[Southsider2k12]

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../26/news/n6.txt

Mother reports MCAS bus incident to police

From Staff Reports

The mother of a 6-year-old kindergartner reported to Michigan City police at 7:14 p.m. Friday that a Michigan City school bus driver dropped her son off when no one was home.

Dawn Armstrong, 907 Woodlawn Ave., said her son was by himself for an hour and a half. He managed to crawl through a window to get into the house. A neighbor told her the boy was playing in the middle of Woodlawn Avenue for awhile.

Armstrong said she tried to contact the school transportation department, but was unsuccessful. She plans to contact the Pine Elementary School principal today.

[Tim]

Maybe I'm missing something, but is the bus driver supposed to wait until someone's home to drop the child off? Sounds like irresponsible parenting afoot.

[Southsider2k12]

That is kind of what I thought too, but I don't know if things have changed since I rode the bus or not. Granted its been almost 20 years, but when I was in school the bus was responsible for picking us up and dropping us off, and that was about it. They never checked to make sure our parents were home or anything like that. Heck I was a latchkey kid for most of growing up, so they would have never found a parent anyway. I wonder what the full story really is?

[Ang]

If the bus drops the kids off at a bus stop, their responsibility ends when the child steps off the bus. The key issue here is the child's age. When bussing kindergardeners, the driver is supposed to wait until they see a parent. If the parent isn't there, the child is kept on the bus and either taken back to school or to the bus garage until a parent can be reached. If no parent can be reached by a certain time, the police are called and the child is turned over to them.

[Max Main]

That is whack. Parents ought to know when the kids get home from school!! Can you imagine leaving that to chance?? This is a failure of parenting, period.

[Ang]

Parents ought to know when the kids get home from school!! Can you imagine leaving that to chance?? This is a failure of parenting, period.

Max, you really shouldn't say that unless you have all the facts. Why was the parent not home? Could it be that mom had to run a few errands and got stuck for 20 minutes behind a stopped train on Franklin St? Granted, in this particular case you're probably right. But, without knowing why the parent wasn't home you shouldn't assume they are a bad parent. It could just be the parent was a victim of circumstances beyond their control. But, like i said, in this particular case I tend to agree with you. What could this mother have been doing for an hour and half? Did she just expect that the school would baby sit her kid till she got home?

[Max Main]

She should have been home to meet her child, and if she was not going to be there, she should have arranged for the child to be met. It is the parents' responsibility to care for the child; it is the driver's responsibility to deliver the child safely to the address. The driver did his part. The mother did not do her part. Did you read the original story?

[RedDevilMC]

Wow,

You guys are a tough crowd. In a previous position, I had to commute to Chicago every day. There were many times that I had been placed in the same situation. I have neighbors and family that were always able to step in and help. Everyone doesn't have the same support system. My daughter also understood what steps to take if I wasn't at home. So hopefully this won't happen again but we shouldn't blame the parent or the driver. We don't know the full story, only what was printed.

[Ang]

Typically I would agree with Max's last comment, but I'm pretty positive that the bus driver's are not supposed to leave children in kindergarden unless they physically see an adult at the drop-off point, and when they drop the kindergardeners at a place like Jack & Jill, they are not supposed to let kids off the bus unless there is an adult outside and they are not supposed to leave the place until every child is inside. I'm not too sure about the last part, but I think that is the policy. But, this only applies to children in kindergarden. Mostly it's for their own safety because they are easily confused.
I remember when I was in first grade, it was my first day at Beverly Shores school and after school I got on the wrong bus. I knew my address, but didn't know how to get there. We lived on Rogers Ave and the bus driver dropped me off on Beverly Drive. I had to walk a couple miles and didn't even know where I was. Lukily for me, a kid in my class was driving by with his mother and recognized me. They picked me up and took me home. I was way lost and not going any where near the right direction. My mom was totally freaked out by the time I got home. When she found out what happened, well lets just say that I'll bet some of those people at the bus garage were still feeling her fury on the day I graduated High School--and at Beverly Shores school for not helping me get on the right bus in the first place.

[Tim]

Max, you really shouldn't say that unless you have all the facts. Why was the parent not home? Could it be that mom had to run a few errands and got stuck for 20 minutes behind a stopped train on Franklin St? Granted, in this particular case you're probably right. But, without knowing why the parent wasn't home you shouldn't assume they are a bad parent. It could just be the parent was a victim of circumstances beyond their control. But, like i said, in this particular case I tend to agree with you. What could this mother have been doing for an hour and half? Did she just expect that the school would baby sit her kid till she got home?

