Hmmmm, “I make the rules, but if the rules change, then and only then will I do something differently”. So many people seem to think like that, and it is SOOOO difficult trying to break that cycle of thought.
I teach in a public school and this is exactly the attitude people have about the rules. Only very rarely does common sense break out and even then its considered “daring” or “innovative.”
One guy I know once lamented the current ‘no risk at all’ approach for parenting. We used to play outside, run our bikes, rollers and even build those awful boards with tiny wheels out of pieces of wood just for fun. And the scars we earned told us lessons we still appreciate. I wonder what kind of adults are being raised these days.
PMdeaves, you are so right about this being such a perceptive comic. That’s what keeps me coming back. I’m amazed at how Mr. Smith can so concisely summarize some of the actions that take place today.
CRhilton: Believe it or not, even here in the heartland, your suggestion has been considered. One compromise was to no longer allow parents to send food to school (kids might trade and find they are allergic to…). These are the same folks that get angry with me when they find out I, “allowed” my sons to join the Guard. The very idea that a person might want to be responsible for their own education, and personal income… is preposterous to them. I get the exact same thing from both political perspectives.
Perceptions change: Post-WWII eating and having plenty was an indication of status, yet now obesity is a reality, and an overweight/obese child is more likely to become an overweight/obese adult complete with the health risks and added struggle for weight loss.
Chunkbait is on the right track getting additional activity in a recreational and utilitarian way!!! The school shouldn’t be putting up more roadblocks for him!!!
BTW, what kind of flake is this principal?!? My understanding is that in addition to disciplining students for being ‘naughty’, and managing the teachers, the principal has a responsibility to advocate for the students and school to the district/school board/PTA/etc. Gee, reducing the number of buses (gas/maintenance/insurance) ‘might’ free up some money so you ‘might’ be able to pay the teachers a fair salary, as well as reduce the exhaust emissions outside your school that can only contribute to the increase in respiratory ailments of children and adolescents… You know, the area around the school has mandatory reduced speed limits when students are present, and maybe that doesn’t extend to every student’s home, but it definitely creates a safer biking area for the one’s who are capable of getting there. (sorry-this is directed at the principal)
And what’s with the pixie cut?!? That’s a ‘take action, won’t take no for an answer’ hair style! It’s ballsy, edgey, and more suited for a chick that rocks a tail-whip on a BMX or ‘gets’ why Europeans ride Danish style bikes… Typically uptight, ignorant, resistant-to-change bimbos don a hair-do(n’t) that requires lots of teasing and hairspray to acheive that ‘I’ve got big hair to compensate for my pea-sized brain’ look! You know, the kind that you just can’t stick a bike helmet on without causing a ton of griping…!
Here’s my speculation for the strip: The principal and Yehuda argue with each other and that tension turns to passion, she starts going on bike dates with Yehuda, the racks are heralded as a win for the students, and at some point we see her putting her new bike on a rack on the back of a (the) blue car… (alright, I’m daydreaming a little too much this morning!!!)
I also used to work in schools. It used to anger me, now I try to be amused (sorry, EC) at the “bubble wrap” attitude of parents and administrators.
What kind of adults are these kids becoming? Adults with unrealistic expectations of safety, who expect the government and others to bail them out when they screw up – hm, like the ones in the headlines today, perhaps?
Several years ago, I worked as a substitute teacher at a high school in Ohio. Locking my bike there in the winter, or even any time the temperature was under fifty, I could count on being asked by a teacher or two on the way into the building, “Isn’t it a little cold for that?” I finally started answering, “How do you like teaching in a culture that teaches its children never to do anything that would involve effort, discomfort, or consideration for others?” I’m happy to report that at least a quarter of them got it.
Quick comment on the hairstyle. I think Rick is very perceptive with this one. It is a very typical of the liberal feminists that work in government and educational bureaucracies. This type of woman refuses to let anyone, especially a man, push her around. They are also typical of the attitude being expressed here, i/e bikes are dangerous, as are food, pencils, childhood, etc. They like to control everything and God forbid you do anything to disrupt their sphere of influence.
Alex, I agree with your tandem remark, the best way for Yehuda to get anywhere with this chick is to change her paradigm, get her on a bike, let her feel free, like a kid again. Then perhaps we’ll see a future comic where not only is she agreeable to the racks, but also eating breakfast at Yehuda’s place.
