Ep.6: The Art of Steering Young Lives: Bus Driver Dads

Ever wonder who's at the heart of our children's daily journey to school? Today, we're tipping our hats to the heroes of the morning rush—school bus drivers. Our very own Ayan Omar, joined by three of District 742's finest, Abdi Kaarshe, Abdul Abdi and Paul Burris, steers us through the laughter and challenges that paint the world of those who drive our students. Their shift from long-haul trucking to navigating school routes unfolds tales of precious family moments and the immeasurable impact they have on the kids they greet each day.

As the wheels on the bus go round and round, so do the stories of appreciation that fuel the spirits of these drivers. Our episode blossoms with tales of simple yet profound thanks, from homemade cookies to heartfelt notes, painting a vivid picture of the community's gratitude.

But the journey doesn't end at the last stop; it continues into the world of creativity and mentorship. One of our guests, a devoted father, artist, and mentor, shares how the flexibility of his role as a bus driver complements his passion for art and fostering young minds. His story, complete with a chuckle-worthy anecdote about his young passengers, illustrates how these custodians of the daily commute are crafting a community, one ride at a time. Join us for a trip down the route of gratitude and inspiration—it's a ride worth taking.

Have a great podcast idea? Submit your idea to communications@isd742.org

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Transcript

School Bus Driver Appreciation Day Celebration

Speaker 1 0:00

The 742 CoffeeCast is your ultimate destination for insightful conversations, thought-provoking ideas and innovative strategies in St Cloud Area School District. Your host is Director of Community Engagement and Communications, tammy DeLand. Grab a cup of coffee and join us. Good morning, hi, both of you. Good morning, good morning, good morning, hi bus driver. Good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to CoffeeCast. This is our sixth episode and we are excited to celebrate it on School Bus Driver Appreciation Day with Abdi Karshi and Abdul Abdi, two of our District 742 bus drivers. Also, I have a special guest host with me today, ayaan Omar, director of Equity Services for St Cloud Area Schools. So welcome to all of you and thank you for being here. Ayaan, maybe you could start by talking a little bit about your years in the district and describe the different roles you've played.

Speaker 3 1:16

Of course. I started in the district as a para over at Discovery, and then I was a language arts teacher at Tech High School for about nine years before making the transition to the director of equity services. This is my third year in this role and I've enjoyed every minute of it.

Speaker 1 1:39

Abdi and Abdul. Can you tell us a little bit about your families and maybe a little bit about your background?

Speaker 4 1:46

We'll start with you, abdi. I have a wife and five children, so I have two twins, twins, yeah, twins Two boys and two boys and one girl. So before I started for bus driving, I was a truck driver. So I'm coming two years of driving for bus. So I was truck driver, so I'm coming two years of driving bus. So I like this job.

Speaker 1 2:09

Two years with us. Yeah, two years yeah.

Speaker 4 2:12

I like this job Great, so maybe next year I'm going to start again. So I like it.

Speaker 1 2:18

Thank you, abdul.

Speaker 5 2:20

My name is Abdul Qadir Abdi. I started this school 742 December 5th 2022. I'm a school bus driver and I'm a dad with four kids. My kids go to Oak Hill School. They are fourth grade and second grade, so I enjoy driving for the 742. So, like I used to be a truck driver, like long journey state to state, so right now I work in the day shift, then nighttime I go home sleep.

Speaker 3 2:51

Avdi and Abdul. I understand that you are both former truck drivers who received your CDL, which is commercial driver's license, on the same day and began driving a school bus for us in 2022. And now you've become friends. Can you share why you wanted to become a school bus driver? Well sure.

Speaker 5 3:14

Like when I say school, like, say, truck driver, truck driver needs like a lot of hustle, like state to state all the time driving, missing your home's kids. So driving bus is different. So you have your family at home daytime anytime. So daytime you walk with the kids and then you go with your home with your kids. So that's the difference.

Speaker 3 3:39

Yes, the value of family time, time with your kids.

