Your perception of who rides the school bus

[Bev]

What is your perception or pre-conceived notion about kids who ride the school bus?

This question is mainly directed at people whose children don't go to school yet or who don't ride the bus. Others may answer of course. I will explain my reasons for the question later.

[Theresa]

Kids who live too far to walk.

[Alyssa]

I voted other. Reason being is that it can be both kids who live too far to walk....or that school districts require busing even when the kids really could walk.

[Jayne]

I know I already have a child in school who rides the bus..but here is my answer.

Around here the kids that ride the bus
A. Live to far to walk (2 miles from the school)
B. Have parents who work and can't take them
C. Have other brothers and sisters at home who are still in bed or are little.

For us it is the latest one and the first one but around here anyone rides the bus and there isn't a preconceived feeling about kids who ride them

[Nichole]

I voted other, too. Here, it's usually special needs kids, kids who live too far to walk, or low income kids who have no other means to get there. There are very few buses here anymore due to district cuts.

[Darcy]

I voted other as well for the same reasons Alyssa posted. In our area, all kids ride the bus.

[sheila]

I put kids who live too far to walk, but around here, there aren't many sidewalks, so the kids really can't walk. I live about a mile from the elementary school, and there is no way my kids could walk, since they would have to walk along 2 busy roads with no sidewalks at all.

[Suzi]

There is mandatory bussing in Wichita; kids are bussed PAST their local neighborhood schools in order to go to schools that are further away to distribute races and socio-economic groups across the school system.

[gulp!]

I voted other because I don't have a preconceived notion of who rides the bus! :) I rode the bus to school, for the reasons that Sheila posted- it was too far, and there weren't any sidewalks anyway. So kids of every race, creed and socio-economic status rode the bus. The only kids who didn't were the ones that were 16 and had a car.

[Shanna]

I rode the bus until I was old enough to drive myself. I lived 15 miles from my school. My parents had ample money to take me, however, it was 15 miles (30, round trip) out of their way to take me when free transportation came right to my doorstep :dunno: Bussing is very common here and there are more kids that *DO* ride the bus than don't :dunno:

[Kara]

KIds who live too far to walk :)

And I have one that rides :)

[Colleen]

I voted other because I don't have a preconceived notion of who rides the bus! :) I rode the bus to school, for the reasons that Sheila posted- it was too far, and there weren't any sidewalks anyway. So kids of every race, creed and socio-economic status rode the bus. The only kids who didn't were the ones that were 16 and had a car.

That's my perception too.

Around here, all kids are bussed, with the exception of some students who live within a certain radius of the school (junior and senior high.) All elementary students are bussed.

We also always took the bus to school. We live 1/2 mile from school and I could drive or walk Avery to school, but she'll take the bus.

[Karri]

I voted other because I don't have a preconceived notion of who rides the bus! :) I rode the bus to school, for the reasons that Sheila posted- it was too far, and there weren't any sidewalks anyway. So kids of every race, creed and socio-economic status rode the bus. The only kids who didn't were the ones that were 16 and had a car.

Same here :nod: There were a few parents who dropped off, but not many. I did start driving when I got a car, but prior to that, it was the bus.

For my kids, there is no bussing. Our district has all neighborhood schools within walking distance, so they have no busses.

[Stacy]

I voted other. Reason being is that it can be both kids who live too far to walk....or that school districts require busing even when the kids really could walk.

I voted other for the same reasons.

[Bev]

I voted kids who live too far to walk. By and large that has been my experience wherever I've lived. And I was a bus kid at all levels of school.

Both my SIL and my sister's SIL (one in ON and one in AB) have said to each of us that "Bad kids ride the bus." My sister told me this about 2 weeks ago and her subsequent conversation with her SIL.

A short time ago my SIL commented that Mason would be fine on the bus in Junior Kindergarten (he would have to take the bus to/from the Montessori back and forth to the elementary school). So I said "Who the hell are you to tell me that? You won't let your kid take the bus!" She then came up with some crap about how Mason would only have to go 800m or so and her son/daughter would have to go 2-2.5km.

