I HATE SCHOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!

Marla64
Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
:mad: :mad: :mad:

Okay, this is why I homeschool.....schools and school districts come up with the most ridiculous "rules." My oldest has been in public high school, then homeschooled last year, and went back this year for his senior year. In between, we moved to a new home within the same township. Three weeks into the school year he's now told that he's not allowed on the bus since we're "too close" to school, thus not in the bussing zone.

We live 2.75 miles from school. The bus stops 1/4 mile from our house, and passes by our street, but is beyond their 3 mile bussing zone. So, a 3 mile walk to school is okay for a high school kid? I guess according to our township.

My dh works two jobs, and I have a job plus raising/homeschooling 8 other kids. Getting him to and fro is out of the question-- our schedules don't permit it, and our finances can't even afford the gas. $30 a week in my van is all I can afford, and that takes me to and from the grocery store a couple times.

Schools "insist" your child be there, will mark you as truant if you're not, but won't assist you in getting there if you can't.

I HATE PUBLIC EDUCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:

Replies

  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
    :mad: :mad: :mad:

    Okay, this is why I homeschool.....schools and school districts come up with the most ridiculous "rules." My oldest has been in public high school, then homeschooled last year, and went back this year for his senior year. In between, we moved to a new home within the same township. Three weeks into the school year he's now told that he's not allowed on the bus since we're "too close" to school, thus not in the bussing zone.

    We live 2.75 miles from school. The bus stops 1/4 mile from our house, and passes by our street, but is beyond their 3 mile bussing zone. So, a 3 mile walk to school is okay for a high school kid? I guess according to our township.

    My dh works two jobs, and I have a job plus raising/homeschooling 8 other kids. Getting him to and fro is out of the question-- our schedules don't permit it, and our finances can't even afford the gas. $30 a week in my van is all I can afford, and that takes me to and from the grocery store a couple times.

    Schools "insist" your child be there, will mark you as truant if you're not, but won't assist you in getting there if you can't.

    I HATE PUBLIC EDUCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode: :explode:
  • connieq288
    connieq288 Posts: 1,102 Member
    Is there a family member or someone that you trust that you can use their address in the bussing zone so that he can ride the bus. I agree with you though, if the bus didnt come up the mountain where I live my kids would not be going to school.

    Connie
  • Anna_Banana
    Anna_Banana Posts: 2,939 Member
    Get him a bike. He should be able to bike that in about 10 min. He's plenty old enough to be able to leave early enough to get there on time. Or find a neighbor he could ride with. Even if they go down your street if they pick up 1 kid on that street they would have to pick up every kid on that street.

    I know there are alot of schools not even offering bussing any more because of the cost.
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
    Sure, he's 18-- don't get me wrong. This particular kid is old enough, but what about a new freshman? Townships not providing bussing is madness IF they're going to mandate public education which many states do. Here in New Jersey I can homeschool freely. Many states fight homeschoolers on one hand, then don't provide any means to get to school on the other? It's just a tip of their hypocrisy iceburg that infuriates me.

    We didn't even want him there, but he asked us since he's 18 if we would consider his wishes and allow him to return. He had just totaled our third car which was his intended means of transportation so we told him if he wants to go, he'd better find a way to get there because we couldn't get him there. He knew the bus situation might end up as it has.

    The fact that I even have to deal with this crap on top of all the other stress we have right now ticks me off more at my kid than at the schools, but they don't get a pass. If they're going to consider him truant if he doesn't show up, shouldn't they provide means to get him there?

    When I was a kid, if you lived outside the "free bus zone," you had the option of taking the "paid" bus for a fee each year. They understood back then that parents may not be able to get their kids to school.

