The school bus driver in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec told 8 year old Sarah Auger she wasn’t allowed to read on the way to and from school because she might poke herself in the eye with a corner of the book.
He also speculated that other children might be tempted to rise from their seats to look at her book.
The Hautes-Rivière school board conceded that books are “obviously” not dangerous, but they backed the driver anyway, because “the person who drives the bus is allowed to make the rules.”
“The responsibility of a school bus driver is to transport students safely,” said Mario Champagne, general secretary and director of communications for the Hautes-Rivière school board.
In a statement, the board concedes that “obviously” reading is not dangerous.
The statement also specified that personal belongings of students, including books, must stay in their bags during the duration of their trip home.
Quebec girl told to stop reading book by school bus driver
[Kate McKenna/CBC News]
(via Reddit)
(Images: School Time – Jet School Bus, Kurush Pawar, CC-BY-SA; 2004 International School Bus 3800, Niels de Wit, CC-BY)