Speaker 5 3:44

Yeah, I understand Time with my kids, yeah, and just sleeping good at night. Yes, rather than being on the road Rather than being driving all of the state from state to state, then you know that and I enjoy driving school bus.

Speaker 3 3:58

How about you, Abdi?

Speaker 4 3:59

Yeah, I'm driving like a HE I don't know-old truck driver, so I miss my family. When I bought the two Twins, I stopped driving truck so enjoying the 742 bus driver. That's why I miss my family, so I stay home.

Speaker 3 4:20

Yeah, so after having twins, the workload became a bit more.

Speaker 4 4:26

I had my wife, so they're still home.

Speaker 3 4:29

Oh, that's good. How long have you lived in St Cloud, Abdi?

Speaker 4 4:33

I come to 2000.

Speaker 3 4:35

2000, wow.

Speaker 4 4:37

Yeah, I'm still living here. That's remarkable.

Speaker 1 4:39

Yeah, wondering if and either one of you can start on this one can you describe what a typical day is like driving the school bus. What's the best part of your day?

Speaker 5 4:52

So every day is a good day. Today's raining, but you know, like the dry season is good.

Speaker 3 4:57

So, abdul, what would you say from the moment you wake up to when your day ends? What does that look like to when your day ends.

Speaker 5 5:03

What does that look like? Oh yeah, I woke up in the morning like 5.30, take shower, then raise up, go to bus stations and do the bus pre-trip inspection, look tires, which one is bad, which one is good. So, like, report everything so I can drive this safe bus to the kids and I love it. I enjoy that. So kids are like sometimes we are friends.

Speaker 2 5:28

I love my bs9, so so my kids is good you can like talk to, like, just like your kids.

Speaker 5 5:34

Some are so mean, some are so good, so you can't say, hey, come on, let's make it another day relationships.

Speaker 3 5:40

Yeah, it's very important. Yeah, how about you, abdi? What's the best part of your day?

Speaker 4 5:45

Yeah, all day is my best day, so I'm enjoying my driving for bus. I like my kid I'm picking up for, so I like it.

Speaker 3 5:56

Trucking and bus driving both require carrying cargo, but of course our cargo is very precious our family's children. What do you love about driving this precious cargo, the?

Speaker 5 6:11

school bus. As I said before, it's good to drive in the daytime, enjoy your 10 hours with the kiddies. So that's the main thing. You drive eight hours here but the truck drivers will keep you like, keep running, running, running. But this one you have 10 hours. Kids go to school like you wait. What's the break time?

Speaker 3 6:32

Yeah, and then focusing on the kids what do the kids bring to you when they get on the bus? What do you see? What do you feel? Some of the kids.

Speaker 5 6:41

They'll say hi, mr Abdi. Some of them like good morning, some of them are sleepy in the morning, they're just all sleepy, but in the afternoon, yeah, in the afternoon like everybody's jumping up and down, they want to go home and I, hey, driver, come on, we want to go home. Like, okay, I'm taking you home, sit down please. Okay, start.

Speaker 2 7:00

Oh come on.

Speaker 5 7:01

I'm driving, I want to take you home, like sometimes they're good, but some of them they listen.

Speaker 3 7:07

What about you, Abdi? What do the kids bring to you?

Speaker 4 7:10

Sometimes kids enjoy my bus, sometimes they bring it for gift for me, so I don't know.

Speaker 1 7:19

What kind of gift?

Speaker 4 7:20

Chocolate, chocolate. Sometimes they give me their fruit, they give me for say thank you for riding my bus. I say thank you, kindness, that's sweet.

Speaker 3 7:36

How would you describe your relationship with the kids? What do they call you? I think you mentioned they call you Mr Abdi. What is the personality that they bring?

Speaker 5 7:48

Also like yeah, they call you sometimes your name, mr M, or sometimes they say, bus driver, bus driver, you're driving them. They'll say, okay, may I come to you and hug you?

Speaker 3 7:59

Yes, how about you, abdi? What do the kids call you and what is that relationship?

