Bus Driver Sounds Off on Student

St. Mary's School Bus Drivers Sound
Off About Student Violence on Buses
send your comments to staff@stmarystoday.com

If you don't like it, stop driving a bus!

To the school bus drivers and entire St. Mary's County Community,

Let me begin by that I hope that the St. Mary's Today will after reviewing this letter appreciate why I have not only selected this particular forum to express my views on the school bus driver safety issue, but in fact publish it for all to see. From what I have read in your publication, regarding certain issues, there are particular categories of citizens whose opinions for the most part are not really welcomed by the St. Mary's Today newspapers; (1) anyone not born, bred and raised in St. Mary's County, (2) African-American, and well educated and concerned about community issues, (3) never having been involved in or accused of either using or selling crack cocaine or any other illicit drugs, or driving while intoxicated, (4) being on social assistance or asking the county to feed yourself and your family or otherwise disabled, (5) a very distinguished law enforcement career with any other agency other than the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Department, and lastly willing to work and earn an honest living and pay my taxes, regardless of what language I speak or if I hold a Green Card or not. Unfortunately, I am in each of these categories. Having said this, a number of you may ask what the heck is this clown writing about an issue like the apparent lack of respect for school bus drivers in St. Mary's County, what does he know? Here is what I know about the problem, first of all I am a recently retired police officer with over 34 years of law enforcement experience from another jurisdiction. Secondly, when I started with my former agency in 1974, one of the most readily available jobs to earn extra part-time money for sworn officers was to, yes you guessed it, driving a school bus, which I in fact did for many, many years. For the many bus drivers complaining about a lack of respect and the conduct of the children you drive daily, and the feeling of no support from the school board and parents, try driving in a system where the average parent was a doctor, lawyer, or politician! I am talking about an environment where even the police where expected to use the "service entrance" when responding to a call for service. Anyway, several years ago, preparing for my retirement, my wife and I elected to purchase property and build a home down here in St. Mary's County, in Ridge as a matter of fact. Prior to retiring, I decided to make use of my expertise gained as a law enforcement officer working with youth gangs, (Hispanic and Black, Asian, Jamaican) to good use here in my new home of St. Mary's County, by among other things working as a Substitute Teacher at both Spring Ridge, and Great Mills High School.

I took this job as a substitute teacher with the hopes that knowing what our children are faced with, I could somehow make a difference as to their futures and it was certainly not because of the salary! After reading some of the "sob stories" from some of the drivers especially the "single parents" driving buses to earn money to put their OWN children through school, I have to speak up and tell it like it is. Some of your own "children" in the classroom are the most disruptive to the teacher, simply because, you come home after a particularly bad day complaining in front of your own children using not only names, but, racial and religious descriptions! Children tend to follow the lead of not only what their parents do, but, also the degree of respect or lack thereof for other cultures!

My suggestion to all of you (school bus drivers and parents) is, if you do not like what the "system" is teaching your children, stop driving a bus, quit your day time job, and become a substitute school teacher! If you think that school bus drivers do not receive the RESPECT that they should, try being a teacher or an Administrator for that matter, whom you feel is responsible only for YOUR CHILD, and not the hundreds of others. Stop blaming the school board, administrators, teachers, County Commissioners, and the police for your own failures as parents, single or not. What your child does at home including telling you as the parent to shut-up or go to h....., they are definitely saying the same thing to their bus driver, teacher, and classmates. Look in the mirror and see where they are getting it from, think about it the next time you march into your child's school complaining about a bus driver arriving late and YOUR child missing the bus, only because you failed to instill in them the rules of LIFE, which WE ALL have to obey. I am sick and tired of people using the race, cultural, and even Green Card question as an excuse to cover up just plain poor parenting, you elected to have children then help our community raise them, or just SHUT UP!

