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I would think they would have a "procedure" for dealing with accidents anyway especially if they have kids with special needs in the school. I have an adult son with special needs and worked sometimes as a sub in the spec ed classrooms so I just can't imagine that no one had a clue on what needed to be done for this child. I think before the teacher got hers, I would have just cried having my child subjected to this. This incident will probably follow her through all of her school years. You know what remark always ticked me off so much with school personnel "You have to understand.." and before they could finish, I would say "I don't have to understand anything!" It was bad enough she was denied restroom, what appears to be "privileges" but leaving her there like that showed not an ounce of compassion.
I'm surprised by others responses that more don't. It seems like a pretty logical thing to do, especially for schools that have younger kids where accidents can still happen. You don't even need to have a nurse administer it, though it makes sense to have them do it if there is one. The clothes and wipes could just as easily be kept in an administrators office and they could let the kid use the teacher/admin bathroom to get changed.
This incident will probably follow her through all of her school years.
That's my issue with it as well, at least insofar as why I tell my kids to go regardless. No one will remember the time X got in trouble for disobeying the teacher and going to the bathroom, but they will remember the time X soiled themselves in the classroom. I grew up in a relatively small town and went to a small high school (~140 in my graduating class) so that may be part of it. Even in our senior year when people were discussing school memories, they would still remember the time so-and-so peed their pants in Kindergarten.
I had this issue with my dd's preschool, when she was only 3. She had an accident which was unusual for her, and when I asked her what happened she told me that the kids went outside, and she needed to go back inside to use the bathroom, but the teacher told her that she should have went before they went out. At 3, she described the entire conversation word for word, so I knew it was the truth. But of course, the teacher denied it. Several months later, it happened again, this time at nap time, when she was told that she had a chance to go before, so now she couldn't. She didn't ask again, and held her pee all day. When I came to pick her up, she had to pee so bad we couldn't make it home 10 minutes away and had to stop and use a public restroom. No more nice conversation after that time, I was furious, and even more so that the teacher kept trying to deny what my dd said. They knew then under no uncertain terms that if my child has to go to the bathroom, by God, you BETTER let her go, and I don't care if she just went 3 seconds ago. You can't force a child to control how their body functions for your own convenience.
At least though, when she DID have an accident, she was cleaned and changed. I simply cannot imagine my fury if I came to find her sitting in diarhhea covered clothes for God knows how long. I don't even really want to imagine my reaction.
That's my issue with it as well, at least insofar as why I tell my kids to go regardless. No one will remember the time X got in trouble for disobeying the teacher and going to the bathroom, but they will remember the time X soiled themselves in the classroom. I grew up in a relatively small town and went to a small high school (~140 in my graduating class) so that may be part of it. Even in our senior year when people were discussing school memories, they would still remember the time so-and-so peed their pants in Kindergarten.
Yeah, I still remember 30 something years ago, in first grade when a little girl (I even remember her name) was wearing white tights and pooped her tights. It sucked, because we all went to school together for 8 years, and that was an unforgettable moment. We were at a Catholic grade schol and the Sister that taught us was very intimidating and scary and would only let kids go to the bathroom at certain times. First grade was scary for me, but later years got much better at school. I wasn't sad when I heard that Sister died.
That's so sad. I taught first grade for a couple of years. There were always those kids who used bathroom trips as a way to take a break from work they didn't want to do. I could usually teach them other coping techniques where I would allow some of them to take a break from the work (do jumping jacks in the hall or something else to release the energy or provide a mental retreat). This allowed me to forget "policing" bathroom breaks which I am loathe to do. Who am I to know if the kid REALLY needs to go? I would always give the child the benefit of the doubt in any event. I know how traumatic accidents can be for children of school age. I only had one accident. The boy came in from recess all wet. He didn't even mention it to me. I had to pull him aside and ask. He finally admitted that he did so I got him to the nurses office as discretely as possible. I suspect he was like my 4 year old son who will sometimes wait too long because he can't be bothered to stop what he's doing.
This woman doesn't belong in a Kindergarten room. It takes a special person to teach K-1 (not just saying that because I did, I honestly had a hard time with it and would prefer older students) and she clearly doesn't have the compassion or the heart for it. Maybe high school....?
From what I know incidents like this have happened more than one time in our school, except only with pee.
If heads do roll, it is only because it became a public story.
Kindergarteners being denied access to bathrooms is fairly common.
The big problem in getting resolution is that school administrators will treat a kid that age as a liar.
Really? Every Kindergarten classroom I have seen has bathrooms actually off the classroom. Now older kids, I can believe, but in K, our kids could just go without even raising their hands. Certainly, the testing scenario is weird in K. My grandkids (and I have one who is in first grade this year) never did any practice tests in K.
We have had pee accidents with the first grader, but never because he was denied access, mostly because he was too busy to tell them he needed to go.
I think denying bathroom breaks has always been an issue. My daughter had problems with that in kindergarten and first grade. She had lots of urine accidents and I would have to go to the school and clean her up. I'd get there and she was sitting on a chair covered with a trash bag, pee in her shoes, looking as miserable as can be, and I'd ask what happened, and she'd say, "Mom, I said I had to go now and they said I had to wait." I learned after that to tell her teachers that she doesn't ask to go to the bathroom unless she really has to go, and they need to let her go right away.
I've told both of my kids, if you have to go to the bathroom and the teacher says no, then you go ahead and walk out of class and go to the restroom. When you're done, go to the office and tell them you walked out of class because you weren't allowed to go to the restroom. And then I will take care of the rest.
About the news article, I already think the schools get stupid when it comes to preparing the kids for standardized tests, and this is just another great example.
No kidding esp since the test isn't even for 3 years .
If the kiddo is covered in poop, I can see that the nurse's office might be at a loss as to what to do. (That is if they even have a nurse.) It's not like they can strip the girl down and hose her off, or put her in the shower. She probably wouldn't be able to clean herself up very well, and I can understand that no adult would dare to say, "Come on, sweetie, let's go in the bathroom and fix you up. Take off your pants and panties and put them in this bag." So I can sympathize with the school (not the teacher) a little. But just a little.
Any school should have a first aid kit with gloves, and some adult somewhere would have a big sweatshirt ... something, right? And I don't know about that school, but ours has a big lost & found with tons of clothes. Yes, that piece of clothing is not hers, but I would rather apologize to a parent that "I'm so sorry but it was an emergency, and we'll replace those sweatpants." No adult with a heart would begrudge a little kid some clean pants. Also, every year, my kids' elementary schools required the parents to send in containers of wipes, so there had to be something they could have done. There is no way I would let a child sit in poop and misery, wrapped in a trash bag--even if I was just a parent passing through the front office at the time. The grown-ups at that school could all use a stern lecture about how to handle a child's accident that doesn't involve making him or her wallow in diarrhea.
exactly what i was thinking. If not hell someone could run to the local kmart/walmart and buy her a cheap sweatsuit and socks to wear until mom/dad can pick her up.
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You know what remark always ticked me off so much with school personnel "You have to understand.." and before they could finish, I would say "I don't have to understand anything!" It was bad enough she was denied restroom, what appears to be "privileges" but leaving her there like that showed not an ounce of compassion.
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exactly what i was thinking. If not hell someone could run to the local kmart/walmart and buy her a cheap sweatsuit and socks to wear until mom/dad can pick her up.
