Acelynn MacDonald and Madilynn Hawley, students at Herbert Hoover Elementary School in Bettendorf, file out of the bus for the first day of the 2023-2024 school year on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023.
Olivia Allen
I've never really been the jealous type.
For a long time, I've very much considered myself a pragmatist when it comes to materialism and mobility. But back in elementary school, I remember being really envious toward my peers about one thing:
I didn't get to ride the bus to school.
Since I lived in Bettendorf and went to Catholic school in Davenport, it wasn't an option for my family. At the time, I thought this was just plain unfair.
"Why does everyone else get to ride to school with their friends, and I'm stuck with an annoying little sister?," I remember thinking. (Sorry Maddie, love ya!)
It wasn't that I was embarrassed of being dropped off by my family -- rather, I was drawn by the chatter-filled social stage of the elementary-middle school bus route.
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I also remember several of my peers sharing parables about their bus drivers. Some of my friends had fun little inside jokes with their bus drivers, giving me a glimpse into the heartwarming relationships formed throughout their bus-riding years.
In retrospect, I think I also wanted my own "bus driver."
I think it's good for students to have these relationships with trusted adult figures *outside* of their homes and classrooms. Bus drivers see the same students almost every day, sometimes, for years -- they get to know each other.
And while some bus routes may be quick, it doesn't take long for one party to positively impact the others' day/night -- or even save a life. A bus driver in the Hoover City, Alabama, area saved a student from choking just last month.
My great grandpa Raymond "Chicky" Allen was a bus driver for Rockridge schools back in the '70s and '80s. (They called him that because he used to chase farm chickens, apparently.)
For part of that time, my dad was living in a single-father household, so this helped alleviate some of the pickup burdens for my grandpa -- but it also helped my dad feel more comfortable going to and from school.
Sadly, I never got to meet Grandpa Chicky -- but I did grow up learning all about him.
I've been told, by many parties, that Grandpa Chicky was kind, patient and always willing to engage with young ones in his community. Seems like the perfect bus driver to me.
When taking photos of North Scott bus drivers on Wednesday, I got to talking with one named Dan O'Flahrity.
"There are always people out there saying, 'Oh, I could never be a bus driver, how do you do it?'" he said Wednesday.
O'Flahrity said he tells those people, "Come ride with me."
"Just to see those kids (having) a smile on their face when you pick them up in the morning, they put a smile on my face," he said. "I have kindergarten through sixth-grade, so we do some stuff on the bus (drives) to make it fun for them, and for me, too."
Some examples of these fun bus ride activities include sight-seeing games, "spelling bees" and math games, O'Flahrity said.
"It's rewarding to be a bus driver, it really is," he said. "And I'm not just saying that -- I wouldn't be doing this for 11 years if I didn't enjoy doing it."
As driving conditions continue to be tumultuous this Midwest winter season, I encourage readers to thank their school bus drivers if you get a chance.
And to any school bus drivers reading this, know that while I never received your services growing up, I was and am a big fan.
So thank you, school bus drivers, for getting our students to and from school safely.
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