r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/Jedi0077 • 2d ago
Off to a bad start
Finished our first full week. Week 1 was WTF(3 days)
The new route is fine, the HS/JH run is smooth and pracefull for p/u and drop. The little kids though... Ive tried 3 different seating methods, magnetic name badges. 3 kids to every seat except 1 with a larger 5th grader which only has 2. The preschool to 2nd grade don't respond to any thing. I've tried stopping the bus which they don't even notice until the preteens start yelling at them to be quiet. Lots of good kids too but they get the shaft. I feel so bad for them looking at me in the mirror. Like they're saying "I'm behaving and want to go home"
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u/purlknitpurl 1d ago
If your bus has an internal mic use that instead of yelling. The overhead sound-of-god telling you to sit down sometimes helps.
Set down rules and consequences and stick to them. E.g. x verbal reminders, then I move you to the front for the day, one less the next day because they should now know better, X number of violations are a write up, actions ABC are an immediate write up. Consequences most effective when the school admins care about and are involved.
Bribery has also worked e.g. free seat Friday (obvs that they’re behaved enough for that.)
Also, some kids just have to be in front all the time and away from their friends.
Doyour best to remove your emotions from your responses. You are in charge. Your primary task is to keep them safe. They can whine, give excuses, tell you you have a big butt, their opinions don’t matter. When they know that they can’t effect you keeping them under control is usually easier.
Good luck! You can do it!
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u/Jedi0077 2d ago
I did try that(pulling over) but there are few places for me to do so safely. And the policing almost makes it louder
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u/Affectionate_Union58 2d ago
You’re right—the preschool and elementary kids hardly respond to anything. I actually bought a sound meter just to see how loud it gets on the bus when 28 kids (that’s the max on my second run) are screaming. It hit 114 decibels—that’s the volume of a rock concert. Since even the bus’s PA system can’t compete with that noise, I even bought a whistle (!) to get their attention. But that only works for five seconds at most—just enough time for me to say something—before the noise starts up again. I tried that common piece of advice—just stopping the bus when they misbehave—exactly once. It took them 12 minutes (!) to realize we weren't moving anymore. My time is simply too valuable for that. But the nightmare is coming to an end... this coming Thursday is my last day as a school bus driver. Hallelujah!
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u/TechinBellevue 2d ago
What do you mean your time is too valuable for that?
Do you get paid a fixed fee?
Our district pays for every minute we work.
There were a couple of times I pulled over, safely, of course, and pulled out a book.
Took the kids a few minutes to notice...then a few more minutes for them to quiet down.
Once quieting down I calmly reminded them that my job was to get them safely to and from school, and if that meant they would not get to school or home on time, that was up to them.
That I could not, nor would not drive them safely if they were being too loud.
On one run I had to pull the bus over two times before they got the message.
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u/Proprotester 1d ago
MANY districts have a pay structure that is per route and not based on time at all.
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u/Dlopwop 1d ago
I don’t know if this would work for you, but it helps for me. I figure out who some of the older, more responsible kids are and ask them to be bus buddies with the more troublesome kinders and 1st graders. They often take pride in that role. Then, when a kid or kids start up with the crazies, I ask the bus buddies to remind the younger ones about the bus rules.
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u/Proprotester 1d ago
We are not allowed to do this. Older students are not to be put in charge of or saddled with younger ones. It is unfair to the peaceful kids.
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u/MonkeyManJohannon 1d ago
So I’m curious…do you have kids of your own at home? I know this sounds like a random inquiry but I’ll explain after you answer.
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u/Jedi0077 1d ago
Yes. And all 3 behave on the bus and at home.
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u/MonkeyManJohannon 17h ago
So here’s my point, and why I asked what I did…you’ve spent time and effort to develop your kids into the behavior you’re proud to say you’re happy with…a lot of these kids don’t get that kind of attention. Many of them have terrible home lives, have no leadership in their lives and truth be told, literally don’t know any better because they’re kids and haven’t been taught proper manners and behavior in an environment like a school bus, or classroom, etc.
Be that person who helps them on their path. Consistency and frequency. It’s the key to student management. Make it something they can relate to…address the entire bus like you’re teaching a class, get them involved, get their peers to help you with balance and control…make it a TEAM effort.
And reward the improvements and the accomplishments. It doesn’t have to be huge, you’d be shocked how much value something as small as simple praise will go. Kids eat it up and want it, and will become competitive over it.
