Movies might be the sounds (and sights) that soothe the beasts on board.
In the United Kingdom, some schools will be implementing a program to deter bad behavior on the school buses, and using films and TV shows to do it. In an article on the BBC News Web site, a 12-month pilot program, called Zoom, will consist of showing age-appropriate movies, concerts and nature programs to students during their rides to and from school. They even go as far as mentioning: “In the USA, entertainment systems are already used to reduce antisocial behaviour. They also report positive results.”
When I pack my wife and kids into our Suburban for a long car trip, I always make sure there are plenty of movies for the backseat bandits to watch. The inclusion of a DVD player was a definite selling point when I first looked at buying the SUV, and it comes in handy whenever we take a trip up north to visit our relatives. Now, I am not a proponent of using TV to “babysit” your kids in any way. My two boys and two girls are all very active and use their imaginations in ways that no television program or video games could ever compare to. But, when everyone is stuck in one place for an extended amount of time with a regulated amount of room to stretch, there is nothing wrong with throwing in a copy of Shrek or Lilo and Stitch to pass the time.
True, the costs of installing DVD players and TV monitors in school buses seems out of reach when some districts are fighting to keep the buses running, but it has some hidden cost savings as well. Think of all the time that is spent quelling disruptive behavior during bus rides, the paperwork involved with writing up an incident report, or the stress of watching the road and the 50-plus kids behind you. A little TV to keep everyone in their seats and occupied seems pretty priceless to me…
