The School Bus has a flat tire.
Recently, I was talking to someone about what it’s been like teaching in higher education during this pandemic. I joked that it’s like driving a school bus that has a flat tire and now all the students are looking out the windows watching you try to fix it.
Then I started thinking about how good that analogy really was (pats himself on the back).
I remember riding the school bus from elementary school through high school until I could drive myself. Everyday was an adventure or sorts.
The mornings were usually pretty calm. Most kids were still groggy and waking up. It was cool and dark and I remember enjoying the ride while looking out the window. Sometimes we even got a little nap before homeroom. The only real drama was if we were driving through snow or if some kid had an upset stomach and should have stayed home (pretty gross).
The afternoons were a completely different story. Everyone was amped up and excited to be getting out for the day. The bus was loud — lots of laughing, joking, teasing, singing — it could be overwhelming, especially for an introvert like myself. I usually stayed clear of the circus but occasionally enjoyed some of the jokes.
I do remember one morning that we did have some out of the ordinary excitement. The bus got a flat tire. Our driver, Mr. Huff, was also a high school math teacher. He pulled the bus over and got out to take a look. Every window on that side of the bus was opened and high school students were hanging out trying to see what he was doing. I remember thinking he was frustrated and nervous and not thrilled about the 30 kids watching from the windows offering their advice through jokes and a few insincere cheers.
The cheers were insincere because we knew Mr. Huff could not change this tire and another bus would have to be sent to pick us up, i.e., we would not be at school on time. Depending on how long this replacement bus took we might miss a few of our early classes. Still, our bus driver investigated the tire and crawled around to see what had happened. He came back on the bus to tell us to stay on the bus. He needed to call and get someone to come get us … everyone cheered!
That morning, the bus felt like an afternoon. Eventually another bus came and took us to school and we walked through the halls (an hour or so late) like heroes. Everyone had heard that our bus was late, we had missed classes, and it would NOT be held against us!!
I haven’t remembered this story since I made the analogy yesterday, but it fits. The pandemic has certainly disrupted the normal schedule. Teaching can be a crazy bus ride anyway let alone when something happens to bring it all to a halt. It is equally stressful and unnerving to have students watch you try to fix something you clearly can’t. We look at the tire like we can do something about it, but we can’t. And the students are actually hoping you can’t … because they get to miss some school.
Of course there are the students who sincerely want to be in the class and love learning, but even some of those don’t mind an “inconvenient” flat tire every once in a while.