R.S.
Ridge

CUSSING IS A SECOND LANGUAGE
I am a driver. I have been driving 11 years. It has changed. When I started everyone knew the areas they did not want to drive for. The children were mouthy and rude and just did not listen to anyone but mabey their own mothers. You know the ones who defend MOM if one word is said about them? They were the ones who used profanity as a first language. WELL, it has spread. No matter what area you drive for now you will encounter at least two per bus. I can guarantee these are the young people who cause the police to be called for fighting ect. One child who constantly picks on your child every day is one to many. Ask your child what it is really like to ride their bus everyday? You will be amazed if you ask the right questions what you hear. CUSSING IS A SECOND LANGUAGE. SEXUAL REMARKS, PUT DOWNS, BULLYING. By God if I was a kid these days I would be scared all the time. My last child graduates this year. I have supported my family alone without child support for 11 years. I am on housing and at times have had to rely on welfare to get over tight spots, as in breaking a leg. I am not sorry I chose my job. I love children or would not have had five before my marriage went sour. Yes, they all had the same Dad, my ex-husband. But now when the last one gets out on his own I will quit and work at Wally Mart. I may never have spending money in my pocket but I will be respected for my time and effort I put into my job every day. To all the kids who just need a ride to school and just want peace, you also have the responsibility to speak up for yourself. We do listen. Merry Christmas to all and do not forget those around you who need your help. You know who they are, please do not ignore that nagging thought in the back of your head these holiday times.

If we do not support these drivers we will certainly lose them

I am a concerned parent that just finished reading the comments made by the bus drivers. Oh my god! Something needs to change Now. This is a public safety issue. Imagine trying to drive down the road safely with 50 children carrying on behind you. My girls are well behaved but if they were not the driver must be able to have them removed to preserve the safety of the other children. These drivers need our support and respect. We have already lost the buses that used to bring our children home from after school activities (Sports, Band Etc.) think for a moment what it would be like if we as parents were tasked with the responsibility of getting our children to and from school ourselves. If we do not support these drivers we will certainly lose them as they find other less stressful jobs. In closing I would like to personally thank each one of you drivers for your patience and perseverance and on behalf of the drivers I would beg the appointed supervisors to resolve these issues now. A wise man once told me, "Your either part of the problem, or part of the solution, You chose". I would like to be part of the solution. Thank you again to all you bus drivers and I hope action will be taken to lessen your daily problems.
A Mechanicsville Resident
Kids Need to Respect Elders; Bus Drivers Must Have Respect

II am a parent of three children in the St. Mary's County School system, two in elementary and one just started middle school this year. For the last three years my kids have had the same bus driver until this year when the transportation department decided to switch a lot of drivers schedules, which is expected from time to time. I was so happy to learn that this particular bus drivers new route (all though would not include the two smaller children) did include my daughter that was starting her first year of middle school, which made me feel as comfortable as if I was taking her to school myself because this driver treated our children as if they were her own. I think I can speak for all of the parents in our small neighborhood to the degree of my meaning of being treated as her own. This driver would tell us (meaning any parent in the neighborhood) of any concerns what so ever in reference to our children from them not feeling well to if they had a problem on the bus no matter how small or even something that may have happened in school because my kids would console in her as she is more than just a bus driver she is a FRIEND. THREE YEARS grows on people especially children, RESPECT was earned and given to all on the bus as long as they just followed rules (SIMPLE RULES).

Now that being said I will now tell you of my displeasure of finding out that this bus drivers route had been changed yet again after only a little over a week into school because of what I understand from my inquiry as to why to have been one of those ungrateful my kid doesn't do wrong parents who thought that the bus was arriving late for her standards at the bus stop in the morning, by the way not by the rest of the counties standards because the children were still arriving to school on time so no harm no foul to their education best I can tell. Many thanks to that parent for that as my understanding now is the bus that took over the route arrives at the same time as the original bus, so what was accomplished?

I am amazed that anyone could even begin to blame bus drivers for the actions of what could be 50 individuals on a full bus ( I think that's the average seating per bus ) acting up all at one time, granted I hope that is normally not the case. But as it may go for the older kids, if they act up on the buses the way they do in public, meaning from the store, the park, the movies, the fair or even in your neighborhood (Just Think About It). I have to agree with the drivers there are deep rooted issues that would be hard for anyone to tolerate, much less try to control. I am shocked at the language and the actions that they use as if it was or meant nothing.

