I'm listening to the NPR program "The TakeAway" which I find simultaneously annoying (why does John Hockenberry insist on trying to be so clever?) and informative. Right now they are talking about October being National Walk to School Month. Fascinating conversation.Of course they are debating child obesity, as well as the over-exaggerated fear of child-snatchers...But I guess what's really stopped kids walking to school is individuals' love for their cars--even in suburban areas where there are schools close-by and sidewalks line the streets from house to school.
I walked to school from kindergarten until 9th-ish grade, when it then became too uncool to stroll into high school and we had Jen Osborne's mom drive us in her red sports car, Jen and I smooshed into the front bucket seat and singing along to Heart or some other glam rock band. I only took the bus once, when we moved to NC at the end of 11th grade and we literally lived so far away from the school that it was impossible to walk, and that had to be the most humiliating time of my life. I contemplated begging the White Trash boy who lived in the cul-de-sac across from our house in our still-being-built neighborhood to drive me in his Camaro, but I didn't have the guts and I feared what the association with him would do for my future reputation at my new school. The longest months of my adolescent life were those at the end of 11th grade on that cheese bus. Potential social suicide.
On the contrary, I have so many fond memories of walking to school in elementary and middle school: In kindergarten my mom had arranged a car pool for me, but I told her I was going to "walk with the big kids" and set off with them at 5 years old. Being late to school b/c after a good rain I'd pick up the worms stranded on the sidewalk and toss them into the grass to save them from death. Stopping by the Hop In convenience store after middle school with Robyn or Heather to load up on sugar and chips. Walking by a boy's house you had a crush on by "accident." When Ms. Welke saw me litter walking home in 7th grade, stopped me and drove me back to my Coke bottle and made me pick it up (I have honestly never littered since!)...The list is endless.
It makes me sad to think that kids don't really walk to school anymore. . .Is it really true? Anyone have kids who walk to school?
my kids don't live close enough to school, or we would. i walked home from school quite often in high school -- one of the downfalls of being the youngest (literally) in our graduating class was that i couldn't drive until the last semester of my junior year. and when i couldn't hitch a ride, i chose to walk rather than humiliate myself on a bus. (of course, my mom was quick to point out that anyone who was riding the bus with me wouldn't think i was uncool because they were also riding the bus. what a mom thing to say.)
ReplyDeletep.s. you might remember katie haynie from high school. she's a PE teacher for an elementary school and was instrumental in bring the "walk to school" week to wake county. she was named the north carolina PE teacher of the year two years ago because of it!
HI Lori--Cool Blog! Of course I remember you :0)
ReplyDeleteWe have a Walking School Bus at our elementary school. It took a few years to implement, but the kids and parents LOVE it. Not only does it sneak in extra daily activity, it is good for the environment and offers valuable parent/kid time to chat about the day. Things we take for granted in this rush-rush world. To help make our school more bike and walking friendly, I wrote and won a $250,000 grant to improve out school infrastructure and educate the kids about bike safety. It has been a great professional and personal experience! I am excited you decided to blog about it :0)
Katie Haynie Caggia
Apex, NC