Bathroom Passes: Why do we have them?

Students always wonder why some teachers at West limit our bathroom use. Limited bathroom passes frustrate students and are inconvenient.

Bathroom procedures vary depending on the teacher. Mrs. Kozler, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, explained that she allows two trips per quarter to keep students from missing important classwork and class time. “…I’ve never turned anyone down who really needs to go to the bathroom. [and] the reason I do that is I know as middle schoolers, sometimes we just walk around just to get out of class.” Mrs. Kozler knows that her class gets the opportunity to walk around some days. She feels that her students get enough time to stretch their legs.

Mr. Foley, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, stated that he doesn’t use bathroom passes. “I don’t like the idea of keeping track of how many times students went to the bathroom.” Mr. Foley lets his students go to the bathroom whenever they need to. Mr. Foley mentioned that if kids were using the ‘free rule’ too much, the class would have to use a more strict rule.

Mrs. Kozler insists, “…so I think planning is probably part of it…” She is suggesting that students aren’t using their time wisely. However, students do not have enough time to use the bathroom and get to their class on time. Maya Boland, West seventh-grader, stated that she thinks it’s important for kids to go to the bathroom when it’s necessary.

So what is the solution? A way to fix this is by planning ahead as Mrs. Kozler insisted. Teachers should use a sign-out sheet so they are not limiting bathroom use but are aware of which students are taking advantage of the situation and are trying to leave class.