Reply #206: Any parent's worst nightmare.

[LibDemAlways]

I refused to send my 11-year-old on an overnight school trip that involved a hike down a winding highway and rain-swollen creek to the beach. A school administrator and I really got into it about the wisdom of sending 6th graders with high school chaperones on such a trek, but I knew no one was going to watch my child the way I would, and that ultimately I was responsible for my child's safety. If she missed out on a "valuable learning experience" so be it.

That's what that poor family will have to live with every day. Mom signed the permission slip and entrusted her son's safety to school personnel who were obviously not as diligent as they could have been.

Heartfelt sympathy to the family. This is tragic.