No Room For Road Rage at Elementary Schools

Sigh.

I just got another mass email from my child’s principal that addresses the stupid things parents do when dropping off or picking up their kids at school.

My son goes to a school that has one way in and one way out.  It’s a huge traffic snarl every morning and afternoon, not only because of the bad design, but also – and perhaps mostly – because of selfish parents.

Our school has traffic rules to enable smoother drop off and pick up.  You wait in a long line of cars and inch your way to the traffic circle.  Once you get to a certain point, that’s where you stop to let your kid out or get him into your car.  Then you drive to the left around the tree and go back out the way you came.  No idling on the curb, no parking along any of the painted curbs, no letting your kids out where it’s not allowed.

But of course, not everybody follows the rules for one reason or another.  And every single day there is some parent who rushes ahead and cuts off the line, or stops too early to let their kids out, or simply parks where it’s not allowed and walks into school. Teachers and volunteers often reprimand these people, who are not always gracious or apologetic.

In the middle of all this is a crosswalk where the children who are walking – and therefore relieving the community of yet another car to add to this mess – cross to the side of the road where they can walk back out of the school grounds.  In the afternoons, the principal herself acts as crossing guard, with a big handheld STOP sign.  One day when I was waiting in line I witnessed a minivan blow right by the principal, who was standing in the middle of the crosswalk with the STOP sign held high.  The minivan did not slow down or stop for her.  It had a row of Mickey Mouse decals along the bottom of the rear windshield.

In tonight’s email, the principal said things have gotten so bad that “a parent actually threatened to run over one of our teachers.”

Really?  What kind of asshole threatens to run over a teacher, no matter how stupid he or she thinks the rule is?

I’ve clocked the wait time for cars picking up or dropping off children.  At its worst, the wait can be as long as 10 minutes.  You can avoid wait times completely by arriving earlier in the morning, or parking down the street and walking, or walking the children to school.  If you’re running late, school is not the place where you can make up time.  I’ve been there, I know how it is.  You’re busy, I’m busy, everybody’s busy.

But this is your child.  These are our children. And their teachers.  If you get held up because you arrived too late to find a parking space or get to the front of the line, so what?!  Take a deep breath, follow the rules, and drive safely.  Being on time for your morning meeting or an after school playdate or soccer practice is not more important than the safety of our community.

I love it here.  I love our school.  I lament the bad planning of the traffic situation, the lack of a bike lane, and the too-narrow sidewalk.  But I adapted, and so should you.  There is so much to appreciate about Agoura Hills and the public schools.  Don’t make it miserable for everybody else just because you’re miserable.  Chill the eff out.  Your children will become better people if you do.