Get Schooled

By test

March 6, 2008 2:38 PM | Link to this

test

By Jeff

March 6, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

OK, I live in a prime location in our county (just inside the city limits of the county seat), and literally every single school within the county (currently) is EASILY within 2 miles of my house. Matter of fact, my kid can go K-5 (two separate schools, a primary and an elementary) without hardly leaving my back yard - LITERALLY. And T’s school is moving to within a quarter mile of our house. (Literally walk to the end of the road, turn left, walk 50 feet and you’re on her new campus.) This contrasted against her LONG drive of MAYBE 1 mile now!

Now, bragging aside - gotta LOVE small towns! - I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum. I rode the bus until HS, and was either driven or drove the rest of the time. But that was because I never went to HS in my district. ES/MS WERE in district.

Growing up, yes, bus was the better option - though when I turned 16, gas was $1/gallon, MAYBE. (Heck, when I worked at a gas station THREE YEARS ago, I thought the world was going to end when gas was going over $2/gallon!) But the schools I went to were 20 and 10 miles away (20 ES, 10 MS), and almost always meant that my parents would have gone out of their way to work to drop me off, then double back to get to work. So the bus was most certainly the better option. Plus, I learned quite a bit on those busses about social interaction. Some rather painful lessons, some rather humorous, all beneficial at some level.

Now, as to why parents want to drive their kids: In some cases, they do it for the right reasons. For example, when kid needs to be out of district because the local school doesn’t offer some program (such as IB, in my case) that would be truly beneficial to the kid. In a lot of cases I know, the parents are simply being overprotective. And that is the exact WRONG reason. For other parents, it is the idea that they can spend a few more minutes with their kids. I’m mixed on that one. If the few extra minutes is spent in a productive way, excellent. More than likely, based on my experience, the few extra minutes is going to be spent getting the kid to hurry up and get ready/driving like a maniac to the school/quick goodbye, with little genuine quality time spent. And that is probably more detrimental to the kid than virtually ANYTHING that is going to happen on a bus.

By JustMe

March 6, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

Parents started driving their kids to school because they could afford it, and the kids likely wanted to look ‘cool’ to their friends (since they didn’t have to ride the bus).

Unfortunately, those parents didn’t take into account the pollution and the increase in traffic that this causes.

With the price of gas increasing so much, I hope that these parent reconsider and insist that their kids ride the ‘free’ bus.

By HS Teacher Too

March 6, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this

You know, where I grew up there was NONE of this drive-your-kid-to-school stuff. And so when I came down here and saw the prevalance of it, I thought it was ridiculous. But then I started teaching, and although our school day started at 7:28, kids were at the bus stops as I drove by on my way to work — kids going to the same school I was going to — at 6:15. Now, if that’s not crazy, I am not sure what is. As a parent, I think I might prefer my child to have an extra hour of sleep at night, and if driving them FIVE MILES to school would accomplish that, I might find a way to do that.

That being said, I still don’t understand why the kids had to be out there THAT early. I think it may be a chicken-egg problem: not enough kids ride the bus, so the bus routes have to be longer, and thus kids have to be out there so early to allow for the longer bus routes, that … kids don’t want to ride the bus!

By jim d

March 6, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this

Laura,

You failed to address the learning experience that continues with children riding the busses.

I know that after just 3 days of riding the bus our 5 year old son , now a HS senior, came home asking what the word F%#k meant.

Come to think of it, that was the last time he rode the bus to or from school.

Was limiting his vocabulary worth the thousands of dollars spent over the past 12 years? I think so!

By jim d

March 6, 2008 3:26 PM | Link to this

Let’s look at another potential disaster in the making.

Most states do not have any laws prohibiting school bus drivers from using cell phones or texting while driving. and folks I can assure you that many drivers are doing this. It hasn’t killed a kid YET,You can rest assured it will before anything is done.

By HS Teacher Too

March 6, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

jim d, I’m not sure I agree with you. My child is still too little for me to be in your shoes, and goodness knows I want to protect her from the world and all its evils. But I think (I can’t believe I am about to say this!) that I agree with Jeff about the merits of those “lessons” learned on the bus. I think it’s just as valuable — perhaps more so — to discuss those things your child may “bring home” from the bus and have those conversations, than it is to protect him/her from those experiences at all.

I remember coming home from school one day in first grade telling my mom that my neighbor, Dennis, had said a few four-letter words himself. Instead of yanking me from the bus, I remember a lonnnnng conversation with my mother about why what Dennis did was wrong; how she expected us not to swear not just in front of her but also to behave when she wasn’t there to hear it; etc., etc.

I’m not saying you did the wrong thing for your family. Clearly your son has heard those words at some point since he was 5, and you’ve had that conversation at some point. So I suppose it comes down to differences in when we think it’s okay to subject our kids to the circumstances that lead to those conversations.

But by any standard, I do not support those parents who drive their kids to school because the kids are “too good” or too “cool” to ride the bus.

By Jeff

March 6, 2008 3:29 PM | Link to this

jim:

Imagine ME being a scared-of-everything, passive, feminine sissy.

That would have happened… had I not ridden the bus to ES.

The method of teaching me early on how to fight, survive, improvise, and thrive was due to what happened either at the bus stop every morning or about one millisecond after my feet hit the ground getting off the bus every afternoon.