Are there really places where kids aren’t allowed to ride their bicycles to school? Honest question. Kids still bike here (at least older grade-schoolers). Maybe not as many as when I was a kid (I’m only 35), but some still do.
I wonder if using a bike to get around as a kid has influence on using one as an adult? I say yes.
yes–there was a school in New Jersey that has removed bike racks because of this–it wsa in the news last May or so. Also, newer schools in the ‘burbs are designed to be out of the way, with long arcing driveways for buses. By their nature they discourage biking and walking.
Part of the problem with kids today, counting mine in the mix, is that if they get the feeling that they are entitled to a bus ride or a car ride and with the extra tidbit of info that the school and community thinks it’s unsafe to bike, they will use that with their mother to ensure they get the frickin’ taxi service! Can’t stand it. Perception isn’t reality–but it works in my house!
Ok I guess I’m older than most, but… I never rode a school bus, was never driven to school and for the most part either walked or rode my bicycle/skateboard to school. Now granted I did grow up in a moderate climate,but still. My step children were required to ride the school bus even though it was only a few blocks from the house. I find it bizarre.
@Jeff in Wichita. Yes, there are places close to where Rick lives that actually prohibit kids from biking to school. At least for the schools with grades K thru 6. Thanks to Rick for bringing this topic up!
Since when did a civil servant get to decide how children not in her care arrive to her care? Would it be OK for them to cycle towards to school , with no intention of getting there, and then by mistake arrive? So much for the “land of the free”?
Then again, in Japan, parents are not allowed to bring children to school in cars. Too much traffic, too much pollution, too much danger. They are required to walk or ride bikes. Seems to work.
I am blaming the media on this one … Times were that a kid could ride a bike to school. It would be rare that a kid would be killed or injured biking. If it would happen, the parents would suffer.
Now if it happens, the parents can contact the media (or the other way around) and it becomes a media event. Emotional people are rarely logical and blame others (often bizarely) rather than blame themselves. The parents hold themselves and their kids as innocent victims – and lash out. The schools could be held “responsible”. The parents position, though illogical, is unassailable because who will tell a grieving parent they are wrong without being called an uncarring a$$.?
The parents’ illfounded views are even more unassailable because they can hide behind “I am not trying to end bicycling, I am just trying to make sure this tragedy doesn’t happen to anyone else”.
Insulating our children from danger, real or perceived, is the biggest threat facing the United States right now. As it is, we are struggling to compete in the global economy. When children aren’t allowed to understand risk and develop their sense of judgment, they grow into adults who aren’t capable of innovation. And innovation has historically been America’s greatest economic asset.
“Perception is reality”…! This is how we ended up governed by the inept. Usually this attitude is simply cover for a lack of ability, integrity or imagination.
However, I like the potential of this character…what are the odds on her becoming Moon’s latest infatuation…?
When I was in 5th grade(I’m in my early fifties now), the rural grade school I attended started ‘mandatory’ school bus service.
As kids who previously walked or rode bikes to school, we thought this was great. But after about a month, we got sick of it because it took longer to get to school, took longer to get home, the kid who always had the cold sat next to you and sneezed snot all over you or the sick kid would barf on you.
A few of us decided to ride to school one day instead of riding the bus and holy hell broke loose. We were called a bunch of little commies(it was the times) by the principal and our own teacher for violating the school rule about riding the bus. A county cop was called in and threatened to put us all in jail and the bunch of us were given a one day suspension and had our moms come to school to get us(the cop took our bikes).
Two of the moms(mine included) turned on the principal and the cop. I don’t recall all that was said, but there were a lot of words coming out of my moms’ mouth that I’d never heard her use before.
Anyway, we got our bikes back after a day or two but were never allowed to ride them to school after that. The bike racks disappeared and the lawn where the racks were was paved over and some basketball hoops went up in their place.
I haven’t had much respect for authority in any form since that day.
when the misses and i finally get around to the “let’s have a child” or the “oh crap, i’m pregnant”(which ever one comes first) you can believe that my kids are going to get dirty, banged up, play in the mud and ride the hell out of their bikes
Oh, how American. “We are a nation of LAWS” people self righteously proclaim. Yes we are – not a nation of courtesy and COMMON SENSE. My comment the other day about school boards stands – and expands to school administrations as well.
I listened to an episode of “Speaking of Faith” with Krista Tippet about play, the necessity of it, etc. The guy is an expert on play in adults, kids, and animals. Adults don’t play enough. Kids learn everything they really need to know by play, and animals never stop playing. The guy said something like, “After all, breaking your arm is a valuable learning experience.” If the risk isn’t real, the learning is much more superficial.
