News, Student urinates in lunch box in class. (high school, grades, course)
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If I were Ms. Chambers I would search for another position. This kid was not a kindergardener, he was middle school, and should know what to do in case he urgently needs to go to bathroom. I am concerned as to whether or not she actually was aware of this kid urinating in a public classroom with young girls in room as well. Not a good situation, but why does it get to make the morning news?
I have a lot of teachers in my family. Their job is to teach, but it is also to maintain some level of control in their classroom and safety in the school. If a student is caught roaming around the hallways, which very frequently happens, the teacher is held responsible for that whether or not something is done about it. Do all students get asked if it's urgent? Perhaps. But I don't really think it's wrong that this is done. I am sure that the "good" kids that do not abuse the bathroom privilege when they respond saying "yes, I really have to go" are allowed to go. It is the students that are not so "good" that are often told to hold it until the bell rings. Often from a teacher's perspective these are the students that are known not to care much about their education, which seek to simply roam around and hook up with friends during class or talk/text on their phones under the pretense of having to go to the bathroom.
While it's true what the high school student there posted that it's his/her education, so what if they want to throw it away. That is the attitude of a young teenager, the job of the teacher is to care about their education even when they don't.
I didn't read the article so just giving a general opinion on the subject, but I see nothing wrong with a teacher using their judgment as to whether a student really has to go to the bathroom or not and keeping those that are simply using it as an excuse to get out of class from going to the "bathroom" during class. It does disrupt the classroom for whatever short period it may be but more importantly it is a matter of safety. This was a middle school student from what I am gathering and don't tell me that he couldn't have held it until the bell rang, couldn't have known that if it was that much of an emergency to demand going to the office or simply going and then going to the office to explain why. Again, I haven't read the article but my guess would be that unless he had a medical reason for not being able to hold it, going in his lunch box like that was nothing more than acting out and attention seeking.
I have 2 teenagers in high school myself and I know that while they are at school I want to know that they are were they need to be, not roaming around of their own free will to get into whatever trouble could be found by doing so. And if they are doing that, best believe that I will be confronting those teachers and finding out why exactly my kids were allowed to just be roaming around.
Classes are usually 45 min to an hour long, unless they have block scheduling which makes the class longer, but unless the student has some sort of bladder control problem (which in this case should be documented in the school and the teachers are aware of it) they should not have a problem with going to the bathroom between classes.
My son had Crohns disease and went thorugh 2 years of pure hell. At the commencement of each school year I made the teacher's aware of this situation so that if he had to go to the bathroom he would be allowed to. Once the condition was under control, this notification to the teachers was no longer needed and my son was expected to go to the bathroom during breaks if needed.
There are times when classes the students have to attend are relatively far from each other and including the stop at the locker, the student may not have time to go to the bathroom before getting to class, most teachers however, if the student comes in prior to the bell ringing and sets their books down then goes and asks the teacher if they could go really quickly to the bathroom, that they didn't have time and didn't want to be late for class, the teacher often allows it. Teacher's become more discretionary once the class and lessons have begun to avoid the distractions and the allowing students to just skip out on assignments in leiu of roaming around.
Teacher's have a tough job and before riding them so hard on what they should or should not be doing, imagine having 45 minutes to teach 30+ students and having students asking to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. This is what would happen if there was no control in the classroom. It does have the potential of becoming contagious with "oh I have to go too", "oh me too", "yeah me too".
Like I said I have family members that teach in the inner city & have won awards for their efforts. They are adamantly opposed to restricting a child access to the bathroom. This actually came up in conversation when I was a child & in my small suburban classroom our teacher was trying to restrict our lavatory access. If an inner city school teacher can let children use the bathroom at will & still maintain decorum I think other teachers should be able to as well.
I have a lot of teachers in my family. Their job is to teach, but it is also to maintain some level of control in their classroom and safety in the school. If a student is caught roaming around the hallways, which very frequently happens, the teacher is held responsible for that whether or not something is done about it. Do all students get asked if it's urgent? Perhaps. But I don't really think it's wrong that this is done. I am sure that the "good" kids that do not abuse the bathroom privilege when they respond saying "yes, I really have to go" are allowed to go. It is the students that are not so "good" that are often told to hold it until the bell rings. Often from a teacher's perspective these are the students that are known not to care much about their education, which seek to simply roam around and hook up with friends during class or talk/text on their phones under the pretense of having to go to the bathroom.
While it's true what the high school student there posted that it's his/her education, so what if they want to throw it away. That is the attitude of a young teenager, the job of the teacher is to care about their education even when they don't.
I didn't read the article so just giving a general opinion on the subject, but I see nothing wrong with a teacher using their judgment as to whether a student really has to go to the bathroom or not and keeping those that are simply using it as an excuse to get out of class from going to the "bathroom" during class. It does disrupt the classroom for whatever short period it may be but more importantly it is a matter of safety. This was a middle school student from what I am gathering and don't tell me that he couldn't have held it until the bell rang, couldn't have known that if it was that much of an emergency to demand going to the office or simply going and then going to the office to explain why. Again, I haven't read the article but my guess would be that unless he had a medical reason for not being able to hold it, going in his lunch box like that was nothing more than acting out and attention seeking.
I have 2 teenagers in high school myself and I know that while they are at school I want to know that they are were they need to be, not roaming around of their own free will to get into whatever trouble could be found by doing so. And if they are doing that, best believe that I will be confronting those teachers and finding out why exactly my kids were allowed to just be roaming around.
Classes are usually 45 min to an hour long, unless they have block scheduling which makes the class longer, but unless the student has some sort of bladder control problem (which in this case should be documented in the school and the teachers are aware of it) they should not have a problem with going to the bathroom between classes.
