

Book ban in a Canadian bus company - jchampem
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/book-ban-defended-by-quebec-school-bus-company-1.3045729

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duncan_bayne
"Our only goal is to make sure students are safe."

This is the problem.

Parents who won't let their children play unsupervised.

Police who won't let children walk home from the park.

Schools who won't let children experience rough and tumble play.

Park designers who won't let children take physical risks.

Here's the thing: human flourishing requires danger. At almost all stages of
development.

~~~
_cipher_
I agree. The situation with "safety" is getting out of hand.

What could possibly be the danger from reading in a bus? Even if some car
crashes with the bus, due to the mass of the bus, there's little chance of
getting hurt, let alone the chance of getting killed from the book or
something.

> Police who won't let children walk home from the park.

I suppose this is happening at the States? Can you provide some info on this?
The only word to describe the above that comes to mind (at least for me) is
alien. :)

~~~
kayfox
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/decision-in-
fr...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/decision-in-free-range-
case-does-not-end-debate-about-parenting-and-
safety/2015/03/02/5a919454-c04d-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html)

You can indulge yourself on more cases here:
[http://www.freerangekids.com/](http://www.freerangekids.com/)

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huhtenberg
Yeah, that's Canada alright.

Kids on a bike with training wheels wearing a helmet, knee and elbow pads, a
mouth guard with a copy of the liability insurance sticking out of the back
pocket. Can't be too safe, you know.

Five flag persons "managing" traffic, causing it to back up three blocks each
way, while one dude is trimming a bush on a sidewalk. That's just how we roll.

As ridiculous as this book ban is, I am not a bit surprised that it's a
Canadian development (though it _is_ a bit odd that it comes from Quebec of
all places).

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ghshephard
20 Minutes is a pretty long bus ride, twice a day, to not be able to read, use
your smartphone, play a video game, whatever...

I recognize the driving force here, is the attempt to eliminate risk - but, at
some point, we've got to realize that there is a concept of "acceptable risk"
\- and deal with the consequences.

Are kids allowed to climb trees anymore? Seriously, if riding the bus is
considered a risky endeavor because kids might look at something someone else
has, how do parents feel about their 8 year olds 45' up a pine tree?

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rffn
This is replaying a common scheme to define some rules which cover the most
stupid people around and then defend these rules because they are "for the
children". Labeling everything as verboten is one of the society diseases of
our times.

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tempestn
Even in an accident I hardly think holding a _book_ is going to be a major
safety issue. Don't play with scissors or bricks on the bus, sure, but a book?

~~~
ghshephard
Nobody has an issue with a book - the policy came about because of the risk
involved in other things - probably video games, etc... in which kids were
jumping up to see what others were doing, resulting in injuries or hazards
that occur when you have young kids jumping about a bus. There is no way for
the bus driver to monitor exactly what each student actually has taken out, so
they came out with a blanket rule saying, "Nothing whatsoever is allowed to be
taken out of the bag."

And what choice do you have if you are a kid taking a school bus.

~~~
PeterWhittaker
_Nobody has an issue with a book_

I beg your pardon, but that is patently false. From the article: _The bus
driver suggested fellow students might stand up to see what she was reading or
she might poke herself in the eye with the corners of the book._

Let's repeat that, shall we?

 _Poke herself in the eye with the corners of the book._

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
dafuq?

And I thought I was being a overprotective yesterday when my 5 year-old was
digging worms out of the dirt and dropping them into the chicken run and I
kept warning him to keep his fingers out of the mesh because the rooster was
really mean and would bite him.

Seriously? An effing book?

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tallanvor
If I were the child's father, I'd tell her that it's safe to ignore that
"rule" and keep reading.

------
defractional
Idiocracy

