IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM...JOIN 'EM

Ah...the days of riding a school bus...I remember them well.

My bus driver, Mr. Thorne, wouldn't stand for any monkey business. If you were good...he was good to you. If you weren't...he took no crap! On the inside of the bus...Mr. Thorne ruled. If you were told to SHUT UP...you'd better be shuttin' up. If you were told to SIT DOWN...you'd better be sittin' down. Mr. Thorne had the authority to whoop your butt if you needed it...and then tell the principal...where you'd probably get another whoopin'...who'd tell your parents...where you'd get a 'lecture' at best...if not another whoopin'.

On the outside...vehicles better obey Mr. Thorne's stop sign. If they didn't, he was yelling at them...showing his fist...and writing down licence numbers. When he got to school...he was on the phone to the police to report you. Mr. Thorne was protective of his kids.

These days, the news seems to show videos from 'on bus' cameras of students fighting or causing a ruckus. I'm sure it isn't happening every day on every bus...but when it does...it seems to be newsworthy.

Of course...now days...teachers...nor bus drivers...can't lay a hand on an unruly student...I presume.

Well, in Arizona, someone thought of an idea...and it seems to be working. What do most kids want to do today? They want to be 'on their phone' or 'on their computer'. So this school in Arizona installed a router on the bus so the kids could access the Internet while riding to-and-from the school.

Now...ALL IS CALM...ALL IS QUIET. There is less noise...less fighting...and maybe...more 'productive time' on the bus.

Now that's good thinkin'.


Dan