It’s the 100th birthday of Civil Rights icon, Rosa Parks so I thought this post would be fitting for the day. My friends over at The Henry Ford, my former employer, are celebrating the day with a National Day of Courage.
The other day, my daughter expressed dissatisfaction of having assigned seats on the school bus. I told her that complaining to me isn’t going to help. She should lodge a complaint to the bus driver and see what he says. Days later, she told her dad and I that she is going to boycott the bus because of the assigned seat issue.
She rocks.
I think they have assigned seats because the kids keep getting up and/or there is a kid who often bothers the kids on the bus. Either way, I’m okay with assigned seats as long as the kids are happy. But she’s not. She wants to sit near her friends who aren’t in her class. I get that. The bus is supposed to be a place where kids can socialize. She’s not happy.
But wait, that means that I would have to take her to school each day. I won’t be happy.
I’m not sure how this is going to play out, if at all, but I plan to support her and encourage her to stand up for her beliefs.
How To Stand Up for Your Bus Rights
1. Complain to the bus driver.
2. Complain to the transportation department.
Do not bother the teacher or school principal with this for now, unless you are still unhappy with the outcome.
Of course, this isn’t how Rosa Parks did it. She did it on a bigger scale sparking the Civil Rights Movement.
Me viewing the newly acquired Rosa Parks Bus prior to its refurbishing at The Henry Ford where I used to work as a Publicist from 1999 – 2003.
Prior to moving from Dearborn, MI to Brooklyn, NY in 2003 I was fortunate enough to work on the unveiling of the Rosa Parks Bus Exhibit at The Henry Ford where I worked as a Publicist. I also met her. Sort of. Her handlers did not allow her to speak to the press, but I can say that I was in her presence as a I walked alongside members of the press as we was wheeled from her staging area to the Rosa Parks bus. That is enough for me. Civil Rights Movement that started out to only be days long and ended up being 381 days long.
Here is one of many significant celebrations happening to celebrate her birthday.
The Henry Ford
Stamp Dedication Ceremony – 10:40 a.m.
The U.S. Postal Service is issuing a Rosa Parks’ Forever Stamp in recognition of her extraordinary life as an American activist and iconic figure in the Civil Rights Movement. During a special First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony at The Henry Ford guests can become one of the first to purchase the stamp throughout the day inside the museum.
Sit Inside the Rosa Parks Bus
Henry Ford Museum
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African-American woman who worked as a seamstress, boarded this Montgomery, Alabama, city bus to go home from work. On this bus on that day, by refusing to give up her seat so a white man could sit down, Rosa Parks initiated a new era in the American quest for freedom and equality. Sit on the actual bus where this historic event happened. Hear her story. Gain perspective. Get inspired and decide what you have the courage to do.
Special photo opportunity on February 4, 2013.
Day of Courage Live Stream
Henry Ford Museum Day of Courage speakers and key events will be streamed live worldwide on February 4, 2013. This includes a one-hour classroom program. More details will be provided closer to the event, including a schedule of coverage.
Get Social With a Badge of Courage
What do you have the courage to do? Print it on a Badge of Courage available for download on The Henry Ford’s Facebook page. Wear it to school or work. Post it on your favorite social site or photo stream. Share with friends and family. It’s easy to be a part of the movement.
There is a bigger problem here then seat assignments. Why are the kids that are being disruptive not being disciplined by the parents? The bus drivers full attention should be on driving the bus and delivering the children safely to their destination. Once again this should not fall on the teacher, the principal or the superintendent, but the parents. If the children can not behave, then the children should be forbidden to ride the bus before an accident happens and innocent children are injured.
The bus driver didn’t make the assigned seats…the Principal or teacher on bus duty did, the driver has nothing to do with it…he was being distracted by out of control kids running up and down the bus and under seats…she should ask Dr. Steele if she can change seats to sit with her friend. Kids are still continuing to be out of their seats. Imagine how that distracts the driver? There should be bus monitors on every bus…but will never happen due to budget issues.
I agree there should be bus monitors. I was surprised to see that there weren’t this year. I sat in a meeting with the Superintendent and she suggested that we ask the bus driver first and then work our way up. She hasn’t complained lately, but I have and will encourage her to speak to the bus driver first..not mom, but she must do it, in order to get things changed. Thanks for your feedback.
Good luck to her because as I said, its not the bus driver that put the seating in place, its the principal…not sure that the Superintendent realizes that. The bus driver can’t even control the kids crawling under the seats. He is responsible for driving the bus…its terrible what goes on on the bus at times. I don’t let any child crawl around my car…its safety issue right? So why should kids be allowed to walk around, stand up in and run around a school bus? I have a big problem with that…