Teacher's Reward Program Charges Second-Graders for Bathroom Breaks

I'm the only person I know who would just walk out of class without saying a word if I needed to go to the bathroom.

I felt I didn't need any consent for something natural. They could threaten me all they like. I just ignored them.

This very story has happened in one of my classes (the peeing pants part) that kid never lived it down.
From that point on I couldn't listen to a teacher for anything.

Originally posted by Biigs
If the teacher did it on purpose to make the kid pee himself, to show the other kids 'play by my rules or end up like him' isnt that terrorism?

Its abusive, but not terrorism. That term is already broad enough, we don't need to go around labeling everything we want with it; think of other over-used and over-abused words (racism/racist/etc.)

I am leaning that it wasn't purposeful, but you make a good point earlier in your post. The teacher placed an economic decision on children that they won't always make the best choice.

Example:
Little Suzy has earned her first two "boyd bucks". She is excited and can't wait to spend it on the rewards that Teacher Boyd has offered. In this excitement, she realizes she has to go pee, but doesn't want to "waste" that two "boyd bucks" on a bathroom break. Instead, she holds it and holds it and holds it......

Originally posted by ownbestenemy
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

Stemming the tide of select children from abusing a restroom break I believe is an acceptable practice. What I do not ascribe to is having to "earn" the ability to do so. In this case, this teacher put the child in question into a position of choosing to keep his "boyd bucks" -- a bit more on this later -- or use them; or worse yet, afraid to even ask the teacher if they have none.

Placing them into that situation is just beyond convoluted. I teach my boys that if they have to go and the teacher says no, I gave them permission to go. I will deal with the administrators. Of course the flip-side is I told them if they become disruptive, they are on their own.

Now to the "boyd bucks". Seems the teacher had an inflated sense of self-worth by naming the scheme after herself. As if she were the benevolent dictator that passed out favor, so long as you do as she asked.

I don't believe a child should earn bathroom breaks either. Its a necessary function, not something you can control. And young children often have issues, so frequent bathroom breaks should be built into the schedule.

When I did the "bucks" I named it different things, including the Smiley Buck Store (go figure, ha). Maybe naming it after herself was just easier for the kids. Who knows.

reply to post by yourmaker


Trust me I'd walk out of class to if I had to go if not then I'd sneak out cause you know when you have to go you have to go.

[In-General]
I just wonder whatever happened to bathroom passes and the like, are the schools getting rid of those or something now and doing with limited time in the "lab" ?

reply to post by ownbestenemy


The main point is the kid had not been good enough to get an extra bathroom break he obviously needed.

He was amazingly embarrassed and no doubt, given some peer abuse.

The other kids knew it was bad for him and thus fear it happening to them, controlling behavior with fear is certainly technically terrorism, but as you rightly said, i too doubt it was the teachers intention too, however the effect is the rest of the class fearing that happening and i bet they would endeavor to make more Boyd Bucks as a result.

What!!

I thought it was illegal for teachers to deny kids the bathroom because it can be harmful! This is stupid and that teacher should be fired. She obviously missed the mark in the teaching dept. Rewards for holding it? WTH! If you have to go you have to go!

If I were that kids parents I'd file complaints everywhere and anywhere i could. Teachers need to teach and stop being mini class room Nazi's over everything little thing!

On another note. This could be damaging to the kid!

If kids are afraid to ask to go to the bathroom that could cause emotional trauma! I know my sister has made my nephew afraid to go to the bathroom in other people's house. Why I don;t know and when he came to my house instead of asking to use the bathroom he peed his friggin pants. I could have smacked her had I known then she was the damn cause of it.

This is what that teacher is doing!

Also being rewarded for everything little thing? No wonder this society is full of kids with entitlement attitudes. They want to be rewarded for everything.

Originally posted by Biigs
reply to post by ownbestenemy

 

The main point is the kid had not been good enough to get an extra bathroom break he obviously needed.

He was amazingly embarrassed and no doubt, given some peer abuse.

The other kids knew it was bad for him and thus fear it happening to them, controlling behavior with fear is certainly technically terrorism, but as you rightly said, i too doubt it was the teachers intention too, however the effect is the rest of the class fearing that happening and i bet they would endeavor to make more Boyd Bucks as a result.

In that sense, if it were systematic, I would agree. In essence, her reward program was very ill-conceived, regardless of the good intentions. Any parent will tell you that training a child to use the bathroom properly walks a fine line that can be disastrous if made into a traumatic experience.

What I don't understand is that her poor choices and the ill-consequence that occurred because of it are being swept under the rug by the school administrators. I would hope that the community there presses hard on the School Board and the school's principle to at least have some sort of consequence for it. An apology to the classroom and parents would actually be all I would look for. You would be surprised how an honest apology from an adult is taken by a child.

Well, I've had my kids turned down too, but my youngest with apraxia, doesnt have muscle control even later on, now he's being home schooled.

When he was going to school, and any others, I just told him to get up and go to the bathroom whenever he has to go, and told the teachers that was my rule at their meetings. And they agreed with me, but he was still too shy to just stand up and go out of the room, but that was my rule.

