The little things series – The school busses

A few days before school was vacated for our kids, I had a meeting outside the office for a sales pitch. The meeting went well and my boss graciously allowed me to take the rest of the day off (Christmas comes early I guess).

Instead of heading home, I detoured my daughter’s school as it was just in time for her closing time of 3 pm.

As the case is for most schools in Accra, there is an arranged school transportation service (usually a bus) used for the ins and outs of students. The busy nature of city life married to the inseparable traffic in the mornings and evenings means that we leave home early sometimes even before the bus picks up our kids – in some cases, the bus even picks them up as early as 5.45 am.

The pickup and drop-off time depends on factors such as but not limited to the number of students the bus must transport, the dispersed location of the students, the distance of or from one pick-up point to the other, and lastly the traffic situation since the kids must be in school before classes begin.

My daughter, as my Yoruba people would say ‘the child of an elephant could not be cowed to be a dwarf’ so mentioned in fact complained to us severally on some observations, actions, inactions, insults, tiredness, bullying, etc. Typical of me (if not all of us), the first capsule is to encourage (listening attentively at this time is a luxury for my daughter) and then assure her that we would talk to the driver, teacher, etc. but truth is, we shamefully hardly do.

My granny once told me that ‘the best way to eat an elephant is to cut him into little pieces’ – simply put, the best way to solve a problem is to tackle it bit by bit, one step at a time.
I decided to pick her up myself instead of the arranged bus services as the case was.

Permit me to share my observations as our people say, the rain does not fall on one roof alone perhaps you might have more observations or insights to share as well to benefit us all.

1. Joy of the child:

By now my daughter is accustomed to being picked up by the bus. I spotted her walking to the parked bus with a heavy-laden bag (this is for another day), weary and wobbling legs, and physically worn out.

I showed up like a ghost to her amazement and shouting – it made me tear up (why are you wondering if I really tore?) I realized instantaneously that the presence of parents or guardians in the affairs of their children at whatever level, whatever time, event, or location is indescribable.

The perpetual smile, the hug, and the shouts are still fresh in my mind. I know and can understand how important our jobs are, the meetings, the deadlines to be met, etc. but the people who we are toiling for hardly see us talk less of we spending time with them.

Tell you what, some of the kids if given the opportunity to choose between us and what we provide for them, I bet would choose us. Let us make time for the teeth do not see poverty – it will eat no matter what! Let us make a conscious effort to have a balance no matter how difficult it is and if you are boss, sometimes give your members some time off for such beautiful but rare moments.

If you are given the time off too….no further comments
Read this as said by John Boadu, former general secretary of the NPP – sad reality (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/My-son-couldn-t-differentiate-between-me-and-Akufo-Addo-John-Boadu-on-positive-side-of-losing-NPP-polls-1686506)

2. Type of driver, vehicle, etc.:

How many of us have taken the time to know the driver (name, contact number, residential address, character reference, etc.) assigned to pick up our kids? What about the state of the vehicle being used? Is the vehicle roadworthy? What of the insurance (comprehensive or 3rd party?

Seat belt? Additional bus support to the driver like a bus attendant? Maximum seating capacity of passengers in this case of kids? I have sea sand of questions without limited or no answers.

Again, we are consumed with time and other equally important stuff but the truth is some of the vehicles that I have seen and are being used in transporting the kids need to be looked at again. I have seen in traffic rickety school buses, no glass on the windows, no support to the driver, reckless driving, etc.

I know the issue of cost, the type of school, and the amount being charged comes to play but should we mortgage the lives and future of our kids? I believe beyond the inspection of the books, facilities, etc. by the authorities, a look at this too would be greatly appreciated. See and read the link below for a summary of my observation.

(https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/4-school-children-killed-in-accident.html)

3. After-school playtime:

As I tried picking her up, she made a passionate request ‘Daddy, can I please with my friends a little?’. I obliged, before I could say jack, she was gone! Playing, jumping, running, and teasing while I waited in the car. What crossed my mind was this.

Kids learn by playing so when they are limited by one thing or the other, it affects their development, lowers their confidence, and defeats attributes like teamwork, competition, drive, resilience, initiative, etc.

I noticed that, because of the nature of the transportation arrangement, the kids jump straight into the vehicles with little or no time to mingle and interact. Yes, the school has facilities for physical education such as basketball, volleyball, football, etc. but those times per my observation are monitored, timed, and under close supervision.

This is not to say that the kids should be left alone after school without supervision but a little time to ease the pressure and develop another skill set, I think would be ideal.

4. Pick up, and drop off time. Distance and locations covered:

As mentioned earlier, the pick-up and drop-off times can be a challenge. Picking kids up as early as 5.45 am means we deprive them of enough sleep, and enough time to eat breakfast, and for those of us who come home late and hardly see the home works of our kids before we get the time to say good morning we are greeted with the honking of the bus.

It's heartbreaking sometimes but for some reason, we have been accustomed to it hence it’s a new normal. Some kids spend as long as 2 to 3 hours from pick up to drop off. This is crazy!

Guess what, you will be amazed at some of the routes the buses cover. There was this day, we went out to visit a friend. A distance quite far from our residence and to my surprise my daughter tells me ‘Daddy, I know this place’.

Like seriously I shouted. How? When? Who brought you here and at what time? Only for her to say, the school bus! , some of her colleagues stay in that area. I was stunned and concerned.

On her part, she gets home after 3 hours of pick up so you can imagine her joy to have me pick her up early. As usual, iced cream, meat pie, etc. was on the bill something she cannot ask the driver to stop and get even if she had money or craves it. Sad!

5. Other students’ behavior:

No passes without feedback from my kid on the happenings on the bus. Our elders say, ‘what the child says, he has heard at home’.

Parents/guardians, our responsibilities go beyond the provision of shoes, fees, bags, etc.

The times we find ourselves in require more than the provision of the aforementioned. We have to pay attention to our kids with respect to what we say or do at home. These habits are picked quickly and easily as prescriptions to be administered to an ailment.

Some of the actions and words are uncharitable, unprintable, and bitter. The difficulty is that, because some of us do not exhibit those traits at home, it becomes difficult when your kid asks you what they mean or what was said.

Words are powerful as we all know and as my Igbo people would say ‘water may cover the footprint on the ground but it does not cover the words of the mouth’
Bullying, intimidation, insults, threats, etc. are just a few of the things that happen on the bus and because there are no supervisors, kids endure/enjoy (depending on where you stand) these things on a daily basis which sometimes forms a wrong foundation.

In summary, my observations might be right or wrong but my mission is to bring to the fore some issues that we all as stakeholders can have a look at, discuss and apply alternatives, if need be, to the betterment of us, our kids, the school, etc.

Shalom.