Part 8: TIPS FOR SUCCESS

 

Here comes the meat of this lesson. Solutions to ALL your problems. Well maybe not all of them but at least a good faith effort to give you some tips and ideas that have worked for me and other drivers.

Let a Smile Be Your Style

In Part 4 we discussed FFFC and the first part of that was be Friendly! 
Good moods are contagious, and your students will respond positively to your positive attitude.

The bus driver is the first and last representative of the school system that a student will see. Let's make it a happy and memorable one!

Learning Is Caring!

Learning your students' names is very important for many reasons. First of all, students enjoy hearing you say their name and the fact that you remembered it. To a young adult seeking validation and respect, this small gesture is a sure sign that you care and value them.

People are "hot-wired" to enjoy positive recognition and learning their name is proof.

Secondly, learning your students' names is also advantageous when it comes to correcting bad behavior. Being able to call out the offending party(s) is much more effective than just yelling, "HEY YOU, KNOCK IT OFF!"

If you don't have a seating chart, you are just asking for trouble

Seating charts are yet another valuable tool in your bus driving tool kit. Sitting charts help keep order and can aide inorganizing groups of students by age and maturity.

For elementary: Younger less mature students should be seated near the front. It is also a good idea to separate your youngest, most vulnerable students from the older, bigger students who may pick on the younger children.

The Penalty Box
In hockey, when a player commits a penalty, they get sent to the penalty box. I like to consider the front, door side seat as the bus "Penalty Box." I choose this seat for putting misbehaving students because it's the easiest seat on the school bus for the driver to observe. Plus, you have a better chance of hearing any shenanigans when the student is closer to you. Now in hockey, the player gets out after serving their time. I also would suggest that the penalty box seat is not a yearlong assignment. Hopefully the offending student can earn their way out with better behavior.

Post and Explain the Rules as soon as possible

Children need and crave structure in their lives and school bus rules provide that structure. Taking the time to explain the rules to your students and explain why each rule is necessary helps them better understand the rules benefits and makes students more willing to comply.

Explain what you expect from your students and let them know that the Rules are the Rules and are not up for negotiation. 

School Buses are a Bustatorship and you are the Bustator.
As the bus driver you get to set the rules. Some drivers prohibit eating on the bus, some don't. Some drivers won't allow students to use their electronic devices, some drivers see the benefit of allowing the distraction of a cell phone.

However, there are certain MUST rules:

• Stay Seated
• No Standing Until the Bus has stopped
• No loud noises
• no Hands, Heads or any other body parts outside the Window
• Do Not throw anything outside the Bus Window
• No Profane Language
• No Bullying

Rules Should Be Fair/Firm/Consistent

We can now put the last three letters of our FFFC to work here. School Bus Rules should always be Fair, Firm and Consistent

Fair: Rules should not be overly harsh. For instance, expecting total silence from your students is unreasonable. Conversational, inside voices should be acceptable.

Firm: Once you've made a rule, don't bend or break it. You don't want to change horses' mid-stream, and you don't want to change the rules mid-route.

Consistent: Rules should be the same for all students, do not play favorites. 

And when rules are broken

Students must be taught that their bad behavior has consequences. So, when they break a bus rule make sure that they take responsibility for their actions. If they say something to hurt another student's feelings or if they mar or destroy another student's property. Report it (see Tip #5 on documenting) and then make the offending student apologize to the other student. Make sure they know why they are apologizing and why their apology is important.

If You Don't Document it... It Didn't Happen!

You write up a misbehaving student for constantly standing on the bus. He's argumentative and won't listen causing the whole bus to be in chaos.

It's unsafe!
Where is the school district and why isn't anything being done?
 Why isn't there anything happening to correct this?

Yes, it does seem like nothing is ever done, and the same misbehaving student's keeps doing the same bad things even though you've reported it in document file after document file! Nine, ten, eleven times and nothing "seems" to be happening.

We Don't Know What We Don't Know
Sometimes the wheels of student discipline grind slowly and we just have to be patient. There can be extenuating circumstances beyond your school district's ability to immediately act. Rest assured your school district does care and I'm sure they have your back. They run into this same situation with their teachers so they are well aware of the problems some "problem students" can cause. They sometimes need to build a case that can be used administer punishment and suspensions. Those 9, 10 and 11 times you wrote that student up may just need one more. Stay Calm -- Carry On -- and document a 12th!

Focus on Recognizing and Rewarding Good Behavior

Children love to be praised! It's important to recognize when they are behaving and not just focus on just their bad behavior. It's also important to reward their good behavior. This let's children know that what they are doing is appreciated and encourages them to continue doing good. Children are more likely to behave for the whole week if they know a reward awaits them on Friday.

Small rewards such as stickers for doing well. Possibly add a personalized achievement log sheet so the student can track their good behavior all week or month. Or even a "Bus Behavior Star" program where the best-behaved students receive special recognition and even extra privileges, like being the first one off the bus or helping to take attendance.

Perhaps you want to hand out a food reward for good behavior.

I find that a bag of pretzels makes a fantastic, inexpensive, nutritious (non-sugary) MOM APPROVED after school snack.

There will be times that the behavior becomes so distracting that you'll need to pull the bus over until order can be restored. These are the CODE RED situations we discussed in Part 7. If you need to give instructions to your student's like, "Keep the noise down" or "No standing!", it would be helpful to make sure your students are quiet while giving out instructions.

Here are the steps I suggest you take to quiet the bus:

• Pull over in a safe area
• Secure your bus (brake on and ignition off)
• Stand up and face your students
• Request quiet before giving instructions (usually standing silently until there is quiet will suffice)
  
  
  
  
  If your students haven't gotten the message that you want quiet, try raising two fingers. I don't know how or why but this is a thing now and the students understand that when their teacher raises two fingers, they are to be quiet.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Another method of silencing your bus is to flash your inside dome lights on and off. This is also a great way of silencing the bus while you are still moving.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

A great way to instill teamwork and responsibility is to assign bus duties. If students feel they have a part in keeping their bus clean, they are much more likely to not make a mess in the first place.

What's more, student's love to help out! When I was younger and walking 10 miles a day to school up hill, both ways, I used to love being picked to clean the chalkboard and erasers. It was a privilege, and an honor only bestowed upon a certain few 2nd graders. Well at least that's what my teacher had me convinced of. Coached in the same manner. your students will also see doing certain bus assignments as a rewarding privilege. 

Some Fun and Helpful Bus Duties include:

• Counting students for attendance logs
• Closing bus windows at the school or the last stops of the route
• Cleanup crew: Give them a trash can and have them walk back the aisles. The students sitting at their seats, can pick up whatever trash is near their seat and dispose of it in the trash. win/win
  
• Mentoring younger classmates: Inevitably you are going to get a crier. It could be just the anxiety of leaving mom or dad at home or possibly a really bad day. It's nice to have a mature older student who can sit with the student and provide comfort until they get to school or back home

Soft, comforting, relaxing, "easy listening" radio station or play list, playing in the background, can help calm students and lower the temperature of your bus and help keep your kernels from popping off. It can also be used as an incentive for good behavior. Denying the music when the bus misbehaves and rewarding them with music when they are well behaved.

But remember... "eaaaasy listening."
No hard rock or heavy metal!
That would not be calming.

Keep open lines of communication with parents

It's always good to get a buy in from your students' parents. Regularly update parents about their child's behavior on the bus -- good or bad -- so they can help reinforce good habits or address issues at home.