Why do you think even now I can run about 200 yards before most people can even think the words ‘two hundred yards’? Granted 200 yards is about the max limit on the distance I can run at those speeds - and these days it takes me at least 10 yards to get up to top speed - but I survived for more than 1000 school days running about 200 yards as fast as I could at least once a day.

Does EVERYONE have a similar tale? No. Matter of fact, as I’m driving around most of the time I see buses pulling up to the exact driveway of most kids. But for some of us, the bus can prove FAR more beneficial in the long run than it can EVER be harmful in the short run.

By catlady

March 6, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

As a teacher, my kids virtually never rode the bus. Sometimes when I was in grad school they had to, as I could not get out of class in time. But having a knife held to my son’s throat (and the other kid was NOT expelled, altho zero tolerance was in place) cured me of that completely.

I never rode the bus in school either, although I thought it looked SO cool (my mom was a teacher most of the time, and I rode with her or walked occasionally in the afternoon—that was a treat for me).

I think perhaps we lose something when parents can give up yet ANOTHER responsibility.

Remember, however, that I have not lived in a suburban area much in the last 35 years, except for grad school. Rural parents take the bus for granted.

I hate the way our buses pick up at the end of each driveway, no matter how close to the one next to it. THAT is a waste, IMHO. We have some parents who expect the driver to WAIT in the morning if their kid is not waiting at the road, also.

By Drew

March 6, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this

jim d, you are an overprotective parent. You cause problems for your children. You are the type who will end up burning books because you saw the word “boobie” in the text and you put half the blame on the teacher for assigning the reading. You have grown up to be the kind of person we all hate and that we all strive NOT to be. Go away - I feel sorry for you, your family, and your kid(s).

By kat

March 6, 2008 3:49 PM | Link to this

Imagine ME being a scared-of-everything, passive, feminine sissy.

Jeff, Please, please do not use the word feminine to describe a negative attribute. It does a lot of harm to children, both male and female, when they grow up thinking that anything associated with girls/women is negative and anything associated with boys/men (masculine - ALWAYS used as a positive trait) is what they should strive for.

By A p**&^d off momma

March 6, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

My son started out riding the bus this school year, but when the driver accused him of a CRIME that the cameras PROVE he didn’t do I pulled him off! Oh yeah he was 5 at the time she accused him of it. That woman still has her job too. Nice HUH? My stance is what will she try & accuse him of next time.

If she is the driver on our route next year I won’t put him on the bus then either.

By DCG

March 6, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this

My daughter’s school lets out at 4:15 pm. If she rides the bus, she gets home at 4:15. If she WALKS, she is home by 4:35, but must cross a state highway without a crossing guard or a light. If we pick her up, she is home by 4:30. I hate the carpool lane, but having her on a bus for over an hour means that after school activites, including playing or doing homework, is non-existent. The bus in the morning means she is out an hour and 15 minutes before school starts to get the bus. This is ridiculous.

By decaturparent

March 6, 2008 4:19 PM | Link to this

We have the small town thing like Jeff, so my kids walk to school. Now if bus was an option… the reason we wouldn’t use it in the AM is because it picks up before 7:00 A.M.

I think the sleep is more important that making the bus - particularly when they’d have to eat the junk that they call “school breakfast” if they took the bus. Or.. I guess that they could sit around and watch other kids eat it.

We have used the bus in the PM. My kids hate it though so we actually use it as punishment if they do something wrong sometimes. Instead of grounding them, we make them ride the bus home (instead of walking). They haaaaaaate it! Works like a charm.

By jim d

March 6, 2008 4:26 PM | Link to this

ok, let’s clear up a couple of things.

1: I know full well the safety benefits of having your child ride the bus.

2:I am an avid advocate for choice. (any free choice)

3: Drew must be new to the blog, not to know my position on book burners.

4: jeff, you are absolutely wrong. there are proper methods of teaching a child self defense. The kid, while never riding the bus can handle himself quite well and has the trophies to support that contention.

5: jeff, I’ve never met you but am confident that I know a few of those passive, feminine types that could take you out faster than you could say passive, feminine. Can we say black belt?

6: More than a few here on this blog constantly condemn parents for not taking an active roll in raising their children—yet you would condem someone for jerking a child from a bus full of little heathern. How ironic.

By Jeff

March 6, 2008 4:29 PM | Link to this

kat:

In a MALE, feminine IS a ‘bad trait’.

By HS Mom

March 6, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this

We live only 5 miles from my son’s high school, but he must be at the bus stop by 6:15 to catch a bus and be at school in time for the 8:30 bell! He is the second student picked up and is on the bus for at least an hour and a half. He rode that bus for about 3 weeks before I decided that it is worth my extra 10 minutes to save him that nightmare each morning. He does, however, ride the bus home in the afternoon. He is one of the first dropped off, arriving home at 4 after a 25 minute ride.

By 30 Year teacher

March 6, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this

There are many valid reasons for riding and not riding a bus. However, in FL as I am sure elsewhere,our buses burn diesel fuel For anyone who has ever had AM and PM bus duty,known as diesel duty here, the argument that buses reduce pollution is difficult to believe.

