In my previous life as a principal, I once received a disciplinary referral from a bus driver (well,
ok- I received many disciplinary referrals from bus drivers, but this one stands out). The
driver referred Johnny to me for discipline based on the comments he made while the driver
was “talking to” another student (meaning “yelling at” based on my experience with the driver).
As the driver continued to debate an issue with the student, Johnny loudly commented that she
should “Shut up and just drive the bus”.
My original reaction was a snicker at the truth of this statement, especially for this particular
driver. This driver was infamous for involving herself in the discussions, opinions, and
general mischief of pretty much everyone she came in contact with. In other words, as an
administrator, I too wished that she’d just shut up and drive the bus.
Johnny’s piece of wise-cracking advice yields some interesting insights for us as school
administrators in regards to school safety. Are we in need of the reprimand to re-focus on what
our safety responsibilities really are, and to stop messing around with extraneous issues at the
expense of our primary function? Probably. All administrators find themselves pulled in many
different directions and often allow social and political forces along with personal interests and
strengths to coax us off the path of what we are charged to do as school administrators to keep
our schools safe.
Or conversely, are we so busy “just driving the bus” that we are oblivious to the chaos going on
just beyond our line of sight? I submit that this too, is a risky venture for school administrators.
With a complete and total focus on where the bus is headed, we are blind to the vulnerabilities
that exist within our organization. While we are busily crafting detailed phone chains and
response protocols, threats and vulnerabilities are taking root and going undetected.
As you prepare for another school year’s journey on the bus, give equal weight to the notion of
focusing on the importance of planning and implementing good safety practices and casting a
critical eye on what is developing and occurring beyond the driver’s seat. Creating appropriate
response protocols and plans needs to be a central aspect of safety planning, but the hard work
of detecting vulnerabilities and managing threats minimizes our chances of having to use them.
In my previous life as a principal, I once received a disciplinary referral from a bus driver (well,ok- I received many disciplinary referrals from bus drivers, but this one stands out). Thedriver referred Johnny to me for discipline based on the comments he made while the driverwas “talking to” another student (meaning “yelling at” based on my experience with the driver).As the driver continued to debate an issue with the student, Johnny loudly commented that sheshould “Shut up and just drive the bus”.
My original reaction was a snicker at the truth of this statement, especially for this particulardriver. This driver was infamous for involving herself in the discussions, opinions, andgeneral mischief of pretty much everyone she came in contact with. In other words, as anadministrator, I too wished that she’d just shut up and drive the bus.
Johnny’s piece of wise-cracking advice yields some interesting insights for us as schooladministrators in regards to school safety. Are we in need of the reprimand to re-focus on whatour safety responsibilities really are, and to stop messing around with extraneous issues at theexpense of our primary function? Probably. All administrators find themselves pulled in manydifferent directions and often allow social and political forces along with personal interests andstrengths to coax us off the path of what we are charged to do as school administrators to keepour schools safe.
Or conversely, are we so busy “just driving the bus” that we are oblivious to the chaos going onjust beyond our line of sight? I submit that this too, is a risky venture for school administrators.With a complete and total focus on where the bus is headed, we are blind to the vulnerabilitiesthat exist within our organization. While we are busily crafting detailed phone chains andresponse protocols, threats and vulnerabilities are taking root and going undetected.
As you prepare for another school year’s journey on the bus, give equal weight to the notion offocusing on the importance of planning and implementing good safety practices and casting acritical eye on what is developing and occurring beyond the driver’s seat. Creating appropriateresponse protocols and plans needs to be a central aspect of safety planning, but the hard workof detecting vulnerabilities and managing threats minimizes our chances of having to use them.
Enclosure