I was raised when the switch and the belt got your attention, which is now extinct like the dinosaurs. But if you look around everyone raised that way turned out just fine. These days children are taught in school about child abuse and that if they feel they are being abused, (and most still don't fully understand the meaning) to tell the teacher or principal and they can have them removed from the home, (this is how some children see that). As from first hand experience at Wal-Mart a child was acting up over and over again and the parent asked repeatedly and repeatedly for them to stop. Finally the child turned to the parent and said No, I don't have to, (used profanities), and if you touch me I will tell my principal and he will take me out of our house and would get me a new home. My mouth dropped to the floor and it made me wonder exactly what are they telling these kids.

We are by no means parents of the year but we try hard to raise our kids right and the first thing that we taught them is RESPECT as that was the first rule for us growing up, especially to RESPECT YOUR ELDERS! It can be seen all around that the word RESPECT means nothing to most anymore just a word in the dictionary or a spelling word.

I am in no way calling other parents bad, as there are so many that are doing the best job that can do with what they have to work with. But there are as most of you have probably seen or even know some parents that dont care, or have basically given up because they also have laws that cant be broken. For fear of someone knocking on their door from family services or the police department with a complaint by someone or a child that abuse may be in the home. Those are normally the kids that are what other people have referred to as the bad apples or seeds and I sympathize for those parents. Good job to all those parents who are trying the best they can and keep up the good work, try not to give up. For all those kids I wish they could realize, which most don't, Riding The Bus Is A Privilege. Also how really good that they have it and how they take so many things in their everyday life for granted i.e. a home, food, friends and family.

Just a little thought, as no one seems to look at the big picture anymore and are all so quick to lay blame on the first thing or person in front of them. In my opinion the bus drivers are not to blame and never were.

Please, next time you see the bus drivers picking up or dropping off your kids, just wave or go over and say hello. You will see they are just like you and me, that they are doing the best job they can with what they have to work with.

Good Luck to all and Have a Safe Holiday Season

Great Mills Area Resident

Drivers with Cellphones

Why don't you talk about bus drivers who are on the their cellphone. When kids are on the bus.

Lisa Pulliam

Spitting in Bus

How disgusting, I had a sub bus driver on my bus yesterday, so I could do a field trip and when I got home the driver called me and said that a student coughed up a big glob of spit and spit it on the floor. The driver went to the back of the bus to find out who it was and no-one would say anything but they sure were laughing about it. I was on my bus this morning and I let everyone off except for the ones that were sitting in the back. One student refused to stay back.I really tried to get him to stay, but he chose to leave. I talked to a teacher about and she gave me another way to try. I talked to the other student's and could get nothing out of them. You know we have to clean it up and we don't know what kids have and so on. They put makeup on and you ask them not to and they say, what does it matter to you. you feel like well you know how you would feel. They trash up your bus. They just make it hard for the good student's and the driver. So you see we don't just drive we clean up after them, we take nasty coments from them we get told to f off f you and so on. What are we to do. If my child talked to me like that, I would do all that I could to make sure it didn't happen again, and if I even thought about it when I was growing up my mother, well lets just say I would not have any front teeth. school bus driver.

Bus Drivers are Underpaid; Riding Bus is a Privilege

I would like to respond to the comments made by everyone about school bus drivers and disruptive kids. Riding the School Bus is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT. I am a very active parent and also used to drive a school bus and I have seen first hand that sometimes, it is NOT the children's fault - it is their parents. You would be amazed at the number of children, in the elementary school grades, who board and exit the school bus by themselves. In many cases, their parents are still in bed. That's right, they have slept through the most important part of their kids' day. The morning is the time of day when a person's outlook on the rest of the day is determined; if the parents are there, or have at least prepared them beforehand (packed lunch, given lunch money, made sure they ate, I have seen many co-workers call their kids while they themselves are on the bus going to work, to make sure their kids are up and moving), not to mention saying those three little words "I Love You" or "Have a Good Day", then the kids actually know someone cares. If no one assists them with getting ready for school, why should they care? Think about it.