On another topic, where have the nasty posters come from? This blog has been a pleasure because it is one of the few that has consistently remained fairly civil. Could we go back to the “good old days” and try civility again?

By Teacher

March 6, 2008 6:19 PM | Link to this

When I was in middle school in 1993-1995, the school bus I rode (in Gwinnett) REFUSED to turn into the neighborhood I lived in to pick me up. So if I ever needed to ride the bus, I had to walk about half a mile to a busy intersection with lots of morning traffic. My parents fought with Gwinnett County to try to fix this problem, because they worried about their 11 year old catching the bus in the dark on a busy road alone every morning, but Gwinnett would never fix it.

So my parents started driving me to school in the morning. There are many reasons that parents drive their kids to school. The school systems do not know how to manage bus routes.

By Analyst Interrupted

March 6, 2008 6:34 PM | Link to this

The school buses were designed in the fifties. They are obsolete death traps. They get five miles per gallon. They weigh 15 tons. They have high centers of gravity. Metal surfaces intrude into passenger space. Bus drivers are low-paid.

Motorists take chances to escape waiting behind loading or unloading children. . Many near misses occur daily. Our children become crash test dummies when they board the bus.

The answer? Replace our gubernatorial goober with someone responsible.

Then pray.

By Leigh

March 6, 2008 6:40 PM | Link to this

Here’s an idea for you - maybe it’s none of your business how kids other than your own get to school.

By freedom provided

March 6, 2008 6:46 PM | Link to this

How bought I decide to to dive my kid to school because I just plain want to. Who cares about gas prices, they will always fluctuate up and down. You can either budget for the price increase or find another way to get to work. As for being good for the kids, hell no, they learn all the wrong things from the other kids whose parents aren’t taking the time to raise them with respect and proper grammar…lol. They will learn about sex from the ignorant and lascivious. School buses are a hindrance to all, and if they put cheater boxes in all, you would probably find out why that bus driver wreaked the other day. I see them speeding down our road of 30mph, they go 45 50. I would support vans with seatbelts above any school bus. Lot safer easier to get around, and how bought a school bus stop? They don’t have that anymore? I see kids at every drive way down a street. A bus stops at all of them. It is stupid! My day there was a central spot where you caught the school bus not the other way around. That has added the extra hr it takes for any kid to get to school. Oh yeah you say it was different when I went to school right? Well it doesn’t have to be. You want a more efficient less in a hurry bus driver? Safer? Spend Less fuel? Put one stop per neighborhood and you can get you rug rat to school in less than 30mins.

By Craig

March 6, 2008 7:07 PM | Link to this

My granddaughter complains about the disruptive classroom behavior which interferes with her learning. Based upon her information and my years of experience in public schools, I can infer that the bus to which she’s assigned provides an environment not orderly enough for my tastes and her safety. And I doubt if my line of reasoning is unique.(Wonder what was occurring on the wrecked Cherokee County bus immediately before it left the road. Won’t be surprised if the driver’s attention had been diverted from the road by disorderly student conduct.)

By Lee

March 6, 2008 7:52 PM | Link to this

Out of all the comments, I tend to agree with Leigh.

I also think it funny that some of the same bloggers who lament about the schools being required to “do everything” for today’s student and that parents need to get more involved are the same ones who now say the kids should ride the bus.

Go figure. It makes my head hurt.

By carrie

March 6, 2008 8:30 PM | Link to this

Another reason parents drive their kids to school? I work at a Gwinnett county school, but I can’t count the number of cars I see every morning waiting to drop off their kids with Dekalb county plates. Hmmm. I wonder why they don’t ride the bus. Are you not on any bus route?

By Jeff

March 6, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this

Freedom provided actually had a good point, but you had to dig to get to it.

It was this:

My day there was a central spot where you caught the school bus not the other way around. That has added the extra hr it takes for any kid to get to school. Oh yeah you say it was different when I went to school right? Well it doesn’t have to be. You want a more efficient less in a hurry bus driver? Safer? Spend Less fuel? Put one stop per neighborhood and you can get you rug rat to school in less than 30mins.

I know some MASSIVE trailer parks in Bartow - one in particular has more homes than most subdivisions in the county - that the bus stops ONCE at. And the bus is pretty well filled from that one stop.

Yet other busses go into these subdivisions and stop at every driveway, or worse yet, stop at every driveway on major streets.

Would it not be more efficient for the school system to designate one spot every quarter mile or so as the ‘neighborhood bus stop’?

By Tony

March 6, 2008 9:30 PM | Link to this

School principal view: Buses are more efficient: less pollution and less fuel. It also reduces expenses at the school. Schools must provide supervisory staff at bus dropoff points and car rider dropoff points. That’s tax money you’re spending, y’all!

Parent view: My kids have ridden the bus most of their school careers. We have had discussions about an assortment of words and expressions. I did take my daughter off the bus one year because of a hooligan who swung the buckle end of his belt around hitting kids with it. The school expelled him for other behavior, finally.

Principal view (again): For those of you who choose to drive and forego the bus service, please do not complain to me about how much traffic there is and that I should do something about it!

