Dear Amelia,
That's just the question I've been asking, but have yet to receive an answer to: What exactly is inappropriate about sharing the facts, about this particular subject, with students?
-The Driver in Question
The "facts" in question are facts that many people disagree with. The subject matter, in order to have a full understanding, means delving into abortion, which is an inappropriate subject for elementary school children UNLESS their parents decide to discuss it with them.
Let's see....that covers the subject and everything she actually said. I feel pretty comfortable throwing in that her job description likely doesn't include "teaching" anything but simply driving the bus, responding to emergency situations, and dealing with discipline problems.
I sincerely hope that she actually DID perform her job of driving the bus without distracting herself by conducting a loud (in order to be heard in the bus) conversation. I also hope that she didn't delay the children's arrival by being stopped and conducting the conversation. That would mean that she wasn't performing her job properly.
It's impossible to explain the difference between adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells without getting into issues of conception and abortion.
These issues are best left for parents to explain to small children, at a time and in a way the parents feel is appropriate for the child's age and maturity level.
Some of the older children on the bus may have been aware of these issues. Some of the younger ones probably were not.
I can't tell if you are being disingenuous when you claim not to know why this discussion was inappropriate. If you truly can't figure this out for yourself, I'm not sure you really should be in charge of small children anyway.