooms and their classes can absorb the impact of a sub for a few days.
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Post by ihaveonly1l on Jun 20, 2016 18:00:24 GMT
I've taken a week of unpaid time off to go on vacation. We were going with couples and the best time for everyone was November. I actually lost more than a week's pay because our contract said that if you were on unpaid time, you had to pay your contribution to insurance at a daily rate. It was still a better deal for us because the cost of the trip was so much cheaper at that time.
If you are a specialist and pull your daughter out to do these things with, who's going to be doing your job? Wouldn't that then be the same thing? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your role, but in my district specialists are everyone from speech teachers, read teachers, Title teachers, art, music and phy ed.
When OP said 'my kiddo' I think she meant the kid she works with, not her own child. I find it strange that it seems a lot of teachers in the US are essentially 'unemployed' over the summer break. As I understand it here, teachers get the school holidays as 'holiday' and that's when they take their breaks. They wouldn't be able to take additional term-time off.
The confusion with teachers pay is that we get paid over the summer, but not FOR the summer. I get paid for my contract days. I have to wait for some of that pay until the summer. I finished working in June. I will collect that money through August and then start again. Most business pay a week after work is completed. If we were to add additional days to our contract our pay would go up. The general public believes that teachers sit around getting paid all summer. In reality, I "sit around" waiting to get paid for work I already did. When I first started teaching, we had the option of getting paid on a 10 month or 12 month cycle. We no longer have that option (at least not in my district).
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Post by ihaveonly1l on Jun 20, 2016 18:02:46 GMT
I've taken a week of unpaid time off to go on vacation. We were going with couples and the best time for everyone was November. I actually lost more than a week's pay because our contract said that if you were on unpaid time, you had to pay your contribution to insurance at a daily rate. It was still a better deal for us because the cost of the trip was so much cheaper at that time.
If you are a specialist and pull your daughter out to do these things with, who's going to be doing your job? Wouldn't that then be the same thing? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your role, but in my district specialists are everyone from speech teachers, read teachers, Title teachers, art, music and phy ed.
When OP said 'my kiddo' I think she meant the kid she works with, not her own child. I find it strange that it seems a lot of teachers in the US are essentially 'unemployed' over the summer break. As I understand it here, teachers get the school holidays as 'holiday' and that's when they take their breaks. They wouldn't be able to take additional term-time off.
I thought "my kiddo" was her child. If "my kiddo" is a student that she sees (sounds in that context like minutes needing to be met on an IEP) then I would continue to do that. In my district, IEP minutes continue and specialists are required to be engaged with students through the last day.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 14, 2024 6:36:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2016 18:07:06 GMT
I would have no problem w a teacher taking the last week of school as described. Dh earns a spot for us on his company cruise each year. A couple of his colleagues are married to teachers. They make it work. Few professions deserve to enjoy a free cruise as much as teachers.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Jun 20, 2016 18:07:27 GMT
I could not work in some of your districts. I have personal days and sick days. I can use personal days for whatever my heart desires whenever my heart desires it. No way I could work for a district that told me when i can take my earned days and for what. It's calls personal for a reason.
To answer the OP--I'd have no problem taking the last week of school off. In our district, with the exception of third graders and high schools on track to fail, all grades are in anyway and the last week in a waste. Actually, of the seven districts I've been in, with the exception of those listed above, the last week is still a waste.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Jun 20, 2016 18:09:34 GMT
Also, many teachers DO get paid over the summer if they opt for it and the district allows it. However, the money was taken out of our paychecks during the school year and is given to us during the summer do we don't have to go without a paycheck. So yes, we may get a paycheck during the summer but we didn't earn that money by working in the summer. It's already earned money.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jun 20, 2016 18:10:16 GMT
I wouldn't plan to do it, but if I had a chance for a free cruise with my friend? Absolutely! But I would also make sure all my work was completed and would not expect others to pick up the slack for me particularly given the unfortunate timing of the trip. Same for me. Admin approved it so I would take it. We have fourth quarter that lasts from August/September through February/March. We work tons of OT and get very few approved days off. If admin approved it, then yes I would take it. I'm taking a week off in October for an event I might never get to do again due to location. I would see a paid cruise the same way.
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Post by littlemama on Jun 20, 2016 18:14:07 GMT
I don't think a teacher should miss the first and last few weeks of school other than for extenuating circumstances - DS' AP Gov teacher missed the first week of school when DS was a sophomore due to the birth of his twins. It really set the class back, but for the birth of a child, totally understandable. For a vacation? No. In the middle of the school year? Sure, why not. The first and last weeks are chaotic and busy and it is odd for a teacher not to be there for that.
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