A lot of people take advantage of the system. They feel like from 7:30 until about 4:00, their children are someone else's responsibility. I have attended numerous parent meetings about bus behavior, where the parents have told me that I need to learn to control THEIR kid, or when the parents don't even show up. This sends the message to the student that #1) "Mom doesn't care, I can do what I want" or even more sad, #2) "Mom just doesn't care". I have been in situations where I have seen athletic coaches stay at school for over an hour waiting for a parent to pick their child up. I have also seen kids who participate in athletic activities on the high school level and their parents NEVER go to their games, and many times, don't pick their kid up, they rely on someone else to get their kid home. You can't really blame the attitudes or behavior of the kids on the kids, it should rest on their parents, who are raising their kids to feel as though they can do what they want, because no one cares.

The one thing that EVERYONE needs to be reminded of is: "Riding the School Bus is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT". If a child acts disruptive on the bus, he is not only causing a potential danger to the students around him, but he is causing a potential danger to everyone on the bus and everyone on the road around the bus. Bus drivers do not have eyes in the back of their heads. Put yourself in their position. You are driving a 35 foot vehicle with 60 kids on it. Do you think you could pay attention to the road and the cars around you, AND the 60 kids who are laughing, jumping seats, throwing paper, listening to their IPODS, or slapping the kid in the seat next to them? Most of us have cars or SUV's and driving 3 or 4 kids around is enough to drive us crazy. Bus Drivers and school administrators need to start taking away this PRIVILEDGE, which would require the parents to take a more active role and get their kids to school on their own. Maybe if parents start having to miss work or having to get up out of bed to take their kids to school, maybe if parents are inconvenienced a little because of their children's actions, maybe then the recklessness taking place on school buses will start to diminish.

School Bus Drivers have a THANKLESS job. They don't get paid near what they are worth and the least they should get is support from the school administration and the Board of Education

Enforcing safe transport for students is responsibility of school system
As a parent of three children in Calvert County, I have seen the good, the bad, and the UGLY when it comes to behavior on the school bus.
The good: One bus driver, in particular, has been amazing. She maintains a great rapport with the students, drives safely, and commands respect. I rarely hear of a problem on her bus. How thankful I am for her!
The bad: Behaviors by students which are distracting to the bus driver. This includes throwing things, being too loud, and bothering other students.
The UGLY: Students not wanting to ride the school bus because they don't want to continue to be abused by other students. This includes various types of assaults including punching/hitting, having items thrown at them, and verbal harassment.
MY OPINION: Students are getting away with violent acts at school, receiving meaningless consequences, such as one day in ISS. Same holds true with incidences of violence or other hurtful behaviors on the school bus. Lack of unpleasant consequences. ISS is not, I repeat, NOT unpleasant for a large majority of students. Actually, I think it is quite the opposite!
If a particular school bus is having a problem with certain individuals, I say, put a bus monitor on that bus -- someone who is capable of commanding respect from the students. This person would also have to have the ability to restrain an individual without hurting them. Would it cost the school system money? Yes, but it would be well worth it.
It is the RESPONSIBILITY of the school system to provide safety for students no matter where they are: in school, on a field trip, or on a school bus.   The school systems must be held accountable.
Most Kids are Great But Drivers Get NO SUPPORT
from Schools or Transportation Dept.
I have been a school bus driver going on nine years with six being in St. Mary's county. Every year the problems get worse and the we get NO SUPPORT from the schools or the transportation department. All we get is excuses!!! When going to work in the morning our minds should be 100% on getting the kids to school safely not what problems am I going to have to deal with! I used to love my job and all my kids now it is a whole different story which is so sad. I hate my job but can't afford to quit not knowing if I can find another job to support my family.
Seeing I brought family up, I am not only a bus driver but a mother with 2 children in this poor excuse for a school system. My kids used to love school but now hate going to school because of having to deal with the poorly behaved students. They see the poorly behaved students do things and get away with it so were is the incentive for the good kids to behave right. If a child can not act right in school then there should be consciences for their actions. We have lived other places were ZERO TOLERANCE was the school discipline policy. I understand that ever child should be aloud to get an education but for the children who don't care they are taking an education away from a children that do care. DOES THAT SEEM FAIR? For a child that goes to school for an education to deal with disturbances of those who don't want to be there isn't fair at all.
Back to the school bus which has to get students to school safely. Which is a difficult task when students are not at their stops on time. The buses in the county are on very tight schedules this year so we do not have time to wait on anyone. If you can't be at the bus on time then an alternate form of transportation is needed. It is great to see someone wanting to go to school but it is another to chase a moving bus. That is just STUPID! Once the bus is loaded and lights are off you have missed the bus. Bus drivers do not intentionally leave students behind it is the fault of either the parent or the student for not being where they needed to be. When the students board the bus there are rules that have been in place since I road a bus 30 some years ago. These rules have been put in place for the safety of the kids. If a driver gets distracted the results can be deadly. We deal with allot profanity, threats, fights and just plain ignorance, some on a daily basis. The driver and the children behaving correctly should not have to deal with that. If we as a driver write a bus conduct form we are lucky to see it back in a month if at all and 95% of the time with no action taken.
WHERE IS THE SUPPORT WE NEED?
When we have problems with behavior it needs to be addressed right away not in a week, month and most certainly not never. I think that would help cut down on the problems. Problems will never be eliminated but decreased would be fantastic.
I do want to say that in my six years here I have transported many wonderful kids with very supportive parents but the number is decreasing every year. For those of you that support bus drivers, teachers, cafe workers and everyone else who works hard to help your children be successful in their education. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! I wish there were more wonderful people like you. We all need to work together to make the system work. Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope you have some of an understanding about how drivers are feeling.

