Bus Driver Diaries

The end of the school year makes for a busy bus driving schedule. There are activity runs all year long, but during the last two months of school activity runs multiply like rabbits. Just last week, in addition to my regular morning and afternoon runs I had four all-day activity runs. These make running my… Continue reading Sometimes You Have to Be a Rebel to Be a School Bus Driver

Yes, we will walk with a walk that is measured and slow And we will go where the chalk white arrows go For the children they mark and the children they know The place where the sidewalk ends.   That is the last stanza to Shel Silverstein s poem Where the Sidewalk Ends. Aria just… Continue reading Bus Driver Diaries: The Games We Play

The daily morning pick-ups and afternoon drop-offs are the routine of the school bus driver. It s the activity trips that spice up our job. On Thursday morning at nine a.m. I began loading thirty-five FFA students who were on their way to the State FFA convention. The next three days were a nice break… Continue reading I Say, Keep On Annoying Me!

Actual experience may vary from this recruitment video.

When I think of Valentine s Day s of my youth nothing substantial comes to mind except for a Valentine s Day when I was in the second grade. We were each to bring a homemade valentines box to class and enough valentines for everyone. My Mom made my box for me. It was covered… Continue reading And Then Valentine’s Day Exploded All Over My Bus

I was a new bus driver. I suppose every bus driver is at one point or another. I was still trying to find the answer of how to control the kids on my bus. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that you can t. I learned that keeping order on the bus is more like… Continue reading Bus Driver Diaries: I Tell Them Stories

I have up to eighteen stops on my bus route. Each stop has its own smell, flavor, and color. My second stop, right at 7:00 am, is a buffet of all of the above. Some are waiting at the edge of the road. Others are waiting in parent s cars because it s cold out.… Continue reading Bus Driver Diaries: Every Stop Has It’s Own Flavor

At 5:00 am, when my alarm goes off, the faces of my bus children are already in my mind s eye. This is strange to me because most of my day has very little to do with the bus. I pick up my first stop at 6:55 am and deliver at the school at 7:55… Continue reading Bus Driver Diaries — Eddie