Big Society Dublin bus driver

I think i saw a 'Big Society' concept at work on a Dublin bus the other day. I was on holiday and a passenger shouted some very rude words, which my mummy says i am not allowed to use, at the lady next to him. The bus driver immediately stopped the bus and told the passenger to get off. The passenger, without a fuss, did what the driver said and apologised! I was very impressed, firstly, because of the bus driver's reaction and how brave he was and, secondly, of the passenger who showed respect to the bus driver and apologised for his behaviour.

Big Society is going to be part of all our lives , including public transport but how? The third strand of the Big Society is community empowerment.

How is the Big Society going to help public transport workers feel more safe in their job? How do we get to the point where all people can respect public transport workers and make a bus driver feel empowered to deal with bad behaviour? If Big Society is to work it will require lots of community action and a cultural change.

The Comprehensive school debate

David Cameron has said he is 'terrified' about sending his children to secondary school because of the 'low standards of comprehensives'. He says he understands why some parents 'break the bank' to pay for private schooling. My parents are one those who spend alot of money on my education. If my parents didn't have the money to do this than i would've been sent to a comprehensive school in my area which isn't of a high standard. All state schools in my opinion should be of a high standard where the children come out of it with an ability to reach goals in life and a sense of achievement.

To cycle or not to cycle?

My last blog was about child health and safety rules and I wrote that, in my opinion, these had gone too far. Now look what has happened one week later! Perhaps the news hasn't made it outside of London but a family called the Schonrocks who live in South London have been publicised for the parents' decision to allow their eight and five year old children to cycle to school by themselves. The school that the children attend don't approve.

This raises three questions:
1. Does it matter how the children get to school just as long as they get there safely? You might say that cycling a mile to school by yourself at the age of five and eight isn't exactly safe. However,if the children and the parents feel comfortable with this then does the school have a right to object? Traffic allegedly is not a problem as the children have only one road to cross and there is a lolly pop lady to help them.
2. Should it be the State's decision as to whether or not the parents are capable of checking if the route that the children take is safe?
3. If the parents are reasonable and responsible should they not be allowed to make decisions for their own children?

I personally would not cycle to school because I don't feel safe and there have been a few attacks on the streets close to where I live. However, I think that these children should be allowed to cycle to school because they have obviously been doing it for a while now and have shown that they are capable of staying safe. Their parents have made the right decision and should be allowed to get on with it.