My son had Crohns disease and went thorugh 2 years of pure hell. At the commencement of each school year I made the teacher's aware of this situation so that if he had to go to the bathroom he would be allowed to. Once the condition was under control, this notification to the teachers was no longer needed and my son was expected to go to the bathroom during breaks if needed.
There are times when classes the students have to attend are relatively far from each other and including the stop at the locker, the student may not have time to go to the bathroom before getting to class, most teachers however, if the student comes in prior to the bell ringing and sets their books down then goes and asks the teacher if they could go really quickly to the bathroom, that they didn't have time and didn't want to be late for class, the teacher often allows it. Teacher's become more discretionary once the class and lessons have begun to avoid the distractions and the allowing students to just skip out on assignments in leiu of roaming around.
Teacher's have a tough job and before riding them so hard on what they should or should not be doing, imagine having 45 minutes to teach 30+ students and having students asking to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. This is what would happen if there was no control in the classroom. It does have the potential of becoming contagious with "oh I have to go too", "oh me too", "yeah me too".
The remedy is not to urinate in a lunchbox. Perhaps there needs to be documentation that exist that indicates either a physical problem or an emotional problem. There needs to be documentation to identify this. Unfortunately, teaching is like parenting, no one gives you a problem-solve handbook for every situation, however if my son urinated in a lunchbox in middle school, I would be looking very closely at him, asking him what the h@#$% is your problem? He would know what to do next time!
Or maybe the kid should be allowed to go to the bathroom when they need to. If anyone at my job told me I couldn't go to the bathroom I could file a complaint with the DOL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by darhe3425
The remedy is not to urinate in a lunchbox. Perhaps there needs to be documentation that exist that indicates either a physical problem or an emotional problem. There needs to be documentation to identify this. Unfortunately, teaching is like parenting, no one gives you a problem-solve handbook for every situation, however if my son urinated in a lunchbox in middle school, I would be looking very closely at him, asking him what the h@#$% is your problem? He would know what to do next time!
Well I sub at a school with block scheduling, and I let all the kids use the BR when they need to, but only one at a time. It's not much fun to swing on BR doors and cut up when you're alone, so they almost always come right back. The only time one didn't, I stuck my head out the door and there he was, talking to someone. I can't see that it disrupts the class all that much, but then I'm not pressured to do stuff like teach the test and push them thru, whether they're willing to get an education or not.
IMHO, the kid who peed in his lunchbox was probably trying to be a stinker and my guess is, 8th grade? Mmmm hmmm. You should see some of the stuff they try to pull on the subs. I've not had to deal with that one yet, but now it's in the news, I'll probably see it happen in one of my classes.
Children as young as they are have the same freedom and right to use the restroom when they feel the urge and need to go, just as adults do. Nobody can tell me to hold my pee, because I'm the only one who knows just how badly I need to go or how long I can hold it, or even what situations provoke an urge to suddenly need to relieve myself. What about those children who feel a need to go because they are anxious about a test, or excited about art, or get involved in classroom participation, etc.? What gives someone else the right to say hold it? Especially with young children so I'll relate my experience with the elementary age children. When my daughters were in 2nd grade one of them had a hard time leaving the classroom in fear that she was going to miss something. I expressed the issue to the teacher that if she says she has to go to the bathroom that it meant she had to go 5 minutes ago and she will need to relieve herself instantly!! Wouldn't you know it ... there were a number of times when she came home reeking of pee or in different clothes because the teacher wouldn't let her go to the bathroom all because it was an inconvenient time that my daughter had to relieve herself. It's funny that her best friend is one of those kids that are constantly asking to use the restroom, but every time she heads to the bathroom it isn't to climb the stalls or swing from the doors, it is to truly relieve herself. As for high school, my hubby has one hall pass that students grab on their way out the door and are allowed to leave once per period when needed as long as not to interrupt the class and understand the expectation that if they abuse the right, that student will not be allowed to use it. Somebody else mentioned something like this and it's so true, when only one student at a time can use the hall pass, it doesn't make it much fun to get out of class. Whatever happened to leaving the students to be accountable for their actions? Aw heck, middle school age kids are old enough to babysit. So we trust them with our kids, but not to go to the bathroom!!!
I would like to believe that what happened to my daughter and how her teacher reacted all those times are the exception, and almost all teachers will allow a child to use the restroom when they ask to.
I never realized this was such an issue among teachers. Seeing the posts, though, it's clear that it can become a problem when students take advantage of bathroom breaks to walk the halls, make telephone calls, goof off, and the like.
When in high school I never hesitated to go when I needed to, no matter what the teacher thought of it. It had nothing to do with being disruptive or disrespectful. The fact of it is that no one has the right to tell me how to regulate my body functions. If I had to walk all the way across campus, plus stop at my locker for a book, there was simply no time to use the restroom. Many teachers had rules stating that there would be no bathroom breaks at all, which is unacceptable and moronic. I ignored these rules because doing so was preferable to urinating in my pants in a room with 25 other people. I never went unless I was going to have an accident if I didn't.
No teacher should ever tell students to urinate in a lunch box, but I would hazard a guess that it was in jest. It sounds to me like the student was a troublemaker who possibly thought it would be funny to do just that, knowing he could claim that the teacher allowed him to do so. Most kids, I think, have the intelligence to just get up and go to the bathroom no matter what the teacher says, if it's an emergency.
I am so glad I don't teach anymore. It has been a very, very long time since I taught and my sympathies go out those in the profession. Teaching has turned into a completely thankless occupation.
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I would like to believe that what happened to my daughter and how her teacher reacted all those times are the exception, and almost all teachers will allow a child to use the restroom when they ask to.