Isn't 6-years-old 1st grade age? It was when I went to St. Paul's - but that was a l-o-n-g time ago. IF the kid was in kindergarten and IF the bus driver is not supposed to drop him off unless an adult is there then the driver is obviously at fault. But, Ang - your "had to run a few errands" line is way off. A responsible parent makes sure they're home when the child is dropped off - period. So, unless she was in a car accident or abducted by aliens from another planet, she did a crappy job of parenting here.

[Ang]

Isn't 6-years-old 1st grade age? It was when I went to St. Paul's - but that was a l-o-n-g time ago. IF the kid was in kindergarten and IF the bus driver is not supposed to drop him off unless an adult is there then the driver is obviously at fault. But, Ang - your "had to run a few errands" line is way off. A responsible parent makes sure they're home when the child is dropped off - period. So, unless she was in a car accident or abducted by aliens from another planet, she did a crappy job of parenting here.

That is why I finished my "had to run a few errands" with "and got stuck for 20 minutes behind a stopped train on Franklin Street. I also said, "they are a victim of circumstances beyond their control." Shit happens. You know? And some times bad things happen while shit is happening. And that's just the way it is. It doesn't mean that mom is bad. Have you ever been left sitting on your front porch after school while your mom had something to do and got tied up for what ever reason? It happens. I know RedDevil can agree with me. ESPECIALLY if you are a single parent.
Also, the article in the paper said he was in kindergarden. But the article also stated the boy was alone for an hour and a half. I remarked earlier that amount of time is too long to be a circumstantial event. There is no excuse for being an hour and half late getting home to your kindergardener without calling mom or sis or best friend to go meet him. But, maybe she did and the person she talked to blew it off--wasn't their kid.
I'm just saying there are a lot of circumstances and the paper was kinda vague about all of the details so we really can't call her a bad parent unless we know "The Rest Of The Story."

This post has been edited by Ang: Mar 30 2007, 10:58 PM

[Tim]

Have you ever been left sitting on your front porch after school while your mom had something to do and got tied up for what ever reason?

No. Not even once.

I'm just saying there are a lot of circumstances and the paper was kinda vague about all of the details so we really can't call her a bad parent unless we know "The Rest Of The Story."

True - but if it was not the bus driver's fault it was hers - right? But I agree we can't make that judgement without all the facts - but SOMEONE is at fault - don't you agree?

[RexKickass]

MC bus drivers used to drop me off without a parent all the time when I was little. I never even knew this was an issue.

[Ang]

MC bus drivers used to drop me off without a parent all the time when I was little. I never even knew this was an issue.

When I was little it wasn't an issue either. But times have changed and bad things can happen. Years ago, the neighborhood parents used to watch every kid. Now, half the adults who watch kids do so for reasons other than to make sure they are safe. Not to mention children are raised differently now and are doing things at younger and younger ages, especially when left unsupervised.

[RedDevilMC]

I hope everyone read the Anvil Chorus today. The parent of the child wrote in to explain what happened. Her child belongs to an after school program. This is the 2nd time the child was placed on the bus and was suppose to be at the after school program. When it happened the first time she asked how should this have been handled. She was told that if a parent isn't present they would return the child back to the school. She was frantic when the child was not at school.

[Tim]

I hope everyone read the Anvil Chorus today. The parent of the child wrote in to explain what happened. Her child belongs to an after school program. This is the 2nd time the child was placed on the bus and was suppose to be at the after school program. When it happened the first time she asked how should this have been handled. She was told that if a parent isn't present they would return the child back to the school. She was frantic when the child was not at school.

That explains it. Sounds like someone on the school end really F'ed up. I feel for her and her child - and hope she gets some kind of satisfactory explanation.

[Max Main]

thank you Devil for the update--I am confident that you will bring this intelligence and clarity to the City council, and you can count on my support. I do admit that I made the (foolish) assumption that the ND story was complete. It was not. The mother did arrange things as any good parent would, and she was let down by the driver's apparently not following procedure and the child being on the bus by mistake in the first place. So, Mother, I apologize for not waiting to get your side of the story.

[Ang]

Thanks RedDevil for letting us in on "The Rest of the Story." Okay, Max, Tim and anyone else, do I need to say, "I told you so." Mom DID make arrangements for the child. It was the school's primary fault for putting the boy on the bus in the first place and the Bus driver's fault secondary for dropping him off without a parent there.

Oh, and Max, your apology is duly noted. On behalf of mothers across the land who have had someone else misplace our children, Thank you.

This post has been edited by Ang: Apr 2 2007, 10:02 AM

[Max Main]

Moderator, can you scan the letter from the Mother into the thread so everyone can read her whole story?

Ang, I have been involved enough with my kids to have had someone misplace them, too!

[Southsider2k12]

I do not have a physical copy of the letter to scan. Sorry.