<p>I think people are being WAY too harsh with the OP.</p>
<p>I remember in high school there were definitely days (I don’t remember if it was before vacations or year end) when nothing got done, many students weren’t in class, and we just watched movies. Yes, classes were still held, but you really wouldn’t miss anything if you didn’t go. I still chose to go - I liked school, but I get where the OP is coming from. In college, that may not be the case, but she may just be speaking from her daughter’s high school experience - it doesn’t have to be a red flag.</p>
<p>The OP has had NO CC activity since she posted this query. None.</p>
<p>A collegestudent…did your high school teachers show movies on the M, T and W before the holiday? I doubt it. And if they did that where I taught, they would lose their jobs. Actually they didn’t use movies at all unless they were related to the curriculum, and not often…not at all.</p>
<p>The OP is suggesting that she thinks MOST kids will be leaving the Friday BEFORE Thanksgiving. Most of us are saying…that is NOT true. MOST college students do NOT leave the campus the weekend prior to thanksgiving. They just don’t. And classes are held.</p>
<p>And as an FYI…if this student has M/W classes, she would be missing TWO classes that week, not just one.</p>
<p>I agree that the question may be coming from the high school experience. But the lesson needs to be learned right now, that college is not high school, in all sorts of ways.</p>
<p>There is almost 100% agreement that none of us experienced parents book tickets on Friday before T-day, but may book a Sunday flight. Rather perplexing that the OP has not returned. We may all be wasting our efforts.</p>
<p>Bookworm…you mean booking the Sunday RETURN, right? I would not book the flight home on Sunday prior to thanksgiving.</p>
<p>For DS, we just booked a late afternoon flight on Wednesday. His classes ended at noon. We booked flight back for Sunday.</p>
<p>For DD, we booked her December flight in August, and booked it for after ALL exams had ended. We booked her return the Sunday after New Years…as her classes resumed after that. Once, she flew back on Saturday because we just couldn’t get her a Sunday reservation. She never flew non-stop…that wasn’t an option.</p>
<p>D’s at NYU had classes the Weds. before Thanksgiving. it would not have been at all OK to miss class. For some classes leaving the weekend before would have meant missing two days of class.</p>
<p>High school is DEFINITELY different than college. From the 1/2 days in November for teacher conferences, the misc testing, the party atmosphere in December till winter break, and it may not seem in some schools like anyone would even notice if students didnt come to class. * Teachers *may even take vacation during that time.
But college is different.
For one thing it is not required that you attend by law.
Its assumed you are paying that money by choice.
So why would you pay for something you are not going to use fully?
Why expect someone else to be there ( the prof and support staff), if you arent going to show up?</p>
<p>College is adult life, or at least much closer to it than high school is.
;)</p>
<p>the OP hasnt returned. likely embarrassed that she thought most kids skip out that week. Some will, but most wont.</p>
<p>I think if most students (and faculty) did skip, the school would no longer have classes that week. We already had a somewhat opposite thread awhile ago that some were annoyed that (I think) the UCs had a schedule that had days-off on Jewish Holy Days. Accommodations like that are normal when a school/job realizes that there would be too many no-shows for a valid reason.</p>
<p>Heck, my kids school changed the start of the spring semester in Jan2010, when it realized too many students/faculty would be in Calif for the football BCS. </p>
<p>I think given the fact that most colleges hold classes on Monday, Tuesday and often Wednesday AM and most kids can’t afford to skip classes for two or three days, the biggest thing is that there are only a couple weeks between Thanksgiving and the Christmas/winter break so many, many kids that would have to fly because of distance just decide to save the expense since it amounts to 4-5 days at most with 2 travel days so kids would basically be flying home for 2 days, three at most and then they turnaround in a couple weeks and come home for the long break. </p>
<p>I don’t think of it that way. I expect my kid to go to class and he does. I also expect he might occasionally miss because that’s what college students do and that’s what I occasionally did when I was in school. In the case of missing one class in order to gain a day seeing his brother, I would say that the day with his brother was probably worth a lot more than $218. I have the kind of job where I don’t get paid if I cancel clients and take time off. I don’t evaluate decisions to go to funerals, take vacations or to just do something I want to do in terms of throwing money away. If it feels important to me and I can swing it, I take the time off I need. Not everything can be reduced to a monetary decision.</p>
<p>If you miss a class, you can watch most lectures online now. It’s not like the good old days when you really had to attend class or you miss it forever. I know I was enjoying listening to my daughter’s Pol Science class when she came back to visit the family for Easter.</p>
<p>I agree with mimk6 and I am much, much, MUCH closer to the bottom 1% than the top 1%. I’ve never thought of missing classes in terms of money. I think of it in terms of what I’m missing education wise. </p>
<p>Occidental is not Cornell - No snow, no remote location, relatively minimal reach outside west coast and Hawaii, large population centers within easy 1 day driving distance, several airports nearby. Forty percent of the freshman class is from California. It would just be goofy to close the campus down for a week to accommodate travel.</p>
<p>In some schools, missing three class sessions is an automatic F. If it’s a required course, the student gets two tries to pass using his financial aid. I just don’t think risking the F is worth a Thanksgiving holiday.</p>
<p>My kids rarely missed any classes and they went to a lot of office hours. So when they asked to be excused around Thanksgiving rarely it was an issue. I generally took cues from my kids about if they could miss a class or not. </p>
<p>A lot of schools also treat students like adults - as long as you could turn in your papers on time and ace your tests, they don’t care if you show up for your class. They also don’t call you or check up on you if you should miss few classes. I still remember when we went to an admitted student event at a reputable LAC, the dean was very proud about the fact that they would check up on students who do not show up for classes. My kid said, “Is this high school?”</p>
<p>The rub here is the OP (who has disappeared) was under the misguided notion that MOST students just left the Friday before thanksgiving and didn’t attend M, T, W classes thanksgiving week. THAT is simply not true. Some kids, for hopefully good reasons, might not attend classes that week, but MOST DO attend classes that week, and plan their travels accordingly.</p>
<p>Also, her student hasn’t even MET the professors yet, and really doesn’t know the expectations at HER college. I think given the circumstances, the OP should plan a Wednesday flight home. Book with Southwest, if possible. Then if it looks like it’s possible to travel earlier in the week for whatever reason, fine. Just change the flight.</p>
<p>Many students at my college did, unfortunately, duck out the whole week of Thanksgiving. The professors tended to stop fighting it, but one got so fed up that he changed a pop quiz to, “Write your name legibly on a piece of paper” to reward those who attended. </p>
<p>Oldfort, I wouldn’t call non-attendance adult behavoir. Maybe there was very little teaching done in the courses you mention. Might as well teach oneself alone and skip the tuition expense. :)</p>