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JoshRice
New Member
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 09/18/2002 : 8:16:10 PM
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As an alternative to a long term suspension that usually punishes the parent rather than the child; we are starting a program that invloves a one night class 2-3 hours long, that the parent and child must both attend. Topics will include proper behavior on the bus, and videos. Has anyone else's district ever done this before, or has anyone else heard of this alternative? If so, please e-mail me suggestions: joshrice@txucom.net.
Josh Rice |
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mr.dave
Advanced Member
USA
414 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2002 : 6:45:31 PM
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Had the same idea last April. See the post in this forum titled "SCHOOL BUS SAFTY SCHOOL". I had several good and thaugtful responses.
shalom dave
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2002 : 8:41:38 PM
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Long term suspensions can involve behaviors inclined toward criminal conduct. Such conduct is worthy more of the court's attention than some sort of attempt to educate kids that already know what is expected.
Knowledge is not the issue. Unwanted learned misbehavior and the skill of delivering that unwanted behavior is the issue, often times involving a support group that encourages the child to misbehave.
I know of no class in the usual public school environment that has much success at somehow miraculously pulling an out-of-control kid away from a well developed and sophisticated behavior the child likes.
Where the child dislikes their own behavior then retraining in a firm environment is what is needed, not necessarily a class of some sort.
There are plenty of pipers promoting a success in such areas, successes eventually discovered to be over inflated. Even DARE, and all the money and support that went into the DARE program, is turning out not to be an effective solution to ending bad behavior.
This may be one key toward ending more serious misbehavior: A New York police department discovered an interesting connection between small crimes and bigger crimes. I recall some of a report, in that the police department focused on bringing justice to visit kids committing small crimes. Larger, more serious crimes decreased as a result.
An effective school policy might place some greater focus and more serious penalties on defiant behaviors, such as littering, chewing gum, drinking soda and other seemingly "small-stuff" violations. It makes sense that dealing with and correcting minor misbehavior can interfere with the child developing more sophisticated unwanted skills.
In many situations policy should not focus so much on the physical act itself, as more important is the hostility or proposed lack of trust hidden behind each defiant act.
Effective policies should pass this test:
Does the policy establish and support the bus driver's authority on the school bus?
Does the policy establish that the bus drivers and school staff mean what they say -- the first time! -- and that kids are expected to follow the bus drivers directions the first time?
See this link:
http://www.mindspring.com/~gradyhs/grady/busconduct.html
Does the policy honor the child's parents? This could mean some sort of separate and informal parent intervention opportunity, such as a "courtesy warning" from the bus driver that allows parents the opportunity to correct the child's misbehavior prior to a formal bus citation.)
See "Bus Warning (front) at this link (Back is being updated):
http://www.geocities.com/yellowtincan/ytc.htm
Here's the big one -- without it you're dead for sure: Can the kids trust that the bus drivers and school staff mean what they say?
Most intelligent kids and adults would be foolhardy to follow directions from someone they can't trust. It is here where public schools most often fail the kids test.
My best guess is that the bus student disciplinary policies at your school district are so far off the mark that more rehashing what the kids already know is expected will accomplish nothing new for long.
Heck, forget the kids. Go for whatever class concept that makes you and your fellow adults feel better about yourselves -- some positive self-esteem crap should fill the bill.
But if you happen to be tired of that nonsense, then by all means go ahead and look for the self-defeating silliness in your school district's current policies and strategies.
John Farr, Oceanside schools, has one of the best policy strategies I've came across. Perhaps he will put in a word on this thread. (jk)
Transportation Policy Recommendation
http://www.geocities.com/2safeschools/kic_tpol.htm
Edited by - jk on 09/25/2002 09:38:18 AM |
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John Farr
Top Member
USA
642 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2002 : 11:06:10 AM
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Thanks again, James.
I agree that suspensions from the bus punishes parents more than students. And many parents are very supportive of our positive behavior programs. But if the parent is ineffective in helping change the child's negative, disruptive behavior, then the student cannot continue riding our buses. The compromise in safety is just too great.
So what to do with those who vandalize, fight, bully, etc.? Several years ago I offered the opportunity for parents of first time offenders (major misbehavior) to accompany their child to our complex to clean a bus for a few hours. While they worked, gentle but lengthy lectures from parent and me were provided at no charge. None of these kids ever caused a problem on the bus again. One dad, a US Marine summed the experience up well: "Pain Builds Character."
Since then, the advent of cameras have helped to clearly identify problem students. We now have a very good collection rate for vandalism repair costs, and our district-wide Zero Tolerance for Violence program has pretty much eliminated the fighting/violence problem (suspension/expulsion from school is far more powerful than going to the bus yard on a Saturday).
So...our parents still get penalized for a few days or weeks, but then rewarded with free transportation for their child IF their child can behave on the school bus.
Our existing program is so effective in "catching" vandals, and preventing violence that I no longer need to give up my weekends for "Saturday School" at the bus yard.
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2002 : 10:03:43 AM
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As it happens, Oceanside has effective student discipline policies, as well as adults remaining on track with their policies.
You could look at a hundred policies from a hundred schools with out-of-control buses (I have) and find, sometimes through careful study, that the problem is not the kids, not the bus drivers and not the parents. Often even the policies are excellent.
Most often the problem is adults not sticking to their plan. Who can trust adults that say one thing, then do another?
Something Farr did not mention in his post is that at Oceanside properly trained bus drivers have the authority to suspend students from the bus for up to five days.
Bus driver pay is no better than decent pay with most any school tranportation provider. Yet, Oceanside hardly ever has a driver shortage -- hardly ever if ever!
Bus driver shortage? Rubbish!! Not where bus drivers are treated decently. (jk)
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Alternative for suspensions
