Walking from School
I was surprised to learn that my 10 and 12 year old grandsons walked home from school yesterday. Their father was out of town, and their mother had workers in the house and was unable to pick them up. Although the school is only a few blocks away, they have never been allowed to walk that short distance alone before. Their school is located in a ‘residential area,’ if it truly qualifies as such because there are two large companies between the school and their house. The companies’ hours are somewhat different from school hours but they pose a threat nevertheless. Employees park on both sides of the streets making visibility and movement difficult for the parents when they come to pick up their children. The boys can hardly walk on the sidewalks since the low lying branches of the trees that grow in the middle make that nearly impossible. So the best route is right down the middle of the road!
I don’t know if they will be walking to and from school from now on, but one thing is sure. They will not be tempted to dawdle on their way. They’ll get to their destination as quickly as possible in order to put down their huge back packs, which for some reason are called school bags. These bags are so crammed full of books they weigh nearly as much as the boys themselves – but that’s another subject.
ASH
I don’t know if they will be walking to and from school from now on, but one thing is sure. They will not be tempted to dawdle on their way. They’ll get to their destination as quickly as possible in order to put down their huge back packs, which for some reason are called school bags. These bags are so crammed full of books they weigh nearly as much as the boys themselves – but that’s another subject.
ASH
posted by joladies at Thursday, September 14, 2006
3 Comments:
Forgive my platitude but please help me understand your post because after reading it I was unable to fathom the underpinning theme behind your anxiety. Is it the safety of the children? Is it the risk of potential kidnapping by a pedophile? Is it the fear of being assaulted by other hooligans on the street? Is it the worrying about the children going astray? Being accosted by stranger? To the best of my knowledge, that part of the town is very safe for the school children to walk through a thoroughfare, even when they are unsupervised by an adult. Correct me If I'm wrong.
hatem
Forgive my platitude but please help me understand your post because after reading it I was unable to fathom the underpinning theme behind your anxiety. Is it the safety of the children? Is it the risk of potential kidnapping by a pedophile? Is it the fear of being assaulted by other hooligans on the street? Is it the worrying about the children going astray? Being accosted by stranger? To the best of my knowledge, that part of the town is very safe for the school children to walk through a thoroughfare, even when they are unsupervised by an adult. Correct me If I'm wrong.
hatem
Dear Hatem,
My anxiety is for the boys’ safety as pedestrians. All pedestrians in Amman are in danger for their lives. Indirectly I am taking a swipe at the municipality and their unwillingness to enforce zoning regulations, including parking facilities, which makes our streets more hazardous. I come from an industrial city of 3 million people where I walked a mile to school for 12 years. I lived in a residential area where the sidewalks were empty and wide. Parking was never allowed on main streets and still isn’t today. Visibility at intersections is 100%. Probably there were some undesirable characters lurking about from time to time as I’m sure there are in Amman. However, statistics in Jordan show that the threat from them is almost non existent when compared to that of automobile accidents, many of which involve pedestrians. I have good reason to be anxious about my grandsons walking to and from school.
ASH
Post a Comment
<< Home