Bus Drivers Need to Sound Off to the Public About Violence and Lack of Action from Officials
I am really disappointed in the drivers in St Mary's Co right now. This is the moment we have been waiting for to let the public know what is going on out here, and only a few have spoken, only a handful. I know how it feels to be scared of higher up's and everyday we have problems with the job. Speak out now while you have the chance. If you don't then stop complaining and nothing will ever get done. It takes all of us to make a difference. We need to express to our supervisors that we need something done and that rules need to be followed. Not for some, but for all. In the past in my driving a bus I have been egged 7 times and the windows have been shot twice with bb guns and some student took an object and scratched the whole side of a brand new school bus. I know who did it but because I didn't see them the sheriff won't do anything about. The students talked about it on the bus and still nothing was done. Don't worry we know where you live. There has to be a line somewhere, I guess when it becomes fatal then something will happen. It's just a shame that we all have to wait for that moment.
A School Bus Driver That Cares.
Behavior of Students on School Buses is Really Getting Bad
I have been a school bus driver for six years, and believe me it is not an easy job. There are good students and there are students with a lot of issues and then you have students that just don't care They don't care about themselves or their parents or anyone else for that matter. Then there is the school bus driver. Could you be a school bus driver? Think about it. We pull up to a stop not knowing if there was a fight or argument or whatever and it bothers me because I don't know if a student is going to be pushed out in front of my bus or what. Then they get into school and treat the teachers like crap and if they had a bad day or got a bad report card guess who gets to hear the news first, yes the school bus driver. They are yelling and screaming and jumping seat's. They don't want to hear the rules of sitting down and be quiet. We try to drive safely and watch the road and the students get them home safe and go to the next school to do it all over again. We all have handbooks with the rules in them and they should be followed. We need support and we all need to work together as a Team. It is not the drivers fault if your child cannot ride the bus that day. When you don't have transportation for you child to go to school it should not be put on the driver. Please let's work together. It's getting bad and I mean it is really a problem.
Parents Need to Raise Children Right
Parents. Do you know why students fight on the bus? It is because they are angry and some of them just hate and some make them feel important. Heck of a way to get attention, wouldn't you say. So something is going on with your child. It is from home and you need to do something about it. We can all help, but it is your responsibility, not ours. If your children don't respect you now how are they to know how to respect others. On my bus when I ask a student to be quiet he or she only gets louder, when I say shut up they get quiet. We are not suppose to say shut up but it works. I want to say that I drive some very good students and I work with some great parents and I commend those parents. You can tell a good student from student who has many issues. School bus drivers are good people and we deserve the right to be treated as so. If you can't raise your children then let someone else. Give these children rules to follow and work together and you can bet things will only get better. We need support from everyone who has to deal with unruly kids.