@Scott
“Insulating our children from danger, real or perceived, is the biggest threat facing the United States right now.”
Scott, It is quite the stretch to state this is the biggest threat facing the Unites States right now. I would agree it is a threat, but would contest the argument that it the “biggest” threat.
It’s pathetic that this is going on around the country. Everyone has a entitlement mentality and this includes someones “right” not to get hurt. So we get all these politicians and authority figures trying to “minimize risk.” I hate looking back on my childhood and seeing all the things I missed out on because of the “risks.” At a mere 22 years of age, even I am fed up with the way things are.
A lot of the reason for these sorts of rules isn’t the schools trying to protect the kids from anything that they could get hurt doing – it’s trying to protect themselves from lawsuit-happy parents. Paying a $5M judgment because some jury decided that the school “should have known better” than to allow students to ride bikes to school is sure to take a bite out of the district’s budget. A lot of the blame for no-biking-to-school rules rests squarely on the parents, specifically the small percentage of parents who would rather get a lawyer and a big legal judgment than to take responsibility for their own decisions or to admit that sometimes bad things happen that the schools can’t prevent.
I got a call today from my son’s school – he’d gotten a door shut on his hand, and they wanted me to come make a decision on whether to take him for X-rays. It was kind of sad to see the contortions they were going through to try to keep from doing anything that they could be sued over – they couldn’t give any input on whether he ought to have X-rays or not, and they couldn’t even give him some Tylenol for the pain. I shrugged, said that I’d had to learn the lesson the hard way of not putting my hands where doors could be closed on them, gave him some Tylenol, and took him for the X-ray (no broken bones, fortunately). For them, it was all about covering themselves in case I sued, and given the chances of them getting sued over something like that, I can’t say I blame them.
A lot of the reason for these sorts of rules isn’t the schools trying to protect the kids from anything that they could get hurt doing – it’s trying to protect themselves from lawsuit-happy parents. Paying a $5M judgment because some jury decided that the school “should have known better” than to allow students to ride bikes to school is sure to take a bite out of the district’s budget. A lot of the blame for no-biking-to-school rules rests squarely on the parents, specifically the small percentage of parents who would rather get a lawyer and a big legal judgment than to take responsibility for their own decisions or to admit that sometimes bad things happen that the schools can’t prevent.
I got a call today from my son’s school – he’d gotten a door shut on his hand, and they wanted me to come make a decision on whether to take him for X-rays. It was kind of sad to see the contortions they were going through to try to keep from doing anything that they could be sued over – they couldn’t give any input on whether he ought to have X-rays or not, and they couldn’t even give him some Tylenol for the pain. I shrugged, said that I’d had to learn the lesson the hard way of not putting my hands where doors could be closed on them, gave him some Tylenol, and took him for the X-ray (no broken bones, fortunately). For them, it was all about covering themselves in case I sued, and given the chances of them getting sued over something like that, I can’t say I blame them.
Are you people serious with the haircut remarks? She has perfect hair for wearing a helmet. I’m a year-round bike commuter and my hair looks like that. It was poofier when I drove and I love it now.
No one here seems at all familiar with “Safe Routes to School” and the many efforts to get kids ON bikes and walking to school.
I chaired Bike to Work Week 2008 for Spokane–first big set of events we’ve had here–and we had “Walk & Roll to School Day” in the middle of the week thanks to the efforts of a coordinator at Spokane Public Schools whose husband chairs the city Bicycle Advisory Board.
These views of schools as places that would outlaw or penalize kids for active transportation are just not our experience in Spokane.
I approached the superintendent of my alma mater a few years back about implementing a Safe Routes to School program and he said the school board would not support that type of program because of the liability issues. Of course supporting a totally sedentary lifestyle isn’t a problem, just in supporting something “fringe” like cycling.
Hmmmm, “I make the rules, but if the rules change, then and only then will I do something differently”. So many people seem to think like that, and it is SOOOO difficult trying to break that cycle of thought.
A very perceptive comic.
I teach in a public school and this is exactly the attitude people have about the rules. Only very rarely does common sense break out and even then its considered “daring” or “innovative.”
And kids keep getting fatter from lack of exercise! Sad.
@possum
but their fat asses will be saved by their responsible principals ;-P
@winyo
saved? pfft.
