Do you think busing helped or hurt low income children? Why?

Question

I think it hurt. Too much money is spent on busing when it should have been put into the schools to upgrade things and attract top notch teachers.
We lived in an area (for a couple years) where kids were bused to our school. They did not feel connected to the community and they looked around and saw what they did not have. There was a lot of bullying and stealing done by those kids. We moved to a suburb too far away to have kids bused in, and I have to say the atmoshere here is one of family, community, and pride (all races).

I asked this the other day in polls and got only 1 response - I would really love to hear what you think...

Chris C:
I am not racist.
I do not approve of the gay lifestyle.
I like apples.
I do not like oranges.

I just do not believe busing poor kids and not letting them be a part of their neighborhood schools is wrong. It is important to feel like a part of the community. I think busing did a disservice to the kids I knew. They felt they did not fit in and that caused bullying and all sorts of other problems. By asking this question , I wanted to know how others felt about this. I love kids, do much work with kids, and it upsets me when bad things happen to KIDS!

Answer 1

I agree with you somewhat. I think the money should have been put into the quality of the schools not transportation. The problem is multi-faceted though. I doubt the money would have gone into the low income neighborhood schools even though it would have helped somewhat. There is a mentality that is acquired in the neighborhood in which you live, a spirit, if you will, that determines whether or not goals are set in life to break a cycle of poverty. The premise of busing was that children would see (and desire) a better lifestyle. The problem is that they did not always experience a better lifestyle by being bussed. The educational experience was tainted, in part, by the system itself. The system thought, in many cases, that because the children were from a low income neighborhood their ability to learn was somehow hampered (and it was to a point by having to go back to the neighborhood with its challenges in the evening) and they could not achieve the educational goals of their peers living in the "better" neighborhood. Of course, that was proved false by many but the stereotype remained until the school districts were forced to raise the standard in low income neighborhoods. Some schools have been amazingly sucessful, others have retained the status quo.

Therefore, busing did acheive some goals and helped some but the overall concept was flawed. The goal should have been to show the students that life for them could be better as they achieved in their education and role models should have been brought in to explain and show the children the benefits of working to achieve their best in schools and, of course, the school districts should be bringing in the best teachers they can to all schools to assure that all children have as equal a chance at sucess in this life as any other child.

Answer 2

Helped. Depending on where you live and how the people that lived where you were bussed to accepted you. If the natives accept you it bring you into their households, it can be a great, spiritual sharing of experiences that you might never otherwise encounter, especially in younger kids. Children are innocents, they do not judge, they see people for who they are.

Sadly, bullying and prejudice is experienced in all races and cultures; only until we can teach all of our children that being racisit is wrong and that we all CAN be from a global culture can there be acceptance.

Answer 3

I guess you will be happy in your racist suburbia.

I bet you want to have gays bussed back to the city like "that flamer" Elton John.

Your questions only serve to show what a closed minded person you are..

Maybe you should have said THANK YOU to the teachers on your other lame question...

grow up and get a life, looza

Answer 4

Hurt. It makes the kids ill-prepared because 1.) they are in a foreign environment (so-to-speak), and 2.) the long bus rides hinder the ability to do homework properly, get proper nutrition, or proper sleep.

Answer 5

it helps,some kids leave blocks away from the school.some kids miss alot of school because the parent doesn't own a car or works or is just to lazy to walk with their child so that he or she doesn't walk alone.