The bathroom issue

amother

Chestnut

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 9:51 am

I remind recess time that this is a time to go.

I always let go, one kid at a time. It gives kids safety knowing that they can go. They usually try at the beginning of the year and once they know that they can go, they stop going so much.

If it get's out of hand I add to my reward program that if you didn't go out today you get an extra point.

amother

Jean

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 9:56 am

amother Chestnut wrote:

Please don’t reward kids for not going to the bathroom. This is so wrong. We want kids to have the safety that they can go to the bathroom and we we want them to go if they need to go. Rewards and privileges should be unrelated to bathroom use. Bathroom usage is a basic human right.

LovesHashem

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 9:57 am

amother Lemon wrote:

Some kids need a breather and I think it's important to allow that. Peaking under stalls is unacceptable and that child should be spoken to and penalized. I don't think you should make policies. If you see one or two kids abusing the policy you call their parents, make sure it's not a medical issue and then say how it's become disruptive and they have x amount of passes they can use and then they run out. Deal with the issues individually the whole class doesn't need to be penalized.

And next year start off with my policies are very relaxed but if you take advantage you will have extra rules that need to be followed.

Yes. Please. As someone who has ADHD and ASD I needed breaks. So do many many other kids. What horrible awful thing will happen if kids gets around rules a bit and sit outside with a friend for 15 minutes talking instead of going to class? Will it really affect their whole life?

amother

Lavender

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 10:45 am

amother Jean wrote:

As an educator if you have seven students leaving class for the bathroom you have to get to the root of the issue as to why they aren’t intrinsically motivated to stay in class. That’s a more global issue. There is no need for arbitrary limits other then using common sense that if an excessive amount of students are leaving I would use my seichel as to navigate why and to maybe incorporate a full class bathroom break at transitional times to make it easier within the rest of the day. I’m a teacher for younger grades for reference. You need to ditch the excuses and make this work in the easiest way possible for our kids. This is so important please take the time to address this within your classroom. Good luck!!

Have you read my posts? Or are you conflating me with other posters? I have a bathroom break at snack time. Before our meeting. During pack up. That’s in addition to lunch and recess and on the way to specialties. I have NEVER had a complaint about a student not being able to go to the bathroom when needed.
MOST kids do not have a habit of leaving. But some, especially in my part special ed class, do want to leave. The friends, the sports stats, the mini basketball are all things that draw some kids, especially those who come into my grade dealing with hard things by avoiding. So those kids need the pass system, and to single them out would be embarrassing and unfair. So my class has a pass system. It works, the kids respect it. And yes, they can handle the 1/2 hour a day.

And once again, apart from the 1/2 piece, we are saying the same thing! of course I use my seichel. I outsource it to the pass so that kids don’t have to embarrass themselves and ask to go to the bathroom under normal circumstances. Other kids don’t feel interrupted. And kids are in class and working together.

amother

Cappuccino

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 10:50 am

Longtime teacher here with over two decades of experience (middle grades and HS)
I've always had a "hall pass" system. I tell the kids, if you need to leave, take the pass and leave. I don't need (or want) to know why, whether its because you need the bathroom, need a drink, or just need to move around a bit. If I hear you've been disruptive in the hall, you risk losing hall pass privileges. Don't stay out too long, because it's not considerate to others.

Sometimes I have a student with a special situation (like Crohns or colitis) and I'll usually make that student their own pass so they never have to wait at all.

If I see a student going out very very often, I might speak to them privately to see what's going on.

amother

Scarlet

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 11:42 am

I'm sure there are normal teachers out there that even if you have a bathroom policy, if a mother wrote multiple notes including handing in a doctor's note, plus speaking on the phone (teacher said oh she didn't realize it was longer than just the week where's the eye roll emoji?!) that of course they would just let the kid get up and go. But I just want to inform the public there are still tone deaf teachers out there. I hope this particular teacher is reading this and mends her ways. And my kid was a good kid who was too scared to just get up and leave if she thought she would get in trouble.

After that awful year bh my dd never had chronic back to back uti like that. It was just so crazy!

amother

Moccasin

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 12:10 pm

amother Dandelion wrote:

Wow are you all serious???

There are so many breaks and opportunities throughout the school day to go to the bathroom, how often per month does a child need to go urgently during a specific 45 minute class period?

Have you ever taken a 6-8 hour road trip? Do you really make 5+ stops?? My children are generally fine with stopping every 1.5-2 hours for a bathroom break. In school they can definitely get to the bathroom more frequently than that without going in the middle of a lesson.

you clearly have kids who dont need to use the bathroom during long trips or class lessons. so you dont understand others who do.
people live in their bubble.

amother

Trillium

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 1:21 pm

LovesHashem wrote:

Do any of you teach older girls? What if they have their period? Or get their period in class? Or need to throw up? Or don't feel well?

I'm still traumatized from not being allowed to go to the restroom on my period when I was in 7th grade. I had a heavy period and literally was dripping on the floor by the time I could go Sad

amother

Aster

Wed, Oct 25 2023, 4:22 pm

I just want to share the other side as a student. Everyone is talking about the horror stories of not being able to use the bathroom. I never had teachers restrict bathroom use; I went to high school and there were always tons of girls sitting on the floor of the bathroom talking for most of the day. They made sure to catch the beginning of each class for attendance and spent the rest of the day hanging out in the bathroom. I was mortified to use the bathroom knowing that they hear every sound. I taught myself to hold it in from when I left my house at 8:15 until I came home at 5:30. I'm not saying to restrict the bathroom, but if kids are spending more time in the bathroom than out, find out why and deal with it so other people could use the bathroom in peace.