I hope Yehuda throws her on a tandem and shows her whats up.
One guy I know once lamented the current ‘no risk at all’ approach for parenting. We used to play outside, run our bikes, rollers and even build those awful boards with tiny wheels out of pieces of wood just for fun. And the scars we earned told us lessons we still appreciate. I wonder what kind of adults are being raised these days.
PMdeaves, you are so right about this being such a perceptive comic. That’s what keeps me coming back. I’m amazed at how Mr. Smith can so concisely summarize some of the actions that take place today.
@Alexander
Those adults who think it’s appropriate for everyone to get a trophy at the end of the game.
They should outlaw eating in schools. Food is a choking hazard.
Nice one Rick. So which school in CLeveland honked you off?
CRhilton: Believe it or not, even here in the heartland, your suggestion has been considered. One compromise was to no longer allow parents to send food to school (kids might trade and find they are allergic to…). These are the same folks that get angry with me when they find out I, “allowed” my sons to join the Guard. The very idea that a person might want to be responsible for their own education, and personal income… is preposterous to them. I get the exact same thing from both political perspectives.
Perceptions change: Post-WWII eating and having plenty was an indication of status, yet now obesity is a reality, and an overweight/obese child is more likely to become an overweight/obese adult complete with the health risks and added struggle for weight loss.
Chunkbait is on the right track getting additional activity in a recreational and utilitarian way!!! The school shouldn’t be putting up more roadblocks for him!!!
BTW, what kind of flake is this principal?!? My understanding is that in addition to disciplining students for being ‘naughty’, and managing the teachers, the principal has a responsibility to advocate for the students and school to the district/school board/PTA/etc. Gee, reducing the number of buses (gas/maintenance/insurance) ‘might’ free up some money so you ‘might’ be able to pay the teachers a fair salary, as well as reduce the exhaust emissions outside your school that can only contribute to the increase in respiratory ailments of children and adolescents… You know, the area around the school has mandatory reduced speed limits when students are present, and maybe that doesn’t extend to every student’s home, but it definitely creates a safer biking area for the one’s who are capable of getting there. (sorry-this is directed at the principal)
And what’s with the pixie cut?!? That’s a ‘take action, won’t take no for an answer’ hair style! It’s ballsy, edgey, and more suited for a chick that rocks a tail-whip on a BMX or ‘gets’ why Europeans ride Danish style bikes… Typically uptight, ignorant, resistant-to-change bimbos don a hair-do(n’t) that requires lots of teasing and hairspray to acheive that ‘I’ve got big hair to compensate for my pea-sized brain’ look! You know, the kind that you just can’t stick a bike helmet on without causing a ton of griping…!
Here’s my speculation for the strip: The principal and Yehuda argue with each other and that tension turns to passion, she starts going on bike dates with Yehuda, the racks are heralded as a win for the students, and at some point we see her putting her new bike on a rack on the back of a (the) blue car… (alright, I’m daydreaming a little too much this morning!!!)
I also used to work in schools. It used to anger me, now I try to be amused (sorry, EC) at the “bubble wrap” attitude of parents and administrators.
What kind of adults are these kids becoming? Adults with unrealistic expectations of safety, who expect the government and others to bail them out when they screw up – hm, like the ones in the headlines today, perhaps?
Several years ago, I worked as a substitute teacher at a high school in Ohio. Locking my bike there in the winter, or even any time the temperature was under fifty, I could count on being asked by a teacher or two on the way into the building, “Isn’t it a little cold for that?” I finally started answering, “How do you like teaching in a culture that teaches its children never to do anything that would involve effort, discomfort, or consideration for others?” I’m happy to report that at least a quarter of them got it.
Quick comment on the hairstyle. I think Rick is very perceptive with this one. It is a very typical of the liberal feminists that work in government and educational bureaucracies. This type of woman refuses to let anyone, especially a man, push her around. They are also typical of the attitude being expressed here, i/e bikes are dangerous, as are food, pencils, childhood, etc. They like to control everything and God forbid you do anything to disrupt their sphere of influence.
Alex, I agree with your tandem remark, the best way for Yehuda to get anywhere with this chick is to change her paradigm, get her on a bike, let her feel free, like a kid again. Then perhaps we’ll see a future comic where not only is she agreeable to the racks, but also eating breakfast at Yehuda’s place.
