Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Bus Rants

I just need to vent this out.

My kids go to school with the bus service provided by the compound. We mothers of the children that go to school on that bus take turns to become the bus monitors. Bus Monitors have to make sure that children are following the rules to ensure their safety, i.e. take attendance (to make sure no child is left behind), put their seat belts on, no eating/drinking in the bus (though I do allow them to drink water during the hot summer months), no shouting, verbal/physical abuse or bad language on the bus.

Today I get a call from the bus coordinator (she's like the 'head' of the bus monitors lah), telling me that the management asked her to remind us of the bus rules and remind us to enforce the bus rules. I agree with all the bus rules accept for one - in the past few months my children have been complaining that they are not even allowed to TALK in the bus.
My children get stressed out every time they have to go to school (especially if they see that the bus monitor on duty is going to be one of these two particular moms) because they know it's gonna be 2 long boring, rigid bus ride to/from school.
I mean, these are children, and you expect them not to talk? come on.
I argued this point with the bus coordinator, and she says it's distracting the bus driver, and she pointed out that I seem to be the only one who's complaining about this rule. She said the kids need to only keep quiet for 20 to 30 minutes, that's all. Knowing my kids (and myself), keeping quiet for even 5 minutes is torture! Especially when you've just come back from school, and looking forward to chucking your books and playing outside. Especially when you're sitting next to your friend.

Am I really the only one who thinks this rule is too much?
Or am I being unreasonable about it?

How can I implement this rule when I don't believe in it?
If I flout it, I would be setting a bad anti-establishment example to my kids. But if I enforce it, I'd be going against my own principles.

Perhaps I need to find a way around it.
Teach the kids (not just mine, mind you, the whole bus!) how to have fun, without talking (too loud). Whispering game? hm.. maybe that would actually work.
*light bulb*

8 comments:

  1. I AM WITH YOU! I THINK THE RULE IS SO UNREASONABLE.
    need to check...maybe they want the children to be quiet so that the driver can talk on his mobile phone with his girlfrens!
    mana boleh tahan children from talking!!! Adults are so errmmm, my word is too rude for this comment box!

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  2. what a ridiculous rule! i understand if the rule is to not talk with the driver when he's driving but why should they be deprived of talking to each other?!?!?!!! i think it's a bit too much to ask for to get kids to keep quiet for 20 MINUTES!!

    i think you are not being unreasonable. i think the other parents are being unreasonable for even thinking about this silly rule!

    but then again, i've had worse bus experiences than this. in my school bus dulu, we couldn't talk, eat, drink or wear our bags with only one tali when walking down the bus aisle. bila semua orang dah naik, semua orang kena repeat mantra: "tak boleh makan, tak boleh minum, tak boleh cakap, pakai bag dua tali. kalau tak buat, panas telinga."

    meaning, kena piat telinga dengan driver kalau langgar peraturan nih! once got squealed by this girl coz i was eating some sweets and i did get my ears pinched. child abuse if u ask me

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  3. Cannot talk? Erkk...jgn bising maybe but not tak boleh cakap langsung la.
    Anak2 I ni belum masuk gear bukan setakat bercakap, bergaduh pun dah mula.

    Nyanyi boleh ke?

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  4. *phew* I am glad I'm not the only one.

    Abe Id eh, PakPayne,
    That's their argument. They said the driver gets distracted, so I ask, is it just this driver ke, coz the previous drivers tak ada masalah pun. Tapi driver ni boleh pulak jawab telefon masa driving.. hmfff..
    And janganlah marah the adults.. I am one of them meh..

    Aliya,
    you kena piat telinga??? Huyooooo!! itu sudah lebih. We're not even allowed to shout at the kids. Tapi makcik2 ni akan marah dengan suara keras and threaten with a 'violation letter' (3 violation letters will get you suspended from the bus for a week, a repeat would get you kicked out). My kids tension giller sebab jerit or tak jerit, to them, kena marah is kena marah.

    BF,
    Diorang kata, boleh cakap tapi selow selow. It's an old rickety noisy bus, I think that's why the kids are talking so loud. Tapi that's aside, I think kids are naturally noisy.. as long as they're not screaming or shouting a little buzz of conversation is fine by me.
    Nak je I protest dengan mengajak budak2 ni menyanyi-nyanyi lagu dalam bas ramai-ramai sekuat-kuat hati... boleh tak?
    tapi silap2 I dengan anak2 I sekali kena kick off the bus! haruuuuuu.. !

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  5. i think the whispering game WILL further distract the (curious) bus monitor/driver... mesti dia kena glance thru the rear mirror banyak kali bila tgk budak terkekek2 ketawa tapi tak keluar suara... hahahaha... Then, will only they know that silence is not the problem solver... kan? kan? kan? Go Go Go Monitor Elisa!!!!

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  6. I think that particular bus driver and those particular moms should be on our bus (the bus that send me to my arabic school). They are many makciks from kaj00l's country who speak like you just know how.. hehee...

    How could you tell the kids not to talk? Simply stupido! Kalau budak2 tertido dalam bas sebab bosan, kan ke susah nak kejutkan.. pelik betul lah diorang ni..
    Minum air pun tak boleh ke? kesiannya la kat those kids.. plain water should be allowed lah rasanya..

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  7. u go girl...lets us the mums set the rule....
    i'm with u all along...

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  8. Anonymous12:11 PM

    Maybe the kids should learn sign language.

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