What is your bathroom policy?

amother

↑ Khaki ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 7:25 am

I guess the naysayers never have sudden emergencies. As a kid with a nervous stomach, I certainly did. I still remember and resent the teachers who were rigid and strict in this regard and it has been a very, very long time since then.
The concept of a medical excuse did not really exist in my day, so it never would have occurred to me to complain to my parents.

amother

↑ White

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 7:25 am

amother [ Ginger ] wrote:

All these systems are so demeaning. Even the passes and the signing out.

I'm so glad my school's policy was just quietly let yourself out and come back quietly when you're done.

In my school signing out (with date/time) is school policy from above. It's not about teacher power trips, it's about knowing where students are at any given time because we are responsible for them. If G-d forbid there was an emergency and we needed to evacuate, we would know where everyone is. I tell my kids I am responsible for them when they are in my class, so I need to know where they are. And, of course, if something goes down in the bathroom, whether it's bullying, or drug use, or something else, if it's 5 kids from one class, the teacher will certainly be questioned as to why all those kids were there at once. That's why bathroom policies are important.

Of course it's important to be a kind human being and to respect your students' rights. There's a difference between a policy that considers student wellbeing and safety and one that tries to minimize interruptions at the expense of student health and dignity.

amother

↑ Khaki ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 7:28 am

Sounds like your school should have some monitoring procedures in place.
I agree with signing out in case of emergency.
I teach little kids, though, so it's my responsibility to keep track.

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 7:20 pm

I am a teacher. One pass is placed on my desk and students are allowed to take quietly whenever they need the bathroom or water fountain.

The pass is important because I know when a student has left my room.

The rules:
Do not pass the pass around, pass must be returned to my desk( students cannot pass the pass to s friend)

Students are allowed to use bathroom when the pass is out only if it is an emergency.

This system works for me and I am not distracted from my teaching.

Also, beware of students who constantly have an “emergency” when their friends are using the pass. If you see a pattern emerging than tell the student you will give them the pass as soon as it is returned.

amother

Lime ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 9:30 pm

pizza4 wrote:

I don't see why you need a policy for this. Not everything needs to be a strict rule.
If a girl needs to go she can raise her hand and the teacher can say, sure.
If your class is interesting enough, the girls shouldn't be requesting to go out so much. And if the teacher finds that a girl is going out very often, the teacher can have a discussion with the girl about it and find out if she just needs the bathroom or leg stretching. And help her accordingly.
It doesn't have to be an issue.
In my school days, if the teacher didn't allow me to leave I would simply get up and leave.
They're little and the times of recess and lunch don't work for everyone. Not to mention when they reach 7th grade...
I had a teacher ask me, what took you so long. Lol.

My friend's daughter had the following incident happen. I think she was in 6 or 7 grade and had her period. She raised her hand to go to the bathroom and the teacher told her no. She stood up and went anyway because she didn't want to have an accident. The principal suspended her for 4 days because of this. This took place in an over crowded school where if a child needs the bathroom they spend their whole recess waiting on line to get their turn.

amother

↑ Lime

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 9:44 pm

amother [ Pink ] wrote:

But would you become desperate in 5 minutes?! Again this is assuming no medical issues (which the teacher should be informed of if they exist!)

Yes, sometimes it's sudden.
Having an accident in the privacy of one's car is in no way comparable to having an accident in front of your teacher and classmates. Also, these stories travel fast so by the next day the whole school knows about it too.

nchr

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 10:11 pm

simcha2 wrote:

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.

Middle school shouldn't need to raise their hand for permission to go to the bathroom but also shouldn't be going that often unless there is an underlying issue or an emergency.

amother

↑ Pink ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 10:15 pm

amother [ Lime ] wrote:

I've been teaching for 5 years with the one-at-a-time policy. I've never once had a kid have an accident.

amother

Jade ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 10:27 pm

When I was in second grade I had an accident because my teacher didn't let me go to the bathroom. It was supper embarrassing.
If a child wants to cut class let them cut class. What's so terrible about that?

amother

↑ Khaki ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 10:34 pm

IME and observations, the teachers who are super strict about this are the ones who are scared of losing control of the class and are worried if they let go just a bit, the class will walk all over them. Like I've said before, it's a classroom management issue. The longer I teach, the less strict I've become. You can be flexible and easy going and still maintain control of the class.