Speaker 4 8:04

They call me Mr Air. So they have signed for the top of my bus. They call me Mr Air, they enjoy my bus, they like me, I like the queue, I enjoy it. That's beautiful.

Speaker 1 8:17

We know that driving a school bus, one of the number one priorities that you think of every day when you get behind the wheel is safety. What is it that you do to ensure that kids are safe on the bus?

Speaker 5 8:32

Yeah, in the morning, like in the morning, we have to do every time check the bus. So do a 30 minute bus trip so the bus is drivable and safe to control, brakes, everything. So, like number one, it's your safety, Not even the kids, first, it's your safety. If you're safe, then the kids will be safe. So I have to make sure everything is good.

Speaker 4 8:58

When the kids are loading and unloading, I want to make sure they clear the road for no driving car. So I want to make sure the kids safe come in or come out from the bus.

Speaker 1 9:10

Right, because it's not just the kids on the bus, it's everything. You have to watch around the bus right, it's more traffic.

Speaker 4 9:19

Yeah, I'm giving last time for three car, for bus, for eight way light.

Speaker 1 9:26

So you have to be so aware.

Speaker 4 9:28

Yes.

Speaker 1 9:29

You have children behind you on the bus, but you have all of the traffic.

Speaker 2 9:34

Yeah, everywhere yeah.

Speaker 1 9:35

Yeah, focus, that's such important care.

Speaker 3 9:38

Yeah, so both of you have talked about the relationship and the connections and the joy that the kids bring you. Do you have a story of that one experience, of that one kid that really brightened your day or has taught you something?

Speaker 5 9:56

Yeah, the kids, like some of the kids will just laugh to play with you. Some of them, like you know, like they don't like hey, if you say hi, they'll say to you, okay, and they're quiet. So, some of them, they doesn't talk. Some of them, they're happy, they're friendly. Yeah, all of them are the same. Yeah, that's amazing.

Speaker 3 10:16

How about you, Abdi?

Speaker 4 10:17

When I take off for like one day, the kid will miss it for me. Say where are you, Abdi? I'll take off one day, Say give me a hug.

Speaker 1 10:28

That's so sweet.

Speaker 5 10:30

Sometimes, like when you call sick and you have maybe a doctor appointment, then somebody drives my bus and they don't know the road where the kid stops. So some of like one of them will probably close their house. I put them their door. So the other driver no, the other driver was good, he was helping me Like why Then the other day you come back to the job they would say what happened to you.

Speaker 3 10:55

It's an opportunity for our kids to learn what they take for granted right. When you're gone it's like where'd you go?

Speaker 2 11:01

But when you're there all the time.

Speaker 3 11:03

They just know you're going to keep coming back and that's yeah, that's a great story. So it sounds like an investment in your community and in your home is truly what bus driving because, it allows you to remain in the community. It's a true investment in your heart.

Speaker 5 11:21

Yeah, it's not even hard job, so it's not hard job, so it's easy and it's a loving job yeah.

Speaker 3 11:28

I understand that you brought your children to DSB to show them to show off your bus. So your own kids. What was the reaction when you showed your kids what you do in your bus?

Speaker 5 11:43

Sometimes after school they go daycare. So the daycare, like on my way I pick up my kids, I tell them hey, sit down. So I want to check, like if they're bothering the drivers. Now, if they're with me and I see like one of them jumping, hey, listen up. Okay, I'm your driver now, not your dad. Okay, don't bother the drivers. So please sit down, respect your drivers.

Speaker 3 12:06

So it sounds like an opportunity to teach your own kids about the value of bus drivers and the amount of work it takes. So, you got to teach your own kids through the work that you do. It reminds me when I was a teacher. My kids started to ask questions about their teachers. I'm like, yeah, teachers have a life, they have kids, they have a home, just like you do.

Speaker 3 12:31

So, it gave them a different understanding of exactly what who teachers are, other than the adult that's in front of them teaching them. I'm thinking your kids also have a different perspective now on what bus drivers are truly like, what they look like and the lives that they have outside of the bus. Yeah, so what I understood from that is that kids do understand once you get to explain it to them. There are different dialects, different language, barriers.