By HS Teacher Too

March 6, 2008 10:07 PM | Link to this

Leigh,

While I agree with you in part, it does become my business when it takes me 30 minutes to go 0.25 miles to get home because of traffic at the elementary school that is directly on my (only) path home (by the time I get that close to home, at any rate). So, the question is how the situation got to be that way — and I’m not talking about lack of infrastructure, but rather why parents feel a need to drive their kids and forego the bus. There were some good justifications for that on today’s blog, weren’t there? No one ever said that only parents with good reasons were allowed to continue driving their children and everyone else had to put their kids on the bus. It was simply a discussion about why the phenomenon of sooooo many “car riders” exists. I have to say there were plenty of reasons I hadn’t known before, and in that regard it was a good conversation.

But to the extent that some people’s choices affect me, then sure, I mind all those seemingly unnecessary (although I have learned differently in some cases) car-riders. It may still not be my business WHY they drive, but it damn sure is my problem THAT they drive. So I don’t think it’s an unreasonable question to wonder why, in fact, they do what they do. Today’s blog gave us all some answers to that question.

(And lest you say, I chose to live where I live, let me add that I was there long before the school was.)

By Recent HS Grad

March 6, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this

At my former high school, there were so many parents lined up to pick up their 14-17 year old “children” that often the exits to both parking lots were blocked. Traffic on the main road was horrendous from around 3:20-4:20 every day with the high school and middle school getting out within 15 minutes of each other. It’s ridiculous to say that older teenagers can’t handle a 30 minute bus ride.

I rode the bus from kindergarten through midway through junior year and only had one bad experience. This occurred in kindergarten when two 5th grade boys (one is in jail now…) accused my shy, hardly-speaking-English Swedish friend and I of making rude noises that they themselves had made and the bus driver believed them for some reason and wrote us up. One call from my mother and a look at the discipline records of those boys cleared that up quite quickly, however.

Sure, kids hear naughty words on the bus, but remember, those rude, vulgar kids on the bus are the SAME rude, vulgar kids who are in school with your precious children for 8 hours a day. I often did homework on the bus and had some very good bus drivers who were strict enough to control troublemakers but nice enough to bring the kids candy once in a while.

In short: Unless your kids need to be at school early or stay late for an activity, please put them on the bus! It would clear up traffic and be a lot better for the environment if hundreds of parents weren’t sitting outside the schools idling for half an hour before gets out.

By Bus Driver

March 7, 2008 1:48 AM | Link to this

You people are unbelievable!! You all want to sit and down school buses like it’s the worst thing since the war in Iraq. As a bus driver for Dekalb County let me explain a few things to you. First thing is, we do not stop at every drive way on a street. Now understand it may look like it, but when you have children from three different apartment complexes and several houses; a central meeting place on a street with no sidewalks is a hazard. Also, it may seem to you that we stop at every driveway because of your impatience when behind a bus. I can’t begin to tell you the number of parents that have blown through my stop arm and lights, just for me to see them drop their kid off at school. Will look me dead in my face and keep going as if they didn’t see it. I guess the logic is…just because its not your child it doesn’t matter if you hit him/her or not, as long as you get where you need to be.

Now you all want to lament about the fact that your child has to get up an hour or how ever much earlier just to get the bus…well if you make the child go to bed at a decent hour instead of allowing him/her to talk on the phone, play on MySpace, or watch tv (not that all parents allow this); then that wouldn’t be an issue now would it.

Now, as for your child not being able to do activites…that’s pure bull. I personally run an activity bus that runs in the afternoon and there are other drivers that pick kids up and shuttle them home after things like tutorial and basketball practice. So don’t tell me it can’t be done. Your just making excuses.

Oh, and let’s not forget the whining that’s going on about the time of pick up in the morning. Times are based on what needs to be done. Don’t complain about your child having to be at a bus stop at 6 in the morning when the child isn’t going to school in the district. I mean DUH, it will take longer to get to the school that’s 10mi away then it will the one that’s 2. Not only that…you need to factor in things like traffic. I’m sorry, but GA traffic is a nightmare no matter where you are. Bus drivers take that into account when creating the schedule. Also, the routes may be longer due to all the fun little reasons why your child is out of the district such as M to M, and No Child Left Behind.

And as for the language and what your child can learn while riding the bus…Trust me, your child hasn’t heard anything new. And they probably didn’t learn it on the bus, because what’s done on the bus is no worse then what goes on in the classroom or the cafeteria during lunch.

So please stop making retarded excuses. You want to drive your child that’s fine and more power to you. But be considerate of that bus…because if your car(s) breakdown what are your going to do? I know you won’t keep your kids home from school; you’ll put them on the bus.

By Lee

March 7, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this

From the John Boy and Billy radio program, perhaps this is why we don’t put our kids on the bus.

By V for Vendetta

March 7, 2008 8:39 AM | Link to this

I’m not wild about this topic, but I agree with what some others have said previously:

There are more than a few reasons why people want to pull their kids off of buses. In some unsafe areas, buses are a breeding ground for trouble. To be fair, in those cases, I do not begrudge a parent’s decision to remove his or her child from that environment. However, that having been said, in many cases the decision to ride with the parent and not the bus boils down to one simple difference: the enormous gap between parents of yesteryear and parents of today. My parents did not have the time nor the desire to cart my butt to school every single day. Do you know why? BECAUSE THEY DIDN”T CATER TO MY EVERY WHIM.

