I also caught the school bus and sometimes walked home if I missed the bus. The driver a kindly but no-nonsense type of man used to kick you off the bus if you

I also caught the school bus and sometimes walked home if I missed the bus. The driver a kindly but no-nonsense type of man used to kick you off the bus if you were being naughty (imagine doing that today). That meant you had a long walk home but taught one not to throw things on a bus :-). I digress, in South Africa catching the bus to school is closely related to financial standing. The poorer folk who do not own cars really have no choice but to put their children on the bus. There is no judgement and all the kids catch the bus. The middle and upper-class folk drop their kids off. I can't help but wonder if the kids catching the bus will grow up to be more independent and more balanced. Not only do they catch the bus, often their parents cannot afford aftercare so they begin to cook and look after themselves at scandalously young ages. I use the word scandalous sarcastically because in my day there was no aftercare and we could make ourselves a sandwich from a pretty young age.