I subscribe to Google news using keywords such as "school" and "school bus". These keywords are used to pull relevant articles and then Google sends them to me via e-mail every day. The other day, there was an article that detailed a bus driver's heroic actions to save a child from choking on a piece of hard candy. The child is in 4th grade and is 10 years old, clearly old enough by some standards to handle sucking on a piece of hard candy responsibly.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/05/23/new_orangevillearea_school_bus_driver_credits_safety_training_for_helping_her_save_student_from_choking.html
Every year we go through safety training for this very reason. We learn CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver, and other ways of managing potential emergencies that arise on the school bus. None of us expect to use any of our training, but when faced with a child choking, or one having an allergic reaction or other type of emergency, we jump into action.
Parents wonder why we do not allow our students to consume food items on the buses. For one thing, it makes a mess, but the primary reason is displayed in the article above, the REAL possibility that a child could CHOKE. Parents can deny this all they want and tell us that it won't happen to their child. Thing is, this child in the article above, was a very responsible child who just happened to choke on a piece of candy which stopped her from breathing. It can happen to the most responsible of children. Choking isn't limited to candy either. Buses travel over varied terrain from dirt to paved roads, uphill and downhill, all it takes is a serious bump from the bus turning, or running over an unforeseen pothole to cause a child to inhale sharply while eating on the bus. In my district, there was a child who choked from sucking on hard candy on the bus when she was 14, so choking is a very real hazard.
Parents - the next time you ask us to make a concession for your child to eat on the bus and you get told "no" consider that we are simply looking out for your child's safety and do not want to have to perform CPR/Heimlich Maneuver to save your child because they choked on food you allowed them to bring from home and consume on the bus.
Safety Conscious!
The Bus Driver
6 comments:
Again, I completely agree. I wish some parents would pull their heads out of their rear ends, and see that these policies really ARE for the well-being of their children!!
I believe that parents should have a better understanding of the risks that take place on simple things like a school bus. To me, it seems that not only should parents pay more attention to what their children bring on the bus, but also pay more attention to how their child really acts when they are not around. SImple things like this could be avoided if parents would seem to take more initiative with controlling how their child acts when they are not around.
I believe that parents should have a better understanding of the risks that take place on simple things like a school bus. To me, it seems that not only should parents pay more attention to what their children bring on the bus, but also pay more attention to how their child really acts when they are not around. SImple things like this could be avoided if parents would seem to take more initiative with controlling how their child acts when they are not around.
Parents just don't understand just about anything that happens on the school bus, and neither do the children. I will tell children to put their snacks away until I'm blue in the face, and lo and behold, I'll still find empty soda bottles and wrappers on the floor, or crumbs on the seats. Of course they all have the mentality of "this can never happen to me or my child", but it still does and parents still don't understand. I think all parents and children that ride buses should go through a mandatory class at the beginning of each year that shows them both what can and will go wrong when they misbehave on a school bus. Our school district just had a rollover last week, and standing up on my bus went down immediately after the news broke. Fear seems to be the only thing that gets through to some kids.
Parents are NOT the only ones who do NOT understand the rules. Most of the teachers and specialist who deal with special needs children feel it is justified to put in Individual Learning Plans (IEP)what the rewards will be for these students on the school bus.Our guidelines for the school bus are very specific, and some of these people feel it is perfectly fine to want us to break the safety rules. Here are a few examples of what is in there IEP or bribery plan, Eating, drinking, loud music, etc. All seem perfectly fine until one of these children gets hurt, choke, etc, then it's the BUS DRIVER who gets blamed, it is our certificate and it now becomes OUR problem. Why is this allowed/ Cannot seem to find a place to lodge a complaint because nobody wants to here about the issue until somebody dies or gets put in the hospital with an allergic reaction, etc.
Don"t forget about the teachers and the school aides and specialists. We drive special needs children and the above persons feel it is ok to put into a child's individual learning plan (IEP)they can Eat,Drink, listen to loud music on the bus. This is there reward. I have spoken to several teachers and aides about the rules and regulations, safety issues, choking issues, allergic reactions from other students,distraction to the driver and very FEW take it seriously. There needs to be a over-site on these people. It is not there children who they just endangered but the bus full of other children, It is ultimately the school bus drivers certificates, and liability. There seems to be very little thinking going on and as far as the teachers,specialists are concerned we are JUST a driver, we are nobody.. Something has to change. I even had a school aide and counselor tell me what order I should take these children home, they have even gone as far as state they need to be to school by a certain time. We are NOT a taxi service, we do the best we can do and transport students safely to and from school. If a student is late it makes everybody else late, but no body cares, it's the bus driver, so let's add another guideline to the IEP. School starts too early,lets make the driver go back and pick them up when it is convenient for the students. There is way too much involvement from the Teachers, specialists and aides regarding our bus drivers without a meeting with the drivers or transportation. Oh I FORGOT the IEP is none of our business,we have been told to just deal with these students.
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