Speaker 5 13:14

Sometimes I'm speaking in British English. Hey, I don't understand what you're speaking.

Speaker 3 13:18

I don't understand.

Speaker 5 13:20

Sometimes I hide and I don't speak with them.

School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

Speaker 3 13:22

Yeah, so a renewed sense of understanding once you're able to explain to the kids just the value and the workload that's required. Thank you for sharing that.

Speaker 1 13:33

So, as we mentioned earlier today's National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day what do families typically do? You mentioned gifts just on a regular day. Is there anything that families normally do? It's a once a year national recognition. Do the families usually shout you out in some way?

Speaker 5 13:56

The student parents.

Speaker 1 13:58

Yeah, the parents.

Speaker 5 13:59

Oh yeah, like sometimes some of them, I didn't know like they walk in Burger King or somewhere. When I go oh, this is my kid's bus driver. Oh, come on, they give me cookies. Oh, that's great, they give me cookies A lot of people say hey, hey, hey, you drive my kids. I saw you. I saw you. A lot of greetings. Before it was not like hey, nobody knows me before, but now everybody knows me, like I'm a school bus driver and I'm driving their kids. Sometimes they say hey, I'm a Santa, I'm a Santa.

Speaker 3 14:29

Yeah, so recognition.

Speaker 5 14:31

Yeah.

Speaker 3 14:31

Right, you're more visible now.

Speaker 5 14:33

Yeah.

Speaker 3 14:34

Because you are the bus driver, yes, and families see you in the community.

Speaker 4 14:39

The family, the kids. They respect us, they say hi every day Nice.

Speaker 1 14:47

Ayan, I have a question for you. You have children in the district. Were they bus riders at any time? Yes, okay, can you talk?

Speaker 3 14:56

about their experience. Yeah, my, my daughter goes to oak hill and she would take the bus to oak hill and that was her favorite part was riding the bus.

Speaker 5 15:07

Kindergarten, first grade, second grade third grade because she sees a different face of the school.

Speaker 3 15:13

Yes, yes.

Speaker 5 15:14

But if you drive the van with her or like, yeah, mommy, it's only you.

Speaker 3 15:19

Around fourth grade. Now she's a fifth grader. Around fourth grade she started, but kindergarten through third grade. She loved riding the bus. She would greet her bus driver. Oh, she would bring gifts around winter break, around spring break and she would create these amazing cards and I would say, well, what are you doing, honey? She'd say it's for my bus driver and she would take a bag for her. The bus driver was the start of her day and it meant so much to her and I just loved it for her. One year, at the end of the school year, we forgot to bring a present for the bus driver. Oh, she came home after school. It was the last day of school and she said, mom, we need to go shop. She did a little card and we took it to the DSP. Oh, that's so sweet. That was her favorite part of the day was riding the bus and greeting her bus driver.

Speaker 4 16:13

If you're missing the bus, I'll be there one day. They don't like to ride for my car. They like the bus.

Speaker 1 16:20

Yeah, what a great story. That's a great story. So what advice would you give someone and you angled it a little bit earlier, abdullah what advice would you give someone who might be interested in being a school bus driver? What would you have to say, yeah, out there.

Speaker 4 16:38

I would like to need more drivers for enjoying for 747. Because we have a short driver right now, we need more 742.

Speaker 3 16:49

Yeah 742.

Speaker 2 16:50

Yeah.

Speaker 4 16:51

So we need more drivers, so enjoy for 742. So that's what I'm saying. Yes, we like now more drivers.

Speaker 5 16:57

So enjoy for 742. So that's what I'm saying. Yes, we like now short drivers. We don't have enough drivers. So I'm telling everybody they're very good, so come here, it's an easy job. You will work your 10 hours and go home and sleep.

Speaker 3 17:10

What advice do you have for bus drivers who may struggle with the children? Our children are different. They all come from different backgrounds, different stories.