Bollocks to this whole “my kid learned this on the bus” crap. I agree with HS2, it’s a good opportunity to learn. The first time I ever heard the N-word I was in Elem. on the bus. I went home and asked my mom what it meant. At my mere mention of the word she was apoplectic, but when she realized I was not the one who had used it she sat me down and explained why it was such a vile, disgusting word. I’ll never forget that, and I sure as heck never used it.

As far as bus safety and maintenence is concerned, let me briefly say that I know a great deal more about that topic than most. I won’t go into why or how, but suffice to say that although the buses may appear to be old fashioned, they are in fact up to date and prepared for accidents and damage that most people could not even imagine. Part of the problem is that many of the newest buses are designed to look like the old buses. I, myself, think that’s sort of silly, but call it tradition I guess. Some of the buses that DO look new and futuristic don’t sell as well in certain districts. Again, I don’t want to get into all of that, but I can assure you they are maintained properly and represent the safest possible ride to school available to most students.

The bottom line is that parents are sissies and want to cater to all of their children’s needs as if they are priceless jewel-encrusted eggs that will break at the slightest disturbance. F that noise. I adopt my parents attitude towards this problem:

Ride the bus until you’re old enough to drive your own self to school. In the mean time, shut up and stop complaining.

By WFC

March 7, 2008 8:43 AM | Link to this

Nobody has mentioned the fact that school busses don’t have seat belts.

By Barbara

March 7, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this

Thank goodness this is a topic of conversation. Just to let you know how ridiculous the “driving the kids to school” situation has become, here’s an example. I live 9.5 miles from work. It typically takes me 30 minutes to get there in the AM. The other day, it took 17 of those 30 minutes to go almost all the way. The remaining 13 minutes were spent barely moving for the last 1.7 miles. That time was spent sitting aournd the block of the school area.

I believe our “paid for by tax dollars” school buses should be full of students. The road should NOT be full of mothers driving the kids to and from school, period.

We loved riding the bus as kids because we were able to spend time with our playmates in the neighborhood that road the bus, as well. A good point has been made that riding the bus is a good learning/growing experience. Kids have got to get out from under authority at some point and learn to fend for themselves. Better to start at a younger age.

Also, while driving through the neighborhood, I see parents literally standing at each stop with the kids. I would have died if my mother showed up at the bus stop with me. Another over-protective act that does NOT allow children to develop their own social skills.

Kids will be safe as long as they stay together. This business of being “afraid” for the kids is nonsense. They have to learn to be themselves and protect themselves at some point, so why not start in the confines of their own subdivisions? Parents are the ones being selfish here.

By NICK

March 7, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this

Parents have every right to drop-off and pick up THEIR kids at school.

It is the school buses that “hold up” traffic in the morning because they have to stop every 500 feet to pick up one or two kids.

Make those fat little turds walk to one corner and pick them all up there.

By ds

March 7, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this

I live very close to an elementary school, and have to “run the gauntlet” of rich, overprotective, brat-raising parents (my neighbors) shuttling their precious offspring to the school steps every morning.

The parents jam the two lane road in front of the school every day, as the buses trickle in through another entrance. Just like in the rest of their lives, these parents have no respect for other people’s needs, but are only concerned about dropping off precious little Zack and Chloe at the babysitter…I mean school. They fly through the school zones, completely ignoring the posted speed limits, then expect us to respect their right to line their cars up on the street so little Marshall doesn’t get cold walking 50 feet to the front door.

There is NO REASON to not put these kids on a bus. In fact, there are several reasons they should be on the bus:

• Social interaction/learning. Sometimes, kids need some time by themselves to learn the harder lessons of life. Who cares if your precious Brooke gets in a fight and has a bloody nose! Will it kill her? NO!! In fact, she’ll probably learn valuable lessons about self defense, self control, dealing with aggressive/overbearing people, etc. Consider it a part of the kids’ education, not simply transport to the school building. And I know this one may be hard for some Atlantans, but your rich little brat may actually have to sit next to a (GASP) poor person that doesn’t have the latest/greatest Trapper Keeper and learn about the different people that populate the planet (we wouldn’t ask him to actually talk to them, though)! The humanity!!!

• My time and trouble. Contrary to what my neighbors seem to think, not everyone has children. This means that your “convenience” of dropping Johnny off at the schoolhouse steps turns into my headache. Put him on the cheese wagon and save us all some trouble.

• The environment/conservation. Leave the Lexus in the garage and put little Troy on mass transit. Hell, maybe you could also invest in a coffee maker and not have to drive down to the Starbucks every day for your grande-, non-fat-, mocha-crappa-cino skinny latte. (By the way, we really don’t care…the next elitist in line is ordering the same thing).

By Jeff

March 7, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this

WFC:

Most kids in CARS don’t wear seat belts.

‘But there are laws against that,’ you might say.

Laws don’t mean a THING until you’re caught breaking them. And with enforcement as abysmal as it is, that don’t happen all that often. Generally the driver has to be doing something else stupid, like doing 120 in a 75 (on the interstate), and even THEN they usually don’t get caught. TRUST me on that one, I’ve seen it SEVERAL times in my 200 mile daily round trip recently.

That said, a generally careful driver whose only on-the-road law breaking is that their kid isn’t in a seat belt can STILL be EASILY killed by another less careful driver. And at that point - with parent, kid, or some combination dead - laws about seat belts are too late.

