Can you share your kids' MS 'Bathroom Policy'?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a kid miss 20 minutes of class yesterday to poop. Other kids were made because they had to wait for him to come back before they could get their turn to use the bathroom pass. Kids get tired of the teacher repeating instruction every time kids leave to use the bathroom. I call it “the contagious pee” because nobody has to go until one person asks and then they ALL need to go. We don’t hav trine for that. Teachers are held to high expectations for test scores and grades. If the kid is out of the room, we can’t teach them.

Why on earth did you make the other kids wait? Once you saw that the pass wasn’t coming back, why didn’t you make out another pass so that others could start rotating to the bathroom according to your normal procedure. Holding them sick because a classmate is having an issue seems cruel. If he’d gotten sick and gone on to the nurse, or maybe even home, would you have suspended bathroom privileges altogether for the class that day? Did it even occur to you to have someone check on him and see if he needed help?

You’re naive. Assuming the kid did stay in the bathroom all 20 minutes, he was likely using that time entertaining himself on his phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a kid miss 20 minutes of class yesterday to poop. Other kids were made because they had to wait for him to come back before they could get their turn to use the bathroom pass. Kids get tired of the teacher repeating instruction every time kids leave to use the bathroom. I call it “the contagious pee” because nobody has to go until one person asks and then they ALL need to go. We don’t hav trine for that. Teachers are held to high expectations for test scores and grades. If the kid is out of the room, we can’t teach them.

Why on earth did you make the other kids wait? Once you saw that the pass wasn’t coming back, why didn’t you make out another pass so that others could start rotating to the bathroom according to your normal procedure. Holding them sick because a classmate is having an issue seems cruel. If he’d gotten sick and gone on to the nurse, or maybe even home, would you have suspended bathroom privileges altogether for the class that day? Did it even occur to you to have someone check on him and see if he needed help?

Because the school rule is that each teacher can only have one student out at the bathroom at a time. I'm not going to risk my career in breaking those rules when my principal comes down hard on teachers who break them.

[Anonymous]

I hope someone filed a Title IX complaint. I will join that. I find this policy to be discriminating and scarring for girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a kid miss 20 minutes of class yesterday to poop. Other kids were made because they had to wait for him to come back before they could get their turn to use the bathroom pass. Kids get tired of the teacher repeating instruction every time kids leave to use the bathroom. I call it “the contagious pee” because nobody has to go until one person asks and then they ALL need to go. We don’t hav trine for that. Teachers are held to high expectations for test scores and grades. If the kid is out of the room, we can’t teach them.

Why on earth did you make the other kids wait? Once you saw that the pass wasn’t coming back, why didn’t you make out another pass so that others could start rotating to the bathroom according to your normal procedure. Holding them sick because a classmate is having an issue seems cruel. If he’d gotten sick and gone on to the nurse, or maybe even home, would you have suspended bathroom privileges altogether for the class that day? Did it even occur to you to have someone check on him and see if he needed help?

I wouldn’t blame the teachers. This is policy that comes down from admin. Teachers have to do what admin asks them to do.

If you have issue with it, check in with your school’s admin team. Don’t harass teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get ready for high school. My daughter said it is common to be yelled at anytime she is using the restroom (which is usually between classes). Staff comes in and yells at the kids to get out and hurry up.

At my kid’s high school, the 3rd floor bathrooms were simply closed for the school year. Not enough security staff, I guess? And too many kids vaping and smoking weed in the bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe folks think this is a major issue. Folks have been managing hall passes in school for years, including in private school. If you kid has specific issues, I’m sure you can speak with your doctor and then the nurse to get the appropriate measures put in place. But for most kids, they figure this out without major incident, including the girls. Use a tampon + backup pad/light day, and throw period underwear if you wish. Seriously how many times do your kids have to go to the bathroom in a 7hr period of time?

When I was in school, I did try to go before, after, or during lunch, but there were other times I needed to go. The way I handled it was to go to my next class, and immediately ask her (still in the passing period) if I could use the restroom. Thus, most of my bathroom tine was completed during the passing period, minimizing class disruption, but if I was a minute or two late, the teacher knew I was present, and it wasn’t problem.

According to the posters here, that’s no longer an option. They either have to risk being counted late for a class, or wait until class is underway to go to tge bathroom, meaning that they miss class for the entirety of the time they need for the bathroom.

This is why the first 10/last 10 minute ban doesn’t make sense to me.

