Let your child skip school to hunt?
 

Do you, or would you, let your child skip a day of school to go deer hunting?

My teenage boy wants to go but do to travel time requirements, I would have to let him skip school for one day during the first firearms season and one or two days during the second season. He gets decent grades, having a 3.5 GPA for the first year and a half of high school but several of his A's have been the just barely type and my wife and I are concerned that taking time off would have a negative impact. I should also note that he is on the block schedule where everything is compressed into half the time. This means that every day missed is the equivalent of two days missed for the subjects he is taking at that time.

In addition to the grade thing, I don't want to send the message that he should knock off school (or in later years, work) if there is something that he would rather be doing - even though hunting is a great life experience.

So what would you all do? I appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Without question! We recently went to Disney for a week and all three of my boys missed a full week of school. My wife nor all their teachers seemed to think it was a big deal. Well, our annual trip to Tennessee for deer and hogs fell the next week and I held them out on that Friday because we always hunt a long weekend. They all do well and it is usually held over their heads as an incentive if they do well in school. I have no problem with it as long as they continue to excel and make up what they missed.

No question, yes, I would let him take the day(s) off. If you're concerned about him getting behind, make an agreement with him that if he chooses to go, he has to read the texts he’ll be missing during travel time or down times after the hunt (cabin, whatever). For me, I’m not sure I’d even do that. I wouldn’t want to ruin the experience by mixing it with homework. Hunting is supposed to be relaxing. I’d let him enjoy his couple of days off. The kid can always work a couple extra hours a day for the next week to catch up. Just make sure that he does.

And, as far as the taking days off from school teaching him that’s it’s okay to cut out from school or work later in life (presumably when he’s on his own), I don’t think so, if you make him understand that he has a responsibility to catch up on the school he misses now. If he doesn’t catch up, then maybe that will affect things the next season when you want to take him hunting (i.e. you don't let him take off school again). There’s a balance in life and work. I think it is okay to teach him that it is fine to take time out of the daily grind to do what you love, as long as it is done in a responsible manner. I do not understand people that work so much that they have no ability to enjoy life. They might say something like, “I’m doing this now so my kids don’t have to.” Rubbish, IMO. The kid is gonna do exactly what you do and say the same thing his go-round in parenting. Life’s too short to miss life for work.

My $0.02

Many decades ago
 

I lived in a community that saw the opening day of deer hunting season on a Monday. Schools remained open, and there was a quiet understanding that more than the average number of students would be absent from school.
In our modern society, it is clear that hunting is no reason for not going to school. There is no real reason, for many, to hunt at all.

It is my recollection that a nearby county has their schools CLOSED on the first day of gun season. At least, it used to be that way 10 years ago...not sure if it still is.

yes i would let them skip school to go hunting. i take days off from work to go hunting so why wouldnt i let them take off from school as long as the missed work is made up?

As long as his grades aren't suffering I don't see a problem with it at all. I've seen folks actually use hunting trips as a carrot to get kids to bring their grades up so they could go on the trip.

when i was in high school, i always skipped school on the first day of firearm season, and so did everyone else that hunted. in fact, my high school allowed deer hunters to skip 1 day a year with an excused absents.

No i would not,
regardless of grades, sets a bad precedence,
school first,
should be your priority to schedule the trip to accomodate his schooling.

H**L Yah i go all the time during school. i only skip school for hunting though i mean a good education is good too!:sign0004::barmy::barmy::barmy::barmy::barmy:: barmy: