What is your bathroom policy?

crust

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 10:41 am

My daughters school has passes iirc. It works well because after a certain amount of free passes per period you have to do something in order to get more passes.

While we're at it I just want to put this out there to any person in a position of power;

Please allow your students to go to the bathroom. Always!

I know more than one story where it did not end well including a very unfortunate and tragic ending by a very strict teacher.

amother

Khaki ↓

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 10:52 am

I work in a ps. I would never deny bathroom use.
I have an administrative who is very opinionated on this, she always says, if the kid has an accident nobody will back up the teacher for not allowing her to go. She has very strong feelings about this, her daughter had an accident in class when she was in 5th or 6th grade because of this. And I'm pretty sure I've read about cases where parents have successfully sued schools.

simcha2

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:09 am

I don't really understand anything other than a girl raising her hand, asking permission and the teacher saying yes.

Don't forget these are middle school girls, their bodies are changing, they are getting their periods for the first time. Their stomachs can be messed up. They might not want to spell it out in front of the class.

My daughter's school has a horrendous policy of not allowing girls to use the bathroom first period, the period after recess and the period after lunch.

Apart from the halacha that one must go to the bathroom when one has a need, have no adults ever had an urgent need to go the bathroom?

This is a major reason why I won't send my younger dd to the same school.

Shabbosiscoming

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:11 am

Pp mentioned lots of good ideas. Keep in mind that if a student goes out quite often, there can be a good reason. A student with Crohn's, Celiac, or other GI issues may go out, and for extended periods of time. PLEASE, if you notice a pattern, address it privately. If it's just a discipline/cutting class problem, that can be addressed privately as well, so it's a win-win approach. I remember a teacher blasting a student who walked in after 20 minutes. If the girl had a GI issue, I can only imagine the salt being rubbed in to the wound of dealing with an invisible illness. (Also, if the student needs to go out more often, you can let her know that whatever policy you came up with does not apply to them.)

amother

Lemon ↓

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:19 am

I have a problem with this. Im a public school teacher and parent. But, my son who is in yeshiva, doesnt drink all day bec. He is a good student and doesnt want to get in trouble but his teachers dont give enough passes. My other dd had accidents bec. Her teachers tell her wait or say no!! One school even blamed her for "having an accident".

But, I dont believe theres a solution. Why? As a teacher, even the "bad" kids may really have an emergency so being strict can result in kids having accidents. Some teachers told me students had accidents and sometimes the parents pressed charges against the teacher.

So, I let students go a lot, but its too much of a "free for all"" in kids always going out all the time. Then, my supervisor yells at me for letting too many kids go, but I know if a parent is upset at me for not letting her child go, my supervisor will NOT BACK ME UP BUT WILL BACK PARENT!!(it actually happened to me).

So, there really is no solution. Some teachers get away with "being strict" and tell the kids "no bathroom". But, those teachers will be protected such that theyll lie to protect them bec.(its not really equal opportunity employer like it shld be).

However, as a parent, if kids are drinking enough water like they should be, and considering that many public school classrooms have no ac, kids need to go to the bathroom more...otherwise, maybe they are not drinking enough in which case I would be scared of dehydration chas v shalom....its true child abuse how a lot of teachers dont let kids go to the bathroom enough as its a basic need. And, even I cant drink enough water during the day because I dont have enough breaks for the bathroom(and im young).

So, great question, but, in my opinion, teachers cant "win" with this issue.(I think there is no solution bec if u dont let, then ppl say kids have needs or had an accident....and if u let, supervisors have too many kuds in the hall whi ch they dont want to monitor).

Eta: there are situations where theres an honors school such that kids were trusted and allowed to use the bathroom frequently bec. They did go back to class right away and were not taking advantage to roam hall or......
However, this is rare to have an entire school where you know kids wont take advantage...

amother

Honeydew

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:22 am

I teach HS so this might only apply to your junior high girls but no way do I let more than one out at a time. I'm not cruel though, if a girl says it's an emergency or gives me a "look" (that she just got her period) of course I let them go. But if they knew it was an open door policy I wouldn't have a class to teach. Again, this is HS so I know that "bathroom" is code word for get me out of here I don't care where.

amother

↑ Lemon ↓

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:28 am

simcha2 wrote:

