Schooling Vs. Education

Did Mark Twain have it right? Do I, when I deprioritize traditional school?

Mark Twain is accredited with saying, “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.” That’s been my attitude with parenting, too. I love my school district, and my kids’ dual-immersion option program particularly. I love that both of my kids are nearing fluency in Spanish. I’ve probably said, “You couldn’t pay me to leave this program” hundreds of times since my oldest started kindergarten in 2019.

Suddenly I’m making choices that might result in us leaving that program.

See, my brother-in-law finally gets to have a wedding, after getting married in 2020. My family wouldn’t miss it for the world. However, his wife is Vietnamese, and his wedding will be in Vietnam. My husband and I decided the moment we knew there would be a wedding that we’d travel for as long as he could take off work.

We’ll be there with family from four different countries, most of whom we haven’t seen in years, or, as in the case of my baby nephew and new sister-in-law, haven’t met at all. We wanted the chance to not only attend the wedding, but to let our kids experience Asian culture for longer than just jet-lagged trips there and back and a sleepy wedding in the middle.

When all is said and done, my kids are going to miss eleven days of school.

So I went to talk to their school administration about it, mostly to see about how to call in absences across time zones, and how we should arrange homework.

The office informed me that students who miss ten consecutive days of school are automatically unenrolled, no exceptions. We could re-enroll them upon our return.

But that dual-language program is optional. I’ve been told they’ll lose their places, with no way for us to reserve them. Because we’re letting their education interfere with their schooling.

So if there are wait-listed kids for the first or third grade programs… too bad for us, I guess. Asking for remote work, connecting with the teachers, pointing out that both kids are ahead of grade level in both reading and math — none of it matters because we will miss a few extra hours of school from their limit.

It’s worth noting that both of my kids’ teachers have been amazing. They’re both wholeheartedly enthusiastic about our trip and in favor of education over schooling. Both have told me what each kid can work on, and emphasized that it’s supplemental and not required. But they also warned me I’d be fighting the administration.

I don’t have my answers yet. The school was supposed to call me ages ago and hasn’t. I might find out there isn’t anyone wait-listed and both kids are returned to their classes without issue. But I probably won’t know any of that until our return.

What about you? When you’re given a choice between once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunities and traditional schooling, how do you handle it?

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