Speaker 5 17:25

What would you tell someone who's struggling with the kids, just take it easy. It's just like kids. Just treat like your kids, just like your kids. Kids are different, but if they get annoyed, oh okay, sorry, just there, like yeah everybody's before is scary for bus drivers.

Speaker 4 17:42

You don't like it, they don't like it. But before and now. I know I never do before bus driving, but when I come and enjoy the driving but when I come and enjoy the driving, I like it, so it's different.

Speaker 5 18:01

It is different, isn't it? Yeah, before when you're outside, when you're outside like yeah, you say, oh, it's a scary, this kid yeah, then the people will say how are you driving the school bus? How you drive the school bus. These kids, you know this american kids, this different kids. So you know these American kids, these different kids. So, like I said, okay, I will try. Then I tried, I enjoyed it. So people outside will look the school bus different, like they think like the school bus is bad, no, no, bad.

Speaker 3 18:38

That's a great message, Abdul.

Speaker 3 18:40

I loved what you just said in Somali that the children Somali and it's important and to your point that, yes, English is the language that majority understands, but the population to increase representation of bus drivers using the Somali dialect to reach our Somali community and remind them that this is a job. That is great enjoyment. The kids are just like your kids. The flexibility is amazing. You get to go home to your children, be a parent and also invest in the community and the children that we all continue to serve. That was a great message.

Speaker 1 19:25

I appreciate you saying that in Somalia especially, Thank you all for being here today and sharing your stories. This is absolutely great and happy School Bus Appreciation Day.

Speaker 4 19:40

Thank you. I say thank you, my team, my transportation for, and respectful Thank you.

Speaker 1 19:47

It's a good team over there, isn't it? Yeah, good team.

Speaker 4 19:51

Office mechanic driver I say thank you, that's wonderful.

Speaker 1 19:55

Yeah, that's wonderful. Yeah, that is wonderful. And don't forget, we have a gift for you today for being on this show. It's a CoffeeCast mug. Okay, thank you All of you. Also, today we're talking with school bus driver Paul Burrus. Well, thank you so much for being here today on our show about dads who are bus drivers.

Speaker 2 20:23

Yeah, thank you for inviting me.

Speaker 1 20:25

I'm so glad you're here and, paul, if you could just introduce yourself a little bit, talk about how long you've been a bus driver in the district, and obviously you're also a dad, so you can talk about how long you've been a bus driver in the district, and obviously you're also a dad, so you can talk about your kids.

Bus Driver's Artistic and Community Engagement

Speaker 2 20:37

Yeah, so I drive a school bus for the St Cloud School District and started this is about my seventh year, but there was a gap. So I worked for four years and then stayed at home with my kids for probably about 15, something like that Came back to bus driving when I had a little time as a para instructional para in the school district, but then decided to switch back to bus driving, largely because I enjoy seeing sunshine. So being inside all day is brutal, but having that big windshield kind of lets the sun in, Even in the winter.

Speaker 2 21:12

lets the sun in right Winter is another subject, but yeah, I like seeing the sunshine. So yeah, just a little bit about me, father of two children. Two daughters, one is in college, one is a junior in high school. My wife is art teacher at Apollo High School. So things I do in the community. One is I illustrate a comic book. It's a Christian comic book called Spirit Mans.

Speaker 2 21:34

Also, I have volunteered for about 18 years with Youth for Christ and we have an artist mentoring program. So teenagers and adults get together in an art studio, make art for about 10 weeks. Then we have a gallery show.

Speaker 1 21:49

Cool, very cool. This is just occurring to me because you're talking about art.

Speaker 2 22:05

Have you ever done any of the arts Like, do you tutor at Paramount or anything like that? I know they have a really great relationship with the Paramount. It's kind of like we do different things programmatically with students than what the Paramount does.

Speaker 1 22:18

There's some intersection and we're, you know, we, we like each other and so yeah, I love the Paramount, but it's kind of like yeah, I'm I'm busy, so I was just going to I was just going to tie that back to bus driving is is that one of the reasons you like being a bus driver? It sounds like it gives you some flexibility for this artistic side.