Wouldn’t they rather have the kids go at that time? It would likely be less disruptive than having them leave in the middle of class.

Also, do all of these policies actually help? Are the schools finding that harsh bathroom regulations means that the classes have better attendance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe folks think this is a major issue. Folks have been managing hall passes in school for years, including in private school. If you kid has specific issues, I’m sure you can speak with your doctor and then the nurse to get the appropriate measures put in place. But for most kids, they figure this out without major incident, including the girls. Use a tampon + backup pad/light day, and throw period underwear if you wish. Seriously how many times do your kids have to go to the bathroom in a 7hr period of time?

When I was in school, I did try to go before, after, or during lunch, but there were other times I needed to go. The way I handled it was to go to my next class, and immediately ask her (still in the passing period) if I could use the restroom. Thus, most of my bathroom tine was completed during the passing period, minimizing class disruption, but if I was a minute or two late, the teacher knew I was present, and it wasn’t problem.

According to the posters here, that’s no longer an option. They either have to risk being counted late for a class, or wait until class is underway to go to tge bathroom, meaning that they miss class for the entirety of the time they need for the bathroom.

This is why the first 10/last 10 minute ban doesn’t make sense to me.

Wouldn’t they rather have the kids go at that time? It would likely be less disruptive than having them leave in the middle of class.

Also, do all of these policies actually help? Are the schools finding that harsh bathroom regulations means that the classes have better attendance?

Because the first 10 minutes is when you introduce the new material, or explain the task that the kids will work on.

[Anonymous]

My middle schoolers attend private school and use the bathroom anytime they want. I’m truly shocked with this MCPS policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a kid miss 20 minutes of class yesterday to poop. Other kids were made because they had to wait for him to come back before they could get their turn to use the bathroom pass. Kids get tired of the teacher repeating instruction every time kids leave to use the bathroom. I call it “the contagious pee” because nobody has to go until one person asks and then they ALL need to go. We don’t hav trine for that. Teachers are held to high expectations for test scores and grades. If the kid is out of the room, we can’t teach them.

Why on earth did you make the other kids wait? Once you saw that the pass wasn’t coming back, why didn’t you make out another pass so that others could start rotating to the bathroom according to your normal procedure. Holding them sick because a classmate is having an issue seems cruel. If he’d gotten sick and gone on to the nurse, or maybe even home, would you have suspended bathroom privileges altogether for the class that day? Did it even occur to you to have someone check on him and see if he needed help?

School policy to only allow one student out at a time and they provide a specific lanyard with a pass. I don’t have any other passes nor do I want to get written up for breaking protocol. I’ve gotten scolded by admin in the past for assuming bad intentions of students or exaggerating concern so I did not contact security.

[Anonymous]

It’s a different, written pass for the nurse, main office and counseling office. So other kids can leave the room, but not for the restroom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My middle schoolers attend private school and use the bathroom anytime they want. I’m truly shocked with this MCPS policy.

This kind of thing is why people make snarky comments about obnoxious private school parents.

[Anonymous]

My kids' bathroom policy is the same except for the 4 passes per year policy, I'm not sure if they have that.

I know there is a temptation, especially for rugged individualist Americans, to see restrictions on movement as "controlling." But the point of school is to learn, and when a teacher is trying to teach a class it really cannot work if the students are allowed to leave frequently (or talk quietly to a friend, or get up to stretch their legs, etc). Kids need to learn that sometimes their needs and wants have to wait for the sake of the good of the group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My middle schoolers attend private school and use the bathroom anytime they want. I’m truly shocked with this MCPS policy.

This kind of thing is why people make snarky comments about obnoxious private school parents.

No, I’m with the poster. Every time I’m annoyed with my private school I hop on over to this forum and see what it would be like if we went to public. I always find something that seems insane like a restrictive bathroom policy because of drugs and violence in a school for 11 year olds. How is it obnoxious to want something other than that for my children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My middle schoolers
attend private school and use the bathroom anytime they want. I’m truly shocked with this MCPS policy.

I worked 10 years in a private school in Bethesda and we still only let one kid use the bathroom at a time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My middle schoolers
attend private school and use the bathroom anytime they want. I’m truly shocked with this MCPS policy.

I worked 10 years in a private school in Bethesda and we still only let one kid use the bathroom at a time.

At my kids’ private they only let one kid out of the classroom at a time but class sizes are 12 or smaller so my kids have said they’ve never waited more than a few minutes, if at all. They don’t have issues with drugs or violence in the bathrooms either.