U are correct, but you also dont understand the reality of schools and why they have these policies(which I also dont agree with). All schools I worked in have bathrooms locked first period, last period, and other specific times. Ive had urgent needs to use the bathroom which is why I hardly drink(which is not healthy). So, I agree with you that kids should be drinking more and be allowed to use bathroom, but I also understand how kids take advantage.

amother

cornflower

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:37 am

I teach middle school. For a class of up to 25, there is one hall pass on my desk. If they need to leave for any reason (bathroom, drink, shake the sillies out), they walk up to the desk quietly, take the pass, put it on his/her own desk and leave.
It's understood that they come back as soon as possible, and that if they abuse the pass (by disturbing other classes, staying out for a very long time) they will lose pass privileges. I've been teaching over 2 decades and I've never actually had to revoke pass privileges, and the system has always worked well.

amother

Ecru

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 11:47 am

oh I have bad memories!

our first grade teacher tried to train the girls to go by break time & not during class time.

she hung a huge calendar on wall.

Every time a girl used the bathroom during class her name was written into calendar.
Whoever didnt have their name on there, at end of month, got a prize.

Oh how I was chalishing to get a prize, more for the prestige of being best girl in class etc...
If I needed bathroom even once during the
month, I lost already prize for the month.
I used to make such chesbonos, if it pays for me to hold in etc...

It was super shameful to have your nane up there....especially if you used the bathroom the most that month....

Flip Flops

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 12:04 pm

Amother Ecru that is horrible.
I was a teacher and every girl got a certain amount of passes per week (I would have you make that decision based on their age) and they were allowed to use then whenever, without telling me a reason. They would simply put it on my desk and walk out. B"h, I never had a problem with this system.
(It's also worth mentioning that I was the kind of teachers who was on top of the situation, and my class was fun, so I never had the problem of the whole class going out on the last day of the week to "use up" the passes that they still had left.)

amother

↑ Lemon

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 12:06 pm

amother [ Khaki ] wrote:

A school could, and should, be sued if their official policy is to lock bathrooms for any amount of time. That is illegal, somebody should at least tip off OSHA.

Every school I worked in, locks the bathroom certain periods, but theyll tell you that they "open it in case of emergency" which is not always true bec usually the person with the key has other duties.

What is OSHA??

amother

↑ Khaki ↓

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 12:10 pm

Occupational safety and health administration, they can come in to oversee that jobs have safe working conditions.
For example if a worker is not being allowed bathroom usage (there is a legal ratio of how long a worker can be required to work without a break) they can be called. Etc
I have never been in a school that locked bathrooms. If I knew the school I would call osha myself.
Those schools need a whistleblower.

amother

Papaya ↓

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 12:19 pm

My daughters teacher this year gave each girl a set number of passes. They just put down her desk when they leave the room.
My daughter has Crohns so I called to make sure if she used them Up it would be fine. She told me that if a girl uses them up she will often speak to them privately and give more. She said it’s more a ditterent and she can typically tell if a girl is abusing the system.
(They got a prize every so often for not using them. I didn’t love that but the teacher said it encourages learning to go during breaks. She was a great teacher so I didn’t bother with it. And my daughter didn’t care)

amother

Coral

Fri, Jul 05 2019, 12:39 pm

When I was in elementary school, I had a teacher who was very strict and did not allow bathroom breaks at all except for lunch and recess. I complained about it to my parents. My father is a urologist and he was furious, he called the school and made a big stink about how unhealthy it is to make kids hold it in, and since then, they had a policy that teachers cannot outright deny bathroom breaks.

I used to teach middle and high school. I also did not deny bathroom breaks, because that is wrong. However, I did use a pass system, and it was an honor system. Basically, the girls knew that if they really needed the bathroom, they could, but if someone was out, they should wait. Whoever was out was expected to be cognizant of the time and not be gone half the period. The reason I did keep tabs on kids leaving the room even though bathroom was always allowed no matter what was because kids sometimes DO take advantage, and there were definitely times that certain kids were taking way too long or going out way too often, and it wasn't a medical issue, they were legit cutting class (my school was very good about informing teachers about medical things that required accommodation). If I sensed that pattern, I would speak to the kid privately to figure out what was going on, and work on it from there.