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In-Service Safety Series
STUDENT MANAGEMENT
 In-Service Safety Series
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LESSON PLAN
INSTRUCTOR NOTES


II. Reasonable Standards for Behavior

  1. In general, the rules for acceptable student behavior are simple
    1. Stay seated (unless the bus is stopped)
    2. Face forward (keep arms and head inside the bus)
    3. Talk in a quiet voice (to not distract the driver)
  2. What other rules for student behavior do we have in our district? (Review local rules and policies.)
  3. If students followed the rules all the time, everything would be fine
  4. But students are young people in periods of physical and emotional development
  5. They are constantly exploring and adjusting
  6. And they need some help understanding what is acceptable and appropriate behavior on a school bus
  7. Students need to learn how to control their actions
    1. Their behavior has a direct bearing on the safety of every person on the bus
    2. If they act up, they could be putting everybody at risk
  8. Because, when they act up, they distract you — the school bus driver
  9. And if you are distracted, you can’t drive safely
  10. So, it is up to you, as the only adult usually on the bus, to set the stage
  11. Before we move on, let’s talk for a minute about what is reasonable and unreasonable to expect
    1. It is reasonable to expect students to remain seated
      1. It is not safe for them to be moving around while the bus is in motion
    2. It is reasonable to expect students to keep their arms and head inside the bus
      1. It may be somewhat harder to get students to face forward all the time

        (1) Although it is safer if they face forward

    3. It is not reasonable to expect absolute silence on the bus
      1. You must learn to tolerate some talking
      2. But, be consistent
      3. As your state of mind changes from day to day, your ability to tolerate the noise may also change
      4. However, the students won’t understand if what is acceptable one day is not acceptable the next
    4. One more thought about reasonable and unreasonable
      1. The afternoon run is usually much more demanding than the morning run
      2. Students have been confined and quiet all day and are ready to cut loose
      3. You need a higher threshold of tolerance for the afternoon run
      4. But this does not mean that you will tolerate students breaking the rules


II.A. Display Slide #2

II.D. Display Slide #3

II.G. Display Slide #4

II.K. Display Slide #5



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


II.B. Review the local policy and rules governing students riding school buses in your district/system. Some of the rules will relate to safety and some will relate to acceptable social behavior (e.g., no vulgar language, keep the bus clean, don’t damage the bus). Explain why and how these rules came to exist.

II.K. Just because something is reasonable does not mean that it is easy. Some participants may want to talk about how hard it is to keep students seated. Acknowledge that difficulty but rein force that being seated is the safest place for students to be.

II.K.2.a. Occupant crash protection in school buses is provided through a concept called compartmentalization. This requires that the interior of the school bus provide protection so that children don’t need to buckle up in seat belts. The compartment is a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seat that have high energy absorbing backs. For this compartment to protect students, the students need to be completely seated fully in the seat and facing forward.



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