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Some posters state.........."14 is not a 4 year old "
True, but 14 is still 4 years away from being an adult of 18.
Very few 14 year olds ever get tried as an adult when committing a crime.
I doubt they even would accept a 14 year old's application at a fast food places that hire teens.
14 is deemed too young to even obtain a drivers permit in all/most states
If a group of 14 year olds committed crimes late at night, the majority of posters ( including myself) would be saying.........." where are the parents. Why is a 14 year old KID running the streets late at night?"
Truly amazed at those of you who believe 14 is old enough to exhibit good judgment in dangerous situations.
Who said anything at all about expecting the teen to exhibit good judgment? Perhaps he was a good swimmer but got a cramp, or was really tired.
My point in saying "he's 14 not 4" is that one would reasonably expect that 14 year olds who have been sent alone (without parents) on a school trip would be able to swim if the kids are going swimming together. One would not expect a group of 4 year olds to be okay on their own swimming in a river. I would personally accompany the 4 years olds in the water and ensure they're not going in too deep and that they're okay. But a group of 14 year olds can be reasonably watched from shore, if that's what happened here.
Anyway, there really aren't enough facts here for so much of the blind outrage I'm seeing.
I am stunned at the beliefs of some here that a 14 year old boy, in unknown surrounding should have known better.
I am an old women who was a foster parents, a girl scout leader for 10 years, a HS youth counselor at my church for 15 years, a Sunday school teacher and a nursery worker. Plus a parent of 3 kids who went on all kinds of school trips for various competitions.
Those chaperones had a duty to keep the kids safe. That was their job. If kids were in the water, they should have divvied up the number of kids by the number of adults and each chaperone had their group of kids to watch. Named and numbered. They best I can say is they were all negligent. As were the school personnel who picked the chit for brains chaperones.
It is very hard to be the one parent to speak up and so no to a bad idea. Especially when everyone else is in favor. I spent years in many meetings saying no. Half the people there would come afterwards to say thanks, and they agreed with me.
IMO, kids have no business going on school trips out of the country. What was the educational purpose of the trip? Like David Stone, my kids would not have been allowed to go.
I am stunned at the beliefs of some here that a 14 year old boy, in unknown surrounding should have known better.
I am an old women who was a foster parents, a girl scout leader for 10 years, a HS youth counselor at my church for 15 years, a Sunday school teacher and a nursery worker. Plus a parent of 3 kids who went on all kinds of school trips for various competitions.
Those chaperones had a duty to keep the kids safe. That was their job. If kids were in the water, they should have divvied up the number of kids by the number of adults and each chaperone had their group of kids to watch. Named and numbered. They best I can say is they were all negligent. As were the school personnel who picked the chit for brains chaperones.
It is very hard to be the one parent to speak up and so no to a bad idea. Especially when everyone else is in favor. I spent years in many meetings saying no. Half the people there would come afterwards to say thanks, and they agreed with me.
IMO, kids have no business going on school trips out of the country. What was the educational purpose of the trip? Like David Stone, my kids would not have been allowed to go.
This is what I've been thinking all along. It's not rocket science; it's simple math. It seems like the chaperones were unmotivated. Maybe, as someone suggested much earlier, they took it as a vacation for themselves?
The purpose of the trip was some kind of environmental study. The facility where they stayed was a nature/environmental study center, according to the article.
This is what I've been thinking all along. It's not rocket science; it's simple math. It seems like the chaperones were unmotivated. Maybe, as someone suggested much earlier, they took it as a vacation for themselves?
The purpose of the trip was some kind of environmental study. The facility where they stayed was a nature/environmental study center, according to the article.
Thanks. I should have been more concise.
Usually there is an educational reason for a trip. Rarely is it a sound one.
What could those kids learn in Belize that they could never learn close to home? At 14?
My Florida school teacher daughter is off for 5 days, even as we speak, with a classroom of kids for an environmental study at a park in Ga.
She thinks it is bogus. I doubt they can talk her into it again. It is a ton of responsibility. Not much sleep and no rest for a week.
Voila! As far as we can tell, the bolded is the part the chaperones in question weren't tuned into.
And there lies the problem. Sounds like the chaperones were not told what the expectations were. Or, they were able to intimidate the sponsors and visit with each other. But. looks like none of them had any respect for the job.
Sounds like the sanctuary did not provide a lifeguard, either.
The one place some of my high school aged grandkids go is NOLS.
Hmmm.. I wonder how may times, her son had been to the pool in there Sub/Division alone?
No Lifeguard there, Signs Saying there are No Lifeguards, State Law Telling her that she can not sue for anything that happens at the pool, Because you swim at your own risk.
The forms she signed to allow the trip probably outlined a number of the risks involved.
How about posting the whole GoPro video, not just a 10second hand picked piece of video from her lawyer.
Maybe The first part is the Staff of the Preserver saying say close in, don't go more then 10 feet in. The Chaperons saying Stay close in. There are no lifeguards here.
Hmmm.. I wonder how may times, her son had been to the pool in there Sub/Division alone?
No Lifeguard there, Signs Saying there are No Lifeguards, State Law Telling her that she can not sue for anything that happens at the pool, Because you swim at your own risk.
The forms she signed to allow the trip probably outlined a number of the risks involved.
How about posting the whole GoPro video, not just a 10second hand picked piece of video from her lawyer.
Maybe The first part is the Staff of the Preserver saying say close in, don't go more then 10 feet in. The Chaperons saying Stay close in. There are no lifeguards here.
Swimming in a pool and swimming in a river are two different things.
OK, let's say the mom is and the kid was congenital idiots. The sponsor, the chaperones and the sanctuary all had a duty. The place caters to school groups. They should know what kind of behavior to expect from teenaged people. There is always at least one in every group who does not do what they are told. The adults had a duty.
Swimming in a pool and swimming in a river are two different things.
OK, let's say the mom is and the kid was congenital idiots. The sponsor, the chaperones and the sanctuary all had a duty. The place caters to school groups. They should know what kind of behavior to expect from teenaged people. There is always at least one in every group who does not do what they are told. The adults had a duty.
The duty must be breached. There are not enough facts to truly know whether the duty was breached. The whole "what actually happened" part is missing.
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