Teacher limits bathroom visits to 3 times a week (punishment, teaching, have to tell)
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I'd be in that school in a heartbeat. If the teacher isn't smart enough to distinguish between kids who are "abusing" the bathroom to kids who legitimately need to go, she shouldn't be teaching. My wife had a teacher like this in Catholic school and her parents waged a war over it. We've always told our kids, if you have to go, go. If the teacher says no, or in this case you used all of your "vouchers", go anyway and let mom and dad deal with the consequence. I'm not having my kid hold it until they blow a kidney or have an accident based on some draconian policy.
Agreed. I can understand cracking down on a kid who just goes to dawdle and get out of class, but making such a broad policy is dumb. Younger kids might not be that self-aware, and older kids might have other reasons. I bet every woman here has made an emergency dash to the Ladies' in high school.
Keep my kid from legitimately using the bathroom and prepare to have your head served to you on a platter.
Also, I read the article and realize that the teacher thought her class was being disrupted. My son's class had a similar issue. They sent a note home asking parents to try to drop off kids a liitle earlier to give them time to go before class, and they rearranged things a little to give them a few extra minutes' break after recess and lunch. Solved.
While I don't agree with such a strict policy nor the way she planned to implement it, I do completely understand the frustration.
5th grade classrooms in our school have upwards of 25 kids. They have scheduled bathroom breaks in their schedule that should easily accommodate the average (not all) child's bathroom needs. (around every two hours there is a group transition that always has a bathroom stop before going to the next place-subject change, recess, PE, library, computer, music or lunch) Since the kids have plenty of opportunity to go, most should not need to just up and go during the time the teacher is trying to teach a particular lesson.
If a teacher lets 25 kids go whenever they say they need to go, all kinds of things occur. Too many kids in the bathroom which inherently leads to trouble. The kids trying to learn are interrupted and distracted by the constant coming and going. The teacher has to reteach things she has already covered numerous times to catch those who missed it by being out of the room. The teacher may or may not realize who all is out of her room at dismissal or heaven forbid during an emergency. And many kids learn they can get out of learning or doing work by claiming they need to go.
Teachers are stuck between a rock and a hard place here.
They normally give kids multiple bathroom breaks throughout the day, don't they? A child who frequently interrupts class instruction to make trips to the bathroom may have a medical issue that the parent is unaware of (diabetes/digestive issues?). Or a child could just be taking advantage of the opportunity to get out of class for a little while, for whatever reason. 5th graders normally bring a buddy with them to the bathroom, so these bathroom trips do have an impact on their peers.
I can see how a voucher system might help the teacher determine the difference between those who *need* to make frequent trips to the bathroom and those who are just going 'cause they can.
It doesn't say that this teacher is preventing her students from using the bathroom or that there is any type of punishment for visiting the bathroom more often than 3 times/wk. She is just giving small rewards to students who do not use up all 3 vouchers in a week. It seems reasonable to me.
She is just giving small rewards to students who do not use up all 3 vouchers in a week. It seems reasonable to me.
Which may encourage kids to "hold it". Which can lead to the problems Goat mentioned and other fun things like pelvic pain and bladder infections. It also discriminates against kids with the legitimate need to go often. (Yes. There are medical conditions that require that.) So the child who should be going when he feels the need to is holding it in hopes of getting some dumb prize. Or he's holding it in because he knows the teacher doesn't want him going and she's glaring at him when leaves. Or he's holding it in because he used up his passes. Then he has to explain his medical condition to the teacher. Which he should never have to do because his medical condition is a privacy matter protected by federal law.
Which may encourage kids to "hold it". Which can lead to the problems Goat mentioned and other fun things like pelvic pain and bladder infections. It also discriminates against kids with the legitimate need to go often. (Yes. There are medical conditions that require that.) So the child who should be going when he feels the need to is holding it in hopes of getting some dumb prize. Or he's holding it in because he knows the teacher doesn't want him going and she's glaring at him when leaves. Or he's holding it in because he used up his passes. Then he has to explain his medical condition to the teacher. Which he should never have to do because his medical condition is a privacy matter protected by federal law.
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb, IMHO.
Actually the parents of a child with a medical condition like you mentioned may not have to tell the teacher but they are supposed to tell the school. At my school ANY health issue that can impact a student during school hours in ANY way is supposed to go at least to the school nurse. She then decides with the parent to disseminate information or not with teachers but ultimately she decides what information to share as the health care professional.
I know a case at my old school where a parent decided not to tell the school about a medical issue their kid was having and when an unforeseen complication arose at school the parent ended up with a warning from child services about how that can be dangerous bordering on abuse.
I have received multiple emails from the nurse over the years that simple said "Please allow Johnny to use the restroom whenever necessary". No more or less.
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