Will Gas Days Replace Snow Days?

Imagine coming home one afternoon to find your nine-year-old jumping up and down in front of the TV. Not an uncommon sight, only this time instead of a cartoon or an Elmo's Jazzercise video, she's watching a hyperactive character of a different sort: Mad Money's Jim Cramer. Why is your child watching Jim Cramer? Because she's into oil and like many speculators out there, she likes her oil high. Is she a mini-tycoon? Not at all - she doesn't know the first thing about Mr. Dow Jones. She just happens to know that the higher gas prices are, the more likely it is she won't have to go to school.

With gas so high, getting kids to school is becoming a pressing problem for schools all over the country that bus their students in. USA Today reports that many schools are debating having four-day weeks to alleviate the costs. They'll have company if they do: Reuters reports that about a hundred schools in as many as 16 states have already made the switch.

Other measures being considered are reducing athletic programs, and the inevitable laying off of staff is under consideration as well. The pain that high fuel prices are causing is palpable in this Los Angeles Times quote from an assistant superintendent of business, speaking about the decision to cut bussing for 2,400 students: "It's a horribly difficult decision. It's a decision no one wants to make."

Some might groan at the thought of less school for our kids, regardless of the cause. But the recent surge in prices continually finds new ways to remind us of how dependent we are on oil. High prices mean less schooling for our kids. Of course that's the dark side. There is a lighter side, a higher octane side, of the equation. Unfortunately it's more dangerous, which may make it perfect for our teenagers who like to live on the edge.

We should trade bussing for walking or biking to school. If the distance from school to home is about two miles, you're talking about a half-hour commute both ways. If your kid is fortunate enough to have a bike, then you're looking at even less time. In L.A., bussing costs $1,400 per student: the schools could buy every kid a bike and a helmet and still save money. The only problem, of course, is that biking is dangerous and kids die every year going to and from school.

Bussing is mentioned as the safest way to get a child to class and back. But I think there are many ways to make our kids safer on the roads. Certain feeder roads could be designated as pedestrian-only during the hour before school and the hour after school; no cars would be allowed to share the same space as our kids. Crossing guards or police could do duty on any major arteries that would need to be crossed.

The effects of using more people power than gas power would extend beyond cost savings. America's children are beset with obesity problems which are linked to a lack of physical exercise as well as too much time indoors. Walking or biking to school could guarantee an hour of both. Smaller kids would need older escorts: here's a chance to foster both community and mentorship.

Many observers agree that high gas prices are here to stay, and while many things will have to change, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Of course, having a kid addicted to the CNBC stock ticker isn't the worst thing in the world either, but the long-term effects of exposure to Jim Cramer have yet to be assessed.