Students Tossing Objects from School Buses are Real Danger to Motorists
Last month I was behind a gentleman in a pick up truck that was following a Chopticon High School Bus. A student on the bus threw a pencil out of the window of the school bus. The pencil hit the gentleman's windshield and cracked it. The gentleman followed the bus into the neighborhood that the bus was taking students to. I was following behind him and the bus because I live in the neighborhood. He flagged down the driver and went up to the bus to report what happened. The bus driver explained there was "Nothing she could do" since she did not know which student threw the pencil. The gentleman was quite upset. Especially since he would need a new windshield due to the large crack. The students on the bus were yelling at him (I could not make out what they were saying but I am sure it was not pretty). He got in his truck and left and I proceeded home but kept a large distance between myself and the bus. Someone should be held accountable for something like that.
Today it is a pencil............tomorrow it could be a D sized battery, rock, or a book. I have two children under age 2 and let me tell you I will keep more than the legal distance from buses because I fear for my children's safety and my own while driving. It is so sad that some kids nowadays are mean spirited and cruel. The gentleman is quite lucky he got off with a cracked windshield. He could have easily lost control of his vehicle and crashed. He could have been injured or killed and he could have also injured or killed someone else on the road all because of this kids stupid careless action.
Sharon, Mechanicsville

School System Is Becoming a Joke

I drive a school bus and I see the school system in the USA becoming a joke. Other countries have stern measures to protect and and punish fellow students. What is happening is we as the AUTHORITY figures are being undermined. I'd say 25% of parents send their kids to school to be baby-sat. That 25% of kids is the bad apple in the bushel we need to eliminate them to get order like in the good old days, back when a good old fashioned arse-whippin got respect.
TO ALL THE PARENTS OUT THERE: IF YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOUR OWN KIDS DON'T BURDEN US BUS DRIVERS, WHEN YOUR CHILDREN DON'T LISTEN TO VERBAL COMMANDS BY YOU ALL OTHER THINGS ARE JUST A JOKE.
WAKE UP.
THIS IS REALITY DON'T EXPECT US TO BE THE PUNCHING BAGS FOR THE KIDS YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOURSELF.
By the way, WE AS AMERICANS ARE ALLOWED TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM LIFE THREATENING DANGER. I SUGGEST YOU TEACH YOUR KIDS RESPECT OR THEY WILL NOT RECEIVE IT IN RETURN!!!!!
JWD

Bus Drivers says Toleration is Not The Answer

I am also a driver for St Marys County Public Schools. I understand exactly what these drivers are going through. The behavior of some of these kids is outrageous. I don't think anyone who hasn't been a bus driver before knows how hard it is to drive down the road with a bus load of children screaming, yelling and fighting only a matter of inches behind you. I really feel sorry for all of the well behaved children that have to witness this every day just to receive the education that they have a right too. There are many children that have come from good homes, and are taught to respect others, that have to sit next to violence, profanity, threats, prejudice, and name calling on a daily basis. There has been countless times that children have come to me in tears because they want to sit somewhere else because they fear the children around them. I can not tell you how many times I have been threatened with bodily harm. And, even though I am an adult it is still scary. Face it, we live in a time where there are children walking into schools with guns and knives and even bombs and really killing people. But, these threats are never taken seriously. These children can do and say anything they want to their drivers and nothing is done to them. They might get suspended from the bus for a few days or the school may call their parents and tell them. And, most of the time it's the children whose parents don't care any way. I have called the police several times about threats that I have received and nothing is ever done.
There has been many nights that I have come home in tears because I want to quit my job but I can't afford to. I have never in my life been spoken to so disrespectfully as I have as a school bus driver. I have had things thrown at me while I was driving, I have been cussed out while I was driving and threatened many many times. At least a few times a week I have to pull on the side of the road to try and get some type of control over these children. And guess what, if the child denies that they did something wrong and their friends go along with it. It becomes a "my word against theirs" case. The driver is not respected as the adult in the situation. Another fact that I would like to share is this: If a child attacks me and starts hitting me or beating on me, if I touch them even to get them off of me in self defense, I will be charged with child abuse and lose my job. And at the same time, they don't want to take threats seriously.
Who is the adult and who is the child??
Why does everyone keep tolerating this behavior. As a driver, I have no rights. I don't have the right to refuse to transport or suspend a child on the bus. I don't even have the right to defend myself when being cussed out or threatened or attacked. I have to still drive perfectly down the road while I am being verbally attacked by these children. And it really feels like nobody cares and I need to find a new job.
In my opinion, toleration is not the answer, how are these children going to function when they become adults. At 18 years old are they going to magically mature?? Or are they going to think that they can still get away with any crime they want because that is the message that they have been taught by the school system. I know we can't control what goes on in their homes, but, we can stop letting them get away with anything they want in the schools or on the bus.
To the parents of the well behaved children; Thank you!!

