[Winona Online Democracy]
At 08:42 AM 1/20/05 -0600, Linda F wrote:
I don't claim to have all the answers but having students walk 2 miles to school is too much. Not all parents are able to drive their children to school. How is a 6 year old supposed to walk 2 miles?
Yes, I know our grandparents did it........
At the risk of sounding like the community grouch here, I have to at least partially disagree. Many health studies have not only shown that walking (or running) five or more miles per day is not excessive for elementary-aged (and certainly secondary-aged as well) children, but that it is positive and something to be encouraged to help keep our kids healthy. Lack of extensive daily exercise, as much as diet, is why so many of our children are either obese or in such poor physical shape, and walking to and from school has been noted as one of the better ways for kids to get this exercise. Our grandparents, parents, and indeed many of us did indeed walk two miles or more to school, and we were healthier for doing it.
Now, I do indeed realize there are many other circumstances that have to be taken into consideration. Primary among these, being in a northern state as we are, is the very real danger of kids walking or biking on roads, particularly rural ones such as Linda's, during darkness. Walking during extremely cold weather is also another, as would be younger children crossing railroad tracks or busy intersections. However, all of those are problems for kids walking any distance, be it half a mile or two miles.
Transportation issues certainly need to be discussed and many issues remain to be resolved, but let's keep the real problems clear and see what we can do to address them.
Ed Thompson
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