Now, lets look at a bus: As V said, they are basically troop transports that are not designed to actually go into a combat zone. Other than that though, they ARE built to withstand most anything that might be thrown at them in traffic. About the only thing that can SERIOSULY damage them is a side impact by a full speed locomotive. Granted, THAT scenario aint pretty, but that is why busses are so careful at railroad crossings.

I’ve seen bus-tractor trailer collisions where every kid on the bus walked away with nothing more than scrapes and bruises. Take a group of car collisions where the total number of kids involved is upwards of 60 or so, and you’re more than likely going to have at least a few child deaths in that group. Most certaily several hospitalizations. And yet you say a car is SAFER????

By roundhouse

March 7, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this

If you love and care about you children, you have them in a private school anyway.

By Lee

March 7, 2008 9:05 AM | Link to this

V, maybe we’re not afraid our “priceless jewell encrusted eggs” will “break at the slightest disturbance” but rather want them to come home in one piece.

Teachers on this blog talk about the lack of discipline and how they have trouble controlling 20 kids in a classroom. Imagine trying to drive in traffic with 60 kids. What could possibly happen?

By Kat's Husband

March 7, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this

Kat - honey - you can stop blogging now and get back to the kitchen and start thinking about what you’re going to make for dinner tonight. Oh, by the way, I’m bringing the boss home tonight so make sure you pretty yourself up real good. And- don’t mind it if he slaps you on the backside once or twice and tells you how good you look - it might help me get a good raise someday.

By WFC

March 7, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

JEFF: My son, Beau, wears a seat belt EVERY SINGLE TIME we pull out of our driveway (as do I). That’s all I can control and I do.

By V for Vendetta

March 7, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this

Lee,

And that attitude is precisely the problem. You don’t pull your kid out of class every time a fight happens at ANOTHER SCHOOL. So why pull your kid off of the bus just because you see a bad news report? It’s that kind of thinking that has lead us to this point. It’s that kind of thinking that fills our classrooms not with knuckle-dragging, violent primates but wimpy and complaining cry babies. Get real.

WFC, When was the last time you saw a seat belt on ANY bus? Do you have one on a MARTA bus? Do you have one on a charter bus? No, because you’re riding in a freaking BUS! Look, we all see the horror stories on the news about some bus that flipped or some bus that got hit by a train, but it takes that level of carnage to cause damage to a bus. A mere car or truck hitting a bus is going to crumple like a tin can. Meanwhile, every kid inside is safe and sound. I’m sorry padded seats aren’t enough for your precious egg, WFC. Perhaps we should invent personal force fields and strap them to every single student so that nothing happens to any of them. Ever.

This drives me crazy. Stop being such wimps and ride the freaking bus. If not, make sure your child is wearing his helmet, knee and elbow pads, chin guard, mouth guard, and high-vis orange jacket every time you take a car trip. You know, just to be safe …

By jim d

March 7, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

Lee,

Mad max brings up some interesting points! :-)

By V for Vendetta

March 7, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

jim d,

Hey now, I don’t know of any buses with booby traps on them! Or are you referring to the way parents fight for position in the drop-off lines? Either way … :-)

By jim d

March 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Link to this

You that advocate every child ride, ready to pony up to buy the busses, fuel,extra insurance, and pay for the needed drivers (incl. benefits)?

Schools generally fill busses now so a few extra’s will be required. If you aren’t willing to pay—quit b itchin about parents taking their kids to school.

By jim d

March 7, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this

and what about all the kids that are at school an hour or earlier than start time to particpate in activities such as student leadership programs, or volunteer/service organizations and clubs? How about those that show up early for extra tutoring? You gonna run a bus just to pick them up? Gonna run them late at night for the band members, football players, wrestlers and theater groups that are often at school long after all the teachers and staff has left?

By Lee

March 7, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this

Jim D, glad you liked it. You’ll probably like this school bus driver training video even better. LOL

By jim d

March 7, 2008 10:22 AM | Link to this

V,

The booby trap lies in the costs.

A new bus costs anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 to purchase, you can figure maint. and fuel conservately at about $10,000 a year, drivers gotta be making $30,000 a yr. plus benefits of about another $10,000.

So what do we spend? figuring a bus is good for about 10 years max we end up paying somewhere in the neighborhood $60,000 a yaer per bus. Assuming we had 300 students driven to school by their parents and each bus will haul about 60 students we would need 5 new busses which would result in a capital outlay of of over half a million the first year plus $50,000 in operational expenses every year to transport these 300 students.

Quit complaining—parents driving isn’t costing you a dime.

By Gore Al

March 7, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

Reduce your carbon footprint. Ride the bus.

By Lee

March 7, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this

V, get real yourself.

The bottom line is that more and more parents are getting fed up with the crap that occurs at our public schools. Many parents, such as myself, have already placed our kids in private school. Other parents aren’t quite willing to make the sacrifices required to pay $8-20k per year, but they can try to limit their kids exposure the a lot of the bad stuff that happens on a daily basis.

Hence, you see more and more parents willing to tolerate the inconvenience of driving their kids to school rather than subject them to another two hours per day of the same old crap.

There is a reason every school bus has surveillance cameras on board. Things got so bad they had to do something in a vain attempt to quell the bad behavior.

