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this happened to my 6 year old twice I don't see how this is not abuse of a child. I don't believe teachers should have this type of control over little children yes I can understand that older children my have other reasons for using the restroom but not at that age. These teachers should be held accountable. I should also like to mention there is a bathroom in the classroom
There's a bathroom in the classroom and the children are six years old? That's different than many of the cases cited elsewhere in this thread.
I fully understand that some kids have a "time of day" during which they just have to go. That's understandable, and I accommodate for that (such as having an agreement that you will drop your things off and then go to the restroom right away). I also fully understand that some kids have medical needs that require full access to the restroom. No problem.
The times I will not allow a bathroom visit is when kids ask to go to their locker or to get a drink, and if I tell them they need to wait, they THEN ask to use the restroom. Clearly if the restroom was a serious need, they would have asked for that first.
I am also not thrilled with students interrupting instruction to ask to use the restroom. If there is such a big emergency that you feel you need to interrupt instruction, just GO!
Finally, I am not thrilled with 12+ students in a class of 30-32 all asking to use the restroom during one 45-minute period. Very little instruction takes place if I have to sign 12+ passes in a 45-minute period.
I've had to implement a one pass a week rule because I was LITERALLY having 1/3 of my class ask to go to the bathroom EVERY HOUR. Of course the kids are complaining that they should be able to decide when they need to go. I told them point blank that free passes have been abused so they are no more. Period. If I let them decide I have a revolving door.
There's a bathroom in the classroom and the children are six years old? That's different than many of the cases cited elsewhere in this thread.
I fully understand that some kids have a "time of day" during which they just have to go. That's understandable, and I accommodate for that (such as having an agreement that you will drop your things off and then go to the restroom right away). I also fully understand that some kids have medical needs that require full access to the restroom. No problem.
The times I will not allow a bathroom visit is when kids ask to go to their locker or to get a drink, and if I tell them they need to wait, they THEN ask to use the restroom. Clearly if the restroom was a serious need, they would have asked for that first.
I am also not thrilled with students interrupting instruction to ask to use the restroom. If there is such a big emergency that you feel you need to interrupt instruction, just GO!
Finally, I am not thrilled with 12+ students in a class of 30-32 all asking to use the restroom during one 45-minute period. Very little instruction takes place if I have to sign 12+ passes in a 45-minute period.
I love when they ask to go and tell me it's an emergency and I tell them to wait until we're done doing what we're doing and they don't ask again. So just what was that emergency? They seem to follow a quick look at their phone. Hmmm? I wonder.
In my opinion, kids should just be able to get up and go. If you have to go, you have to go. A sudden upset stomach can strike at any moment.
If they want to go just to miss class, fine, it's their education and their choice.
Except, as has been stated about 20 times, the teacher is responsible for that student when he's assigned to him. Whether in the class room or the bathroom.
Go back aways and see what happened to two of my colleagues when a student went off the reservation during class.
Here's part of the problem, and Ivory Tickler along with others, have mentioned it. Teachers are responsible for their students. In the room, in the hall going to the nurse/office/bathroom, etc. Administrators make that very clear every year.
A couple of incidents from my system, the first one from my school:
Teacher lets girl (11th grader) go to the bathroom. She's discovered in the boy's bathroom fellating the boy's basketball team. Student is suspended 3 days for loitering. Basketball team gets an hour additional study hall and additional wind sprints. Teacher is suspended 5 days WOP for failure to observe professional policies.
Two students cut last period. Teacher doesn't turn in a cut slip until the next morning (which was policy at that time). The students had left to rob a convenience store and killed the clerk. School system and teacher get sued, teacher (20 year veteran) gets fired.
Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person
Except, as has been stated about 20 times, the teacher is responsible for that student when he's assigned to him. Whether in the class room or the bathroom.
Go back aways and see what happened to two of my colleagues when a student went off the reservation during class.
Except, as has been stated about 20 times, the teacher is responsible for that student when he's assigned to him. Whether in the class room or the bathroom.