Speaker 2 22:39

Yeah, I like being a bus driver really. For many reasons it's a good fit. I have a knack for finding things and driving a vehicle around, so driving the big vehicle doesn't really bother me. I do generally like children. Sometimes they can be challenging, which is, to be honest, right.

Speaker 1 22:56

That's true for all parents right, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 22:58

And so generally I do like hanging out with kids and you know, I've got children of my own and I spent 18 years hanging out with teenagers at the art mentoring thing.

Speaker 1 23:08

Are your kids still in school?

Speaker 2 23:10

Yeah, my oldest daughter just finished first year of college, so we got to go pick her up, and then the youngest daughter is a junior in high school. Yeah, I mean. The other thing I like about bus driving is it has this gap in the middle of the day. Some people work all day, I just do am, pm, but then I get to go home and spend a few hours illustrating comics.

Speaker 1 23:29

It's a way of making your work life fit your passion.

Speaker 2 23:34

Exactly, exactly, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 23:36

Can you describe for us? We also talked to Abdul and Abdi. One of the questions I asked them was well, what's a typical day look like? Does that exist in the bus driving world? What does a typical day?

Speaker 2 23:49

Oh yeah, my day is actually very typical in the sense that every day is usually the same thing happening. You know, I start off actually first do a pre-trip inspection for the bus, make sure it's working properly, then head out and pick up students from Madison, and so the stop are the same every day and you know students are the same. We say, say good morning, and they hop on the bus. We go to school and then we start picking up students for South Kind of same thing the bus. We go to school and then we start picking up students for South Kind of same thing. Drive around, see the same people, drive to the same place and go have the break in the middle of the day, do my comic book work, come back and take them home.

Speaker 1 24:21

We also talked with Abdul and Abdi about how obviously one of the number one priorities for a bus driver is safety and that's top of mind. And you talked about how you start with an inspection.

Speaker 2 24:32

Yes.

Speaker 1 24:33

Is that? Do you find that the kids kind of catch on to that pretty quickly? Like you lay out the safety rules at the beginning of the year, or is that something that just gets reinforced day in and day out? Is that part of the routine?

Speaker 2 24:47

Yeah, it's both Kind of the way it works with kids. You can talk to them, but are they listening? And so you often have to repeat. It's good to let people know right at the start what the expectations are, and then it will take some reminding. And sometimes some people really want to know the why behind what they're doing, and so sometimes it takes a little coaching to help them understand that. You know you need to wait to cross the street till I can check for traffic, because you really can't see all the way around the bus.

Speaker 1 25:15

Exactly, and we talked about that a little bit too, about how it's not just talking with kids. You've got all the safety concerns outside your bus as well. Other drivers.

Speaker 2 25:28

Yes.

Speaker 1 25:29

Sometimes that can get tricky.

Speaker 2 25:31

Yeah, yeah, it can. That can get tricky, yeah, yeah, it can. And so that's really where having the kids trained, so that they're waiting at the proper times, waiting for me to check because a driver might not stop. They might not be aware that, yes, they're supposed to stop, maybe just aren't paying attention. The students can't see around the bus, and neither can other drivers. So really it's that training yeah yeah, it's really the preparation and repetition over time is very important.

Speaker 1 25:59

Do you have any favorite stories about either bus driving in general or about a particular student?

Speaker 2 26:06

Oh boy. Well, I had a student the other day who goes to Madison and his sister goes to South, and so he had learned that his sister rides my bus in the afternoon. And he stopped and said Mr Bus driver, if my sister ever does anything wrong you can tell me and I'll make sure her mom finds out.

Speaker 5 26:28

You had a little advocate it's.

Speaker 2 26:32

You know, if I were, if I were thinking more quickly I wasn't but I would have responded. You know, that's funny because your sister said the same thing to me about you. But it's nice to know I've got my spies out there.

Speaker 1 26:42

That's right. That's right, you've got your fan club. That's great. You said he called you or she called you, mr Bus Driver.