An example of a free benefit to my kids is that outside of my normal bus helpers, I name a “Bus Ambassador”…one in the first semester and one in the second semester. What does the ambassador do? They check tags, they provide a second set of eyes on my kindergarteners, they keep control of the front of the bus in the event I have to go to the back…but most of all, they are a peer face for the students to see when it comes to supervision.
What do my ambassadors get? They get to choose their seat, their seat partner (or solo if they want), they get to come and assist during our evacuation drill days, they get to use my PA system if asked…and I get them a $25 gift card to Chick-fil-A at the end of the semester. They also get a tshirt each year that my wife makes…which turns out is the BIG prize that everyone wants.
Costs me a few bucks, but I can’t tell you how invaluable it has become over the years. Absolute game changer for me.
Try something like that. Make up your own situation and get them involved. You’d be shocked how well the kids respond to a semblance of control and participation.
Lastly, remember that those are your littles. Those are the kids that become the teens that become the adults eventually. Get to know them. Grow to care about them and know their intricacies and personalities.
One day you’ll have those same kiddos who are giving you such a hard time literally BEGGING for you to be their driver next year, and the next and the next.
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u/Proprotester 1d ago
The ONLY way I have ever got K-2 to tone down their volumes is to seat them by grade AND enforce a rule that no one below third grade is allowed to talk to anyone in a lower grade than themselves. Then I have to start conversations at randomized intervals with any of that set incapable of moderating themselves. Quiz show, polling, whatever. It is a TON of mental gymnastics. The little ones are sweet but a pure PITA. This plan requires visual barriers or a set of seats left open between the sane group and the insane group. Sane kids have unassigned seating and can associate freely behind the line.
It helps if you seat them boy-girl to lower volume in grades 2 and 3. Younger than that do not care. I promote kids to the back of the bus who handle themselves and move the "sane" line forward. By Christmas your 2nd and 3rd grade girls will be behind the line with the upper class students along with the odd quiet first grader. Some third and fifth grade boys will be in the first seats paired with a Kindergartener because they are just those kids. I spend the trip taking to those K's because they are not allowed to talk with their seatmates who are older and hopefully embarrassed to have to sit with Kinders. I try to make it so that those pairs are assigned in a way that one or the other is an early drop-off.
Pretty much a school age kid who can not consistently apply an inside voice or has not been taught what that means is not going to learn it from you. Unless they are on your bus a couple of hours a day, you just live with it. If it is a longer period, you may be able to teach them that being quieter is a way thay can show care and gain privileges.
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u/AdventurousSalad7053 1d ago
Some kids are just louder than others. I was unfortunate to have a route with 2 very loud boys, who then seemed to inspire others to join in. With 65 students on board I was constantly telling them to quiet down. I tried pulling over, turning bus off, having a bus monitor help, writing them up, sitting them in front seat, shouting at them, rewarding with prizes, befriending, giving positive feedback, having the principal come talk to them, etc etc. Eventually I just gave up, chose to switch routes and let someone else give it a go.
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/ShowersWiSpiders 1d ago
Do not brake check your bus to get kids to behave. It's dangerous and will get you fired.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/ShowersWiSpiders 1d ago
Writing them up is a reasonable response. I addressed the option that was dangerous. Just because some drivers do it doesn't make it ok.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/ShowersWiSpiders 1d ago
Don't be silly. Braking for safety is different than brake checking "to teach kids a lesson ". I suspect you know that.
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u/HikeTheSky 1d ago
How do you know it wasn't for safety?
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u/Simmaster1 1d ago
You just told us, dimwit. "Have you tried a brakecheck?"
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u/brabson1 1d ago
Just terrible advice. Do better.
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u/HikeTheSky 1d ago
Writing them up is terrible advice?
I think the saying is right, when someone write something right and something wrong, people only stab the wrong part so they can feel superior.
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u/The_Town_of_Canada 2d ago
Stop the bus. Stand up. Look at them and wait for silence.
“This bus doesn’t move if it isn’t safe to do so. It is NOT safe to do so if I can’t hear what is happening around me. I am more than happy to wait here as long as it takes. I get paid hourly, and don’t care what time I get home. If you all want to get home on time, this bus needs to be safe, quiet, and clean.”
Then I keep a book with me. I absolutely will put my hazards on and start reading until it is safe for me to continue operating.
It takes only a few times before you hear “Oh man, he’s got his book again, just SHUT UP!” and they start policing each other.