Fast forward to last week when she complained that driving back and forth to their school four times per day is wearing on her and fooking up her baby's schedule and she's thinking about putting them on the bus. I said, "It's about time. Braeden's been wanting to go forever." She said "But bad kids go on the bus." I was :woa: "Excuse me! I was a bus kid!" She had the decency to be embarrassed and I said. "The bus is not for 'bad kids' the bus is for kids who don't live close enough to walk. Sure there might be some bad kids on there but there are plenty of good kids on there!"

She said as a Mom she worries about Braeden being on the bus (but not Miranda because she would only be with other JKs) and that he would learn swear words and stuff. I told her he'd learn that on the playground.

I couldn't believe that people in this day and age think that only bad/tough kids go on the bus! I'm glad to know the people here aren't judgemental like that! :)

[Alyssa]

I can't even fathom where her perception of "bad kids" is coming from. Did they used to bus to a special needs program or something, and that is why she'd think that?

[Clare]

I voted kids who live too far to walk. That's the way it was when I went to school (and even though I thought we lived pretty far,we were deemed to close for a bus pass and had to walk).

That's a wierd perception, Bev. I think your SIL watches too much tv :dunno:

[JustJen]

I voted Kids who live too far to walk. Or in our case, kids who live across a busy street and it's therefore not safe to walk to school.

It's the highlight of the kids school day. There are no bad kids on their bus, nor mine that I can remember growing up. Or maybe I was the bad kid? :lol:

[Lissa]

I rode the bus to a public school until I could drive myself to school and I definitely wasn't a bad kid. But times have changed in my area and so I'll be the minority and say that my perception is that "bad/tough" kids ride the bus. But that is my area....

A little history: In my city I think about 50% of school aged kids go to private schools - our public ones suck for the most part. And although you can find a handful of GREAT elementary schools, the quality of education deteriorates the higher the grade. And by the time you get to high school you have little choices...if you are a great student you are fine! You are essentially separated and kept in a different area from the others -- in classes where kids want to learn. But if you are an average student you are in classes with difficult students who disrupt classes. And the school district has very little control over these students. This all makes me very sad because my husband and I are products of these very same schools and would love to send our kids to a school that our taxes pay for instead of trying to figure out where the cash for private school will come from. :(

Prefaced to say: I do not believe that all kids who go to public school are bad or have parents who are bad or don't care. I have several friends who are adamant about sending their children to public school and they are amazing people. :) However, in my area because the overwhelming majority of schools in our district have HUGE behavior issues and HUGE educational quality issues (because they spend more time correcting bad behavior than teaching), about half of parents have chosen to send their kids to private schools where behavior is much less at issue during class hours and more educating can be accomplished. This is more true the older the kids get. And when parents who do care and can afford it pull their children from the public school system, there is left an unequal distribution of the "go-getter" parents to assist the school. And thus the school is filled at a high proportion with kids who have parents who do not care or cannot be there (work hours/transportation/financial/etc) about or for their child's education. And those same kids ride the bus to school. And like it or not, those tend to be the troubled kids. (I hate labeling a kid as "bad" because they just aren't old enough to be "bad" yet.)

In our area, there have been significant behavior issues on the buses. And most kids whose parents do send them to public school choose to drive them. Partially because of the behavior issues (plus there are NO seat belts on buses -- AMAZING!) and partially because our district also buses students to equal the racial diversity of the schools. The latter can result in really LONG bus rides.

Okay, climbing down off the ol' Lissa soapbox. :)

[Kara]

I understand what she is saying about learning things on the bus...its impossible NOT too when you are on one every day but like you said Bev, they are going to learn that on the playground, in class, EVERYWHERE! you just can't shelter them...

[Girlo]

I rode the bus when I was a kid, and my kids will do the same. We're not within walking distance to any school, and while I'll be happy to drive him (them) occasionally, it certainly will not be a daily thing. :)

We did decide that we would drive our kids to kindergarten every day. :) At least for the first semester. Starting school is a big enough deal without having to worry about the bus every day. :lol: Once they have things figured out a little, the bus won't be any strange thing.

[MrsPeacefrog]

Everyone rides the bus who is on the outside of the radius around the school where they will give a bus pass. When I was in primary school I rode the bus till grade 5 when they changed the radius and if I was 2 houses down I would have gotten a pass, but I missed out and had to walk to get to school, I was thrilled when I went to highschool and the school was further away so I could catch the bus again.

