The tale of Mouthboy

Mouthboy does not know when to shut up. For the love of God and all that is holy, he gets on my LAST dang nerve. Mouthboy is an 8th grader who looks like he should be in high school. He insists on asking incessant questions then making remarks to other students around him. Because of his poor judgment and lack of proper behavior on the bus, he is permanently in the second seat.

Today, I laid down the law with my middle schoolers and have found a method, hopefully, that works. I have a lot of my younger kids sit one to a seat, then when my middle schoolers get on, they fill in the empty seats, starting with my main troublemakers in the front, working my way back. There are a couple middle school kids whom I allow to choose a seat because they actually cause NO problems. I laid down the law today and told them that if they did not be silent, and if I heard them talking, I would write them up for insubordination. Mouthboy tested me and immediately I said, “Ok that’s one write up.” The rest of them got quiet so fast you could have heard a pin drop.

Mouthboy stayed silent for the rest of the ride until just before he got off when he asked me earnestly if he was really going to get a write up. Since he was quiet for the rest of the ride, I DID let him go today, however I told him any further infractions would most definitely end up with a write up for insubordination. It may take a write up for him to understand that I mean business. I will show him a write up slip with his name on it tomorrow and let him know that all I need to do is put a date on it and turn it in if he messes up and causes more problems.

Some of what I’ve seen helps is if I seat them boy/girl in the seat. Other drivers seat them boys on one side, girls on the other. It depends on the kids and the bus.

Finding Normalcy,

The Bus Driver