Absurd and Askew

Not that I really have the time to homeschool my son, but this morning, I'm very seriously considering it. I was peeved earlier in the school year when I found out that my son had to eat lunch standing up because of the overcrowding problem in his school. I never would have found that out if it hadn't been for the fact that he had to put his books up on top of the ledge (they have a "sunken" lunch room) surrounding the lunch room while he ate and some kids walked by on the upper level and just stole them. He never found them and I had to pay to replace the books and notebooks that were stolen. That was irritating enough, but then...

This morning he goes out to catch the bus and comes back in about half an hour later and says that when he got on the bus, every seat was filled but one, where a student was sitting with his books in the second part of the seat. This being the only available seat, Zach asked him to move his books. He said no. Did you get that? The kid said NO. Unbelievable. So Zach had to sit in the aisle. He got off at the very next stop and walked home. The bus driver asked him as he was getting off why he was leaving and he mumbled something to her and left. Wasn't she paying attention to what occurred? Did she not see that there was a double seat where only one kid was sitting? Maybe not. Maybe she couldn't tell from her view. But surely she saw that Zach had to sit in the aisle. And since there were more kids getting on the bus at the next stop, where were those kids going to sit? Ridiculous! There are safety concerns with a bus that crowded where the kids have to sit in the aisles! I asked Zach when he told me about it if the bus was normally that crowded and he said yes.

So now I'm more than a little miffed. They're building a new high school that won't open until next year, but in the meantime, they need to address the overcrowding issues that currently face them. I can live with my son being required to eat standing up (along with a lot more than just him), though I'm not happy about it. What I can't live with is a bus that is so overcrowded as to cause safety concerns. Isn't a bus just like a business where they have "maximum capacity" limits?

And what about this snot-nose little brat who wouldn't move his books? Oh, I swear if I see another bratty little high-schooler all puffed up with attitude I'm going to scream. Perfect example: I was in Wal-mart a few weeks ago at the service desk. People were lined up in two lines making returns. On either side of the two lines were piles of stuff that needed to be reshelved. So I get to the counter, get my business done, and turn to leave. Standing there right smack in the middle of the two lines is a little 13 or 14 year old girl with her mother. When I say she's standing in the middle of the two lines, I mean right smack in the middle so you can't get around her either way. This is the only way out. I approach her to leave and she stands there looking at me. Doesn't budge. Just stares at me. I say, "Excuse me." (Nicely, but firmly.) She takes a tiny little step to the side and barely leaves any room to get past. Does Mommy say anything to her? No. And because Mommy didn't correct her, she'll grow up thinking that bratty little attitude with no concern for those around her is a good idea. I did bump into her on my way out. A little accidentally, and a little on purpose. If she's not going to move, I'll move her.

Why aren't parents teaching their kids? Why are the kids getting away with this kind of behavior and disrespect right in front of their parents and their parents do absolutely nothing? Here's another perfect example: I was in Meijer just a couple of days ago. I'm standing at the deli counter and along comes a woman with two teenage boys in tow. She's doing her shopping at the counter, deciding what she wants, and the two boys are standing behind her talking cruelly about other shoppers around them, and not doing it quietly either, mind you, and there stands Mommy in silence. She didn't turn to them and say so much as a "That's not nice" or "Stop it." She acted like she didn't hear them. I was further away from them than she was and I heard them. I have no doubt some of the shoppers they were talking about heard them, too.

There's a huge problem in the world today with too many parents just not being parents. Parenting is more than just clothing, feeding and providing shelter for your child. It's also about teaching your kids how to behave with respect for both themselves and others. There are a lot of negative influences out there that will make a kid think being disrespectful is the way to be, but it's up to the parents to teach them otherwise. I'm seeing far too many parents not stepping up even when their kids are acting like that right in front of them.

I'm so tired of the teeny-brat attitudes, but I'm also tired of parents who don't do their duty as a parent. I guess for deli-Mommy, it was more important to get the smoked ham sliced just right than it was for her to tell her child that he and his friend are being rude. Hell, for all I know, maybe deli-Mommy was a rude little snot, too, and to her what they were doing was perfectly normal.