Go ahead and put your kids on the bus if you want. After all, what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger - right?

By jim d

March 7, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this

4 miles per gallon?

Dearest Albert Arnold “Al” Gore, Jr,

Have you been drinkin the water from up in those tennessee hills?

By Fuzzy Math

March 7, 2008 10:50 AM | Link to this

4 miles per gallon times 40 kids on the bus is the equivalent of 160 miles per gallon! Show me a car that gets that kind of mileage!

By Bus Driver

March 7, 2008 11:26 AM | Link to this

Again…you people are hilarious!

Hey Lee…you think all the little fun stuff that happens in public school don’t happen in private school. Get real!! It happens there on a grander scale. However, since your paying $8-$20K a year the school is obligated to keep it hush hush so the media don’t find out an prove that public and private schools are the same.

Uhh Jim…Where are you getting your math from. The most expensive thing is the dang bus. Bus drivers don’t make no where near $30K a yr and we wish we got anything close to $10K in benefits. A bus will burn less gas then your precious car will even when idling. I can fill up my bus on Monday and not have to do it again until Thursday morning. And that’s with driving 26mi in one trip. That’s picking up and dropping off Elementary, Middle and High School.

You people act like bus drivers have absolutely no control over what goes on or resources to deal with it. Yes, I saw the video of the bus driver fighting with the student. It was on the news, so who didn’t. However, you can’t knock all bus drivers because a few don’t have the brain cells required to remember that, that is a child.

Oh yea…and Jim…we do run buses at 5am and some run as early as 4:30 so that kids can do early morning activities. And, as for after school activities; how do you think the football players and cheerleaders get to and from the game? It’s not their parents dropping them off.

As some of the others have said…all it boils down to is the fact that parents are babying their kids and catering to their every whim. Get a back bone and put junior on the bus.

By V for Vendetta

March 7, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

Oh come on, Lee. In your perfect valhalla of private school, there is plenty of stuff going on. I knew a few private school kids back in the day … they were all coke-heads. Does that mean I assume all private school kids do cocaine? Far from it.

You’re basing everything that happens on the bus on a few news stories that you’ve seen. Is that how all buses are? Hardly. And, to return to something I said earlier, the majority of parents are driving their kids because the KIDS want them to drive, not because they fear what will happen on the bus.

Jim, buses must be provided for ALL school-related activities. All one needs to do is make a request and organize it. As Bus Driver said, the buses run early in the morning and late into the night to provide transportation for hundreds of students. Also, some of your monetary figures are a bit off. Like I mentioned earlier, I know a bit about the buses and transportation systems. Bus Driver’s comments are on the money.

The majority of kids want their parents to drive them because buses aren’t cool. To make matters worse, at my school there is a growing contingent of kids who don’t ride the bus because it doesn’t stop at their neighborhood — because they don’t live in the district! And that’s a whole different issue altogether …

By Lee

March 7, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this

Let’s see, I sent one kid through public school and am sending the second one to private. I know from first hand experience the differences that I have observed between the two.

But, Bus Driver says there are no differences between public and private.

Question. Who should I believe - Bus Driver or my own lying eyes?

By V for Vendetta

March 7, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this

And what was so bad, Lee? What prompted that decision? There are two types of parents that send kids to private school: The first kind do it because their local public school is dung and their kids’ education is in jeopardy. The second kind do it because they think their kids are the most important kids of the human race and are shocked that they don’t get everything they want all of the time. Which are you?

Mind you, I’m not being mean or rude, I’m just telling you what I’ve seen over the years.

By Recent HS Grad

March 7, 2008 1:36 PM | Link to this

It’s not unreasonable for parents to drive their kids to before or after school activities, it’s just the mass idling of cars right before and after school that bugs me. The vast majority of children don’t have special activities every day and should be on the bus when they don’t have extracurriculars.

As to public vs. private…well, I guess it depends on where you live. My public school was excellent and I was able to earn more than a year of college credit from the AP classes that I took. I also received a full tuition scholarship to a prestigious university. Oh, and I don’t curse, drink, or act promiscuously either. Seems like public education worked for me…

By jim d

March 7, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

bus driver,

Apply in Gwinnett last I heard they were hurting for drivers. and let me just say, I’ve been there when football and wrestling practices were over and have yet to see a bus pick up a single student. Yes when they leave the school to go to an away game they get on a bus—which by the way is billed to the particular teams booster club and the driver is paid.

fuzzy,

now that was funny but don’t forget that a bus needs a driver and the driver will need a bus. Add all that into your equation.

By jim d

March 7, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

What it boils down to is simply this.

It is my kid, my car, my fuel and the last I checked it was a free country. What that means is that if I elect to get up, take the kid to school and go back to pick him up it really ain’t no one elses damn business. And as far as I’m concerned anyone that feels they should have control over that should either a) move to Cuba b) Bite me and c) tend their own business.

By Bus Driver

March 7, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this

Lee…I’m a product of both public and private school. I did private school until my junior year in high school when I was finally given the choice of whether I wanted to stay there or not. So I know the difference. Now true enough your eyes may not be lying, but let me ask you this…are you there for the entire 7-8hrs that your child is in school?? Unless you are, how can you fully say what your child is and isn’t exposed to? Nor, how can you say there is no difference??

