Teacher limits bathroom visits to 3 times a week (lawsuit, legally, average)
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When my friend was younger the teacher insisted that you put your hand up and ask first....well that didn't work, as the teacher just ignored the raised hand.....so with a mom and dads blessing...they just walked to the corner and pissed on the floor....suffice to say they were "allowed" to use the toilet whenever they needed to after that.
When I was in foster care before being adopted by mom my foster parents only let me and my brother use the bathroom once a day. We told our case worker and they moved us. They accused us of trying to run up their water bill. And then when we would use the bathroom on ourselves we would get introuble. SMH some people are just crazy.
I was forced to hold my pee from 8 AM to 3 PM in elementary school because we weren't allowed to go to the bathroom during class and the lunch lady was convinced I was "up to no good" when I honestly just had to use the restroom, so I didn't get to pee for the whole school day for many years. It took me about 5 years after that to fully get used to being able to pee when I wanted. I still have to remind myself now sometimes that I really don't need to hold it.
It's totally messed up that teachers take the fact that a minority of students abuse the bathroom "privilege" (which shouldn't even be a privilege, because it's basic a bodily need) and wield their power to control when students use the restroom. It's really not good for your bladder or intestines and it doesn't prepare you for "the real world" because in "the real world," people let you go when you need to go. I'm in college and I've worked several jobs and I've never had a professor or an employer tell me I had to hold it they way they did in grade school. The whole bathroom issue is such BS and just another way for many teachers to feel powerful.
This teacher was in no way restricting the bathroom form 8am to 3pm. That would be rediculous. All the teachers my children have ever had, and all I ever had in elementary schools, would stop by the bathrooms on the way to gym, music, art, etc, as well as on the way to lunch AND back from lunch, for bathroom breaks. There is many, many opportunities. The problem is when children choose to skip these times, because they don't have to go, then they have to go 20 minutes later in the middle of a math lesson. And the same child does it every day. That's when it becomes a problem.
And if anybody read this article, she was not preventing them from going, it would just use of one of the three "passes" for the week, which if you didn't use, you could redeem for a reward.
The kids aren't being told they can never use the bathroom. They are being told they can't use the bathroom outside of scheduled bathroom breaks. When our kids were in elementary school they had 4 opportunities through the day to use the bathroom, not including when they got to school and before they went home (so 6 if you count those)---MORE than enough. That is pretty common across the board. If you figure, 2 recess periods, lunch and before PE (which is when our kids could use the bathroom) most kids don't need to go that often. If a child has a medical issue that would require more frequent trips, most teachers I know would just arrange for that child to get up and go without disrupting the class. The kids wouldn't even know that child was leaving the room. If a child raise his/her hand, "teacher, I have to go to the bathroom", then ALL the kids suddenly need to go. Had this child not raised his hand and said something, no one would have had to go. That is what the teacher is trying to prevent.
i find it funny that there is no second thought about allotting time slots for children to go to the bathroom. if this was in regards to adults, say a company policy for employees, people would be screaming about human rights violations. the only adults that get treated like that are prisoners. don't you think it's a bit absurd to treat kids like prisoners when they haven't done anything wrong? since when has needing the restroom, or even possibly faking it sometimes out of boredom, been such a crime? children and teens are human beings too, who deserve the same basic rights as adults.
This teacher was in no way restricting the bathroom form 8am to 3pm. That would be rediculous. All the teachers my children have ever had, and all I ever had in elementary schools, would stop by the bathrooms on the way to gym, music, art, etc, as well as on the way to lunch AND back from lunch, for bathroom breaks. There is many, many opportunities. The problem is when children choose to skip these times, because they don't have to go, then they have to go 20 minutes later in the middle of a math lesson. And the same child does it every day. That's when it becomes a problem.
And if anybody read this article, she was not preventing them from going, it would just use of one of the three "passes" for the week, which if you didn't use, you could redeem for a reward.
+1
I volunteer at my kids schools and there are many opportunities to use the restroom. I see nothing wrong with the teachers bathroom policy.
i find it funny that there is no second thought about allotting time slots for children to go to the bathroom. if this was in regards to adults, say a company policy for employees, people would be screaming about human rights violations. the only adults that get treated like that are prisoners. don't you think it's a bit absurd to treat kids like prisoners when they haven't done anything wrong? since when has needing the restroom, or even possibly faking it sometimes out of boredom, been such a crime? children and teens are human beings too, who deserve the same basic rights as adults.
MOST adults (wish I could say all but....) only use the restroom at work when they have to use the restroom. MOST children and again not all use the restroom to goof around or skip class. Big difference.
Instead of responding to each post individually that I wanted to, I'll just post a general observation...
First off, some of this is very age dependent. Some of the people talking about planned "potty breaks" are obviously referring to younger kids. The kids in this case are 5th graders and I certainly don't remember having "potty breaks" in 5th grade. You were in the same room with the same teacher all day and the only exception was lunch and recess. You raised your hand if you had to go. Sometimes the teacher would ask if you could wait 10 minutes until the lesson was done, sometimes they let you go right away. If you said you couldn't wait, you got to go.
