The school bus industry is predicated on safety and top-flight service, which can be a huge challenge when dealing with children. As “they” say, kids will be kids.
School bus drivers and aides know this fact all too well. With this in mind, I took notice upon finding a link on the wires from a self-described high school student who posted a question on a Yahoo! Answers webpage asking the question, “How to annoy my school bus driver?” Here’s what the student wrote:
“OK, so me and my friends want to annoy my bus driver cuz we all hate her. She gave us assigned seats and we r (sic) in high school. There are 5 of us who r (sic) going to annoy her. 3 of us sit in the middle of the bus and me and the other person sit in the very back. These r the things we already do: All clap when she makes a turn; Put a HONK sign on the back window; Make random sex noises; and Yell out things and then claim that my terets (sic) is acting up today.
“So do u hbe (sic) any ideas that wont get us in trouble? Like ways to mess with her without her noing it us whos (sic) messen (sic) with her. Thanks. And if ur (sic) gonna tell me not to mess with her cuz she’s just doing her job, then don’t leave a comment.”
Aside from the improper grammar and horrific spelling (which beg the question about the state of this student’s education – but that’s for another day), this post unfortunately proves what some misguided students think is humorous and, even more telling, what some think of their school bus drivers.
One may chalk it up to youthful exuberance and a general challenging of adult authority, but this post demonstrates the kind of childish attitudes that hundreds of thousands of school bus drivers potentially face each and every day. Anecdotally, I can’t count the number of school bus drivers who have personally told me how awesome all of their students are. But, just as many, have also told stories of that one bad apple that ruins things for everyone.
Here’s hoping that the school bus driver for this high school student knows what’s coming his or her way and is ready and able to adapt … and to report the behavior to a supervisor.
Editor’s note: Be sure to read the comments as, thankfully, several readers chastised this student’s immaturity and rightfully pointed out that the bus driver is only trying to do her job.
