Reply to No DCPS busses for in-city class trips

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a teacher, I do think there should be money in the school system for field trip buses.  You do not need to maintain a fleet of buses.  There are many companies that will contract specifically for field trips.  Whether the money comes from the PA or the system, having a charter bus option (now many are available with seat belts) is often the safest. I agree that using city transport is fun and educational and I do use the public buses at times with student groups.  However, can you imagine having those cute pre-K students trapped on the Green Line for two hours or thrown from escalators at L'Enfant Plaza?  Or having their cute little shoelaces, jacket ties or fingers sucked into the escalator works?  Metro has become way too unreliable, and some children are  too small for some kinds of travel. without one to one adult care.  And in certain parts of our city public buses are being pelted with rocks by disgruntled teens.  These public options shouldn't be the only go to.  Getting out on field trips is an important part of education, and access and safety should be the deciding factors for mode of transport. [/quote]

You really should seek professional help to bind your anxiety level. The scenarios you are describing are hardly the norm. In China and Japan, children as young as 5 travel on public transportation to schools throughout major cities without adult supervision. And they are more independent and happy as a result. You must live in a state of nearly crippling anxiety.[/quote]

I'm quietly laughing as I lay down my watercolors to reply to you.  My job, first and foremost, is to protect the emotional and physical safety of children in my charge.  If you think that is a character flaw, I can live with it.  Also, we are not discussing traveling to and from school.  I am all for kids who are responsible enough walking or riding public, especially in small groups.  In my professional judgment, I truly don't believe metro is a [b]safe [/b]option for children for field trips below Middle School.   I know firsthand of events that have gone wrong for teachers on Metro field trips.  Thankfully, their students were older and had some wherewithal and emerged OK.  Exciting for the students, scary for the teachers/chaperones-but everyone was OK in the end.   I would not wish those scenarios in anyone supervising K students.  If it has worked out for you in the past, great.  What about the time it doesn't?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/post/five-injured-on-lenfant-plaza-escalator/2012/08/07/349f506e-e095-11e1-a19c-fcfa365396c8_blog.html

http://inthecapital.com/2013/01/31/navy-yard-fire-delay-leaves-thousands-stranded-on-green-line-metro-station-wmata/

http://inthecapital.com/2012/07/18/tourist-gets-hand-caught-in-dc-escalator-trying-to-retrieve-flip-flop-video/[/quote]

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