My school bus route is pack with high school students. But did I mention I also bus elementary and special needs students. My bus students are grades 1st through 5th. and they are a wonderful group of kids.
You heard the phrase … “Kids say the craziest things.” Until you have been on a bus with 20 elementary students you just can’t image. They are the most honest speaking age group I know of.
Nearly finished for the day I had just loaded my last student for their trip home. There is a particular student, a great kid, who has a slight physical disability and gets teased every once in a while. I try to keep a special eye out for him since he seems like he needs a friend. He is very shy, sits in the front seat and hardly says boo … except for today.
He was the last one to get on the school bus and before he sat down he immediately said, “My dad lost his job yesterday.” Hearing this I told him that his dad would get a better job and not to worry. He replied saying,
“That’s what I told Dad. I told him to not take the first job someone offers him and wait until he gets offered a better job.” He went on to say, “Yea, I told him to get a job like the one at ————— (local food processor). He made a lot of money there. Mom and Dad paid bills 2 times a month and I heard them say all the time that after they paid the bills there was about $50 left over.”
As this school bus driver drove I thought to myself how could it be that a 4th grader could possibly understand that a family has bills to pay and when they were all paid there was money left over.
This little boy is just a child probably having to grow up way to fast. But when you are one of six other children I would imagine all of them have had to grow up quickly.
