For the first time in several years, my grade level has end of the day planning. End of the day planning means dismissal duties. My duty is in the car rider line. At first, I was a little sad because the majority of kids ride home on the bus, and being in the car rider line means I don’t see as many kids. My first few weeks in the car rider line have gone well, and then today happened.
[pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”30%”]Today I realized the beauty of the car rider line. [/pullquote]
Today, I had several students – one after the another – come up to me and chat about how their day went, how the school year is going, and life in general. These students didn’t have to come talk to me. They walked up and to where I was standing at my post and engaged me in conversation. I had several students come talk me – both current and former students. Our conversations lasted until their ride arrived, and then someone else would come talk to me.
Today wasn’t the first time I’ve had car rider line student conversations, but today was the day I had so many of them it made an impact on me. If I had bus duty, I’d be able to say a passing hello to many students, but I wouldn’t have real conversation with them. Car rider duty helps me to make connections with students. And that’s what it’s all about! I’m feeling really good about the opportunities i will have this year, and I’m looking forward to my next car rider line conversation!
[pullquote align=”center” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”30%”]It’s all about making connections with our students![/pullquote]