Originally posted by Unity_99
When he was going to school, and any others, I just told him to get up and go to the bathroom whenever he has to go, and told the teachers that was my rule at their meetings. And they agreed with me, but he was still too shy to just stand up and go out of the room, but that was my rule.

Similar here. My older has encopresis...I won't go into details, look it up if you want to know...and while not the same as yours, it is a point of embarrassment for any child when they have to do something different than their peers; no matter how much we explain to them otherwise.

This teacher just was not thinking by linking rewards to bathroom breaks. It is the very reason I tell my two boys that go if you have to go, say no when you know it isn't right, and realize that I will have their backs in any decisions they make where some school administrator or teacher thinks they deserve punishment.

I'm not going to say the teachers point system is bad but I think these kids are a little young to use the bathroom break as a prize.

For 5th or 6th graders I don't believe it would be an issue because they can control their bodily functions. A 7 year old should be able to go when they need to.


Strict

Originally posted by Strictsum
I'm not going to say the teachers point system is bad but I think these kids are a little young to use the bathroom break as a prize.

For 5th or 6th graders I don't believe it would be an issue because they can control their bodily functions. A 7 year old should be able to go when they need to.

On top of that, a 7 year old is probably already 20 minutes past the time they should have gone in the first place. A child just has too much going on to go to the restroom. The world is abuzz and missing one second of a day is an eternity for a child. Her linkage of good behavior and the ability to "buy" extra bathroom breaks was stupid. What kid will buy a bathroom break when they can get candy, pencils, or whatever "prizes" attainable with their "money"?

Originally posted by ownbestenemyWhat kid will buy a bathroom break when they can get candy, pencils, or whatever "prizes" attainable with their "money"?

Ay parent would know this. Why was this teacher so ignorant? Or was she just being a "nazi" and enjoying her power over young children? I don't know, but there needs to be punishment for her so she learns some boundaries.

reply to post by DarthMuerte


I personally know a grown woman aged 56 or so, in Cincinnati ohio who works for a call center. This woman had a doctors excuse to go to the bathroom outside of her break time yet was denied permission by a supervisor to leave her desk during a high call volume time. Needless to say something terrible happened. The had to call in carpet cleaners etc. The woman held her head high even though she died a thousand deaths of humiliation.

I told her it was a law suit she couldnt lose. She told me that evry supervisor all the way up to the top apologised to her so she is just going to move on and forget it.

This happened not even a month ago. So I told her in the future to just go when she needed too and then let the supervisors deal with it. No human should have to deal with such an indignity. Your thoughts????

reply to post by Magantice
She is an adult. She made her choice and got the result she wanted, though I likely would have sued just because I hate little Hitlers like those supervisors.

This educator (term used lightly) might re-think the bathroom break policy if a child heads to the front of the class and unloads their bladder all over the teacher's shoes.
What a ridiculous and cruel way to run a classroom.

Originally posted by Cynic
This educator (term used lightly) might re-think the bathroom break policy if a child heads to the front of the class and unloads their bladder all over the teacher's shoes.
What a ridiculous and cruel way to run a classroom.

"Your fault as you did this to me, now clean it up while i try deal with the embarrassment, oh i expect an apology in front of the whole class"

reply to post by ownbestenemy


Yep, you're right, most kids would try to hold it and buy candy instead.

It doesn't say in the article exactly how this system worked. I wonder if the kids started out with a certain number of boyd bucks they were able to spend or if they started with zero and worked up. The difference being no child would be able to use the restroom in the beginning because none of them had any points. I think it implies a zero starting point.

I am way overthinking this.

Strict

Originally posted by Cynic
This educator (term used lightly) might re-think the bathroom break policy if a child heads to the front of the class and unloads their bladder all over the teacher's shoes.
What a ridiculous and cruel way to run a classroom.

Yep, that'd sort the nazi out

As others have said, just get up and go when you need to, no child should have to ask to go to the loo.
Yes I know there will always be one or two that will abuse it but as smylee admited, they know who they are.

I agree, this school nazi should be punished, I'd even go further and say she should not be teaching. If that had been my child that teacher would be trembling!!

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
reply to post by Magantice

 

She is an adult. She made her choice and got the result she wanted, though I likely would have sued just because I hate little Hitlers like those supervisors.

Just think, that teacher was a kid once herself. She probably had a teacher just like she's become today....and that teacher was allowed to slide and never had anything done to them for the abuse of students either, eh?

So, I wonder, when nothing is done about this teacher...as I'm sure you're right in assuming the outcome will be here, what does that do for the children who have watched this happen and seen the lack of result against the adult who did it? They'll take interesting lessons from this as they go on to, perhaps, become teachers themselves.


The Teachers and Schools can spend hours lecturing us about how 0 tolerance must be followed and ONE child allowed to catch a break is a threat to the unity of the whole system or some such B.S.. Yet it takes sexual misconduct or outright physical violence to see something done about teachers who consider the rules something there to be....negotiated...as necessary. Love them Unions. Yes Indeed... They have the interests of the children at heart.