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When I was a freshman in high school I had a math teacher who actually hated kids (never understood why he was a teacher). Anyway, he would not allow us to leave the room to use the restroom during class, so one day I actually had a bloody nose which is very rare for me. Anyway, he would not allow me to go to the restroom and I was holding my head back so I would not bleed all over the place and had my hand holding my nose and covering it. He ORDERED me to remove my hand, hold my head up then turn around and get back to my desk so I did. He actually shoved me out of the door of his classroom AFTER I did exactly as instructed and he ended up with a desk full of blood, darn the luck.
My point is, if the reason is legitimate I see no problem with a child going to the rest room. I would much rather they miss a few minutes of class time than have a bloody nose or puke all over my desk.
And neither do you in 6-12. You get so many minutes between classes, lunch, recess, free periods.
Students do not enter a room at 8am and stay in that room until 3:30pm.
That's what I was forced to do in elementary school because none of my teachers would let me go to the bathroom. There wasn't enough time between classes to get my stuff and be on time. Every teacher would assume the teacher before me had already let me go. If none of the teachers let the students go ever, then the students DO end up holding their pee from 8 till 3:30. I had issues with being able to go when I needed to go for years after that cause my bladder got trained into not peeing between 8 and 3:30. I doubt teachers intentionally do this but they do need to realize that all the times they say students have an opportunity to go to the bathroom aren't always true opportunities. Even for lunchtime, you have to decide whether you go at the beginning and wait forever in the cafeteria line and have 5-10 minutes to eat, or you have to decide if you will get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible and then have to rush through eating and go to the bathroom at the end, when everyone else is too and there's a long line. In the adult world we have short lunch breaks too, but we're also allowed to pee whenever we need to go. Students are often held to a very tight schedule that even adults aren't expected to keep. As far as I remember, my teachers went to the bathroom when they needed to go, even if we weren't allowed to go. They would just threaten us with some kind of punishment if we didn't behave during the few minutes they were gone. If individual students abuse bathroom privileges, they should be treated as individuals, rather than treating the whole class like a bunch of prisoners because of the few students who abuse the bathroom privilege.
In our K-6 school, students are not allowed to be refused bathroom privileges, thank goodness! Not only is it not healthy to restrict water consumption and hold back urination, but who are we to control others' bowels and urinary functions?!! It's ridiculous! As I read through this thread, I get the impression some teachers are just lecturing for an hour and students might miss some of the drone. Hmmmm.... perhaps if classes were more interesting, kids wouldn't be trying to escape falsely LOL.
I teach in a larger high school (2 floors, 3 different wings of 2 floors) with over 600 kids. Our students have 3 minutes passing time. We have a 21 minute lunch. Our 1st bell rings at 8:00 am and the last bell rings at 3:35 pm.
Shy students who have been berated before for asking to use the restroom do, indeed, enter a classroom at 8am and don't have a pee-break until 11:45am, with 21 minutes to pee, stand in a long lunch line, eat lunch, then back to class.
I know one student who quits drinking anything at 7:30am, and has nothing to drink until school is out. How sad and unhealthy is that!
And goes contrary to all brain research and how people learn and brain nutrition
Seriously, what is the solution here? I've already had to tell one class that I'm cutting off bathroom passes after three in one hour because there are so many requests. I hate doing it but the kids treat my class like a revolving door. As soon as the bell rings, I can guarantee a hand goes up and the question is "can I go to the bathroom?". Yesterday I was in the middle of making a point in a lecture and hand went up...."Can I go to the bathroom?" was the question. Seriously, I was in the middle of saying something.
I'd like to know what the solution is. With only 50 minute periods, I can't afford to have 8 or 9 kids go to the bathroom every period. It would be more but my school has a policy of one student out at a time. Each one who leaves, is gone 5 minutes. That's 10% of the class period. I swear we need a lie detector test to see if they really have to use the bathroom or they're just trying to get out of class.
I teach in a larger high school (2 floors, 3 different wings of 2 floors) with over 600 kids. Our students have 3 minutes passing time. We have a 21 minute lunch. Our 1st bell rings at 8:00 am and the last bell rings at 3:35 pm.