Never saw it as a bad thing :dunno: I can't see there being any worse kids on there that end up being dropped off at the same school.. so whats the difference if they are on the bus or in the playground :scratch:

[Bev]

Alyssa I don't know where she got that perception from. They lived about 2 minutes from the school. You can hear the bell in their yard. They walked through the back fence to the neighbours yard, then across the Church parking lot to the school.

DH actually mentioned it one time about city buses. I said "I tell you what! I am not chauffering our kid around everywhere so he's damn sure taking the city bus sometimes!"

I think she is a Mom who wants to bubble wrap her kids and is thinking of every excuse she can to control what they are doing/who they are doing it with, but not that extreme, you know? A big part of it I know is that she doesn't trust her son on the bus and I think she's using her belief to justify not putting him on the bus. Intellectually she knows she's being stupid about it but she won't let him go.

The thing that drives me the most crazy is that she constantly complains about driving to/from school 4 times per day and having to get there a half hour before school gets out to get a good parking space and how she hates living her life by the school bell and disrupting Colin's naps etc. WELL THEN PUT THEM ON THE DAMN BUS ALREADY!!! :tearhair:

[Brookamy]

I rode the bus until I was old enough to drive myself. I lived 15 miles from my school. My parents had ample money to take me, however, it was 15 miles (30, round trip) out of their way to take me when free transportation came right to my doorstep :dunno: Bussing is very common here and there are more kids that *DO* ride the bus than don't :dunno:

Same situation here.

[Julie]

I rode the bus when I was younger, only because my school was like 20 miles away :lol:
Where we live now, the schools are so close that the kids walk to school. The only school bus I see is a special needs bus that picks up kids that cannot walk to the school.

[Brandi]

I rode the bus when I was younger because we were 11 miles away and live outside of town. It was either ride the bus or have your parents take you and that wasn't going to happen. Our morning bus route was very good. The guy ran a tight ship. If you fooled around, he would stop the bus, pull you off, and give you a good talking to. You would never fool around again. Our afternoon bus driver was inept. She never really saw what was going on. People would get in serious fights, one guy was always masturbating in the back, and kids were always jumping over seats, etc. I have a friend whose daughter rides the bus now and they had a lot of problems with the driver listening to stations on the radio that were not appropriate for young children.

So, I think that there can be lots of good reasons to NOT let your kids ride the bus. I guess you have to assess the situation and make a good decision.

[AahRee]

I said other. No one rode the bus to my schools growing up, I don't think. At least, it certainly wasn't very many kids, and no one I knew. We all rode bikes. (Yes, even to high school, until we could drive...)
We live within walking or biking distance for elementary, middle and high school for Katie, but if we didn't, I'd probably drive her. I've seen the bus drivers around here, and the one's I've seen don't drive safely. Plus, we've had a few incidents of kids (little kids, like Kindergarteners) getting dropped off at the wrong stops, or allowed to leave with people other than their parents, etc.... so I wouldn't do it.

[Clare]

I think she is a Mom who wants to bubble wrap her kids and is thinking of every excuse she can to control what they are doing/who they are doing it with, but not that extreme, you know? A big part of it I know is that she doesn't trust her son on the bus and I think she's using her belief to justify not putting him on the bus. Intellectually she knows she's being stupid about it but she won't let him go.



How old is her son? I don't think that I bubble wrap my kids, but I definitely wouldn't put them on a bus at this age (6 & 4). I'll be driving them to and from school until they are much older.

[Bev]

:tearhair: I had a big post and then lost it! AAARGH!

He's 7, Clare. I think the underlying issue here is that I took the bus from grades 1-3 and again from grades 8-12, so I don't see the big deal of putting them on the bus. She never took the bus, except for the city bus to a special/private high school type thing.

Also, I don't have a choice in the matter of whether Mason takes the bus. He has to whether I want him to or not. When I am away for training and then when Patrick and I both are working he will have to take the bus from Montessori to JK and back again.

I don't care if she drives her kids to school every day until they're 18 but if she is choosing to do it then she shouldn't be complaining about it. I understand it's a PITA for her but it's easily solved by putting them on the bus. She even said the bus stop is two houses down and that all the kids have tags on their backpacks that tell the driver what bus they are supposed to get on. And he wants to go on the bus.

I'm just pissed about her complaining. :blush1: