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High school bathroom breakDate: August 20, 2012 by James Tartaglia  Views: 2856
Hi all:
I have a high school choir of 40 students. I have been informed that choir class is last period again this year. Many students want to use the bathroom either before or during the rehearsal. I have been trying to do a "give me a cue" - a hand signal and will let them go when the previous student returns. Some students say I forget them and let I someone else go instead. Just wondering if any high school teachers allow students to come and go to the lav without the asking part? Let them go so it does not disrupt the rehearsal? What are your bathroom policies?
Also, any ideas for fun and interesting music for the beginning of the school year? I am always at a loss as what to select. My students can sing a New York State level four as an ensemble. NYS puts out a manual with song selections from level one to level six.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Jim
Replies (14): Threaded | Chronological
Barbara Retzko on August 21, 2012 6:24am
Jim:
I have separate Bathroom Passes (wooden) that are designated for my ensemble classes as well as a sign out-sign-in notebook. Students sign out with name, date and time of departure and sign in with time of return. No one needs to ask and the ONLY place they are to go is the rest room. If the pass is lost, no one pees from the class for the rest of the year. (Believe me, the pass is coveted when they hear that rule on Day One!)
I also record their journey in my gradebook by placing BR under their attendance. If I think they are abusing the privilege by leaving more than 2x per week, we have a chat. Works like a charm for me.
I like to start with light selections that are an easy read and provide much needed teenage instant gratification. I DON'T KNOW WHY (I LOVE YOU LIKE I DO)...I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE...tunes that we can learn quickly and use as class closers...let's them finish the day hummin'!!
Have a terrific start to your year!
Barbara
Applauded by an audience of 5
on August 21, 2012 9:27am
Jim,
I too had last period HS choir for the last four years. It was a 90 minute block class. In addition, the class was way out in the fine arts wing, about as far from the academic classes as you could get, so kids usually didn't have time to hit the restroom before class started.
I would start the day with a sight-reading or entrance-ticket type writing exercise. I'd give them 5 minutes (use a timer) to gather their music, sharpen pencils, write out any syllables they needed in the sight-reading, etc. If they needed to potty, they would sign out during this 5 minute time. Since the restroom was right across the hall, I didn't usually worry about one-at-a-time. The rule was, once the timer went off, they had to be in their seats, with materials, and be working on the exercise. If not, they lost potty privileges. My group was smaller, around 20-30 students, so they were easier to keep track of.
Since this group was also a beginner-level group most years, I found it necessary to break up the 90 minute block to help keep focus. Around 50 minutes in, I would escort the entire class for a restroom and water break. This, plus the 5 minutes in the beginning, seriously cut down on class interruptions. Again, if they couldn't do what was needed in a timely fashion, the class as a whole lost the privilege of a potty trip. That peer pressure to be responsible helped greatly!
Jenn
Applauded by an audience of 1
on February 25, 2013 6:14pm
The first 2 students who ask before the bell rings may use the restroom without penalty. After that if they have to go they owe me 5 minutes after school. If they do not show up to that they recieve a detention.
Samantha
on February 26, 2013 4:34am
I give a little leeway at the beginning of class - I don't start for a couple minutes and if they arrive within that couple of minutes I do not mark them late. THEN, they are in "chorus prison." They do not leave the room for any reason unless it involves blood or barf. I tell them I think it's undignified for young adults to have to ask permission to pee, and I don't really care to know about all their bodily functions.
Applauded by an audience of 1
on February 26, 2013 4:48am
Jim,
My HS keeps the bathrooms locked during class changes to cut down on vandalism, so students may only go during class. I only see my students 2-3 times a week for 80 minutes. I only allow them to go once a week and I keep a log of it the grade book like Barbara. I have a "potty" list on the board and I let students go in the order that they asked. I always sign students in and out to make sure I know where all students are at all times.
Jen
on March 25, 2013 12:32pm
A colleague of mine in Arts HS in Newark had an interesting way to limit bathroom breaks. He used a wooden toilet seat that he had carved out the words CHORUS BATHROOM PASS on it. Students were required to carry it to and from the bathroom, and the number of bathroom breaks became almost nil.
