Whatever Happened to Walking to School?

[scpanther22]

would you let your kid walk to school?

If you think the first week of September means kids skipping off to school, you might want to check your calendar—for the century. The way you got to school isn't the way they do.

Take the bus. Sure, about 40% of kids still ride the cheery yellow chugger, but in many towns it doesn't stop only at the bus stops anymore. It stops at each child's house.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469542721199832.html

[God]

I ride my 10 speed to work!

[Happy Panther]

America is big and stuff

[Wither]

Uhh, nah. My elementary school was less than a mile away, but my middle and high school were about 4 miles away; not something I really would've liked to walk or would let my children walk.

[Jangler]

Back in the 1900s we walked everywhere and we liked it!

[OneBadassCat]

Rape happened

[Bob NC]

Do you walk to work, or carry your lunch?

[Zod]

Its a great idea for parents out there to start "Walk to School" groups. Volunteer to walk a group of kids to your local school and switch off with other parents. My guess is not only would it help keep the kids physically fit, it would also help with their grades and social skills.

[Johnny Rockets]

Its a great idea for parents out there to start "Walk to School" groups. Volunteer to walk a group of kids to your local school and switch off with other parents. My guess is not only would it help keep the kids physically fit, it would also help with their grades and social skills.

Hogwash....I use X Box, Dora the Explorer, and text messaging to teach my kids social skills.

My back yard basically attaches to the school property and my daughter wants to walk to school (with her mom) more than anything but they have a "no walk up" policy for safety reasons. Cars and buses only. Wife drove her there this morning and the school is about a 200 yards away.

[cookinwithgas]

Roads are bigger with a lot more cars, with people texting to Facebook as they drive.

There's more crazies out there, and more parents willing to sue a school district for what happens when a kid walks home.

Cars and buses are being zoomed in and out of school lots - buses have tighter schedules and multiple schools to get to, and the chances of accidents are higher than ever.

[Jase]

the simple answer is

-getting away from neighborhood schools and toward forced busing (whether you agree with the practice or not)

- Tendency toward suburban sprawl and high price of new land for school sites in already populated areas

-Densification of housing in urban areas. See this in places like dilworth and southpark in charlotte. houses get knocked down, condos go up at 20 times the density, and schools get overcrowded, forcing students out to east bumf*ck jr. high.

-more people live in cities where these problems are intensified.

Full disclosure: didn't RTFA

[Hawk]

it's about 3 miles to my daughters school and she's only 9....so no!

she rides the bus, picks her up in the morning at the end of the driveway, drops her off in the afternoon a couple doors down

[Murph]

Roads are bigger with a lot more cars, with people texting to Facebook as they drive.

There's more crazies out there, and more parents willing to sue a school district for what happens when a kid walks home.

Cars and buses are being zoomed in and out of school lots - buses have tighter schedules and multiple schools to get to, and the chances of accidents are higher than ever.

the simple answer is

-getting away from neighborhood schools and toward forced busing (whether you agree with the practice or not)

- Tendency toward suburban sprawl and high price of new land for school sites in already populated areas

-Densification of housing in urban areas. See this in places like dilworth and southpark in charlotte. houses get knocked down, condos go up at 20 times the density, and schools get overcrowded, forcing students out to east bumf*ck jr. high.

-more people live in cities where these problems are intensified.

Both of you have not only answered the question but also defined numerous problems with society.

And saying, "well, that's just the reality of life these days" only makes it worse.

[PanthaSan]

I walked 12 miles to school.

Uphill both ways.

In the snow, rain, hurricanes and fog.

Had to dodge Veloceraptors the whole way.

Now quit whining...