And Jim…you are right, yes, it’s your car, your money that paid for the gas, and your kid…but don’t complain about the buses on the road when you made the CHOICE to drive your child.

I haven’t forgotten that a bus needs a driver nor that a driver needs a bus, but again…the most expensive thing is the bus. And for things like football games and wrestling matches of course we have to get paid…at that point it’s the drivers time. How would you like your job to send you on a job and not pay you for it?? There’s no way on this earth you could tell me you would work for free.

By Lee

March 7, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this

V, no offense taken.

I think there are a multitude of reasons why a parent would want to send their child to private school. Two more that come to mind are an emphasis on religion (which is one reason there has been a dramatic increase in the number of church affiliated schools in recent years), and a specialized course of study.

As for us, we simply grew weary of the bullsh1t.

Bus Driver, it is true that I am not at my daughter’s school for the entire day. However, it was a refreshing change of pace when my daughter came home talking about the experiments they are conducting in the Biology lab as opposed to the number of fights they had that day.

By HS Teacher Too

March 7, 2008 11:43 PM | Link to this

jim d, I hope you see this now that the blog is two days old and the weekend is here, but …

Why do you assume the schools must buy the buses? Do you think there would be a way to rent them?

It’s common knowledge I didn’t grow up in Gwinnett, but where I grew up there were some school systems that owned their own buses and others that contracted with a school bus service, which in turn contracted with multiple school systems. I wonder if such a thing would be possible in metro Atlanta. Or does one already exist?

I just can’t make up my mind on this car-rider situation. I’ve heard a lot of good arguments about something that I previously thought had no good reasons … but my neew enlightenment won’t stop me from being frustrated as all getout when I get caught in the stinking school traffic on my way to/from my house!!!

By jim d

March 8, 2008 6:18 AM | Link to this

Too,

Indeed some school systems lease. but even those end up paying for the bus— the maint., drivers and operating expenses and really don’t save anything over the term of the lease.

The question though really is why is it anyone elses business if I want to drive my kid to school? I contend it is not their concern!

By Fredom provided

March 8, 2008 8:55 PM | Link to this

Wow did anyone else laugh at the comments by the DEKALB county bus driver. The moment she said she was from DEKALB, well that explained her whole attitude. Wow she actually thinks she is doing us a favor by taking your students to school. She actually is defending the actions of her own bus route. As if it is logical to do what she does? Well it is DEKALB County. I can’t imagine what language she is stating that the kids didn’t learn on the bus…as if that is a ok reason for the language on the bus. My time you weren’t allowed to speak on the bus cause it was to loud.

By catlady

March 9, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

In my county bus drivers are VERY well paid for their limited number of hours per day. Plus regular school benefits. You could never pay me enough,however. I am thankful for the drivers we have and the job they do (altho if you saw a “write up” from most of the drivers you would be struck by how limited their spelling, etc. is) under very difficult circumstances. What makes it harder for our drivers is that they are related to many of the students on their route, and if you want to see a real family problem, just let one of the drivers “write up” a family member! The fur flies. So sometimes things are overlooked if it is a family member’s child involved, but NOT overlooked if it is a Latino child. We have a few drivers with SERIOUS issues with students whose parents are/might be illegal aliens. Sometimes the bus garage manager (who is also related to half the county) has a problem enforcing the rules, which makes it harder for the drivers as well. A job with limited thanks, that is for sure! The cameras on buses have improved things a lot.

The geniuses in our system decided to put the schools right next to each other so we have a heckuva mess in the mornings and afternoons with buses and cars. And, they put new fire stations right next to the schools, so when they have to go out it is truly frightening. Luckily we have very very few kids who walk—the buses pick them up next to their doors even if they live a block from the school.

By jim d

March 10, 2008 7:11 AM | Link to this

Dear Bus driver,

First of all you have never heard me complian about buses.

Secondly, if I wanted to complain, I feel that since it is my tax dollars paying for it i have paid for the right to do so.

However, those complaining about the car riders have not paid for the right to complain in as much as they have not contributed one thin dime to support these childrens transportation. To the contrary, tax payers save money when parents provide their childrens transportation, so what’s the beef?

By red

March 11, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this

I drive my kids to school and back because I want them to experience a quiet peaceful few minutes with me in the car each morning, talking about what the day may hold, vs, them riding the bus for over a hour and hearing foul mouthed kids and their foul mouthed music, and girls half dressed, and etc. Why would I want to subject my kids to that if I dont have to? They have to see/hear it all when they get to school anyway, and nobody cares. The teachers wont send the naked girls home nor will they disciple the foul mouthed kids. So, like any good parent would, I protect them the best I can, when I can. And I am not ashamed or embarrassed and will continue to do it until they all graduate or get their own licenses.

By jim d

March 12, 2008 6:53 AM | Link to this

Red,

You rock! I just hope for the sake of all the bleeding heart green folks that you aren’t driving a massive SUV. :-)

By John

March 12, 2008 7:51 AM | Link to this

When I was in school I rode the big, yellow loser cruiser. The bus driver had the authority to handle disturbances and didn’t take in to account things like self-esteem and feelings if some kid got out of line. I guess there’s no more stigma attached to having mommie drive the kids to school anymore.