What happens if your kid doesn't go to outdoor ed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it's good for kids to be pushed past their comfort zone.

Not if they are typically the butt of jokes and one who always gets teased. I've been encouraging, but I won't force her to go.

I don't understand how skipping outdoor ed will help with this problem.

?

Trying to avoid problems.

At school, she can surround herself with friends. At outdoor ed, kids are mixed up by cabin, then mixed differently for instruction and meals.

Have you talked to the counselor to ask that she be put with friends at Outdoor Ed?

They made a big deal about that at the meeting.

"You cannot request that kids be put together. We intentionally mix up the kids by cabin then for instruction and again at meals so kids can make new friends. We are all friends at outdoor ed."

[Anonymous]

Our school was clear that you could not request that kids be put together. You could, however, request the kids be kept apart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DC's school went in two waves based on social studies teacher. if you are so worried about child being bullied for a 2 1/2 day trip, you need to take to administration not DCUM.

Of course admin will say she'll be taken care of and they may be able to pay her special attention but it's also possible they can't or that attention doesn't help the problem. Presumably OP understands the situation and is addressing things in other ways. There are still reasons not to push the issue with outdoor ed. It's really a family decision which they may want to make without the admin's input.

Completely different issue, but my DC had problems at outdoor ed that had nothing to do with the other students and everything to do with the administration.

I'm worried about that, too.

My kid uses the bathroom frequently, and they made a big deal about how they are outside in the woods for hours at a time and will need to be escorted by an adult to the bathroom--that will embarrass my kid.

My kid doesn't like sleeping around people who snore. She's a light sleeper and it will literally keep her up all night--and lack of sleep will trigger a migraine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DC's school went in two waves based on social studies teacher. if you are so worried about child being bullied for a 2 1/2 day trip, you need to take to administration not DCUM.

No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.

OP, if she's the odd man out even with friends, something bigger is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Have you talked to the counselor to ask that she be put with friends at Outdoor Ed?

They made a big deal about that at the meeting.

"You cannot request that kids be put together. We intentionally mix up the kids by cabin then for instruction and again at meals so kids can make new friends. We are all friends at outdoor ed."

So what? Talk to the counselor anyway. If you ask, they might do it, or they might not do it. If you don't ask, it's 100% certain that they won't do it.

Is the counselor even aware that there is an issue? I'd start there.

[Anonymous]

My DD typically has no social issues but ended up bunked with just the wrong group of kids. Let's just say she did not make new friends. But hopefully learned something about dealing with adversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MY DC's school went in two waves based on social studies teacher. if you are so worried about child being bullied for a 2 1/2 day trip, you need to take to administration not DCUM.

Of course admin will say she'll be taken care of and they may be able to pay her special attention but it's also possible they can't or that attention doesn't help the problem. Presumably OP understands the situation and is addressing things in other ways. There are still reasons not to push the issue with outdoor ed. It's really a family decision which they may want to make without the admin's input.

Completely different issue, but my DC had problems at outdoor ed that had nothing to do with the other students and everything to do with the administration.

I'm worried about that, too.

My kid uses the bathroom frequently, and they made a big deal about how they are outside in the woods for hours at a time and will need to be escorted by an adult to the bathroom--that will embarrass my kid.

My kid doesn't like sleeping around people who snore. She's a light sleeper and it will literally keep her up all night--and lack of sleep will trigger a migraine.

Limit fluids. Also, they normally ask who else needs to go and it ends up being 5-6 girls.

Earplugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

But isn't that the point of them mixing the kids up? If kids could choose their own cabins, the old patterns are continued. (These 7 girls are BFFs, and they keep Larla around to toy with.)

Whatever you do about Outdoor Ed, I'd agree that you might want to investigate helping your DD with her friends situation. Sign her up for new extracurriculars (at school and beyond). Help her connect with the other girls one-on-one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm worried about that, too.

My kid uses the bathroom frequently, and they made a big deal about how they are outside in the woods for hours at a time and will need to be escorted by an adult to the bathroom--that will embarrass my kid.

My kid doesn't like sleeping around people who snore. She's a light sleeper and it will literally keep her up all night--and lack of sleep will trigger a migraine.

PP, please reread what you just read.

I don't like sleeping around people who snore -- who does? -- and I also get migraines, but really. You're saying that your kid isn't capable of going to Outdoor Ed because she'll be embarrassed about using the bathroom and she'll sleep badly.

[Anonymous]

^^^what you just WROTE

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous
No thanks. It's not full blown bullying. It's more that I have a kid who is odd man out---even within her group of friends. If a slumber party is miserable, then I suspect outdoor ed will be worse.

RE: administration - the administration and teachers can't protect kids. You are delusional if you think they can. That's why I'm trying to figure out how big a deal it is to miss outdoor ed. And I certainly can't have my kid tell people she's skipping because girls are mean to her.

OP, if even the children who are supposedly your child's friends make her miserable, then you have bigger worries than Outdoor Ed.

[Anonymous]

My kid found it a waste of time, because what was learnt was at a very basic level. If your child has never been to any nature camp etc., then maybe it will be wonderful for them. He also did not have his friends around him, so basically his main aim was to fly under the radar for the duration. The general school population was rough so he heard a lot of cussing and. F - bombs.

The school send kids in three waves. Those who were left behind at the school were given subject packets to finish by substitute teachers.

So. You know best what works for your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes it's good for kids to be pushed past their comfort zone.

Not if they are typically the butt of jokes and one who always gets teased. I've been encouraging, but I won't force her to go.

I'm the one that posted about comfort zone. When I was in 6th grade (fcps) we did a one day trip to hemlock overlook park. My older brothers class did overnights there, but it was cut by the time it was my turn. I was thinking about that day when I posted. I was a heavy kid, poor with bad clothes. I had one friend, but we weren't paired on the bus together so I didn't see her all day. I thought I would be miserable, but I wasn't. It was really nice being outdoors all day, and we did a zip line thing that I was terrified to do, but I did anyway, and even kids that generally never talked to me cheered me on. I have such strong memories of that trip and so few memories of my day to day classroom stuff.

Obviously you know your child best, but what if she gets bunked with someone she has never met and becomes best friends? What if her counselor takes her under her wing and becomes a good mentor. You just never know how something may turn out. It's 2 nights? What's the worse that could happen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid found it a waste of time, because what was learnt was at a very basic level. If your child has never been to any nature camp etc., then maybe it will be wonderful for them. He also did not have his friends around him, so basically his main aim was to fly under the radar for the duration. The general school population was rough so he heard a lot of cussing and. F - bombs.

The school send kids in three waves. Those who were left behind at the school were given subject packets to finish by substitute teachers.

So. You know best what works for your child.

Hmm, this sounds like our school. My DS is going in a couple weeks, I haven't contemplated not sending him but I will be curious to hear his impressions afterward.

[Anonymous]

NP here--just to answer the basic question about what happens, the answer is that the student just goes to class with the other 6th graders who will be there (since most schools send in two groups, there are always half the 6th-graders there during OE). When our son was in 6th grade, he had surgery scheduled for the day before he was supposed to go so he missed OE, and it was all fine. I don't know what happens if it's not a medical reason, but if you really didn't want her to go, you could always pretend a medical reason.