Bullying is not tolerated in schools today. Most school districts work to make sure that no students are bullied at any time. They try to ensure that those same standards apply to school bus rides, but there are challenges associated with it.
Crowded buses
The school bus driver will usually try to stop any bullying that happens on the school bus. However, these drivers will still have to focus on the road, which means that they will have somewhat divided attention. They’ll still have to pay attention to the driving itself more than what is happening on the bus, which will affect the experience for the students that are still riding the bus at the time.
When buses have enough students on them in the first place, it’s much easier for conflicts to arise even, under the best of circumstances. Students will sometimes fight with each other over school bus seats. Some school districts have lots of students, and there will only be so many school buses available for all the schools in a particular area.
Bus drivers may have adults on the bus to help them resolve some conflicts that can occur, but even these people will only be able to do so much when the bus is in motion. Kids who are not bullied at school or who do not experience similar problems might still dread the bus ride to the school for various reasons, regardless of the exact source of the conflicts during the journeys.
Those problems might only really be difficult when the bus is close to the school anyway. However, it’s still possible for the problems to gradually get worse as the bus gets fuller. That makes things harder for those who have only just arrived at the bus.
Students might try to distract themselves on their phones, which could get lost or damaged during the ride itself. They might also feel like they don’t have enough room for the books or other supplies that they need, which will only add to their challenges during a ride that could be longer than expected.
Anxious students and school bus rides
Other kids might not necessarily get mistreated by other students on the bus. However, they could still have some social anxiety that will be difficult to temporarily resolve if they have to spend time in a large vehicle full of people at any point.
Experiencing that much stress before school has even started can have a negative effect on some students’ academic performance. That may occur even if they would not otherwise have any troubles at all with their classwork or homework. They might even turn to vaping at school as a way to relax, which only adds to the youth crisis.
Students who are able to take rides from organizations like Zum might be much less stressed when they initially start their school days, which may quickly help them improve academically. Some children might also feel less social anxiety in general if they’re able to get personalized rides to school.
They might not have immediate troubles socially. Interacting with some potentially hostile people on the bus might already be enough to make some children nervous or insecure, quickly changing the course of their entire day. Students might interact with a completely different set of kids when they’re actually at school, and they may not see the people on the bus until the very next bus ride.
Avoiding the bus ride certainly won’t have any negative social consequences for students, who will have easier and safer chances to socialize during the day. However, it might already resolve or prevent more than one of their normal problems.