This Philly bus driver is also a substitute teacher and public transit activist

“The most difficult part of teaching, whether you’re a substitute or you’ve been doing it for 30 years, is student behavior,” he said. “A lot of students grow up with iPads and cell phones so their level of concentration is a lot different.”

McKnight said he has various tools and techniques to reach students, but on days when none of them work, it’s frustrating.

“You question yourself, ‘What mistakes am I making?’ I can inspire you, I can encourage you, but I can’t get anything done if there’s no borderline basic respect,” he said. “Just all day having to say ‘Please sit down. Please be quiet.’ I get paid money to drive a bus, you’re not going to be running me ragged.”

On the hard days, McKnight tries to remember why he wanted to become a teacher.

“As a Black man it’s important to have Black male teachers, that’s the biggest thing I thought about when getting into teaching,” he said.

And on the good days, McKnight shares his love of public transit and talks about his job with his students.

“I get to tell them about my life and impart a lesson,” he said. “I tell them I’m a bus driver so if you have questions why something may be, ask me. I want to show them the other jobs you can do.”

Authentically Philly

It’s those conversations and his work with the Philly Transit Riders Union that inspired McKnight’s dream of bringing a transit education program into schools.

“The first thing would be how to be a smart and savvy rider....how to read maps, how to read schedules. You should know how to use tools in case something happens or your phone dies,” he said. “The second part would be educating about jobs in transit. In the transit industry a lot of people are starting to retire...If we educate students we can start filling some of these jobs.”

As a lifelong resident, McKnight knows Philly isn’t perfect, and may never be. But it’s home and it’s real, and when you really love something, you want to help it succeed.

“The nice part about Philadelphia is it’s authentically itself,” he said. “I’m not looking for perfection, I’m just looking for it to be a little bit better than it was yesterday.”