You made all sorts of sacrifices to get them into this school. It’s not cheap. You love their teachers. You want them to learn. You want them to love learning.

Which is why you shouldn’t hesitate to pull them out of class.

For the work trip they can tag along on. For the protest downtown. For a three-day weekend in the mountains. For a visit with their grandparents. For a quiet day at the museum together.

The world is a classroom. There are so many places, so many ways for them to be exposed to things, to see things, to learn things. School matters, but we should never be passing up these other opportunities for the sake of their attendance record.

Pick them up early. Drop them off late. Skip a day. Let their teacher know. Your job is to show your kids the world. Your job is to teach them. Your job is to spend time with them in this brief window when you can. No one regrets taking those chances…but we will regret missing some of them. Do it while you can.