# Morons dropping their kids off at school **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 21, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709 "2003-10-21T15:09:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![byter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@byter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/byter)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/21 "2003-10-22T12:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thewiz \* > \*\*Don’t sit there for 10 minutes looking over all the papers your precious daughter just gave you. \*\* She’s probably just writing a check so her kid can get some juice. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/22 "2003-10-22T22:33:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*I am spared this sort of irritation but only because, as someone else suggested, the school cracks the whip. > > There are teachers directing traffic at my son’s school. THEY open the doors and escort the kids from the cars. Two cars pull up at a time, two teachers extract the kids, those cars leave, two more pull forward. > > Today some kid further back in line started to get out of the car and they made her get back in and wait. I think for them it’s a big safety issue, but it’s also a matter of not FUCKING WITH a system that works. \*\* “extract the kids” 😛 I like that. We do the same thing at the Nursery school where I teach (we can do four cars at a time), and yes, we do crack the whip and yes, it’s a safety issue. We use a public (residential) street to run our “car pool line” as we call it, and we really hate when some parents (who feel they’re somehow privileged) park on the other side of the street and walk their kids over to us. First of all, they’re cutting through the line of cars moving forward, and second, they’re fucking with the system, a system that works. They’re just lazy, too lazy to wait in the line. I’m going to use “extract the kids” tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/23 "2003-10-22T23:00:37Z")
> [@](#): > > We use a public (residential) street to run our “car pool line” as we call it, and we really hate when some parents (who feel they’re somehow privileged) park on the other side of the street and walk their kids over to us. First of all, they’re cutting through the line of cars moving forward, and second, they’re fucking with the system, a system that works. They’re just lazy, too lazy to wait in the line. Sorry, but I just don’t get this. Is there some sort of requirement that the children must be driven to school rather than walked? If not, why would you say the parents are lazy and feel they’re somehow privileged? I mean, I can understand you getting a bit annoyed if it throws off your system. But I bet the system my kid’s school uses for preschool would be even easier on you and your fellow teachers - all of the parents park and walk their children into school. Seems to me the purpose of the drop off line is to make it convenient for parents - it would have been a lot easier for me to use a drop off line than it was to park and walk. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/24 "2003-10-22T23:29:39Z")
My, how times change. My elementary school didn’t have _any_ school buses. So, we all walked to school. From second grade on I did that 10 block walk myself. I’m sure there were kids that were dropped off, but I don’t remember them. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/25 "2003-10-22T23:49:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by doreen \* > \*\*Sorry, but I just don’t get this. Is there some sort of requirement that the children must be driven to school rather than walked? If not, why would you say the parents are lazy and feel they’re somehow privileged? I mean, I can understand you getting a bit annoyed if it throws off your system. But I bet the system my kid’s school uses for preschool would be even easier on you and your fellow teachers - all of the parents park and walk their children into school. Seems to me the purpose of the drop off line is to make it convenient for parents - it would have been a lot easier for me to use a drop off line than it was to park and walk. \*\* Damn hamsters ate my post. The school where I teach is a private nursery school at a church. The church parking lot is across the street (a busy street), and we use a much-less busy side street to bring the kids in. We have NO problem with kids walking to school; in fact quite a few of them do walk because a lot of them are from the surrounding neighborhood. Our problem is with the parents who drive to school and park on the street right across from our car line, and walk right through the line of moving cars _with their child in tow._ We’ve had a couple of near misses, and it’s very scary. The parents who’ve just dropped their child off are usually waving to their child, and may not be looking to the left (though, yes they should), and just may not be expecting a person with a child to be jumping into their right-of-way. It’s not a huge problem, but every year there’s three or four parents who do it. When the director talks to them, they act like they’re somehow doing _us_ a favor by not adding another car to the line. We have a 15-minute drop-off window, when we have free play time; kids will not be marked late and actual “classtime” won’t start. It works. We get all the kids in during that window. As **CrankyAsAnOldMan** said, we have a system, and by not working with us, they’re fucking with the system that works. ---
