A stark, simple example of US life vs. Irish life.
My eighth grader came home with a six panel flyer about his upcoming high school orientation. It’s just a two hour visit to our local public school–a place he has visited dozens of times for various events. The dense flyer started with a detailed “Introduction”, a breakdown of the “Four Components” of “Step Up Day” (are we talking four-year-olds or fourteen-year-olds?) and a detailed “Schedule for the Visit”, broken down in 15 minute increments.
Finally, there was a two part “Permission Form”, requiring our insurance carrier numbers, emergency phone instructions, doctor contacts, and explicit confirmation of exactly how my son would get home. The choices were:
- Picked up by his/her parent in LHS lot
- Picked up by ________________
- Walk unsupervised from LHS to home or other destination
- Other: __________________
Mind you, this is a child who was occasionally taking Dublin public buses at age ten, with his little Irish friends. Now at fourteen, I am supposed to tell the school administration exactly how he will traverse the dangerous suburban 1/4 mile to our home? I don’t think so.
Here’s a real-life example of our life in Dublin. One of our sons was scheduled for a several day school field trip to….the U.K. Enroute to a ferry from the coast of Ireland, the class of 11-year-olds boarded a bus in front of their school at 5:30 AM. As one boy went to get on the bus, a teacher stopped him,
Teacher:
Seamus. Your parents never turned in the permission forms or paid for the trip.
Seamus:
Oh did they not? Well they said I could go.
Teacher:
Well, hop up on the bus, so.
That’s it!
You can see why I balked at the form last night. When I came to filling out the transport option part of the “Permission Form-Part 2”, I provided:
- Other: HELICOPTER
I’m waiting for the phone call from Dean Cole.
Jules Pieri 
5 Responses to “A stark, simple example of US life vs. Irish life.”
That does sound like overload. I don’t think we had to sign anything for our kids to walk from the elementary school to the middle school (maybe 1/2 mile) for their step up day…Does sound like focusing on the wrong thing.
I loved this post. It made me laugh out loud. The helicopter response is fab.
This story hits a nerve with me too. In that same vein of protectionism, I muse at the two 1 st grade students who walk 1/2 mile home with cell phones in hand. Just in case! Just in case what! Go knock on a neighbors door and yell help! Maybe your helicopter can save these two souls.
I am *so* jealous of your son. Mom NEVER let me take the helicopter home from school!
@Ken…you were deprived.
@Jen…so true
@Jessica….I told you we needed to laugh together more. It’s good for the soul.
@Claire…Maybe your town is not so crazed with safety and overkill on those measures.