    Call me premenstrual, but I'm just ready to choke someone-- I hate having to be affected by all this nonsense.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    What would your local media think of this???
    Local media making a stink about the school system neglecting a kid like that makes sensational news (and increases their ratings!)
    Is this 3 mi no-bussing dead-zone just for high schools or also for elementary and middle? Imagine the mom in the same situation as you with a KINDERGARTENER, having to allow THEM to WALK TO SCHOOL. :noway:

    I'd contact local media. If he can hoof it 1/4 mi to the local bus stop, he should be allowed to ride the bus that is already picking up at that location anyhow.
  • kimber607
    kimber607 Posts: 7,128 Member
    Hi

    I guess I'll go against the grain here (bear with me..please...LOL)
    I don't think it is too much to ask of the school system to have the parent be responsible (wether it's drive the child, have him ride a bike..car pool?) to get his/her child back and forth to school if they are out of the bus zone
    It is completely insane that the bus PASSES your house.....makes no sense to me..I can see how that would be a tad infuriating...
    Seems through life wether at school, work, etc their are policies that make no sense to most of us...but we need to keep the peace and go with the flow...

    Good luck with the situation!
    Kim
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  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    I don't think it is too much to ask of the school system to have the parent be responsible (wether it's drive the child, have him ride a bike..car pool?) to get his/her child back and forth to school if they are out of the bus zone

    (Please don't read a tone into my words below, I am thinking them in a very calm, debate-toned voice:flowerforyou: )

    If school is compulsory, I think they must provide transportation.
    (I also think since taxes are compulsory, they must provide classes to teach and educate people on our tax system and how to file your own taxes, but you see how much stock people put into what I think!)

    As a working mom, I know I could never arrange my schedule to accommodate school hours (and still expect to KEEP a job). We live within 3 miles of our elementary school, but elementary school doesn't start here until 8:20am. I am due at work at 8am about 20 minutes down the road from the house. School ends at 2:20pm (I believe), and I could work out arrangements there, with daycare picking her up from school.

    We have the option in my county to attend any school within district, given there is an available space at that school. If you are attending a school you do not live in the assigned region for, I completely understand having to provide your own transportation. But to not bus those who live CLOSE to the school is ridiculous, especially considering how many buses will drive past those homes on their way into the school!

    While I would love to think that you could put a high schooler on a bike or let them walk to school, I'd worry. I'd worry they'd be hit by a car, especially a car driven by another high schooler who was inattentive or trying to be funny (and come too close to your kid).

    (Please remember, I'm just disagreeing in a polite tone :flowerforyou: )
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    I give credit to school boards trying to fund education on very limited dollars. They are given mandates but no funding. I wouldn't want the job.

    People would travel miles for an education. Now we have the attitude of "if you want to educate me, come get me."

    I agree with an earlier post. Get a bike.

    Her son can walk a 1/4 mile and ride the bus, or walk 3 miles to get to school.
    Doesn't sound like it's about funding to me. Sounds like the school system is trying to be a stickler about a stupid point. He should be allowed to ride the bus if he can get to a bus stop.
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  • WillPillageYourVillageForFood
    WillPillageYourVillageForFood Posts: 777 Member
    I too will go against the grain here and agree that it is not the schools responsibility to provide transportation for each and every student. We all see busses going past our houses and wonder why we have to provide the transportation when the bus goes right by and we are so close to the bus stop but don't live within the required mileage away from the school. One reason is that there are limited number of seats on a school bus and by adding this child and that child it does not allow for enough room for the children that live within the stated miles away from the school. The reason schools set mileage limits is due to the ever rising cost of gas, bus driver salaries, training, maintenence, etc. that goes along with the problem of transporting students to school. Yes, school attendence is mandatory but providing transportation is not and should not be expected. If you child was attending private school chances are that you would be providing the transportation to and from school for your child so why is it fair to expect public schools to provide transportation free of charge for each and every child, and yes I do realize that we all pay school taxes but the majority of that money is not budgeted towards transportation. Not to sound like an old fart (which I am), but I do believe that we have gotten away from actually allowing our kids to have to sacrafice a little in order to obtain what they want. Your son wanted to attend public school rather than being homeschooled and if it puts a burden on him to come up with alternative means of transportation then so be it. When he graduates and gets a job will you and he expect his employer to provide transportation for him to get him back and forth to work. Just my opinion.....not trying to bash anyone or any other opinions.
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
    Thank you all for your points. Obviously, I hate public education, school systems et cetera or I wouldn't be homeschooling. And yes, I pay enormous taxes here in Jersey-- outlandish. $6,000 a year for a 3 bedroom bi-level on 1/2 acre, and 58% of my taxes goes to the schools to "educate" my kids. (I paid $13,000 in my last home before we moved last year-- )

    Here's what irks me-- I don't get a tax break for NOT using the system. 8 of my 9 kids are homeschooled, shouldn't I get a tax break since I'm not using the system?