**Author:** ![bojon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/26 "2003-10-22T23:58:41Z")
I just finished a sidewalk project in front of a school as described. They is another type: The woman in the Red Four wheel drive who jumps the curb to get closer to the door. That said, Why are all women driven by the urge to be on time. I’m a man, if I see a problem with a certain time, I avoid that particular time. My favorite is being early and avoiding the traffic that might cause harm to a young one. WOW What a concept. Idiots, I had to walk to school uphill, both ways, three foot of snow, Bears and Coyotes waiting for me. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/27 "2003-10-23T01:16:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Our problem is with the parents who drive to school and park on the street right across from our car line, and walk right through the line of moving cars with their child in tow. Okay, I get it now. I didn’t realize they didn’t cross the street properly. I misunderstood “cutting through the drop off line” to mean that they would be able to leave sooner than if they waited in line. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/28 "2003-10-23T14:16:16Z")
Thank You, **TheWiz**. Sorry for the reaction. My biggest issue is people who drop off their kids & speed away without looking. Its a 25 speed zone, even though some minivans treat it like a drag-strip. The school my son goes to has a cross walk and my son and I use it when traffic doesn’t permit stopping in front of the school. My wife & I pay extra to be able to drop my son off early & still get to work on time. I don’t jay-walk with my son, dodging cars like Troy Ambrick on Coke. We look both ways & cross in the crosswalk. Am I over protective? Sure I am. I’m the Dad, That’s my job. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/29 "2003-10-23T14:24:50Z")
Thank You, **TheWiz**. Sorry for the reaction. My biggest issue is people who drop off their kids & speed away without looking. Its a 25 speed zone, even though some minivans treat it like a drag-strip. The school my son goes to has a cross walk and my son and I use it when traffic doesn’t permit stopping in front of the school. My wife & I pay extra to be able to drop my son off early & still get to work on time. I don’t jay-walk with my son, dodging cars like Troy Ambrick on Coke. We look both ways & cross in the crosswalk. Am I over protective? Sure I am. I’m the Dad, That’s my job. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/30 "2003-10-23T15:23:10Z")
They should drive on the parkway and park on the driveway; that’s what! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/31 "2003-10-23T19:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quietman1920 \* > \*\* > > The school my son goes to has a cross walk and my son and I use it when traffic doesn’t permit stopping in front of the school. My wife & I pay extra to be able to drop my son off early & still get to work on time. I don’t jay-walk with my son, dodging cars like Troy Ambrick on Coke. We look both ways & cross in the crosswalk. > > Am I over protective? Sure I am. I’m the Dad, That’s my job. \*\* Good for you! I live across the street from an elementary school, and I see mothers jaywalking with their kids all the time, and sometimes even sending them by themselves in the middle of the block. There is a perfectly good crosswalk with crossing guards 100 feet away, but that would be too tough for them. A few have blocked my driveway - but they’ve only done that once. They see the error of their ways real fast. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/32 "2003-10-24T16:03:33Z")
Wow, this morning I saw the most idiotic drop-off yet. Our neighborhood’s school is well-embedded in a residential neighborhood, with quiet streets on all sides. A couple of blocks away is a divided major four-lane artery, which in the morning is zooming with 50-mph caffeine-crazed commuter traffic. As I drove away from my neighborhood and turned onto this road, I saw a woman coming from the opposite direction _stop in the fast lane on her side, get out her three kids, and jaywalk them across the traffic on my side, holding up her hand to ask everyone to stop!_ She deposited her nervous-looking kids on the other side, gestured to them to get along to school, and jaywalked back to her car. By this time, another car had pulled up behind hers and a man got out to angrily gesticulate at her. She just shrugged and got into her car and roared off. Un-fucking-believable. ---
**Author:** ![thewiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@thewiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thewiz)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709/33 "2003-10-24T17:48:52Z")
I’ve begun work on my new invention. I think I’ll call it the "Kid-a-pult"™. That way, I can stay in the through lane and launch the kiddos over the stopped cars. Wrapping them in bubble wrap might get a little expensive but think of all the fun they’ll having popping all the bubbles with their friends. I’ve also added teenagers dropping off little brother or sister to my list. I can always tell they’re coming cuz I can feel the rumble from their stereo bass a block away. Course I like nothing more than listening to gangsta rap at full volume before my morning cup of coffee. I swear I can almost make out the words thru 2 sets of closed windows but the massage from vibration feels pretty good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morons-dropping-their-kids-off-at-school/208709.md?page=1)