Are there really places where kids aren’t allowed to ride their bicycles to school? Honest question. Kids still bike here (at least older grade-schoolers). Maybe not as many as when I was a kid (I’m only 35), but some still do.
I wonder if using a bike to get around as a kid has influence on using one as an adult? I say yes.
yes–there was a school in New Jersey that has removed bike racks because of this–it wsa in the news last May or so. Also, newer schools in the ‘burbs are designed to be out of the way, with long arcing driveways for buses. By their nature they discourage biking and walking.
Part of the problem with kids today, counting mine in the mix, is that if they get the feeling that they are entitled to a bus ride or a car ride and with the extra tidbit of info that the school and community thinks it’s unsafe to bike, they will use that with their mother to ensure they get the frickin’ taxi service! Can’t stand it. Perception isn’t reality–but it works in my house!
Ok I guess I’m older than most, but… I never rode a school bus, was never driven to school and for the most part either walked or rode my bicycle/skateboard to school. Now granted I did grow up in a moderate climate,but still. My step children were required to ride the school bus even though it was only a few blocks from the house. I find it bizarre.
@Jeff in Wichita. Yes, there are places close to where Rick lives that actually prohibit kids from biking to school. At least for the schools with grades K thru 6. Thanks to Rick for bringing this topic up!
Check out the photo on this page:
. Probably not a school sanctioned event though.
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=83727&v=5P
Different time I think
“The rule is “no biking to school”"
Since when did a civil servant get to decide how children not in her care arrive to her care? Would it be OK for them to cycle towards to school , with no intention of getting there, and then by mistake arrive? So much for the “land of the free”?
Then again, in Japan, parents are not allowed to bring children to school in cars. Too much traffic, too much pollution, too much danger. They are required to walk or ride bikes. Seems to work.
I am blaming the media on this one … Times were that a kid could ride a bike to school. It would be rare that a kid would be killed or injured biking. If it would happen, the parents would suffer.
Now if it happens, the parents can contact the media (or the other way around) and it becomes a media event. Emotional people are rarely logical and blame others (often bizarely) rather than blame themselves. The parents hold themselves and their kids as innocent victims – and lash out. The schools could be held “responsible”. The parents position, though illogical, is unassailable because who will tell a grieving parent they are wrong without being called an uncarring a$$.?
The parents’ illfounded views are even more unassailable because they can hide behind “I am not trying to end bicycling, I am just trying to make sure this tragedy doesn’t happen to anyone else”.
Insulating our children from danger, real or perceived, is the biggest threat facing the United States right now. As it is, we are struggling to compete in the global economy. When children aren’t allowed to understand risk and develop their sense of judgment, they grow into adults who aren’t capable of innovation. And innovation has historically been America’s greatest economic asset.
“Perception is reality”…! This is how we ended up governed by the inept. Usually this attitude is simply cover for a lack of ability, integrity or imagination.
However, I like the potential of this character…what are the odds on her becoming Moon’s latest infatuation…?
This isn’t an entirely new concept.
When I was in 5th grade(I’m in my early fifties now), the rural grade school I attended started ‘mandatory’ school bus service.
As kids who previously walked or rode bikes to school, we thought this was great. But after about a month, we got sick of it because it took longer to get to school, took longer to get home, the kid who always had the cold sat next to you and sneezed snot all over you or the sick kid would barf on you.
A few of us decided to ride to school one day instead of riding the bus and holy hell broke loose. We were called a bunch of little commies(it was the times) by the principal and our own teacher for violating the school rule about riding the bus. A county cop was called in and threatened to put us all in jail and the bunch of us were given a one day suspension and had our moms come to school to get us(the cop took our bikes).
Two of the moms(mine included) turned on the principal and the cop. I don’t recall all that was said, but there were a lot of words coming out of my moms’ mouth that I’d never heard her use before.
Anyway, we got our bikes back after a day or two but were never allowed to ride them to school after that. The bike racks disappeared and the lawn where the racks were was paved over and some basketball hoops went up in their place.
I haven’t had much respect for authority in any form since that day.
when the misses and i finally get around to the “let’s have a child” or the “oh crap, i’m pregnant”(which ever one comes first) you can believe that my kids are going to get dirty, banged up, play in the mud and ride the hell out of their bikes
Oh, how American. “We are a nation of LAWS” people self righteously proclaim. Yes we are – not a nation of courtesy and COMMON SENSE. My comment the other day about school boards stands – and expands to school administrations as well.
