This is being shared from a bus driver that hit it on the head!

As a school bus driver I would like to explain something.
My job is to transport your child from point A to point B safely. That is all. What do I mean when I say safely? Let me explain. Safely means I pre trip my bus to ensure it is running properly and that it hasn’t been tampered with. Safely means my eyes are constantly scanning all 7 mirrors, blind spots, and the road in front of me. I’m NOT a babysitter. I’m NOT a mediator. Im a BUS DRIVER. I would absolutely love to be able to watch and hear each and every little thing that goes on in the 40 feet of school bus behind me but while I’m watching Johnny jump across the seat I just missed a car pull out in front of me. And oops, while I’m yelling at Susie to keep her hands to herself the light changed and now I’m slamming on the brakes to stop in time at the intersection. And what’s that? Now Joey has a nose bleed? And now someone dumped all of Carey’s stuff out of her bookbag, and “bus driver Bobby is flicking me”, and “bus driver Lily said she doesn’t like me anymore”, and what’s that? While im looking in the mirror behind me reprimanding your perfect children a car just ran my reds and Sally almost got ran over! It’s never ending. So please, parents tell me where do you want me to look? Behind me? Or in front of me? Would you prefer I pull over each and everytime someone yells “bus driver”? Because then YOU will complain that the bus is never on time, and trust me if I did pull over everytime we wouldn’t even make it out of the school parking lot before I have to stop. In case you didn’t know; your children are not perfect. Would you rather I continue down the road watching what’s going on BEHIND me more than what’s going on with other vehicles on the road around me? Because I can assure you if I’m not scanning every angle around the bus there WILL be an accident, and then I will again be to blame because I should’ve been paying attention to the road. Now on top of that we see your children for less than 30 minutes per route and we are suppose to just know who gets along and who doesn’t so we can make a seating chart that is compatible with everyone, that also follows all suggestions from the school, and our company, JUST from WATCHING what is going on BEHIND us. So it’s “best” that kindergartensare up front, boys and girls don’t sit together, older kids don’t sit with younger kids and so on ya know, so they don’t corrupt one another. So now we think we got the perfect seating chart, WRONG complaints from parents start rolling in, so we rearrange again and again, and it’s not that easy. It’s a 40 foot bus with 60 + kids and approximately 13 rows of seats no matter where their seat gets moved they’re still not that far from “the problem” and trust me they will just yell louder. So here’s the thing, driving a 40ft + vehicle with 60 + children on it is not easy. And parents, you aren’t helping. Take some accountability. Teach your children better. If they have nothing nice to say tell them to keep their darn mouths shut. That’s not my job. It’s yours. If your child needs something to occupy them so they aren’t acting like wild animals (let’s be real if you can’t handle your child I surely can’t do it while I’m buckled in and reprimanding them through a mirror) send them with their phone and headphones, a fidget spinner, a book something so they sit down and mind their manners. I promise I will be happy to accept your child’s improved behavior. If your child is being bullied teach them how to handle themselves, how to speak to a bully and tell them to TELL US when they are getting on or off the bus so we can help. More often than not the ones who are truly being bullied haven’t said a word to us! We want to help, truly we do but there is only so much we can do to get these kids to act right before you are also mad at us for “embarrassing them” or “yelling at them” or “humiliating them” we know they are your babies and trust me we want them to act like the perfect little angels you think they are but that’s not always the case. So please don’t be narrow minded, we want your children to be happy and enjoy their bus ride but MOST importantly we want to deliver your precious cargo home to you safely. But we need your help! Those 30 minute routes are a blur sometimes because of how these children act on the bus. And I know I personally don’t want to leave my children motherless or you childless because I’m watching what’s going on behind me instead of on the road. My job is to drive, your job is to teach your child to get in, sit down, keep their hands to themselves, and be respectful and responsible for their own actions.

PS THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE IN PARTICULAR, BUT IVE BEEN SEEING POSTS AND COMMENTS ALL OVER SINCE SCHOOL STARTED BACK IN AUGUST AND IT NEEDED TO BE SAID. SO IF YOU THINK YOU CAN BABYSIT 60+ KIDS WHILE THEY SIT BEHIND YOU IN A 40FT VEHICLE MOVING 45-50 MPH BETTER THAN ME, MESSAGE ME WERE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE DRIVERS, AND IF NOT PLEASE BE QUIET .