Posted on 01/20/2005 4:49:01 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
SYRACUSE NY--When Lynnee Westbrook thinks about what her son went through her eyes well up. She says her two children take the school bus everyday, so she can't understand why the vice principal at McKinley Brighton told her 5-year-old son to walk home.
Under school policy, students must live more than a mile and a half to be bused. School spokesperson Neil Driscoll says Kevin is listed as a walker and lives on Newell Street, a block away from the school. Westbrook says they actually live on West Brighton Avenue and she doesn't know how the school got that information. She says her son walked several blocks to his daycare, where he gets dropped off after school.
"My baby who is 5-years-old who never walked anywhere a day in his life has to cross over major intersections to get to school to daycare. I felt that was very unacceptable," Westbrook said.
Westbrook says when she contacted the school, the vice principal had no knowledge of her child and said her son may have gotten confused with another conversation she was having with an older student.
"What's the need for him to walk? Why wasn't I informed? If he if missed his bus or whatever, you know that was my point. Nobody contacted me or they didn't contact emergency contact," Westbrook said.
"It was cold and my stuff was falling down, and I had to put my gloves in my book bag. I put my hands in my pocket," said Kevin Jennings, 5-year-old forced to walk home.
Kevin's mom says she wants to get to the bottom of what went wrong. Westbrook says she plans to get to the bottom of this during a meeting with the vice principal of the school Thursday.
How? Paying out a bunch of money isn't going to hurt anyone but the taxpayer, and school employees usually can't be fired or disciplined no matter what they do.
mistakes have consequences
Except for the mother's hysteria, it doesn't appear this mistake had any real consequences. Yes, the boy had a difficult walk, but his mom could have said, "Wow, son! This was a bit of a mess, but you took care of yourself and showed perseverance and courage. I'm proud of you!" Then he feels great about himself.
Instead, she says, "My *baby* never walked anywhere a day in his life!" (What, he's in a wheelchair? I missed that in the article!) So he learns that he's a pitiful baby, and that having hysterics gets attention.
"That is supposed to impress me?! I also know that parents need to take care of their own damn kids instead of expecting someone else to keep them ALL DAY and cart them around from one school to the next. Either expect something UNEXPECTED to happen by MISTAKE or stay the hell home with the kids you bring into the world. Going to the media only tells me that the mother wasn't interested in ONLY taking care of the child."
You are really taking all of this too personally. Your vitriol leads one to assume you never had a "mommy" who hugged you. Group hug for kcvl.
ROFLOL!
Like that has never happened before. I read where a very young child did drive the car somewhere. I think he/she was maybe seven.
Some people actually charge and make money taking vare of other people's kids while the child's parents are at work. Would you deny them the opportunity to earn a wage while at home?
I drove a tractor at age 8. Of course noone realized I was doing it until I rumbled past the house realizing I couldnt push the brake!
As if that is any of your business.
i am not focused on this mother or her histrionics at all. i haven't seen any news coverage, have only read this thread. by holding to account i do not mean a law suit. i would want to know how it happened that my kid was under the impression that he should alter his normal routine and set out on foot, unbeknownst to everyone apparenlty. no, nothing happened this time. but schools are charged with the children in their care, and i know that my own kids schools would be horrified by something like this happening on their watch.
So your not. Thanks.
Of course not. This child, like every child, is perfect. Just ask his sobbing mommy.
I've now read the various posts here telling me how wrong I am (if not "stupid" or a "bad parent") for not blaming the school for something they deny was even said, and for not embracing the mother's panic at a simple, harmless, mistake.
After scrolling through the gentle chides of my fellow small government advocates and rugged indivdidualists, I've come around to what, I now realize, is TRUE conservatism.
So, filled with my newfound right wing light, I say we don't do enough for these children. We need to make things foolproof "for the children."
Let's sue our schools every time that a child misunderstands a teacher, or vice versa, no matter whether or not any injury occurred.
Let's mandate that every child be bussed from school to his or her home/daycare, not matter how close it is to the school.
Let's redesign our schools so that the children never have to be outside in the cold or walk anywhere that one of the millions of perverts who haunt our streets might lurk. In fact, let's call for a federal program to make sure that every bus is parked in an enclosed garage until the children get on, so they don't slip and fall in the cold or wet.
And, then, let's log onto Free Republic and bitch and moan about the "damn Democrats with their high taxes and big government."
Man, I love the "new conservatism."
If the article is accurate (I know we are talking about reports here) then we do know that the school had the wrong address. The mother said so.
That was then. This is now.
Very true, when I think of where I went all alone when I was a kid - I remembering riding my bike 3-4 miles from my house to a friends on fairly busy roads at like 9-10 yrs old. I walked everywhere too - it's a different time now.
I wouldn't be happy letting my 14yr old do that now, and he'd have a cell phone with him! lol
well then...as long as you suspect...
:-). We're from Oklahoma!
Man, I love the "new conservatism."
Group hug for "Left Behind Liberal Lines" too.
A remark only made by a dumb*ss who doesn't have a clue who I am.
I am a Christian conservative, if that is any of your business. Where you got that I have no clue except that you should stick to your day job.
The reasoning is, the vast majority of school bus accidents involve collisions with much smaller passenger vehicles. Since the bus is much larger, the affects of the impact are minimal. The seat backs supposedly are high and padded to provide adequate protection for the passengers in the seat behind.
As for the fire, I suppose it would be the same for a minivan, however, public schools don't generally use minivans to transport children.
As I understand it, approximately 30 children die each year in school bus accidents. A fairly low figure compared to the number of "child miles" transported each year. My guess is that number is acceptable when compared to the cost of adding seat belts and such.
The "naked man with drugs found in an elementary school" thread is referenced in this discussion here: Naked man found roaming elementary school.
I don't allow my kids to do it. Period. They are 13, 12 & 8. There is no way I would allow them to go on their own in Walmart much less walk "several blocks" alone. Not in this day & time. If that makes me an overprotective parent, then so be it. I could care less about the opinion of others when it comes to the safety of my children.
Apparently, you have never experienced the horror of not knowing where your small child is, as I have. My first grader was "mistakenly" let off her school bus NINE miles from our home. When the bus went right by my house w/out stopping to let her off, I called the school.....they did not know what had happened or where she was. I was frantic and drove the route.......and found her crying beside the highway. Granted, she did not have to walk alone, as this 5 yo did, but the situation was a dangerous one for my child. As a mother of many children, can you not sympathize w/this mother's concern?
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