That is what people who don't work in schools just don't get. Two activities that occur in unsupervised bathrooms during class time that are highly problematic, and not nearly as uncommon as people would like to think, are sex and bullying. I did work in one middle school that ended up having a group of parents volunteer to be escorts to take kids to the bathroom for a while one year. It was great!!!! Requests to go to the bathroom plummeted. You would think that would be a program highly encouraged - nope - two non-participating parents complained to the school board that it made their kid too embarrassed to ask to go to the bathroom and that was the end of that.
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In my opinion, kids should just be able to get up and go. If you have to go, you have to go. A sudden upset stomach can strike at any moment.
If they want to go just to miss class, fine, it's their education and their choice.
The problem is that's not the way it works. If they miss the material the teacher is blamed for not teaching them. I WISH it was that way. If kids text in class instead of listen, I'm the one who gets her hand slapped for not policing cell phone usage. I'm also held accountable if kids are supposed to be in my class but are out causing trouble. There's only one of me. I can't walk them to the bathroom and if they're boys, I couldn't go in to make sure they're using the bathroom either. The only time they don't blame me for what they do is between classes. Kids get 5 minutes and IMO should use it.
I have an interesting recurring phenomena in my class. It plays out the same way every time. They suddenly look at their phone then jump up and ask to go to the bathroom. I tell them to wait until we're done doing what we're doing. When I tell them they can go 10 minutes later, they tell me they don't need to go. How DOES that work?
Another one is when they ask to go to their locker to get something or to the library to print something they need for another class or they ask to go to another class and ask the teacher something and I say no. Two minutes later, they ask to go to the bathroom. Guess where they go?
I had unlimited passes in my classes until a few weeks ago. I got tired of the revolving door. There is NO WAY that 1/3 of my class needs to pee or has an upset stomach during my hour every day. I don't have unlimited passes because they abuse it. They use having to go to the bathroom as an excuse to walk around the building. I can't tell you how many times I've had a student tell me it was an emergency and they had to go to the bathroom only to have them come back with juice and chips from the vending machines that are located on the other side of the building. Then I have admins asking me why I'm giving kids permission to go to the vending machines. I now use one pass per week. On Friday I have a revolving door. All the kids who haven't used their pass that week, for some mysterious reason, have to pee on Friday during my hour.
The problem with passes is I'm held accountable for what they do but I have no control over where they go when they leave my room. Many teachers in my building have a no pass rule. I'm thinking of doing that next term. I've had it with being called out because someone went to the vending machines or was walking the halls or went to the library to print out something they needed for another class. If kids only used bathroom passes to go to the bathroom when they needed to go we wouldn't have a problem. The problem is they lie. They say they need to go when they don't so they can go do something else and then we're called out by admins for not policing where our students are.
That is what people who don't work in schools just don't get. Two activities that occur in unsupervised bathrooms during class time that are highly problematic, and not nearly as uncommon as people would like to think, are sex and bullying. I did work in one middle school that ended up having a group of parents volunteer to be escorts to take kids to the bathroom for a while one year. It was great!!!! Requests to go to the bathroom plummeted. You would think that would be a program highly encouraged - nope - two non-participating parents complained to the school board that it made their kid too embarrassed to ask to go to the bathroom and that was the end of that.
You forgot drug sales...
And you're right. Sex during the school day is more common than people think. Bullying is so bad that I've had kids who would not use the bathroom all day long. I've had kids who didn't drink anything during the school day so they didn't have to go into the bathrooms. I remember being cornered a couple of times myself during high school. I would go during class because it was safer but I remember one day that I walked in and there was a gang of girls who demanded my money and threatened to beat me up if I told anyone. I went hungry that day.
I'd have to say that sex in the bathrooms isn't a real problem in my school. According to rumor among the kids, the elevator is used more for sex than it is for taking people to the 2nd floor. Since I've been in this school, several couples have been caught in the elevator, in the gym under the bleachers, in the concession stands by the football field and one couple on the middle school playground. I'm absolutely amazed that we don't have pregnant girls in my school (NONE since I've taught here). I'm guessing mom and dad put them on BC at 12 because it sure isn't because they aren't having sex.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 10-18-2014 at 03:17 PM..
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