What to do about gossip school bus drivers...

Occasionally, Google brings across some really weird stuff. Today, we found a post on a blog all about gossip in which a parent asks, what s/he should do about a school bus driver that gossips with other drivers and the kids every time s/he brings up a problem*

Do other drivers gossip about parents like this? What about each other? What's going on in your operation?

Also online today:

• Texas Seeks to Ban Cell Phones in School Zones
• Student Accused of Hitting Driver in the Head
• Man Gets Prison in BBs Shot at School Bus
  

*Please note: In a rare exception, we have not included a link to the original story as the comments and postings on this site were offensive, unhelpful and potentially Not Safe For Work.

Monday Rundown

• The Kalamazoo Gazette offers more thoughts on the assault of a school bus driver. Apparently, it will take some time before the district can coordinate a policy on staff and training to prevent assaults like these or address them if they happen again. The paper also reacts to the virulent debate about race, education and discipline the incident ignited.
• On a similar note, a West Monroe, La., police tasered a 14-year-old student after the 250-pound 5'9" bus rider became belligerent and assaulted an officer.
  
• School bus driver gives special treatment to one cat.
  
• Spring break is over for Bus No. 6. He's sad to be waking up early again, but glad to be working in a job he loves given the economy:
  

  "At least we have a place to go to in the mornings instead of the unemployment line. At least we're driving something bigger than Bubba's pickup truck, and if he even LOOKS like he's going to pass through our blinking lights and stop sign, we know we could take him out if we had a mind to, but we don't because there are kids on board and we're more professional than that. But we gave it some thought. Yes indeed. My blood runs yellow. How about yours"

• Also from Nation's Press:
  
  • Web Site Users Catch Bus Drivers Behaving Badly, Call for Action
  • Transportation Boss Quits After Driver Allegedly Drove While Intoxicated
  • The Ambien Defense: School Bus Driver Claims Medicine Responsible for Sleep Driving Crash
  • More
    

New Blogger Behind the Wheel, Another Take on Kalamazoo

Okay, technically she's not new, but we just found her. Ravings of a Mad Bus Driver is the blog of a 30-year-old Michigan pupil transportation professional that tells everyday stories from the driver's seat. In her most recent post, she shares her take on the beating of a Kalamazoo, Mich., school bus driver we discussed earlier in the week:

WOW can you believe this.....

It's frightening to think what can happen just for doing your job. I couldn't help but cringe while watching this. It is very scary.

Incidentally, in the unfolding of this story, two teens were recently honored for their role in helping to stop the attack.

Monday Rundown

• Storm and strong winds throw Indiana school bus into building. According to the AP, the bus was empty at the time. Click for more on the storm, including photos of the bus atop a flattened building.
• Last week, a Michigan school bus driver was assaulted by one of her student riders in an incident caught on the bus' security camera. In an editorial this weekend, Julie Mack puts the incident in some perspective, reminding readers that the student was emotionally-disturbed and the incident occurred on a bus for students with emotional-disabilities:
  

  This was a horrifying assault. But it was very much an anomaly. This isn't something that happens every day or every year. To be honest, the viciousness of the assault was why it made national news; if this was happening regularly, it would be just another video.

  Yet many people don't see it that way. As often happens with school-safety issues, some are quick to draw conclusions that are fundamentally false. An isolated incident becomes proof of systemic violence in schools. A whole school system, a whole community can get unfairly tainted from one teenager's awful outburst.

• Short Bus Chronicles offers its two cents.
• Day Light Savings is back. That means early morning darkness for a.m. pick ups. Interestingly, one expert says while darker mornings produce more car crashes involving kids, the increase is more than made up for by the larger decline in early evening accidents with increased hours of light. The Washington Post's Marc Fisher explains the history of day light savings and looks at an alternative two-hour savings.