Apparently this is newsworthy because the school allowed the children to walk home, unattended by any responsible adult, a full two miles, and didn't relay the message to the children that dad, indeed, would be coming. He'd just be late.
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| cdn.sheknows.com |
They were en route home, and decided to play in a nearby park.
They were unharmed.
Except this made the news, because somebody dropped the ball.
Yes, the children were safe. Yes, dad was very, very concerned. Yes, someone should have let those children know to wait at school, because dad was on his way.
But it didn't happen.
And this is newsworthy because the SCHOOL MESSED UP.
Ok. I get it.
But what about when the parents mess up?
What about the parents who:
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| Art of the Streets Pinterest.com |
- Drop their child off well after the school start time? It's apparent that for some families, 8:30 a.m. is just a "suggested" time. Sure, everybody goofs now and then and clocks are set for the wrong time, someone oversleeps, or you forget it isn't spring break yet and discover your child should really be in school *ahem. Oh wait. That was me. Anyway. . . but many days, children trickle in for an hour after the start time. But that's ok, it's just school, right?
- Don't sign their child in, when they're late for school. Parents are *supposed* to park the car, walk the child into the building (using the buzzer if needed), sign the child in at the office and fill out the lines that say, "Child's name," "parent's name," "reason for absence/tardy/etc." and people usually write things like "doctor appointment" or "sick" or, for the few who play by the rules, "missed the bus." Very rarely happens. Instead, the child is dropped off at the door. Many of them are too short to reach the buzzer and aren't strong enough to open that heavy door, which is kept locked for security reasons. Sometimes, a child stands outside the door for ten minutes before anyone realizes s/he is there. That's all right though, it's only school. SOMEBODY will see that a child is out there and let him/her in, right?
- Drop the child at school before there is a responsible adult on hand. At our school, children are not supposed to arrive before 8:10 a.m. Many days, they arrive anywhere from 7:30 onward. Never mind that there is no responsible adult on hand, it's SCHOOL - so it MUST be ok.
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| "Late for School" Illustration by George Ulrich georgeulrich.com |
There's a double standard when it comes to what is considered acceptable when it's on the parent to do the right thing vs. when it's the school who is supposed to do the right thing. People tend to view "School" as this benign entity that will always be available to watch over the child and see to it no harm comes, as in, "It's a school playground and even though it's too early for him to be here, I'm still dropping him off." As in, "It's school, the parking lot is full, so I know junior can get into the building on his own." As in, "It's school. It's ok if my child is perpetually late. It's not as if what they do there is important."
Here's the double standard, in case you missed it: It's never ok if the school messes up, but it's always ok if the parent messes up.
What would happen if every parent who broke the school rules was put on the nightly news?
I wonder how many would make sure their child got into the building before driving off.
I wonder how many would stop dropping their child off before an adult is available to supervise.
I wonder how many would actually sign the child in, as they are supposed to, instead of just driving away and assuming that the child entered the building.
I wonder how many would remember to call and excuse the child from school for an illness.
I get it - the dad in this article couldn't find his children where he was told they would be. Somebody didn't do their job, and there was some very real panic. "School" messed up.
PARENTS mess up, too - and that's not ok, either.
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