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Hassles on the
School Bus
Troubles on the bus? You're not alone. Kids, Parents and Bus Drivers speak out about the hassles on the school buses.
By Beth Bruno, �1999, All Rights Reserved. Beth Bruno is a school psychologist with degrees from the UC Berkeley, Yeshiva and Harvard Universities. She writes about harassment in our nation's schools. Reprinted by permission.
By Beth Bruno, �1999, All Rights Reserved
Students, parents and bus drivers told me hair-raising tales about serious problems some students create or face on school buses, problems that they report and sometimes see ignored or mishandled by school authorities. I ask school leaders to read the comments below and take definitive steps to insure student safety and acceptable student behavior on bus rides to and from school and on school sponsored field trips.
Student Comments:
"I'm in the 8th grade and have ridden on school buses every single year. A lot happens that people never know about. One time I wrote a letter to the bus company because the bus was incredibly dirty. It had years of mildew and pollen in it. Some of my classmates signed the letter, and it worked! The bus got cleaned. That day the bus driver yelled at us for sending the letter. He said that the kids make the bus dirty and it was our own fault. No way, we didn't put mildew and pollen on the walls of the bus. It's not always the way the kids act that's a problem. Sometimes it's the way the bus driver acts, too. I think the drivers should go through some kind of personality test to see if they know how to deal with young kids and teenagers."
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"School bus harassment has escalated far beyond the reasonable limits of "establishing a pecking order." I've had bus drivers who would pull the bus over for the slightest infringement and others who would not pay any attention to what was going on. One of the bus drivers allowed the kids to smoke on the bus! Early in elementary school (I'm a high school senior now) a much older boy put his hands around my throat and threatened to strangle me if I did not relinquish my seat.
"An important factor is how overcrowded the bus is. While I was in junior high, the buses were squeezing an average of three people into a seat, four at the later stops, which meant that by the time the bus got to us, we had to figure out who we were going to scrunch up with. The standard Forrest Gump "seat's taken" drama would play out, particularly for unpopular students. There was plenty of room at the back of the bus, because the oldest kids saved seats for their friends, and God forbid if you should try to take one.
"It made matters worse if the bus driver made the older students let a younger one sit with them, because that student would get harassed mercilessly for the remainder of the ride. Even the most vigilant bus driver can't monitor much of what goes on because they do have to attend to the actual driving of the bus. I recall the bus ride in the morning as the single most terrifying experience of every school day. Here are some of the things I remember happening to me and others on the bus: rampant ear flicking, swearing, deriding, spitting, hitting, and an incident when one student and his friends pushed the head of another student into the window next to him, so hard that the glass cracked. Once a student grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked it violently upward; another student unzipped my bag and tossed its contents all over the bus. Complaining to the driver was just asking for more trouble. This all changed in high school because there were more buses, so students sat one or two to a seat."
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"I'm a high school sophomore and ride the bus every day to school. I have not seen any problems and I've been riding the bus for two years now. Oh sure, we have our fights, but what school doesn't? Our school principal stays on top of the kids who sometimes have social problems. In fact the principal and teachers keep their eye on every kid in the school! You see, there are some good schools out here. Whenever I have a problem, I can talk with one of my teachers, even if the problem has nothing to do with school. The teachers here really care about us. I hope you will see that not all schools are bad."
Parent Comments:
"Our five-year-old son was part of a safety drill: To jump off the back end of the bus through a safety exit door. He fractured both ankles in the process. So school bus incidents can be dangerous with or without adult supervision! Another time he had his face pushed into the lap of an 8th grader, accompanied by a disgusting request. The principal, who I contacted about the incident, gave the 8th grader a week off the bus. Our son lived in fear of that boy all year.
"Administrators don't care much about bus behavior unless there is a serious accident or incident. Then, for awhile, they make changes, but the changes don't last long."
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"We recently moved to a new neighborhood where our children are the last ones picked up and the last to be dropped off. The morning bus ride is a nightmare. When they get on, all the seats are taken. Since no one wants to share their seat, they are pushed and kicked out of any seat they try to take, thus forced to stand for approximately 2 miles. Then the bus monitors (who are 6th graders) report them for not taking their seats! In the afternoon the school dismisses the upper grades before the lower ones, so again our children can't find seats. The bus driver does nothing except yell at them to sit down and drives the bus while children are still standing.
"Complaining to the school was a mistake, because some of the children causing problems live in our neighborhood. The principal called their families and told them that we had complained, even though we requested that our names be withheld. This does not make for good neighborhood relationships for our children or for us. As for overcrowding on the buses, I can only say that the school secretaries are in charge of scheduling. What qualifications do they have for this? My husband is employed as a professional scheduler for a major company, and I know it's not an easy task. I don't think secretaries can make these decisions in a competent manner. Thank you for the opportunity to vent my disgust on this subject."
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"I agree that children should work out their own problems. But sometimes the problems are too severe for that. I have three children and my oldest started school this year. He had a boy tell him he would go get a gun and shoot him. He was slapped in the face. And other things have happened. That's why we are going back to the South and sending him to a private school. I am not trying to take all the problems out of my child's life because I know he needs them to learn how to handle life. But what I have seen in Connecticut is not what I want for my child. I teach my son to respect everyone. I wish the most of the children I have met up here would learn that."