    And why shouldn't I expect transportation? I expect books, don't I? I expect teachers. The job/school analogy is apples and oranges. I pay enough taxes, a bus isn't too much to ask. And IF it's a problem for a cash-strapped school system, then offer a paid bussing system and charge a fee. (not that I'd be able to pay that either, but in theory it's not such an outlandish idea)

    But, I agree with the last post-- my son, at 18, against the counsel of his parents, opted to go back to public high school to graduate instead of continuing to homeschool and getting a job to earn money for next year's college expenses.

    We gave him obvious leniency due to his age, and let him go with the knowledge that he would be solely responsible for getting himself to and fro one way or another, that we could not/would not be providing the transportation for something we disagreed with in the first place.

    The young lad finds himself in quite a pickle this day.
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
    I give credit to school boards trying to fund education on very limited dollars. They are given mandates but no funding. I wouldn't want the job.

    People would travel miles for an education. Now we have the attitude of "if you want to educate me, come get me."

    I agree with an earlier post. Get a bike.

    But now wait a minute, Maximus-- it's not "if you want to educate me." There are compulsory attendance laws-- my case is different since my kid is 18 (from a compulsory standpoint, that is) but not educating our children isn't an option. The government has mandated in every state that a child MUST be educated. Some states are easier than others to homeschool in, others are beastly. So, it's not a question of "if you want to educate me," it's "since you are telling me you have to educate me," the least you can do is provide transportatoin for those who can't provide it themselves.
  • tamazinglee
    tamazinglee Posts: 186 Member
    I walked to and from school everyday from 6th grade until my Junior year in high school. I lived 3 miles from the school and that was the cut off point. My mother worked and was unable to provide me transportation....even on the frigid New England winter days. The school did provide transportaion for all children through grade 5 regardless of where they lived. I walked with a bunch of other kids from the area. It was no big deal. I think you as a parent might be more upset than you child would be.
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
    You're probably right.

    Hubby and I talked about a bike. The local high school is in a dirt-poor, crime-ridden area. Even with a bike chain, we feel confident that any bike would be gone within a week if he chose that as his transportation.

    Oh well-- I'm ticked, but it'll be his problem to solve. The lad wants to be an adult, and keeps telling us, "I'm 18 now. I'm an adult." Puh-- okay, solve your problem then, young man.
  • pamelawilliams
    pamelawilliams Posts: 66
    Hi:

    I am in New Jersey and one of my neighbors had the same problem. She worked it out with the board and her child goes to the nearest bus stop ( in your case 1/4 mile) and is picked up and dropped off with the other children. The kids are picked up there anyway so they may allow him to ride also.
  • ShellyBee
    ShellyBee Posts: 117
    I walked from a very young age and funny never had a weight problem then either....lol!

    By the time I was 18 I was in my first year of College, living on my own, in a big city, taking public transportation........I think he's old enought to worry about getting there on his own....

    How about he get a drivers license and a part time job......maybe he could get a used vehicle and help make everyones lives in the house easier.
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
    I walked from a very young age and funny never had a weight problem then either....lol!

    By the time I was 18 I was in my first year of College, living on my own, in a big city, taking public transportation........I think he's old enought to worry about getting there on his own....

    How about he get a drivers license and a part time job......maybe he could get a used vehicle and help make everyones lives in the house easier.

    From your fingertips to God's ears, dearie!! :wink:

    He has a license, but totaled "his" car (aka OUR third car that grandpa had just donated since grandma can't drive anymore) on the New Jersey Turnpike. He has a part time job, but now that he's back in high school his hours are cut.

    We counseled him just to get a job. He already took his SATs and aced 'em-- he's a smart kid, bookwise, and foolish as the live-long day in all other areas. He knows more than Mom and Dad, so we'll see how he gets himself out of this, now that he's an "18 year old adult."

    We're just itchin' for him to get goin' to college already-- !!!! That will make life easier in the house, lemme tell ya!
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