Is Your Bus Full?

My first experience on a school bus came in 1963 as a kindergartner. I was a “p.m.” student and my first afternoon resulted in getting my hand slapped by the teacher for taking one more than the undisclosed number of cookies during snack time.  Nice greeting. Heck, I don’t even like cookies.  If I knew any cuss words back then, I probably would have used them.  Mom instructed me to get on the same bus as my older sister when we were released for the day.  A bus number would have been helpful information. The teacher actually walking us to the bus would also have been beneficial. Heck, all I knew was that schools buses were yellow.   Regardless, I walked up the steps of the first yellow bus that I came to and asked the driver if my sister was on the bus.  He replied, “Sure kid, just get in a seat.” He had all of the comfort of  burlap underwear. The bus left and I still did not see my sister in any of the seats.  About 30 minutes later, I was the only kid left on the bus and had no idea where I was in relation to our house.  Eventually, the driver let me off about a half mile from our house when I noticed a landmark. I walked the distance to our house in a relatively new subdivision. Mom was not a happy camper. Boy, did my sister get it good…right after I got it good. Not surprisingly, the next day I knew the bus number, the teacher made sure we all were headed in the right direction, and I stopped eating cookies.  I did have a hard time sitting though due to inflammation of a tanned hide.  School buses are designed to carry a large number of kids.  Take a look at the next bus you see. Is it full to capacity or are there many empty seats? 

Imagine, if you will, the you have your own “personal success stories bus”. Think about all of the kids you have taught this year and the success stories you share with them.  A standard school bus has seating for 66 students.  Do you have 66 kids that you can honestly say were positively affected by your teaching?  Are there 66 kids in whose lives you have made a difference?  Are there 66 kids with whom you formed a tremendous relationship?  Are there 66 kids who made tremendous gains academically under your tutelage?  Are there 66 kids that grew as a person because of the example you set for them?  Are there 66 kids whose lives are better because you are in it?  Are there 66 kids who would list you as one of the best teachers they ever had?  Are there 66 kids who now have some direction because of your genuine care for them?  Are there 66 kids who would crawl over broken glass for you because they know that you would do that for them?  Are there 66 kids who look up to you as a role model?  Are there 66 kids that can say that your class was the best?  Are there 66 kids who you talked with every single day and asked them about their life?  Are there 66 kids that you phoned home about to tell their parents of the great job they were doing? Are there 66 kids who will forever be etched in your memory?   Start naming them. How many did you get to? In this business, you want your bus to be full every single year. You don’t want empty seats. Is your bus full?