I'm about to cross into some uncomfortable territory here -- I'm about to become an "old man" rambling on about it was like to walk to school when I was a kid. No, not "nine miles both ways," "all uphill," "always in snow," or anything like that. Nope, just the simple fact that I did walk to school when I was a kid.
See, tonight I'm watching an episode of a TV show (Medium, if you must know, but not terribly important here). In it, the main character's daughter decides she's now 12 years old, in sixth grade, and old enough to walk home from school on her own. It's only 7 blocks, and she's tired of getting picked up by Mom all the time.
This really sent me for a loop.
I very clearly remember walking to and from school every day when I was in second grade. It might have been right around 7 blocks, too. I walked with friends. I never gave this a moment's consideration until tonight. I wonder if my parents ever did.
In any case, tonight, on this show, this was a Big Freakin' Deal.
Now, Medium is a show in which the main character fights crime using the visions sent to her by dead people. So not exactly stark realism. Which may well extend to this depiction of "getting home from school in the 21st century." Nevertheless, I had to wonder:
Is this what the world is like now? It's only been 20 years. Do almost-teenagers really get picked up from school by their parents when they live less than a mile away? If so, is this because the parents are scared that child molesters (who are clearly thousands of times more prevalent now than they were two decades ago, a fact hammered into us by the more sensational forces in our media) are going to snatch their kids? Is it because kids are such lazy fat-asses in this day and age that they can't walk a few blocks? Something else I'm not seeing?
You know, I'm just gonna hope that this whole "ride home from school" thing was just a random plot device, part of the fiction, and not any more representative of reality than the rest of the show. Because the alternative is just kinda sad to me.
Why, these kids today... pass me my teeth...
9 comments:
Seven blocks in daylight? That's sad. How are children ever going to learn how to be safe if they're wrapped in cotton wool every day?
Sounds like the show you were watching was something of a sensationalist force in the media itself. Was it on Fox? I hope the characters figured it out because I like a happy medium!
You can't blame this one on Fox. They are all (and all have been for a while) selling fear.
Evan, pretty sure it is the norm these days...which brings up an interesting question for our child...but she is going to be at least 1.5 miles from any school, so it is already begging for a ride despite any other factors.
zmgvaszg
Take this with a grain of salt because I was the girl in gym class with the note that said I didn't have to participate, but I got a ride to and from school. I think I will probably do the same thing. There are several reasons for this.
First: I intend to make sure there is more targetted exercise in my child's life than a walk to and from school. A sport, or playing in the backyard, or a family walk.
Second: The street our child would have to walk down is really busy and people speed on it all the time. I've already seen several accidents on that segment of the road and one of the cars was up on the sidewalk in one of them. Yes, I'm a mite overprotective...sue me.
Third: I loved the extra alone time with my mom when she drove me there and picked me up. We talked about stuff during that ride that we probably wouldn't have around the house with my dad and sister there too. I think my "birds and bees" talk started in the car, actually, and continued in the driveway when it wasn't done by the time we were home.
Fourth: My rides, when I was in elementary school were a special case. My mom worked as a class aide at my school, and she had to drive there anyway. It would have been sort of odd for me to walk the same segment she drove at exactly the same time.
I have to say, of all those things, it's the third reason I find most compelling. I really have fond memories of that time with my mom, even when I was in junior high and high school and she "wasn't cool".
Up until seventh grade, I always took the school bus to school. For Junior high and high school, I generally got a ride there (with either a neighbor whose kids were goin to the elmentary school right next door or, starting in 10th grade with a friend) and took public transportation back.
I was always at least a mile from school and my high school was in a genuinely "bad area" of town.
My perspective is from much farther back in time (around the Paleozic Era, I think), so I don't know how pertinent it is. Not that that's going to keep me from putting in my two cents' worth.
I grew up in a small town that, AFAIK, was one of the safest places in the U.S. at that time. We always walked (or bicycled) to school, from kindergarten right through high school. I don't remember the cutoff distance for riding the school bus, but it was at least a mile and possibly two. I attended three schools in our town, all under a mile away in three different directions, so there was no question of bus rides. (Not that I'm complaining -- I never wanted to ride the bus.)
The school where I attended K-1st was a bit over half a mile away; the elementary school was just under half a mile away; and the high school was about a third of a mile. So my walk actually got shorter over the years. I don't remember ever being driven to or picked up from school by my parents, and that includes trudging to school throughout the frigid Maine winters.
That said, I do think things have changed drastically in many (most?) places, largely due to consolidation of small-town schools into larger districts where the schools aren't really near anyone. So all kids are either bused or parents provide transportation. I believe in some areas all kids are bused even if they live a block from the school.
gdiqe
Might not be that uncommon - my wife's boss doesn't want her daughter walking to school. Daughter is grade 2, school is block and a half away (and you can reach it without crossing any major streets).
Parents are just plain more worried these days... or at least no-one wants to be the parent whose kid gets snatched because they *didn't* drive them.
You are now officially a 'sad old git'. Welcome to the club.
The show did indeed reflect real life. Children do not make even short journeys on foot these days - let's face it in many places the availabilty of sidewalks/pavements almost mitigates against walking anywhere of note.
When we were in the UK the kids walked to school and one of us went with them - so the quality time was there and everyone got exercise. Seems like a good deal to me.
Kathy, I totally buy the "child/parent bonding time" reason for driving a kid to school.
David, I also totally buy the "we lived too far to walk" and "it wasn't a good neighborhood" reasons to walk.
The rest seems pretty suspect to me. I suppose it's quite possible I'd feel differently if it were my kid walking to school. But for the foreseeable future, that's just a hypothetical.
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