Let's Talk About Driver's Ed For a Minute
When I was in high school we still had programs aimed and preparing students for life after.
Aside from Architecture, Home Ec, Wood Shop, and Autoshop – Driver’s Ed was one of those offered that changed my life.
Why does it matter? I’ll tell you.
Driver’s Ed was mandatory. I was able to get my license, a car, and a job. Being the daughter of a single mother who worked two jobs I didn’t have the privilege of being taken back and forth to work.
Fast forward to today.
I was telling a friend about having to pick up my 19 yr old (who’s in college in Las Cruces) and he asked without hesitation ‘why don’t you just get her a car?”
I’ve known him for almost 30 years, so I wasn’t as savage as I could have been. But I explained how his comment is a significant part of the reason why shit doesn’t get done.
My friend bought his children twin Range Rovers when they turned 16, and when his now 28 yr old son’s car broke down, he bought him a cute little Benz.
Now I’m not hating on him for that – if you got it, do you.
But I asked him, ‘Who’s gonna pay for Driver’s Ed?’ It’s at least $350 which I don’t have. Who’s going to pay for the insurance? Having my now 22 yr old on the policy (just for liability) was $260 mo. Full coverage would be $415.
I then asked where would I find a car. You can’t find a decent and reliable one for less than $10K these days.
When I was a teenager, I worked – even before I had a license.
Public transportation was on fleek, so I could go from school to my job without worry. That isn’t the same now.
Cities are spreading farther, and wider and lack the infrastructure that will support the employees they need to staff the Starbucks and McDonald’s in the ‘burbs.
They don’t think about that when they build and make policies to ‘keep the riff-raff’ out of their neighborhoods so to speak.
A driver’s license is freedom. The freedom to haul yourself around when your single mom working two jobs can’t.
When your 16 hr work day dad, can’t.
It may seem trivial, how one class has impacted an entire economy and stifled or lift up a marginalized community by giving them the opportunity to elevate – and in most instances simply sustain.
While Republicans are doing away with child labor laws, my question is – how the f* are they going to get to work? Who’s going to take them?
Things that on the surface can seem trivial are anything but.
They matter.
As an independent author and journalist, I rely on your generosity to continue sharing my voice. If you like my work, consider subscribing, gifting, or making a one-time donation on Cash App or Venmo. The Power of Perspective: Gaining Clarity, Purpose, and Truth Through Affirmation and The Consequence of Choice: How Every Decision You Make Shapes Your Destiny are available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
ncG1vNJzZmismJrEsL7LnZisoaOasqrAjaysm6uklrCsesKopGioX6Gytb%2BMrZilo12Wr7DB02abq6Gmmr%2B0ecSdZJ%2BnomKu