I have not posted in a while due to other priorities, but today really was blog-worthy.
This morning, I drove a bus that is notorious for having children be at the stops late. The regular driver instructed me to leave the kids should they not be out on time as they have been told repeatedly to be out on time. I had left several stops, obviously after stopping appropriately, waiting a certain amount of time (long enough that had they been standing out, they would have boarded the bus and found a seat), and then proceeding on route. I called in each time I left children over the radio so that my actions were covered. I was even running approximately 2 minutes late due to some children RACING out of their homes to catch the bus. Overall, 80-85 percent of children were at their stops ON time.
The rule is, be at the stop 5 minutes prior to the bus arriving. Personally, I'd like to instruct all children to be at the stop and prepared at least 10 minutes prior to the bus arriving. That way they will never miss the bus if it comes early for some reason unknown. More often than not, the buses tend to run a little bit late when there is a substitute on them.
Yet repeatedly this morning, I had several children who were running from their homes. As a result, I left several of them for not being out on time. I pulled up to one stop and the two kids at that stop were out on time and waiting, then I pull to the house LITERALLY next door, and NONE of those kids are out. They had plenty of time to see me on the road, stopping at the house right next door before pulling to their stop. So, I left them. I pull up to my last stop on this route and the mom from the stop I left flags me down. I pull up and she tells me, "I'm putting my kids on this bus because well NO child LEFT BEHIND!" I told her they need to be out 5 minutes ahead of time, that's the rule. And she gets snippy with me. Fantastic.
This afternoon was equally as crazy. I had 2 elementary girls get into a fight on the bus. Turns out they are sisters. When I got to their stop, I told their guardian about the fight. She assured me it would be taken care of. When I returned to the area for my second run, I went by the house and noticed the guardian had the girls face to face linked with a belt around the waist, hugging each other. I gave the guardian a thumbs up and grinned. I think those girls will not be fighting on the bus again.
Round and Round!
The Bus Driver
