Looking for a job with flexible hours? Summers off? You could be a Howard County school bus driver. Yes, the school year has already begun but they are still looking to fill some openings. Click here for more information.
Seeing this made me think of how being a teacher in HCPSS and being a bus driver are similar, and not so similar. One thing that is probably similar, bus drivers and teachers often have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, plus at least one other job in the summer. One thing that's different: bus drivers don't work directly for the school system. They are employed by a number of approved contractors who have been selected to work for the school system.
Hmm...I wonder what would happen if bus drivers worked directly under the supervision of HCPSS...(Cue fantasy music here...)
- Each year bus drivers would be given more riders and a longer route, but the same amount of time to complete it, and the same amount of fuel.
- Bus drivers would find it necessary to purchase any additional fuel, bus cleaning supplies, and complete minor repairs out of their own pockets.
- Bus drivers who complained of carbon monoxide leaks inside the bus would be pooh-poohed, and any bus-driver who let parents know that the leaks were responsible for children's subsequent ailments would be threatened with demotion or dismissal.
- Parents will not be notified of the health risks of carbon monoxide leaks because it is a "bus maintenance issue."
- Evaluation of job performance would not be based on safety of driving and care of students, but rather upon some completely unrelated and time-consuming task, such as testing children on bus mechanics.
- The best bus drivers,who had worked hard to build up rapport with students and parents, would routinely be moved to other unfamiliar routes without rhyme or reason.
- Bus drivers would be required to fill out a huge amount of paperwork daily on "important data" but would not be given time in their workday to complete it.
- The list of "important data" would be formulated by people in Central Office who had never driven a school bus.
- Monies needed to improve training for bus drivers, hire additional needed bus drivers or repair buses and/or buy new ones would instead be spent on either a) a student survey called "what kind of bus rider are you?" or a promotional DVD to be given to all families entitled, "Our buses are the best: strong riders of the road in HCPSS."
Driving a bus filled with children is hard enough without all of that thrown in, don't you think? It's a good thing that's only a blogger's imaginary world, not the real one.
Oh, it looks like they are still hiring teachers for his year. Interested?
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