Posted on 08/31/2012 3:40:14 PM PDT by Altariel
Hi Folks! I read this over at RixaRixa and asked if the blogger was game to let me reprint the whole thing. Yes! So here it is, in all its infuriating bureaucrat-brained fullness!
We’ve been walking Zari to and from kindergarten. It seemed the most logical of our three options (walk, ride the bus, or drive) since we only live 1 km away. If Zari rode the bus, she’d have to leave the house almost an hour earlier, and she’d get home 1 to 1 1/2 hours later. That adds up to over 2 hours on the bus per day. Driving was out of the question; why drive when our legs are perfectly capable of getting us there?
So far we’ve enjoyed our twice daily walks. Eric and I switch off walking duty depending on who is teaching that day. We get time with Zari and we get extra exercise. Sounds like the perfect scenario, right?
Yes, except that we have to cross a Death Trap road on the way. It’s a state highway that runs through town, and there are no stop signs or stoplights in probably a mile either direction. There’s a flashing light that goes on during school hours. This means that cars are supposed to slow down to 25 mph, but no one does. Every time we cross the street, it’s like we’re inside a giant game of Frogger (this totally dates me!).
I first contacted the school transportation department to inquire about crossing guards. After all, the road where we’re crossing is the main entrance into the elementary school and to the county fairgrounds. The reply? They used to supply a crossing guard at that intersection, but not any more. They told me to talk to the police department.
So I met with the chief of police and explained my concerns–that the school no longer provided a crossing guard and that I was having real troubles getting us safely across the street, especially during the morning rush. He sympathized with my situation and said he’d send some patrol cars out in the morning, but otherwise he coudln’t do much else. He suggested talking to someone in the state transportation department, since traffic signs on that road are regulated by the state, not by the city.
This morning I spoke to a woman at the state transportation department. I explained our difficulties crossing the road and asked if they would consider doing a traffic survey to put in either stop signs or a stop light. I told her I’d already met with the school transportation coordinator and the police chief, and they both told me they couldn’t do much else to help me. Her response:
“You really should have your daughter ride the bus.”
I explained that this option made no sense in our situation. We live close to the school, and riding the bus would take an extra 2+ hours out of my daughter’s day. Her reply:
“Well, you’re the one who’s choosing to put your daughter in danger. You’re choosing your convenience over her safety. She has a safe option, and that’s to ride the bus.”
Excuse me?! When did walking your child to school mean that you’re a bad, selfish parent? I abandoned any niceties and dropped my polite tone. I said that it was not just a choice between convenience and safety. After all, we’re facing major obesity and pollution crises in this country. I feel very strongly that it’s an irresponsible choice to put my child on a bus for 2 hours a day, or to drive her to school (as many parents at this school do), when we’re perfectly capable of walking. The solution isn’t just to put my daughter on a bus; it’s to help us find a way to safely cross the street.
Her reply:
“In my town, I have several friends who live across the street from an elementary school, and they all have their children ride the bus because it’s safer than crossing the street.”
The then told me that she likely couldn’t do anything to help me, and to talk to the school and the police again.
Can anyone else see what’s wrong with this picture? Is there anything else I can do? (I do have something really subversive up my sleeve…more on that later!)
Lenore here: I like the sound of ‘something subversive.’ Please keep us looped in! – L
Only bad parents send their kids to public schools.
Run for mayor and throw the liberals out!
I remember when a kid was picked up or taken to school in a car....they were either sick or in trouble.
If you did not get a school bus....you WALKED
Kids were taught how to properly cross the street...how to handle themselves to and from school.
Instead of banning every kind of food from school....it would be a lot better if kids WALKED to school. If the route is a little dangerous....walk with the kids....instead of clogging the school parking lot with cars, and blocking highways picking up kids
This is probably the only valid reason for elected officials these days. Call your elected officials. knock on their front doors, and do it with the press in tow. They are the only ones who can help you at this point.
I had good parents, I road my bike to school. I was part of the road crossing team. We dressed in khaki pants and wore white dress shirts and a clip on black tie. Raised the flag every morning and took it down every afternoon. Marched in formation for each function. I was proud to be a part of this group.
You can wait until a parent and child are killed by a speeding motorist.
Then the entire town, lead by the people in authority and the news media demand that something be done about this senseless tragedy.
Someone will then suggest a pedestrian bridge over the busy road.
The politicians and bureaucrats will be at the ribbon cutting ceremony with great fanfare for the opening of the (insert the name of the child killed here) bridge.
road = rode
Seriously, though, I never did use motorized transport to get to school and seem to have survived pretty well.
Yes, but I was only in the fifth grade at the time and did not know that difference at the time :)
I used to walk 2 miles to and from school every day, regardless of the weather. Some of my trip was even through some woods for a shortcut. I would beat the school bus on arriving at the school every morning.
We have allowed some exceedingly stupid people to work in our school systems.
Well - it's time for subversive. Go for it.
AT 6 years old I walked a mile one way to school - came home for lunch - then walked home. Four miles a day - much of it I ran (after spending too much time looking at something, or poking around in old abandoned buildings.)
One benefit - I could out-run everyone but one other kid in the school because I had developed great lung capacity.
One thought - make your own STOP SIGN and carry it with you. Hold it up - you are the crossing guard!
>>Run for mayor and throw the liberals out!<<
People like that lady from the transportation department are so entrenched you can’t remove them with dynamite.
If you don’t walk you can’t stop at the ice cream truck.
>>I used to walk 2 miles to and from school every day, regardless of the weather. Some of my trip was even through some woods for a shortcut. I would beat the school bus on arriving at the school every morning.<<
Uphill both ways?
;)
On a completely unrelated note, childhood obesity is now such a huge problem that we are in need of the nutritional expertise of swimsuit model Michelle Obama to take control of the eating habits and diet of our nation's school-age children.
it’s the only exercise some of these kids get
What I can’t figure out is the parent I saw last year waiting for the school bus with their child...ONE BLOCK from the school!
HA! We all walked to school when I was a kid. They are nanny-stating the kids early - ‘be afraid to walk across the street,’ ‘don’t xx,’ ‘be careful when you ....”
God forbid these kids get, what? a blister or drink water from the hose. They are going to be the worst wusses when they grow up.
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