↑ notshanarishona ↓

Sun, Jul 07 2019, 11:43 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

Let's see.. I had one student cut class and got injured in a fight, another who scribbled graffiti all over the bathroom walls , and another who left the school building to try and walk home. Yes , it could be with some of the classes I teach (special ed , some years behavioral classes) that things are more likely to happen but as a teacher I am responsible to know where the kids are , they can't just be roaming the school trying to pass time .

amother

↑ Jade ↓

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 2:13 am

notshanarishona wrote:

In all my years of school I never asked to leave the classroom when it wasn't a real emergency. There was one time in 7th or 8th grade I felt like I can't handle sitting in the class. I think the teacher didn't let me and I just got up and left. If I would have stayed I would have disturbed the whole class. She sent the principal to find me. The principal asked me why I'm in the hallway. I simply answered the truth that I can't be in that teachers class. She just told me that I can't just leave without permission and nothing more than that. I don't even remember what happened after that. But I wasn't suspended or anything. The principal was nice to me. I promise it was better for the teacher then that I was out of class.

amother

↑ Jade

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 2:14 am

notshanarishona wrote:

Those kids would need someone, a shadow, or a staff member to go with them to make sure they are OK. This is not the norm.

amother

↑ Khaki ↓

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 2:22 am

Yep, I've had runners including one who would try to run home and ended up being brought back by the police a couple of times. Also one who would trash displays in the hallway. Either they ended up with a one on one, or I would call on the walkie down to the office and someone would immediately come to my room to escort them to the bathroom.
If someone takes too long, I send a kid to "check" or call down to the office. It's just a non issue for me.

amother

↑ Blonde

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 2:39 am

notshanarishona wrote:

As I mentioned above, I went to European non-Jewish schools that had no "bathroom problems".
I don't want to sound smug, but pupils who would have done things mentioned above, would have been suspended and in case of repetiton, permanently removed from the school (and turfed to some third rate school for problem kids and immigrants, not p.c. maybe, but that was how it was done). No one in their right mind would have wanted that, the threat alone worked wonders, which is why almost all behaved themselves rather well and respected the teachers and school property with very very few exceptions. Roaming the school and missing lessons also wasn't a done thing.

amother

↑ Khaki

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 2:46 am

So American schools are inclusive, they don't separate out based on academic ability like European schools. That's why standardized test scores are lower here, because everybody, no matter IQ or ability level, is given equal opportunities and takes the assessments, not just the cream of the crop. Lots of inclusion for all types of special need students, too.
So yeah, when everybody is mixed together like that, you will have a school with all types. It's not a bad thing, it gives late bloomers a chance to grow and a second chance for those who choose to take it. And the inclusion of special needs students helps their classmates learn compassion and tolerance.

↑ teachkids ↓

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 4:09 am

amother [ Khaki ] wrote:

Then the school has bigger problems to address then whether a kid is going to the bathroom too frequently.
This whole issue is simply a matter of classroom/school management. Have hallway or bathroom monitors. Have a monitor scheduled to do a walk through every so often, etc. Have a nearby teacher be responsible to do a quick bathroom check every so often. But don't penalize a regular student because the school doesn't have control over a few badly behaved ones. It's the school's job to provide a safe and healthy environment for the students.

Yes, and one way they work on it is making sure there aren't too many girls in the bathroom at the same time (when I taught boys they had the same issue though).

Generally if a kid tells me they really have to go and someone's out I tell them they have exactly 3 minutes so that they just have time to go to the bathroom and not get into trouble.

Most kids come back quickly when they know a friend is waiting for them because I only let 1 at a time

amother

Slateblue

Mon, Jul 08 2019, 4:30 am

teachkids wrote:

This