Parents protest potty partner rules at elementary school
Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Education
Whenever my 7-year-old girl has a friend over, I've noticed that they always want to accompany one another to the bathroom. I can think of no good reason to make potty breaks a group activity and therefore discourage this. I think this must be a girl thing because I've never noticed boys pairing up to go potty. But boy or girl, students at an elementary school in North Carolina are required to have a partner when using the facilities.
The potty partner rule has nothing to do with safety, rather it is intended to discourage graffiti in the bathrooms. Apparently artistic expression on the bathroom walls has been an ongoing problem at Burgaw Elementary school and this is their solution. School officials sent a letter home to parents informing them that from now on, children will only be allowed to go to the bathroom in pairs or as a class.
And they mean business, too. A child found guilty of the offense of going to the bathroom alone will be punished with public humiliation: a silent lunch eating at a table alone.
Predictably, parents are upset. One mom refers to it as "cruel and unusual punishment" and some parents are organizing efforts to put an end to it.
I also think the punishment is severe, but it's the rule itself I question. At an age when
children are learning to be independent and do things on their own, it seems somewhat counterproductive to inhibit that. What do you think?
The potty partner rule has nothing to do with safety, rather it is intended to discourage graffiti in the bathrooms. Apparently artistic expression on the bathroom walls has been an ongoing problem at Burgaw Elementary school and this is their solution. School officials sent a letter home to parents informing them that from now on, children will only be allowed to go to the bathroom in pairs or as a class.
And they mean business, too. A child found guilty of the offense of going to the bathroom alone will be punished with public humiliation: a silent lunch eating at a table alone.
Predictably, parents are upset. One mom refers to it as "cruel and unusual punishment" and some parents are organizing efforts to put an end to it.
I also think the punishment is severe, but it's the rule itself I question. At an age when
children are learning to be independent and do things on their own, it seems somewhat counterproductive to inhibit that. What do you think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin 5-18-2008 @ 12:15PM
I give up actually going into depth commentary about this one.
It just seems to me more and more that schools are just doing downright boneheaded things lately.
I'll be looking into homeschooling for my two kids next year at the rate of things I keep hearing. The school system seems to be the WORST place to send kids lately.
Reply
ninainindia 5-18-2008 @ 1:32PM
Strangest rule I've ever heard.
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Jenni 5-18-2008 @ 1:47PM
Punishment seems a little severe, but we were always sent to the bathrooms together. The thing is that, if a student is in the bathroom at a break, they are usually with their friends. I figure the time that they are in there and need to go together is when the teacher send them. What's a child to do?
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ame s 5-18-2008 @ 2:10PM
Raise you hand if you have been in a public school restroom lately. Our 4th graders have their own building so theirs are usually in pretty good shape but my 2nd grader will go all day without using the restroom and I don't blame her. Graffiti is the least of our problems. We only have 2 custodians at a school of 450 and they just can't keep up with the messes these little girls make. I shudder to think of the state of our boys' restrooms. Seems that restroom usage 101 is in order.
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Dana 5-19-2008 @ 8:09AM
This is a clear cut human rights issue. Children as well as adults should have the right to dignity and respect in their learning environment and should not be subjected to having to go to the bathroom a private issue, in front of or with another individual. What are our public schools thinking? What will be next?
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Karen 5-19-2008 @ 8:45PM
Am I missing something? Are they putting them in the same stall? If not - how is this a privacy issue.
yraah 5-24-2008 @ 9:35PM
A human rights issue, you can't be serious! This is not an issue. I have worked in schools and when the children go to the bathroom in pairs, it's usually to prevent vandalism and to keep YOUR children safe. They are only walking eachother, not going in the stall together. And if a child was walking alone and fell and got hurt or was a victim of violence it would just be a whole other issue. Please learn to pick your battles.
Uly 5-19-2008 @ 11:30PM
This was the standard rule when I was growing up. (Of course, I had no *friends* and therefore didn't go to the bathroom at all during the day, but that's beside the point.)
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rebecca Biernesser 5-20-2008 @ 1:44AM
we had a few kids get caught throwing paper wards and writing in the bathroom (I was lucky enough to be the mother of one of those little darling children). They were pulled out of class and taught bathroom 101 and how to clean them...and they never did it again...they even told other students to quit.
I remember going to the bathroom with a friend...didn't have a problem with it and still don't. However, if the teachers and staff would just listen to the children when they are playing, eating lunch, etc, they would find out who was dirting up the bathroom...children have a way of talking...
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