By Jeramy A Smith
Georgia School Bus Drivers 10 years
Marquez (4th Grade) and Thad (5th Grade) are brothers who have an issue with bullying, being mischievous, picking fights, and refusing to comply with the school bus operators instructions. On this particular week, the young boys found Destiny (3rd Grade) as their target. Destiny is a beautiful dark skinned young lady with a lot of life and a bright future. During that week the boys started calling her “darky,” “Stupid,” and another offensive name in relationship to a female dog.” I instructed the boys to cut it out and separated the two parties placing Destiny up front and the boys in the back for the remainder of the afternoon.
These boys were relentless, and the next day they continued to pester her from the back of the bus. With a not so wise move, Destiny started “firing” offensives back at them. "Believe me, brother, the offensives coming from her, a third grader, would stand toe to toe with a sailor any day. The boys grew tired of the offensives coming from her mouth, so one of them came to the front and “popped” her in the mouth. Destiny began to cry and ran to me. I generated a disciplinary report and turned the report over to the administrators at the elementary school. Forty-eight hours later, I never received a response or disciplinary actions concerning the boys behavior and physical altercation with Destiny. The boys bullying intensified (yes, I followed up with administration, but no results) within that 48 hours time frame. The next morning, one of the boys rudely pushed her into the seat and called her a “b#%(%.” Destiny lost all composer. Fueled with anger, the young girl grabbed a pencil and stabbed Marquez in the arm with a pencil. What happened next was a vicious "beat down" of the little girl. Before I could safely park the bus, the two brothers were on top of her punching, kicking, slapping, and pulling out her hair. I received a punch in the face in the process of prying the boys off Destiny. With the help of other students, I was able to contain the boys in the back and regain control of the bus.
I confronted Destiny because I was baffled to reason why she would stab the boy with a pencil. Destiny, “Why did you stab him with a pencil for?" I will never forget her words, because they resonate so true and her statement is the ideology that many Atlanta Public School (APS) students believe, “Mr.Smith, I stabbed him because you ain't going to do S*#@ for me, so yeah, I stabbed him because I want him to leave me the hell alone.” Okay, Mr. Smith, I have to do me.”
Destiny was right.
You see....The past three weeks, I had written up various students and pleaded with administration to give me support, but they kept telling me that obviously that I did not know how to control my bus, since other bus drivers are not complaining. In truth other bus drivers are not reporting the fights or they use unconventional means to deal with students. Yes, kids have to learn to fight their own battles because the school system fail everyday to protect them.
Destiny had reached her wits end and took matter into her own hands, so I had to generate a disciplinary reports for her action and they boys. Guess what? Administrators did not address the “stabbing” incident! The next day, as Marquez and Thad loaded the bus, they and three other boys jumped on Destiny. Again they punched her in the face, kicked her in the stomach, and spit in her face all before I could stop the bus and break up the fight. As soon as I got the bus calm and able to proceed with the route. The boys would again begin to viciously beat her and anyone else who tried to stop the fight. I requested over the radio for assistance from Atlanta Police, but APS dispatch were more concerned with me figuring out another way to get the bus under control. They did not even send another driver to assist me with the students. I was on my own and when I arrived to school the administrators had gone into the building to start the school day. Atlanta Public School Transportation had not called the school to tell them I need assistance with a fight. After I unloaded the elementary students, Destiny refused to get off the bus because she wanted me to take her back home. School was no longer safe in her eyes. The administrators were not in sight to assist me with her, so I had to continue my route because my primary students (Pre-K to 2nd grades) were still on board (be mindful that they were crying due to all the violence they witnessed). On that morning, Destiny’s heart and spirit was crushed and she no longer wanted to live. When the bus was empty and I was taking her back to the elementary school, I looked up in my mirror and saw her playing with the emergency window. She made a shift as if she was getting ready to jump out the moving bus. I quickly stopped the bus and went back to speak with her. I convinced her that I will do everything in my power to make sure those boys will never mess with her. Destiny finally listened and moved closer to the front with me away from the bus emergency windows.
It almost took an act of Congress to get the administrators and my supervisors to deal with the bullying incident of Destiny, but I knew then as I do now that I must fight to protect my kids who look to me to transport them from home and school safely and the fight will not end until administrators" at APS gives us drivers and students the support we need to stop bullying and rampant fights that occurs on our buses everyday. The incident occurred in Spring 2013.
Disclaimer: Names of actual students have been changed to protect their identity and privacy. Second, there are certain schools and administrators, who gives school bus drivers the support that they need in order to ensure safety and well being of students.
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