I listened to an episode of “Speaking of Faith” with Krista Tippet about play, the necessity of it, etc. The guy is an expert on play in adults, kids, and animals. Adults don’t play enough. Kids learn everything they really need to know by play, and animals never stop playing. The guy said something like, “After all, breaking your arm is a valuable learning experience.” If the risk isn’t real, the learning is much more superficial.
@Scott
“Insulating our children from danger, real or perceived, is the biggest threat facing the United States right now.”
Scott, It is quite the stretch to state this is the biggest threat facing the Unites States right now. I would agree it is a threat, but would contest the argument that it the “biggest” threat.
It’s pathetic that this is going on around the country. Everyone has a entitlement mentality and this includes someones “right” not to get hurt. So we get all these politicians and authority figures trying to “minimize risk.” I hate looking back on my childhood and seeing all the things I missed out on because of the “risks.” At a mere 22 years of age, even I am fed up with the way things are.
Perhaps the principal will be transformed by a dream of bike rides past and be seen doing a bit of lane painting.
Go principle in the Pink! Way to stir up the opinions!
Wassup!! Rick is in the Sun Press Thrs 10208!
A lot of the reason for these sorts of rules isn’t the schools trying to protect the kids from anything that they could get hurt doing – it’s trying to protect themselves from lawsuit-happy parents. Paying a $5M judgment because some jury decided that the school “should have known better” than to allow students to ride bikes to school is sure to take a bite out of the district’s budget. A lot of the blame for no-biking-to-school rules rests squarely on the parents, specifically the small percentage of parents who would rather get a lawyer and a big legal judgment than to take responsibility for their own decisions or to admit that sometimes bad things happen that the schools can’t prevent.
I got a call today from my son’s school – he’d gotten a door shut on his hand, and they wanted me to come make a decision on whether to take him for X-rays. It was kind of sad to see the contortions they were going through to try to keep from doing anything that they could be sued over – they couldn’t give any input on whether he ought to have X-rays or not, and they couldn’t even give him some Tylenol for the pain. I shrugged, said that I’d had to learn the lesson the hard way of not putting my hands where doors could be closed on them, gave him some Tylenol, and took him for the X-ray (no broken bones, fortunately). For them, it was all about covering themselves in case I sued, and given the chances of them getting sued over something like that, I can’t say I blame them.
A lot of the reason for these sorts of rules isn’t the schools trying to protect the kids from anything that they could get hurt doing – it’s trying to protect themselves from lawsuit-happy parents. Paying a $5M judgment because some jury decided that the school “should have known better” than to allow students to ride bikes to school is sure to take a bite out of the district’s budget. A lot of the blame for no-biking-to-school rules rests squarely on the parents, specifically the small percentage of parents who would rather get a lawyer and a big legal judgment than to take responsibility for their own decisions or to admit that sometimes bad things happen that the schools can’t prevent.
I got a call today from my son’s school – he’d gotten a door shut on his hand, and they wanted me to come make a decision on whether to take him for X-rays. It was kind of sad to see the contortions they were going through to try to keep from doing anything that they could be sued over – they couldn’t give any input on whether he ought to have X-rays or not, and they couldn’t even give him some Tylenol for the pain. I shrugged, said that I’d had to learn the lesson the hard way of not putting my hands where doors could be closed on them, gave him some Tylenol, and took him for the X-ray (no broken bones, fortunately). For them, it was all about covering themselves in case I sued, and given the chances of them getting sued over something like that, I can’t say I blame them.
Are you people serious with the haircut remarks? She has perfect hair for wearing a helmet. I’m a year-round bike commuter and my hair looks like that. It was poofier when I drove and I love it now.
No one here seems at all familiar with “Safe Routes to School” and the many efforts to get kids ON bikes and walking to school.
I chaired Bike to Work Week 2008 for Spokane–first big set of events we’ve had here–and we had “Walk & Roll to School Day” in the middle of the week thanks to the efforts of a coordinator at Spokane Public Schools whose husband chairs the city Bicycle Advisory Board.
These views of schools as places that would outlaw or penalize kids for active transportation are just not our experience in Spokane.
Tell me where you live so I can make sure never to move there!
–barb
http://www.biketoworkspokane.org
I approached the superintendent of my alma mater a few years back about implementing a Safe Routes to School program and he said the school board would not support that type of program because of the liability issues. Of course supporting a totally sedentary lifestyle isn’t a problem, just in supporting something “fringe” like cycling.