The Washington Post describes in perfect detail why I hated riding the bus:
Every day, 440,000 school buses ferry 18 million children to and from schools and activities across the United States. Accidents, seat belts and safe crossings generally are the matters parents worry about. But experts say sexual assaults on school buses, one of the fastest-growing forms of school violence, seldom register as a safety concern.Although many school systems don't identify bus assaults independently of all school violence, administrators, teachers and bus drivers say the nature and frequency of the attacks are increasing, and at younger ages. The incident involving the Germantown girl was one of four alleged sexual assaults on Montgomery County's school buses this school year; the alleged attackers in Virginia were as young as 8.
As a middle-schooler, I took it for granted that harassment was an unavoidable part of the bus-ride experience. As an adult, I realize there's no reason this should be the case - and examples such as the ones described in this article should be a warning sign to school districts.
Posted by kswygert at June 15, 2005 09:35 AM