Why would you take your family on a vacation right after summer break ends? 

Many parents care more about their own freedom than their child’s right to an education. They hate schools because they represent the government telling them what to do with their kids, and they feel like there is something inherently wrong with that. After all, their kids belong to them and them alone! What does some lady with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education know about what’s best for their little Jonny? If they want to take their kid out of school for whatever reason, they should be able to do so without getting sent to truancy court! Or should they? 

Every family has different values. Some families are totally willing to miss out on a lot of formal education if it means that they’ll get to go on a vacation together. Others won’t let their kids skip a day of school unless they are sick as a dog: they don’t believe in «mental health days» or child PTO. If you’re going to structure your family in these ways, that’s your right, but you need to live with the consequences of those choices. Your kids might fall behind if you take them out of school for a two-week vacation, and it’s not their teacher’s job to privately tutor them on everything they missed. She showed up and did her job, but your kids did not, and they might suffer for it. If you never let your kids skip school, even when they’re sick, it might give them a complex about hard work as they grow up. They might feel like they can never call in sick from work, because that’s not allowed. 

The teacher in this story is understandably frustrated that her student’s parents are taking them out of school for vacations right after the school year has started. She hates that the parents are treating school as if it’s optional, and I’m inclined to agree with her. Regularly showing up to school teaches kids how to regularly show up for work, which will serve them well in life.