Family Outing on Public Transport

So In Charleston, you do free public transport. Which means all they wanted to do was get on the bus. It’s like a ride at Disney World ;). And then when you get off to walk, it’s all H wanted to know about was when the next one was. My favorite memory was a life lesson passed to my kids from watching strangers. We got to a stop and this Middle Aged white lady with a foot handicap was getting slowly to the door when a young black guy jumped up from his middle bus seat, dashed out the back door, and ran to the front of the bus to help her down. While I showed the kids his kindness and discussed it. Then as we got out of the bus, H stumbled right in front of him to which the gentleman jumps up, helps him to his feet, and says he’s tough like a Tonka truck. Which he is ;) and M, still watching from outside the bus, has waited on me to say that “Yes, he really is a kind man.” This is life. This is how we teach. I’ve had questions about how they learn to interact with others if they aren’t in school. If they’re sheltered. If they “don’t deal with difficult people”. That is not a reason to go to school. These are life issues you learn by living life, watching others - who we should be like and who we shouldn’t. By learning how to be respectful of historic sites when you are the only kids on the trip and you need to “act right”. When you have to sit next to someone different than you on a bus... when you respectfully interact with the park ranger and answer his questions without timidity because you know how to talk to adults and act “like a big kid”. When your mom tells you to go get your own free McDonald’s fries because you need to know how to order your own food ;) Granted, there was some unadult dancing at McDs too! Ha! Real life lesson. Not school lesson. Off the soap box now ;)