Sometimes we can all get lost in the technicalities and forget the purpose of what we do.
It is perhaps a reflection of the world in which we live, that if you were to type the phrase, “Why does my school need a minibus?” into Google you won’t find a single website with that phrase in it. (Although I guess after this article goes on our blog you will then find one, assuming Google does its searching stuff properly!)
I guess one reason for this aberration is that it is assumed that we all know the benefits of the minibus. But even if this is largely true, it is interesting to contemplate the fact that while there are hundreds of websites that talk about the type of minibuses available, the benefits of leasing, the technical details of driving licences and insurance and so forth, the broader picture still seems to be missing.
In short, one might be forgiven for thinking that we are now in a world in which few people spend time looking at the overall, while most of us are forced to observe the details.
Yet the broader picture really is worth considering from time to time between all the detail, not least with the minibus. For minibuses are, above all, a mechanism for expanding the education of the students we teach.
True, education takes place mostly in the classroom, but while part of the purpose of education is, obviously, to expand students’ understanding of themselves and the issues they study, it is of course also important to help them find their place within the society in which they live.
Especially as the society in which we live is, as we all know, changing faster than anyone ever previously imagined was possible.
So taking students out to see, and interact with, that world is vital, be it for a morning spent in a work setting, for a football match, for a visit to a nursing home, or to explore the ruins of a Norman castle.
Indeed it is often shocking to find how little of their local environment some students know. Locations of importance and significance just five miles away may be completely unknown to some, and local resources ranging from a swimming pool to a bowling club, a library to a running track, might remain completely off the radar.
The minibus therefore is about more than collecting children from outlying villages or going to sports matches, it is about education and exploration, and indeed this is why so many schools are now not just putting money aside for the leasing of a single minibus, but are also moving towards leasing a second bus as well.
If you would like to discuss the options available for leasing a minibus, and indeed ensuring that you get the right sort of bus for your school’s specific requirements, please do get in touch.