EDITORIAL DESK After speaking with Al Dollar, an ex-cop who has developed a training program to help bus driv-
ers protect themselves (see page 30), I started thinking about how school districts must protect their students and themselves in many different types of situations. In a world where lawsuits are as common as the accidents that sometimes cause them, districts can quickly “lawyer up” when faced with an event that ends in either injury, or worse, a fatality. From a parent’s perspective, there is no sum of money that could ever replace a lost child. Chil-
What Happens
When Life Gets in the Way?
By Stephane Babcock
dren bring a joy to the hearts of parents that is indescribable and unknown until the first moment you see them at the hospital. You instantly want to protect them and keep them from ever feeling any of the pain you have experienced. In my article on page 40, Jeff Cassell relates a story of how one mother who lost her child in a school bus crash dropped her lawsuit after receiving an apology from Laidlaw executives — that was all she needed. When you send your child off to school, whether on the bus or for a short walk or bike ride, you
trust that they will be protected throughout the school day. As Ryan Gray mentioned in his First Take and expanded on in our top story, bullying is something that not enough school districts are protecting children from. As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, I have seen first-hand how bullying has affected my son,
and there is little I can do when he is confronted by an aggressive student. I try to prepare him as much as I can, and I tell him that, no matter what, he has the right to protect himself when thrust into these types of situations. I am not advocating violence in any way, but if my son is being at- tacked by one or more bullies, I want him to stand up for himself. Tis can cause issues for school districts, however, especially those that treat fights as a black
and white, zero-tolerance issue. Tey might suspend or expel a student who is merely protecting himself, especially if that student is able to overpower his bully. Many of you have seen the footage of the Australian boy who decided to fight back one day when he was being bullied. After suffer- ing punches to his face and body, the young boy picked up his aggressor and slammed him to the ground, an action that ended the fight but started a campaign of support for the bullied boy and the number of children who have been in the same position. But what is a district to do in this type of situation? Does your district have a plan to deal with
the after-effects of a fight that was initiated by a bully but ended by the victim? What about a more tragic event as mentioned earlier — a severe injury or a death either on campus or on or around a school bus? Does the school shut down all communication? Does it reach out to the community to express its sadness? What about the parents that will start every day with sadness and grief in their heart, no matter how many years pass? I’m sure that these questions have been considered by many districts and their staff. But, in the
end, there is no one answer for any of them. Tragedy does not follow a formula. It takes on a differ- ent form in every instance and sometimes affects whole communities, causing them to find a way to heal together. Life is not easy. Tere are roadblocks that pop up in a moment that change the course you
expected to take, sometimes for only a short period of time but sometimes forever. It is how we handle these changes that exposes not only our strengths but our weaknesses. Take a moment to think of some of the most difficult moments you have gone through. Tink about the affect it had on your life and on the lives of all those around you. Tink about what you could have done to prevent it — don’t punish yourself with “what ifs” or lay blame. Just think about the possibilities. Reflect on those possibilities and continue to live life in a way where you embrace every moment, whether it be small or big victories, a laugh with someone you love or a moment that gets saved for a good story sometime down the road. ■
66 School Transportation News Magazine May 2011
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