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macondriver
Top Member
USA
533 Posts |
 Posted - 04/12/2003 : 11:46:31 AM
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I am a out of town driver and What i see is a growing violence on the bus, students with no respect, ready to lash out in a heartbeat,
violence toward the drivers, monitors and eachother....it is not uncommon to hear a driver calling base to request the police and or a ambulance....this is in Illinois, how about other cities and states
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2003 : 3:21:46 PM
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You're not alone, concerning violence on the school buses. This is an ongoing topic that your post helps keep on the front burner of our thoughts.
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the bus driver is among the rarest reasons a school bus environment is found hostile and out of control.
So often it is becoming apparent that the bus driver need look no farther than to their own administration for the greatest examples of child neglect, child endangerment and employee maltreatment on the buses.
The reality is that some administrators are obviously less equipped to discern the truth of a matter or the actual issues, concerning the school bus environment, than what could be expected from a hostile parent. More often than not it is becoming apparent that even untrained and unskilled school bus drivers, with some experience behind the wheel, are more consistent and effective at identifying defiant children and what needs to happen next with these children, than are some school and district administrations.
Differences in treatment -- claimed by administrator behavior to be some enlightened awareness beyond the typical school bus driver's mental abilities or education to comprehend -- are nothing more than maneuvers, egos, ignorance, fear and are based too often on misinformation and hearsay guiding the decisions coming from some administrative policies, decisions and directives.
It is my ever increasing belief that some school and district administration decisions, along with weak, politically motivated and poorly thought-through discipline policies, are disrupting the school buses -- much more so than kids, any hostile parents or the bus drivers -- doing so by demonstrating incompetence in school bus safety matters, provoked by misinformation and compensated by demonstrating a form of favoritism toward hostile parents and their defiant children.
When I hear of violence on a school bus, my concerns about who started it are not with the kids or even their hostile parents acting out behind the scenes. What I like to call the 'Enron Mentality' may well have been born within the ranks of public education administrations behavior toward decency. Understand that what intelligence, education, competence and common sense might have restrained in the past is no longer relevant these days. Finding someone to blame is what is relevant these days, and when it involves the school bus that person is you, the bus driver.
What could be defined as ethically negligent administrations, administrators, and the few hostile parents that fit this category -- these are at the very root of violence on the school buses, not the kids or the bus drivers. Regardless, when something happens on your school bus bad enough to catch the attention of the press or the courts, something that results in a serious injury or death, good chance you and your monitor can expect to be blamed. You must be ready to confront the misinformed with knowledge, not with some concept of fair treatment.
The great mystery then, with violence on the buses that have been escalated by the misinformed in charge of their bus drivers, is to find a way to confront and educate these that so conveniently made themselves misinformed. That may include confronting disinterested, fearful administrators and administrations into acting appropriately toward the effort to help their school bus drivers keep the school bus environment a safe and civil place for children.
Might be smarter, healthier and a lot simpler to quit driving school bus and do some other kind of work. (jk)
Edited by - jk on 04/12/2003 3:39:33 PM |
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macondriver
Top Member
USA
533 Posts |
Posted - 04/13/2003 : 6:59:03 PM
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to jk, i do not see finding another line of work to be the answer.....i love these kids, even the bad ones,,, i do not have the violance on my bus any more, it took me two years with these kids to earn their respect and with that respect the violance toward each other stopped, but mime is only one bus out of hundards at my contract....and the violance is so real, but the problem is no one wants to deal with it it is the same over and over just get them off the bus asap.the schools don't care the parents don't care.....some of these kids are wanting nothing more then someone to show that they care, and that they matter others are just plain mean ...... i was just wondering if this was everywhere ?
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2003 : 05:54:34 AM
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Yes, violence is everywhere. How the adults work together to discourage both adult and child violence goes from one extreme to the other. There are incredible employers out there, both in the school busing industry and outside the industry.
The best bus drivers and the best school districts have violent events that occur on occassion. The difference is the best deal immediately and effectively with defiant and hostile kids. The hostile or bully-styled parent is also confronted immediately. Appeasing hardly ever works and often can escalate the situation on the bus.
It's a mistake to believe no one cares, especially branding parents with this judgement call. Regardless, just as one or two hostile kids on board can disrupt the bus, a few adults that don't care or are misinformed can disrupt a school bus without ever stepping on board.
Your post almost seems to blame the bus drivers for the hostile environment on their buses. Parents make decisions and kids make choices the bus driver has no control over. Ineffective policies, gross misinformation and missing adult support can be found at the root of much of the violence on those buses you're concerned about.
Keep in mind your calm bus today can go completely out-of-control tomorrow. Training should place as much effort on protecting the school bus environment, as it does on training the kids. This I would think is especially so where the bus driver is the only staff member on the bus.
Where the bus driver is the only staff member on board, a camera on every bus is essential to protecting the driver and the kids. (jk)
Edited by - jk on 04/14/2003 09:38:26 AM |
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PHW
Top Member
USA
1345 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2003 : 10:34:29 AM
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If all parties involved address problems immediately you will see a better control of violence.
We all need to take ownership of the issues and not be to willing to pass the blame onto others. If all parties envolved handled there own responsibilities imagine the success that would be enjoyed.
I know that all parties don't always do there part. But what can be done to start is make sure your doing your part.
PHW
Child Check For Life |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2003 : 1:30:31 PM
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quote:
If all parties involved address problems immediately you will see a better control of violence. ...
This has most always been the case -- the weak link breaks the chain.
The untrained school bus driver with some experience behind the wheel can manage the bus when the kids believe that bus driver is in charge of the bus. Remove that belief, expect an escalation.
A well trained bus driver can restrain hostile kids, but too many missing support features or elements may still result in escalations:
A well trained bus driver;
A camera on board is a must;
Informed parents and school staff is a must;
An administration that avoids disrespecting their bus drivers duties, by not overreacting to hearsay complaints or demonstrating favoritism to some;
Polices and statutes that help, not hinder, the bus drivers duties.
There simply is no rocket science here. The answer slaps twice any person giving the least study to violence on the buses.
The few defiant, hostile kids and the few bullying parents confronted does a great deal to calm the buses and maintain a safe and civil school bus environment.
When a school bus environment is found out of control and hostile, look in the shadows for the root answers. (jk)
Edited by - jk on 04/14/2003 1:33:06 PM |
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violence on the bus...
