Where would Los Angeles families be without school carpools?  In the daily diaspora that is getting kids to school on time and home whenever we can, we’ve come to rely on these formal but friendly collectives.  Without carpools, our round trips to school would multiply out of control, wreaking havoc on our work schedules, gasoline budgets, and general attitude toward just how necessary it is to educate our children.

How carpools form can be a graceful, delightful dance.  While some schools distribute lists of addresses and telephone numbers for industrious parents to scour and Google map, most carpools come together more organically during school orientations and back-to-school nights.  There isn’t, of course, a formal application process to be in a carpool.  We’re far too desperate to do something like check other parent’s cars for bald tires or a crumpled fender that might suggest a less-than-perfect driving record.  If you live within a 3-mile radius and have something bigger than a two-seater, you’re in.  And in the carpool hierarchy, the number of seats in your car conveys status, making minivan drivers the kings and queens of the school runs.  We really do respect and appreciate the folks who selflessly bought that minivan when their kids were still toddlers.  In fact, minivan owners deserve some sort of reward. I suggest a couple of “get out of carpool free” cards to be thrown down at will.

The goal of carpools may be less driving, but another benefit is the peek it gives us into our children’s worlds.  The sometimes random mix of kids can result in everything from a daily party-in-seatbelts to a time for quiet reflection (especially if every kid is tethered to an iPod).  And while carpools can give parents a good handle on Kid World, don’t forget that the kids are also busy observing us.  Since you’re going to hear it anyway, I’m the mom who listens to NPR even during pledge drives, talks to bad drivers as if they can hear me, and once, just once, talked on the phone during the drive home.  My friend Gretchen suggested someone do a carpool reality show (“The Carpool Diaries”).  I better shape up, or I may be voted off the rotation.

This entry was posted on February 22nd, 2010 and is filed under Mother Tongue. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.

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