The Bus Driver
15 Years Experience
South, ..
Female, 37
I have been a bus driver since late 2006. I know the inside story, the scoop, the down low dirt of what it takes to be a bus driver, how to handle kids and adults, and how to survive on the "streets" so to speak. I used to have a blog, feel free to browse it or ask me a question here.
First off, is this a school sanctioned thing? For example, is the bus driver recording students in order to put together a "school bus safety" video for the district. If so, then notices should have been sent around to all parents of the children involved. As it is the only LEGAL camera on the bus is the one that is hooked up to the bus monitoring system. Occasionally, I might take photographs of certain kids, but that's because I know their parents and will text them a goofy picture of their kid. Usually it is co-workers children. At any rate, I would seriously question why this driver is videotaping your child getting on and off the bus, or if maybe there was a miscommunication and the driver was referring to the overhead cameras in a bus lecture which are pointed at the students getting on and off the bus and sitting in the seats.
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Let them choose their seats, if there is a problem with them, then assign specific ones seats closer to the front where you can manage them. You'll find that several of the kids will sit with the same people every day and that they will usually have a preferred area of the bus. I have elementary, middle, and highschool on my bus so I separate the bus by sections. It gives the kids autonomy of choice when deciding where to sit. Alternately you could ask them to decide amongst themselves where they are going to sit, or at the very least whom they would like to sit near/next to. In that case, I would hand out index cards and then once names are written on each card, hand one student tape to put the name cards above the seats. At any rate, highschoolers like the autonomy of choice, so unless they give you a reason to assign them a seat, let them sort it out.
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If the driver backed into the arbor, knocked it down, and broke something then it should be up to the bus company to pay for a reasonable replacement of items broken or damaged. Accidents happen, and things should be fixed. I once backed into a yard and over a low fence (fence was largely decorative and only outlined parts of the driveway). I didn't think I had damaged anything but my boss got a call from the homeowners. Though I took responsibility, my boss just went and got the items needed to simply repair the damage (a post and one small piece of fence) It took all of 10 minutes to make the repair as it was a simple accident and not malicious in any way.
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Far as I can tell the notifications are left up to individual bus companies. I would assume it is based on severity of accident. If the bus was involved in a minor fender bender where no children are hurt, it is likely they will be either transferred to another bus and then delivered home or to school, or the bus is undamaged so it is able to deliver a student to and from school. You should review your individual school system policies to see what their protocol is on notifying parents of bus accidents.
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It depends on the type of system, but most sound systems on a bus pick up surrounding noise, but the best noise happens about 4-6 feet surrounding the microphone.
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Bus drivers have the right to assign seats to kids. That includes everyone from pre-school to high school. The way it works on my bus, the elementary have assigned seats. From pre-k through grade 5, they are assigned a certain seat. After that they have the freedom to pick a seat but must stay seated and follow all the bus rules. Failure to follow the rules, acting out, and being unruly will get an older child to be treated like my younger group. Some districts require assigned seats regardless of age of the child. This is to help first responders when there is a bus wreck. We don't do it to be mean or obnoxious, though if you act out, we may retaliate in response by putting you with a child that is significantly younger than you to show you how to behave. If you have a preferred seat or section or have a certain friend or two you want to sit beside, let the bus driver know. Most drivers will try to accommodate you.
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I would check to see what your district policy is on electronics on school property. In my district, electronics such as cellphones or music players or the like are not allowed primarily in school or on school property which includes the school bus. As for me, I allow these things unless they start to cause a nuisance between the kids, in which case I usually will warn the child with the offending device and warn of the consequences (confiscation and a parental phone call) Most of the time the kids will tone it down and behave. Have you tried warning this child of the consequences for his behavior? Finally, you can get the back up of your supervisor in order to help manage this.
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