"When you gave the advice to "let kids work it out themselves," you were not on this planet. I can't believe you would allow your daughter to stand a block away and then run to the bus. Aren't their little lives messed up enough from running to all different activities, that you have to start her morning all rushed, too? And you encourage her to hide and then run? She has as much right to that bus stop as all the other kids have. Why should she have to hide a block away? Anything related to school should be a safe haven of kids, and any activity that frightens a child should be reported. We as taxpayers are supporting the public schools. We as parents should do everything in our power to support and protect our children. They are children and do not have the thinking and planning skills to handle such situations at such a young age."
Bus Driver Comments:
"There are kids who try and take control on the bus and make others afraid of them. It's up to the driver to stop it. Some drivers don't care or are even afraid of that kid, but this should not happen. I am a bus driver, and my word is law on my bus. The students I drive may hate me, but that means I'm doing my job. Actually it's the kids who cause trouble that hate me; the others don't. I'm not there to make friends with them; I'm there to do my job.
"Here's an example. I had a student who started threatening another. I could not let this go by as it started getting heated. I stopped the bus and told that teen that if he continued I was going to take him back to school. He did stop and then started up again. This student was on the bus less than half an hour and managed to create hell on the bus.
"The next day I submitted a two-page report to the school. That student no longer rides my bus. It takes a lot to have someone removed from the bus, but in this case it was the student's choice not to ride my bus (after I reported him.)"
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"I have been a bus driver in Connecticut for five years. Bus drivers do not and cannot hear everything going on in the bus. Some school buses hold 72 students. With the engine noise and two-way radio, the kids being loud makes it hard. Also we have to be aware of what is going on outside the bus, too. We do not need special training to deal with kids, because about 95% of bus drivers have kids of their own. If a kid is being hassled, he should report it to the driver, so the driver can prevent it from happening again. If the hassling continues, the driver can report it to the school.
"Drivers get several months of training before being tested. There are monthly meetings to discuss safety. Parents are too quick to blame drivers for problems on the bus. The driver is not only a driver, but also a listener to kids whose parents don't listen, a babysitter, a monitor and the list goes on. Drivers in my company make $10.50 an hour after 15 years. Most of the kids are a joy, but some will do things on the bus they would never do at home. They're inside for 6 hours and then let loose on the bus.
"We watch the kids, the traffic, the lights, the mirrors -- to assure the kids' safety crossing the street. We put up with cars going through our SOS lights daily; drivers giving us obscene gestures; and others blowing their horns as we slow down to let a child off. Drivers care for the kids like they are their own. So give credit to the driver of the yellow school bus; your child may be on that bus someday."
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"I am a parent of 6 kids, not some crabby old goat witting home alone at night. School bus behavior mirrors that of society. Ignorance of many parents concerning the behavior of their children is very common. My bus weighs 27,000 lbs (13.5 tons), the equivalent of 6 cars. My greatest danger is being struck while picking up or dropping off children. With all my lights flashing, an average of one vehicle per week drives by my 9 foot high, 8 foot wide, 44 foot long, bright yellow vehicle. And this person wants me to worry about "conflict resolution?"
"My job is transporting students safely. If their behavior is sufficiently disruptive, I fill out a form and turn it in to the school. If the school decides not to act, they are condoning the behavior. I insist that students remain seated on my bus, whether parents like it or not (some complain that I'm too strict and that I yell at the kids). It's for the students' safety. The most common car/bus accidents are from cars hitting the bus head-on, from the side or from the rear.
"Most children are well behaved. It's the other drivers that worry me the most. I saw a woman get into a car accident this winter while trying to pull in front of me on a snow-covered road. I reported to the State Police that the accident was 100% her fault.
"Children need limits. If limits aren't imposed at home, when a stranger imposes them there is conflict. The problems kids are the ones without the limits at home. When I impose them, these kids sass back, "You're not my parent!" My response is, "You're right. You should show me even more respect because I'm not your parent." It is not my job to teach manners and proper public behavior. That's a parent's job."
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"The company I work for as a bus driver puts us through a passenger management course. I assign seats on my bus, from the youngest to oldest, front to back. Middle schoolers can hang together in cliques, but if a problem arises I handle it myself or call in a school administrator. If all else fails, I write up a conduct report on the troublemaker.
"It's not the easiest of jobs, but I chose it so I could be home with my children after school. I watch out for all the kids, big and small, no matter who they are or where they come from. No one knows how many jobs we have, all rolled into one. I would like some of the parents who "down" us for our driving or the way we handle problem behaviors just to drive a school bus for one week to see what it's like. It's a very complicated job to make sure every student gets transported to and from school safely every day." (bb)
Your Comments on this article - Subject: Hassles on the School Bus
Comments Archives - Share your idea on how schools might end student on student harassment in the schools and on the school buses.
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More 2safeschools link info
A Mother's Story - What this mom did when the school and therapy failed her out-of-control son. Excellent reading for Parents and School Staff dealing with an out-of-control teen and nothing else has worked.
A Librarian�s Story - A 10-year veteran of the King County, (Washington State) Public Library resigned rather than carry out library policy of providing children with pornography.
How to help keep your child's school bus safe - A short article from "In Loving Memory."
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