Last time I checked a bus was an inanimate object. It can’t bully or be bullied.
Whilst it may be true that most bullying incidents involving children occur on a school bus, this should not be read as an attack on school buses. Rather it is the children who must take responsibility for their actions.
Last week I wrote about a school that was changing to a compulsory school uniform to try and eliminate bullying. I argued that bullies wont be deterred from bullying just because of this policy. Similarly, bullies don’t need a bus seat to ply their trade.
To make matters worse, the instructions to bus driver to greet students and learn their names is belittling and highly disrespectful. The role of a bus driver is to drive the bus safely. The role of the passengers is to behave with respect.
A video of students taunting, threatening, and degrading school bus monitor Karen Klein gave millions of people a 10-minute glimpse into a growing bullying epidemic.
Roughly 30 percent of middle school and high school students are bullied, and nearly 10 percent of the abuse happens on the school bus, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
But the problem is likely much worse, since nearly two thirds of the incidents are never reported, the department estimates.
Limited supervision and a confined environment make school buses a hotbed for bullying, a recent Slate article notes.
Insufficient training and bullying policies that don’t address a bus driver’s role only compound the problem, Mike Martin, executive director of the NAPT, said in a presentation last year. To address this issue, the NAPT and Department of Education developed a two-part training program specifically for school bus drivers.
Building a rapport with students by greeting them and addressing them by name can help drivers prevent bullying, according to the training materials. When bullying does occur, the training champions the “See something, do something” mantra, instructing drivers to warn the students and inform school administrators.
Topical Teaching 