Applauded by an audience of 1
on March 25, 2013 6:55pm
A warning on the perils of strict policies on this matter:
Seriously - it was headline news in The Age at the time, and 18 months later it's still the feature story on page three
on March 26, 2013 3:44am
I do like the Australian turn of phrase. "Gargantuan stuff-up" describes so many mishaps of public life so well.
on March 26, 2013 5:47am
Appears as though, Simon, that the issue was more than just the "the whole class goes if one has to go" policy. The article mentions specifically that policy, but the underlying subtext seems to be that she had other policies that the teachers and parents felt were inappropriate or insulting. I will agree, however, that a draconian approach to this matter can be self-defeating, if not actually grounds for some serious legal problems. My question to those who would enforce a draconian "only now and not for the next 90 minutes" policy - didn't your bladder ever not give you a warning that 15 minutes later was a scream? Remember, it ain't blood or barf at that point. There HAS to be some flexibility, otherwise you may find yourself with a kid who either pees him/herself (and the value of that public humiliation and disruption is, exactly, what? - because we all know darned well that a kid who pees himself becomes an object of subsequent and enduring derision and your class will no longer be yours to command, at least for that day - oh, and you may drive a good singer out the door, doncha know?) or becomes ill. I like some of the more humorous approaches (like the bathroom pass that is a toilet seat - that's clever!) which allow for flexibility but also plays on young folks' desire not to be humiliated - and to have a subtle subtext of adults taking care of business while you can, instead of disrupting (which we know kids will do for the attention). We also know that five minutes between class can sometimes seem like 5 seconds, especially if the school is large and going in any direction resembles swimming against the salmon going upstream to spawn. (My son attended a secondary school - middle and high - which had 3,700 students under 11 acres - yes acres! - of roof, and not infrequently for his first couple of years had to literally go from one end of the building to the other for classes - this in a school where lunch was 30 minutes - no more! - and you were hustled out the door at the end of the 30 minutes, finished or not - even if you didn't get lunch until the 29th minute - so enough of the Simon Legree business!) Yeah, I know it's a pain, but honestly - we're the adults in the room; we can certainly find ways to teach them about dealing in an adult manner with bodily functions without making it a state matter!
Chantez bien!
Ron
on March 30, 2013 6:34am
Hello, all! I do not post very often but very much enjoy all of the ideas and information I receive from this list. This topic caught my interest for a very personal reason. Through middle school and high school I was negatively impacted by somewhat strict bathroom break policies. At age 22, I was finally diagnosed with Crohn's disease - this was the long-sought answer to a significant problem that had plagued me for many years. Keep in mind that there are often conditions which affect the ability to have "normal" bathroom habits. Teachers and even my parents would think that I was making up excuses or staying in the bathroom for a long time to keep from doing something I didn't want to do. As my condition was undiagnosed, it was my word against everyone elses. Add on to all of that the fact that I was also dealing with being gay and you can imagine how difficult those years were for me.
Thanks, all!
Jason Kamrath
Baltimore, MD
on March 31, 2013 9:24am
Hi Jim,
Look forward to year 3 or 4, everything gets exponentially easier! :)
In my choirs I let the kids go whenever they need without penalty. I do NOT want them to ask me to go, I don't want to stop class to have them ask. Instead they just sign out and go. As long as the privilege isn't abused by a student it's a good system. If I do think a student is abusing the privilege I have a one on one talk with them to see if they have a medical condition that we should talk to the school nurse about. ...FYI they very rarely have a condition, but it has always stoeds them from abusing the privilege.
Draconian policies and humiliating bathroom passes are not the way to go, you will loose the respect of your students and its not worth your time. Never mind the possible parent complaints and meetings with your admin.
Applauded by an audience of 3
on April 1, 2013 6:06am
I prefer to set up an environment of mutual respect. If I were in an ensemble where a director were to limit my restroom privileges, I'd quit. My Freshman Choir of 124 students meets every day. There is a single bathroom pass. When students need to go to the bathroom, they take the pass and go. The last thing I want is to use even one second of rehearsal time addressing a request for urination. My students are told of my non-policy. They are told that I will treat them with the same respect that I would expect from a director. I can only think of one clear instance of abuse of the privilege in my 18 years of teaching. Frankly, if that student wanted to take his time getting to the bathroom and back, he probably wouldn't have been a productive ensemble member during that time. I didn't mind him being gone.
In general, I find in all classroom management issues that if you offer respect, you'll get it in return. Why set up some kind of "pissing match?"
Applauded by an audience of 1
on April 1, 2013 6:50am
At the beginning of each trimester, I give students a little group of three hall passes (paper). When they need to leave, they wave it and go without interrupting class. On their return, they deposit it in the hall pass container, which sits just inside the door. At the end of the term they receive bonus points if they turn their hall passes in unused. They are worth 5 points each, but 20 points if all three come back. I have large classes (50-100 students) so I need a system which does not stop rehearsal, and this has worked quite well.
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