Shy students who have been berated before for asking to use the restroom do, indeed, enter a classroom at 8am and don't have a pee-break until 11:45am, with 21 minutes to pee, stand in a long lunch line, eat lunch, then back to class.
I know one student who quits drinking anything at 7:30am, and has nothing to drink until school is out. How sad and unhealthy is that!
This is what I do. Teachers don't get bathroom passes and, often we can't get out of our rooms during passing time. If a lab runs over, a student needs 5 more minute to finish a test, students have questions or it's one of my passing periods when I have to pack up my computer, move to another room and have it set up before the bell rings, I'm crossing my legs until my prep. If my prep is 1st or last hour, I'm doing the pee - pee dance by the end of the day and THEN I still can't get out of my room because kids come in for help and to make up labs and they have sports starting half an hour to an hour and a half after school so add 30-90 minutes onto that. It's no wonder I'm growing the kidney stone to beat all kidney stones (13 mm at last measure). Fortunately, it's too big to pass.
I used to wear a girdle to press the water out of my bowel so I wouldn't have to go during the day too but then I discovered that taking laxatives with dinner insures I'm empty before school (I know, TMI but these are the things we have to do in this job.)
Seriously, what is the solution here? I've already had to tell one class that I'm cutting off bathroom passes after three in one hour because there are so many requests. I hate doing it but the kids treat my class like a revolving door. As soon as the bell rings, I can guarantee a hand goes up and the question is "can I go to the bathroom?". Yesterday I was in the middle of making a point in a lecture and hand went up...."Can I go to the bathroom?" was the question. Seriously, I was in the middle of saying something.
I'd like to know what the solution is. With only 50 minute periods, I can't afford to have 8 or 9 kids go to the bathroom every period. It would be more but my school has a policy of one student out at a time. Each one who leaves, is gone 5 minutes. That's 10% of the class period. I swear we need a lie detector test to see if they really have to use the bathroom or they're just trying to get out of class.
1. No passes in the first or last 5-10 minutes.
2. If they want to pee (as opposed to asking a question), have them signal by raising their planner (if you use planners as passes) or pointing to the door. You can then nod yes (if it's okay), or hold up three fingers (as in "Give me three minutes until I'm done talking, and then I'll write you a pass), or shake your head no (as in "Not right now.") That way, you know what they're raising their hand about.
3. Write only three an hour with a "break" of 5-10 minutes between passes, e.g., kid #1 comes back at 1:00, and so you're not writing another pass until 1:10.
4. Kids get three passes/quarter and one emergency. More than that and you call home to express your concern.
An alternate plan is that if they go past the three passes and one emergency, they now have to come in before or after school for tutoring or extra work to make up for the missed instructional time if they want another pass. One pass=20 minutes after/before school. If it's a genuine emergency, that will sound like a fine deal. If it's not, it won't.
Given your son's school situation, can he go to the bathroom whenever he wants ?
Different schools have different rules.
The school I'm at has 4 minutes between classes and during recess/lunch they are free to go but have to ask and only one out at a time. 7th and 8th graders have free periods; they have to report to a room but are free to ask to use the bathroom.
Yes, as long as he gets a pass. He is not a frequent bathroom user, actually he hates school bathrooms (no doors on the stalls) so I know if he asks to go it is for true use. On the first day of school they were give a pass card it is used in all classes. I think this is a good idea, teachers can see if patterns of abuse develop.
And you know what's funny..in college they all seem to be able to sit through 50 minute classes.
When, just a few months earlier, 50% of the class couldn't sit for 40 minutes without having to go to the bathroom.
The elephant in the room (one of many), is that highschool is deadly boring for many people.
This college for all, academics for all is coming back to bite the educational system. One of the differences in college, everyone is self selected and they want to be there.
-I wonder if highschools would have so many problems if, they had a vocational track for 30 or 40% of students.
Students also pick and choose what class to go to the bathroom from. Hmmmm wonder what criteria they use to decide which instruction to miss.
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