Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 01/25/2011 11:56:38 AM PST by nickcarraway
The wheels on the school bus go 'round and 'round, but eventually students are supposed to get off.
Not so for one South Florida boy, who was trapped on his school bus the entire day after the bus driver forgot to check and see if all of the students got off for school. Dylan Gottshall was found Monday on his school bus around 1 p.m., hours after he was supposed to get off and go to class at Parkway Elementary School in Port St. Lucie, TCPalm.com reports. The 7-year-old first grader was picked up at his bus stop around 7:30 a.m., but fell asleep on the bus by the time it arrived at school. He didn't wake up as all the other kids got off the bus and so the bus driver drove the bus back to the bus depot.
And so Dylan was trapped on the bus for hours with no way to get off, his father said.
"I was in shock and I was very angry that my child was left on a bus," Sam Gottshall said. "We all know what happens to kids who get locked in vehicles on hot days and everything and I was thankful it wasn't a hot day." School district officials said they were checking into the incident to see how a student could be stuck on a bus the entire day without anyone noticing.
So what do you do on a school bus all day? Dylan decided he'd get a math lesson in.
He counted all the open windows and all the closed windows. And then he counted them again, his father said. "He was very scared an
Most kids are taught to avoid strangers. Young children who are frightened do not think logically, like an adult; they think like young children.
“I’m surprised that FReepers are attacking the kid, and not the driver. “
This.
When I was 7, I would have been out of the bus about 30 seconds after I woke up. Also, my parents would have wore my a$$ out for sleeping and not getting off when I should. Kids today are pu$$y$ or maybe its their shrill parents...
Me too, kind of sad that these people think they are conservative. Our country is doomed.
The problem is not the child who had apparently never been TAUGHT how to respond in such a situation. Childish decisions can be corrected by education and discipline.
The problem is the ADULT who didn’t take a few SECONDS to check the bus. The ADULT BUS DRIVER is the one who legally and literally had responsibility for this young boy.
Because the adults in your life valued teaching you independence and ingenuity.
The kid is not to blame for not knowing how to react in an unfamiliar situation. Apparently this was the first time in his life where he woke up and had no adults around him to supervise him. He committed no crimes, and stayed in the bus because he did not reason the situation as an adult would.
The adult responsible for him on the bus is responsible.
No the problem is both the child and the bus driver, who should be fired for NOT doing his job, as I already said.
The child is the one who slept and didn’t get off when he should have and apparently can’t figure out how to get off a bus with windows open and 2 (count’em 2) doors. Pathetic! My Dad would have whipped me for not getting off the bus when I should have and then again for claiming NOT to know how to get off a stopped bus with open windows and 2 freakin’ doors.
The kid fell asleep. It happens and it’s not a crime. Perhaps he was up too late the night before. As to the doors, how many of today’s seven year olds have you interviewed to see if they know how a school bus’s doors work? How many of them could identify the mechanism for How many of them are capable of reading the instructions for opening the Emergency exit, or are able to read and accurately identify the word “Emergency”? Was this seven year old strong enough to open the Emergency door?
Was there a locking latch on the OUTSIDE of the door that prevented him from exiting out the door? Some school buses are equipped with those.
Was another kid scolded or the entire bus lectured about touching the Emergency exit latch because it would sound an alarm on the bus and this kid didn’t want to get in trouble for setting off an alarm?
The kid made a mistake in his fear and ignorance; both of which can be corrected and formed into courage and wisdom. The bus driver is guilty of criminal negligence
The kid fell asleep. It happens and it’s not a crime. Perhaps he was up too late the night before. As to the doors, how many of today’s seven year olds have you interviewed to see if they know how a school bus’s doors work? How many of them could identify the mechanism for opening any and all of the bus’s doors? How many of them are capable of reading the instructions for opening the Emergency exit, or are able to read and accurately identify the word “Emergency”? Was this seven year old strong enough to open the Emergency door?
Was there a locking latch on the OUTSIDE of the door that prevented him from exiting out the door? Some school buses are equipped with those.
Was another kid scolded or the entire bus lectured about touching the Emergency exit latch because it would sound an alarm on the bus and this kid didn’t want to get in trouble for setting off an alarm?
The kid made a mistake in his fear and ignorance; both of which can be corrected and formed into courage and wisdom. The bus driver is guilty of criminal negligence
When I was 7, I knew how to open doors and get out open windows. If today’s kids cannot master those tasks, we are done as a country. I am totally serious.
I see that you have failed to address any of my questions. How do you expect a child to get out a door if the door is latched on the outside?
What evidence do you have that this seven year old knew how the doors on the bus operated?
What evidence do you have that this seven year old knew how to use the emergency exit door, much less was capable of opening said emergency exit door? Not all seven year olds are the same size or have the same strength or climbing ability.
What evidence do you have that the seven year old would have been capable of exiting out the windows of that particular bus? Bear in mind that in some cases, it may not be possible for a school aged child to exit out a window, even if fully opened. Bear also in mind that windows may be opened to varying degrees and younger children do not always have the arm strength to open a window fully.
“The largest opening that can be achieved is approximately the size of one of the rectangular glass panes. School children are not instructed to try to exit the bus through these windows in the event of an emergency, presumably in part because the windows openings are smaller than school-aged children.”
Source: http://www.overlawyered.com/letters/archives/001218.html
This was not a preschooler. This was a seven year old who should have the common sense to shout out one of the windows to attract attention. The bus yard is not in some dank alley. It is in a very busy yard with school personnel wearing uniforms (which children identify with good strangers)and other buses pulling in throughout the day. It is not only the depot it is the maintenance yard so there were people around.
I think the kid just plain realized his goose was cooked for falling asleep and decided he better keep quiet for fear he would get in trouble.
because he’s old enough to get off the bus like all the other children, but didn’t.
That would be because he fell asleep; probably because he was up too late the night before. Kids fall asleep in moving vehicles sometimes. Even school aged kids. This isn’t a case, based on the available information, of a kid who decided to play hooky; this is a case of a young schoolage kid dozing off.
I hope someone somewhere makes sure the child understands that what he did was wrong.
I hope that someone somewhere makes sure that the bus driver, as the responsible adult, understand that you make SURE you have transferred all children in your care to another adult before you assume you are off duty.
I suspect you would be surprised at some of the non-common sense things that seven year olds will do.
We are not told whether or not the kid did call for help or for someone to get him. Perhaps he did and he was not heard. Perhaps he thought he was going to be in Big Trouble and stayed quiet. A seven year old is capable of both reactions.
The problem remains the adult who failed to ascertain that all his charges were on the bus.
The kid’s failure to act in a fully logical manner can be addressed by education and discipline. The adult CHOSE not to double check the bus—an act that would have taken a matter of seconds before he went on to take care of his other duties.
I suspect you would be surprised at some of the non-common sense things that seven year olds will do.
We are not told whether or not the kid did call for help or for someone to get him. Perhaps he did and he was not heard. Perhaps he thought he was going to be in Big Trouble and stayed quiet. A seven year old is capable of both reactions.
The problem remains the adult who failed to ascertain that all his charges were off the bus.
The kid’s failure to act in a fully logical manner can be addressed by education and discipline. The adult CHOSE not to double check the bus—an act that would have taken a matter of seconds before he went on to take care of his other duties.
It is not latched from the outside and you didn’t respond to the open figging windows either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.