Then we have an issue of the overall situation and school schedule. I remember when I hit high school that my school went to shorter combined periods and a more chopped up day. You had 25 minutes for lunch, you had maybe 3 minutes to change classes, you had maybe 4 minutes to dress/undress for gym. All of the consolidation in the scheduling made it impossible to just stop by the bathroom when you needed to or you would be late to class or not really have a chance to eat lunch. Given, that was high school, but I remember a lot of people complaining about it, especially the girls. A lot of the teachers were sympathetic to the situation and made some allowances to let people leave class a few minutes early if they needed to go. Others were less sympathetic and would just say, go next period or go between classes. Well, my next class is on the opposite end of the building on the third floor and I have 3 minutes to get there and I kind of need to go now.
The reactions from people who said they were teachers is exactly what I expected, little sympathy, because they view it as people taking advantage of them. Well, if as one person put it, the same group of kids are doing it all the time, then we don't have an issue with the bathroom, we have an issue with a certain group of kids. Is it not more productive to deal with that kids particular issue then institute some draconian policy about when people are allowed to go to the bathroom? If the issue is institutional, like it was in my high school, then the teachers should advocate to have that changed. If it's just that certain kids are causing an issue, then it should be addressed with those kids.
I think a lot of this falls into generalizations on both sides. I think teachers should be accomodating of kids who need to go. There is never a reason that a teacher should tell a kid who legitimately needs to go that they can't. On the other hand, it isn't fair to the teachers to deal with constant disruptions and people who abuse the right. There is a place in the middle that we can all meet, but where that is depends on a lot more information than we have about this particular situation.
I for one don't care what the teacher thinks if my kid has to go, they have to go. If they abuse that right just to goof off, then it's a different issue and I would support the teacher in helping resolve it. If there is some institutional reason that means my kid ends up having to go during their class, then I would lobby to change it, but would expect the teachers support.
Sometimes the teacher would ask if you could wait 10 minutes until the lesson was done, sometimes they let you go right away. If you said you couldn't wait, you got to go.
. . .
I for one don't care what the teacher thinks if my kid has to go, they have to go. If they abuse that right just to goof off, then it's a different issue and I would support the teacher in helping resolve it.
Sometimes I'd have a student ask to use the restroom 5 or 10 minutes before recess. He'd agree to wait. Then, as soon as he came in from recess, he'd again ask to go to the restroom. Why didn't he go during recess? "I didn't need to." Actually, the biggest time for restroom requests was always right after recess. Hmm.
However, if they have to go, they have to go. With those who needed to leave often, I'd notify the parents. When they saw that I was going to write in their agendas (and require parents to initial), some kids changed their minds. I figured this would weed out some of the unnecessary requests, while still allowing the valid ones.
The schools I taught at had reasonable schedules that worked for most kids. I've heard that some don't.
(There are times adults must wait, too - on a plane during takeoff, for example.)
Instead of responding to each post individually that I wanted to, I'll just post a general observation...
First off, some of this is very age dependent. Some of the people talking about planned "potty breaks" are obviously referring to younger kids. The kids in this case are 5th graders and I certainly don't remember having "potty breaks" in 5th grade. You were in the same room with the same teacher all day and the only exception was lunch and recess. You raised your hand if you had to go. Sometimes the teacher would ask if you could wait 10 minutes until the lesson was done, sometimes they let you go right away. If you said you couldn't wait, you got to go.
Then we have an issue of the overall situation and school schedule. I remember when I hit high school that my school went to shorter combined periods and a more chopped up day. You had 25 minutes for lunch, you had maybe 3 minutes to change classes, you had maybe 4 minutes to dress/undress for gym. All of the consolidation in the scheduling made it impossible to just stop by the bathroom when you needed to or you would be late to class or not really have a chance to eat lunch. Given, that was high school, but I remember a lot of people complaining about it, especially the girls. A lot of the teachers were sympathetic to the situation and made some allowances to let people leave class a few minutes early if they needed to go. Others were less sympathetic and would just say, go next period or go between classes. Well, my next class is on the opposite end of the building on the third floor and I have 3 minutes to get there and I kind of need to go now.
The reactions from people who said they were teachers is exactly what I expected, little sympathy, because they view it as people taking advantage of them. Well, if as one person put it, the same group of kids are doing it all the time, then we don't have an issue with the bathroom, we have an issue with a certain group of kids. Is it not more productive to deal with that kids particular issue then institute some draconian policy about when people are allowed to go to the bathroom? If the issue is institutional, like it was in my high school, then the teachers should advocate to have that changed. If it's just that certain kids are causing an issue, then it should be addressed with those kids.
I think a lot of this falls into generalizations on both sides. I think teachers should be accomodating of kids who need to go. There is never a reason that a teacher should tell a kid who legitimately needs to go that they can't. On the other hand, it isn't fair to the teachers to deal with constant disruptions and people who abuse the right. There is a place in the middle that we can all meet, but where that is depends on a lot more information than we have about this particular situation.
I for one don't care what the teacher thinks if my kid has to go, they have to go. If they abuse that right just to goof off, then it's a different issue and I would support the teacher in helping resolve it. If there is some institutional reason that means my kid ends up having to go during their class, then I would lobby to change it, but would expect the teachers support.
This was my experience, too. In elementary school, we only left class for one recess, lunch, and library once a week. We did not have a restroom break on the way to the library, either. There also was not time in between classes to go once we reached junior high. Shoot, in high school there wasn't even enough time to go to your locker in between most classes, let alone go to the restroom.
(There are times adults must wait, too - on a plane during takeoff, for example.)
While it is true there are times adults must wait, my boss at work doesn't limit my right to use the bathroom when needed. No one scorns me for excusing myself from a long meeting to use the restroom, etc.
School is a lot more like work then it is like an airplane taking off.
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