Yes, Disney trips can be educational for students, even if you don't get it

Yahoo

10-02-2025

Frank Cerabino in his Jan. 23 column ('Garsh! That's Goofy: Florida tax dollars pay for voucher students' Disney trips') unfairly mocked families who use Florida's education choice scholarships to provide learning environments tailored to meet their children's individual needs. While using theme parks and TVs as learning tools might seem ridiculous at first, it ignores the very real challenges families face in finding education that meets their kids' needs — challenges that traditional schools often can't solve.
Instead of casually dismissing their choices as being frivolous and unwarranted based on media reports, I wish he had talked to some of those parents who struggle to find the right fit for their kids. These are the square pegs that don't fit into any system's round holes.
Parents are increasingly seeking a more individualized educational environment for their children, with tailored instruction to meet each learner's distinct needs.
Fortunately, Florida provides these families with options. Just because they appear unconventional (at least right now) does not mean they are unworthy.
Learning can happen anywhere outside a traditional classroom and can come from multiple providers.
It can — and does — happen in museums, on nature hikes, at aquariums, and even at places like Disney's Animal Kingdom, where zoology lessons come to life. Indeed, Florida's theme parks market educational programs to public schools. For many students with unique educational and emotional needs, these experiences ignite curiosity and make learning more hands-on. Dismissing these opportunities as frivolous is a disservice to families seeking better options for their children.
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Florida turning scholarships into education savings accounts (ESAs) has expanded the possibilities of learning. No longer confined to just brick and mortar schools (public or private) or even homeschooling, students can combine different settings into hybrid opportunities.
In addition, educators are using these opportunities to innovate in ways they couldn't before. They are creating schools that allow them to teach what they want and how they want to.
South Florida, in particular, has become a hub for educational innovation, with microschools emerging as nurturing spaces where students thrive with personalized instruction and creative learning methods. Many of these programs are founded by former public school educators who wanted the freedom to teach in meaningful, impactful ways.
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At Microschool Florida, a community for parents and educators I founded, we've seen students who struggled with anxiety or fell years behind in traditional schools find renewed confidence and success. These microschools and other learning providers conduct marine science classes in public parks along the coastline, or teach physics and engineering concepts using surfboards and skateboards. Many of our small, supportive environments allow students to learn at their own pace, explore nature, and develop lifelong skills through hands-on experiences. Parents aren't looking for a day of fun; they're looking for a chance to help their children succeed when other approaches have failed them.
Cerabino's column reads as clickbait designed to stir outrage rather than foster understanding. If he spoke with parents who rely on these scholarships and the options they provide, he'd hear stories of perseverance and transformation. Mocking their choices only underscores a lack of awareness about the challenges they face and the courage it takes to forge a new path for their children's education.
Candace Lehenbauer is the founder of Tapestry Academy in Boca Raton and Microschool Florida.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Disney can be good for FL students. Voucher use is legit | Opinion