Weren’t we just talking about how nice it is when administrators use their brains instead of following rules mindlessly? This just in:
My dnhtreesie
kid’s teacher asked for green beans and other canned goods for a day of cooking. When I sent them with my kid, she got in trouble because “cans aren’t allowed on the bus.”
What happened to her?
Why on earth wouldn’t cans be allowed on the bus…?
I hope he didn’t get in trouble for not pulling his weight in the class participation.
I fail to see any reason to ban canned goods, not even a weird or overprotective one…
I want more details! What happened with the girl?
And really, cans? CANS? God forbid!
I’m sure it’s something to do with it being a “weapon”. They have a point – that girl’s house key could gouge an eye out – it’s much safer for her to sit on her porch for three hours after school until her parents get home. And she could suffocate someone with her shirt, so no clothing allowed – it’s how God intended us to be anyway! Oh, and that can of green beans could definitely be used as a projectile – it’s much more harmful than a heavy, sharp-cornered textbook in her backpack.
“it’s much more harmful than a heavy, sharp-cornered textbook in her backpack.”
Or the entire backpack, with a dozen of those heavy textbooks in it, making it weigh nearly as much as the child.
Don’t schools still have canned food drives? Would the parents have to drive the kids and/or cans in themselves? I agree though, this needs more detail.
Cans attract gunfire. Haven’t you people ever seen ‘The Jerk’?
Are they inspecting backpacks before the kids get on the bus? How else would they know if the student had a can or two in the backpack? (I’m guessing that the student had a separate bag with cans in it, although I don’t think it should make a difference. This is just dumb.)
The only reason I can see it not being allowed is because it might roll to underneath the driver’s feet and block him from using the brakes or something. She just should of hid them in her book bag.
She’s a subversive. She and spork boy have an illicit canned-goods cult going on. This week, green beans. Next week: sardines! *gasp!* The plan is to have the entire school sneaking Vienna sausages onto the playground at recess by month’s end…and THEN, they’ll break out the toothpicks.
I’m telling you…just put them all in the DH now and be done with it…
Surely that can held more than 200ml. Stupid of her not to have checked that before boarding. I’m certain she didn’t even have her pass and ID with her. And, of course, KateNonymous, they realised she was smuggling canned goods because the metal detectors went off.
Wait- it’s a school bus we’re talking about???
Um, Books?
duh
Progressboink,
Where I once lived the scenario of the child waiting on the step would not have played. The bus stopped in front of the child’s home, bet the child was not allowed off the bus to walk to teh front step alone; a parent was required to meet the child at the bus door.
Cans? Cans of SODA or juice that might spill and create a sticky icky mess.
But where there are cans there are frequently CAN OPENERS, and unless you have one of those European newfangled ones, most can openers leave you with a lid with SHARP edges. I bet more people end up in the emergency room from inadvertent can lid slicing of their fingers than those that actually cut themselves with a knife while whittling or slicing a deadly breakfast bagel.
As an aside in response to another post: While hiding the can in ones back pack MAY seem like a good idea, it really sends a bad message to our children. I do not want to teach my kids sneaking something past someone is okay, no matter how nonsensical the rule is that they are trying to circumvent. It is better to change the system from within. For those of you who want a primer on Zero Tolerance, Randy Cassinham has a website (and a newsletter) called THIS IS TRUE, he has been enlightening people about Zero Toleance and other stupidity for years now. This is Trues newsletter recently hit it’s 800th edition. http://www.thisistrue.com
@Gary, is it hiding cans to put them in your backpack? Or is it just carrying them?
There is an arguably good reason that cans are forbidden on school buses. in my town a school bus crashed and several children were killed. A can had rolled up the aisle and under the bus’ brake and the driver couldn’t stop. To me this, and all motor vehicle crashes, are a legitimate risk unlike kids walking to soccer practice, biking to school, etc. Of course I agree it would be silly to punish someone for carrying a can in a backpack, but “got in trouble for” is pretty vague–it could have been an administrator gently reminding a student of the rule. I really don’t think this “outrage” is all that outrageous.
GG – if we’re worried about having cans roll under the breaks, why not just ask that all cans be zipped up in backpacks? Or make sure that bus drivers have something behind them to block any rolling paraphernalia. Why ban them all together? True, bringing them on in any form would potentially increase the risk of what happened, but that does seem like a pretty freak accident. It is horrible that children died, but is it really a common problem to have to ban canned goods simply because it “could” happen?
I agree it would be better to just tell kids to leave it in backpack. I also think its silly to “get in trouble” for it. I am just trying to make the point that the rule is not TOTALLY unfounded (its not terrorism or weapon-related as others have suggested) and also that “got in trouble for” is a matter of interpretation in this case.
what’s next? TSA-like employees hired for backpack inspections before boarding a school bus?
I think it was because the kids might play ‘kick the can’ and you know kicking isn’t allowed at school.
A friend working the graveyard shift at a convenience store protected herself with a can of peaches. The fellow who entered the store and shed his clothing in the back aisles came forward to flop his male appendage upon the counter where she was standing with her hand on a big can of peaches. She picked it up and brought it down with great force upon said appendage. True story.
So you can see how dangerous a can can be, veritable dynamite in the wrong hands, and of course children cannot be trusted with such risky devices. Heavens forfend that children be able to defend themselves, they might choose to defend themselves against authorities.
Och, when we see such nonsense, how can we continue to send children to school?
Oh! or maybe they are just worried about botulism.