Honest question: is the embarrassment due to the reasons posted, or is it that parents have become fearful of letting their children walk to school? I’ve seen parents walk to the school in order to escort their children home a few blocks.
It's both, for sure. And while part of that fear is helicopter parenting, a lot of it is a reasonable fear of how unsafe the walks are to school. The latter fuels the former. The built environment makes us anxious, encourages micromanagement of children, and lowers autonomy. All of these things are bad, in my view.
No kidding! I teach at such a school and my students trickle in from 745 to 10 o’clock. Because it is not a neighborhood school even though it is in a city fewer than half of them can walk. It also reflects a kind of infantilization that the families practice. I’m a high school teacher and many of the students act as though they are in elementary school. Thirdly, and not insignificantly, because smart phones alienate family members one from another, the ride to school is often one of the few times when parents and students actually focus on each other. Thus, parents are loath to miss the opportunity.
At my daughter’s elementary school some parents arrive at carline 45 minutes to an hour before school dismissal just to be among the first in line to get their kids. It’s completely insane. I don’t know who has that kind of time to waste every day, not to mention gas wasted. I have a job to work. I pick my daughter up just before carline ends because there is no longer a huge line. I also need to go home to get back to work.
Honest question: is the embarrassment due to the reasons posted, or is it that parents have become fearful of letting their children walk to school? I’ve seen parents walk to the school in order to escort their children home a few blocks.
It's both, for sure. And while part of that fear is helicopter parenting, a lot of it is a reasonable fear of how unsafe the walks are to school. The latter fuels the former. The built environment makes us anxious, encourages micromanagement of children, and lowers autonomy. All of these things are bad, in my view.
Thank you for the foreword! Much appreciated.
No kidding! I teach at such a school and my students trickle in from 745 to 10 o’clock. Because it is not a neighborhood school even though it is in a city fewer than half of them can walk. It also reflects a kind of infantilization that the families practice. I’m a high school teacher and many of the students act as though they are in elementary school. Thirdly, and not insignificantly, because smart phones alienate family members one from another, the ride to school is often one of the few times when parents and students actually focus on each other. Thus, parents are loath to miss the opportunity.
It is not a pretty picture.
At my daughter’s elementary school some parents arrive at carline 45 minutes to an hour before school dismissal just to be among the first in line to get their kids. It’s completely insane. I don’t know who has that kind of time to waste every day, not to mention gas wasted. I have a job to work. I pick my daughter up just before carline ends because there is no longer a huge line. I also need to go home to get back to work.