Speaker 2 26:49

Yes.

Speaker 1 26:50

Do you have?

Speaker 2 26:50

other names I do. I have a name tag or a card, kind of like an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper at the front says my name is Mr Paul Burrus. I think that having the Mr in front helps students understand that I am actually in a position of authority on the bus. It doesn't matter to me necessarily if they call me Paul or.

Speaker 1 27:12

Mr Burrus or Mr Paul.

Speaker 2 27:14

But, I like to encourage that, and it has a little bit of my artwork printed out.

Speaker 1 27:19

So it says my name is Mr Paul Burrus. This is my art. Do they always ask about that?

Speaker 2 27:23

Sometimes Some kids do. I find this. You know how oblivious kids can be. They go through several months before they realize there's even a bus driver, I think, and then all of a sudden they're like whoa, who's that?

Speaker 1 27:35

Yeah, when Abdul and Abdi were here was actually Appreciation Day, National.

Speaker 4 27:39

School.

Speaker 1 27:39

Bus. Appreciation Day and so we talked about some of the high fives, and they even talked about gifts that they received.

Speaker 4 27:46

Yeah, are there yeah?

Speaker 1 27:47

Do you have parents on your route that always pay attention?

Speaker 2 27:55

There are a few, yeah, who are at the bus Right away in the morning. There's one student who's perpetually running late, and so my mom is there and she's got her two daughters waiting ready to get on the bus, and then her son is coming down the hill and she's always saying you know, I'm sorry he's late and I'm just basically laughing about it because he's you know. You know how kids are, right, one of them will be challenging to get up and get around in the morning.

Speaker 1 28:16

So it to me that I had an image of ducklings right.

Speaker 2 28:18

Like, you've got the ones who are following mom and then you've got the little one.

Speaker 1 28:22

Is there anything else that when you, when you think about and I'm sorry, did you say how many years you've been driving?

Speaker 2 28:28

Oh yeah, I believe this is my seventh year. There was, yeah, I did some probably 15 years ago, and then a little gap because I was a stay-at-home dad and then came back to bus driving.

Speaker 1 28:39

So for those seven years plus, is there anything else that you want to share that you think that maybe the listeners would be interested in?

Speaker 2 28:48

Oh boy, I think that the nice thing about bus driving for me is the repetition, and you have little moments of interaction because a lot of times you're busy with the road, you don't have a ton of opportunity to interact with students.

Speaker 2 29:06

But occasionally you'll have some fun moments, and one is, you know, we're waiting for all the students to come out. One student comes out early. He was telling me all about how he worked on cars with his grandpa and so he was really curious about the engine. So I was able to open up the engine compartment and show him the different parts, and so just little moments like that that helped to build connection with kids.

Speaker 1 29:29

He had a natural curiosity about it.

Speaker 2 29:34

Yeah, and make things a little more enjoyable and you know, sometimes things can get stressful, but it's not all that. There are moments of enjoyment and really a lot of just pretty typical go about your day doing things. As far as what I would like to let people know is the little things matter, like just someone saying thank you for waiting for my son. That actually is very, very beneficial. You know, the gifts are nice and they're fun, but that and taking the time yeah, saying thank you and just taking the time to stop your vehicle and wait for the students I know everybody's busy and it's hard, but just that extra 30 seconds makes things go so much easier.

Gifts and Ideas at 742 CoffeeCast

Speaker 1 30:17

That's absolute truth. Both of those things I'm thinking about how a child who rides the bus, you're their first contact of the day and you're the last contact of the day, so, yeah, it matters, right.

Speaker 2 30:30

Yeah, it's good to get off to a right start. Sounds good.

Speaker 1 30:34

Thanks a million, paul, and, by the way, I have a present for you. Speaking of gifts, we always like to give a. Coffeecast, mug, coffeecast, all right thank you, many thanks, you're welcome. Do you have a great podcast idea? Submit your idea to communications at isd742.org. And thank you for listening to 742 CoffeeCast, the best place to stay informed and be inspired by St Cloud Area School District.