This winter, after selling my business, I wanted to do something totally different (in the community and away from my computer), so I applied to work as a substitute school bus driver for my local school district.
I had no experience driving a bus of any kind when I applied for the role, but the job listing said they’d train me. So, I applied… was interviewed and hired a couple weeks later… and then my training began!
I had to take two weeks of classroom training (where I watched cheesy educational videos for days-on-end) and then had an additional two weeks of on-the-road training, where I was slowly introduced to the intricacies of driving a long, heavy vehicle in all sorts of road and traffic conditions.
I had no idea when I first took this job that there was so much to driving a school bus! Not only do you have to know how to operate an over-sized vehicle in all sorts of traffic and weather conditions (we get a lot of snow up here in the mountains of Utah), but you also have to learn how to manage schoolchildren (ages 4-18); interact with parents; and communicate with teachers, school administrators and other school bus drivers.
There are seating charts to enforce; kids stand and run around the bus on a daily basis; there’s screaming and the occasional fight; crying and vomit; snowball fights and trash; students with special needs and dietary restrictions; kids slip and fall getting in and out of the bus; parents want to speak with you about their child’s behavior; plus, there’s the ever-present danger of accidentally running over a child who might be running after or stepping away from the bus – which is super scary to even think about!!!
There are seriously so many things to consider as a school bus driver… and you have a lot of responsibility! You’re not only driving a vehicle that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars (paid for by local taxpayers), but you’re also responsible for the lives of dozens of schoolchildren.
Now, I’m only working as a substitute school bus driver at the moment, so I can basically choose my own hours and work whenever I want (which is exactly what I was looking for in my first part-time job since selling my business).
Being a school bus driver has been fun… and tiring… and rewarding. I’ve enjoyed the process of learning a new skill (driving the bus) and the daily challenge of learning my kids’ names, getting them to follow the rules, stay in their seats, and remain safe throughout their rides to and from school each day.
I used to spend my days traveling around the world on a bicycle… and now I spend at least some of my time driving schoolchildren around town on a giant yellow bus. It’s interesting how quickly your life can change!