Bus Driver Says Discipline Rules Should Be
Followed by Parents and Schools to Have Order
I have been a school bus driver for the last 20 years in St. Marys County. The children on today's buses are very different today than they were when I first started driving. Today the kids have no respect for themselves much less, any other adult or authority figure. Now I am not saying all the children don't know how to act but the majority of them get on a school bus and just want to show off for their friends. I find it very hard to believe
any bus driver allows their kids to fight on a moving school bus. Its hard enough to drive under the current conditions of all the traffic we have to fight with everyday and try to control 40 to 50 kids on a bus all in a safe
manner and all at the same time. We are not baby sitters we are bus drivers.
There are discipline guidelines that every school has and parents are given student handbooks with these rules and punishments that are outlined for every offense that a student violates. But when the punishments are passed down like a suspension the parents cry they have no way to get their kids to school, they have to work. Well so do we under a lot more stressful condition than most. If these guidelines are followed strictly than the kids will realize what's going to happen to them and they may not break the rules as often and maybe the parents will take a more active role in their kids discipline and we won't have the problem of misbehaved children on the school buses. When a car sees a school bus the think oh no I need to get around this bus making driving very difficult for us drivers. We have to be nurses to these children and have knowledge with epie pins for bee stings what to do in the case of a child having a seizure, nose bleeds etc...Unruly kids on a school bus is just an accident waiting to happen.
Its very easy for one brother to get on a bus and the other not make the stop. I have 3 children in the school system 2 in high school one is a slow mover in the morning and its is very possible for one to make the bus and the other to miss her bus. We are on a time schedule if we are five minutes late picking up the children than that could make the parents five minutes late for work and believe me the parents don't hesitate to call
transportation and complain. Most parents want to believe that their children are angels when we aren't around but lets face it no kid is perfect. Peer pressure make people do stupid things
Bus Driver Sounds Off on Student Violence:
Police Fail to Act on Threats; Bus Drivers Need Support
from School Officials, Parents and Community

I am a school bus driver for St. Mary's County and I have to say that it is not any particular school. These kids nowadays are rude and disrespectful to anybody. We try to get the schools involved and they get a slap on the wrist repeatedly. We try to contact the parents and get nowhere. So we are left with no other choice than to call the police. The only problem with that is that we call the police and they respond by saying "making threats is not against the law" therefore they cannot do anything. I was present twice last week when the police were called and the police told the driver there is nothing we can do. My first year on the bus I was called every name but a child of God and it has continued for the four years I have been driving. Kids nowadays just don't care. We do everything in our power to get these kids to and from school safe but it gets hard when you have incidents on the bus all the time. It's hard to concentrate when you have kids screaming and hollering, cussing and fussing, and fighting on the bus. But the minute we get into and accident or we lose our temper and say something out of the way we are wrong and reprimanded. Where is the fairness in that. There needs to be steps taken to ensure that not only do the kids get to school safely but that we as the bus drivers have some kind of support from the schools, the parents and the community.
Parent Says Expelling Bad Students Not Right Answer

I am sorry that students are giving the bus drivers a hard time but I am so glad that some students are doing every thing possible to get to school!! How is it possible that one brother made it on the bus and the second brother had to resort to extraordinary lengths to board the bus? Was there more involved to this story? Get the boys statement, Please. For goodness sakes do not expel children who are trying to get an education, we need them to learn how to be productive members of society.

Thank you from a concerned citizen.

Mary Norris

Irresponsible Bus Drivers?

Why don't you talk about bus drivers who let their students fist fight on the bus?
Porzia Arnsen