Kristen Gyles | Policing bathroom use

The recent bathroom incident involving a Grade Five George Headley Primary School student gave many of us unpleasant flashbacks. It is certainly not an unfamiliar occurrence. The child’s father told the media that his daughter asked her teacher to use the bathroom three times before finally being given approval. By the time she had been told she could go to the bathroom, it was too late and she had an accident before being able to leave the classroom.

The principal’s account of the event differs slightly in that she said the child was only told ‘no’ once before getting permission to use the bathroom. She said in an interview that, at a point during the school day, she saw the child sitting near the bathroom and inquired of staff why the child was sitting outside the classroom. The response was that she had an accident but had been attended to.

Accidents do happen, especially with children.

However, the interview revealed something that needs to be spotlighted. The principal said the students get the opportunity to use the bathroom at break time, at lunchtime and after school, and that students are not allowed to go “willy nilly”. She also explained that teachers know that, if a student has a medical condition or if there is an emergency, the student should be allowed to go even outside the scheduled times.

George Headley Primary is not the only school with this policy.

Let’s really look into this. If a student approaches a teacher and asks to be allowed to use the bathroom, what would indicate to the teacher that the child is likely to have an ‘emergency’ if denied the opportunity to go? The principal mentioned in the interview that teachers are asked to find out from their students whether they really need to go before sending them out to use the bathroom outside of the scheduled break times. However, the child has already asked, which should indicate that nature calls. Why would confirmation be needed?

Here is the issue with this approach. Many students, especially those who have been taught well to respect authority and abide by rules, do not like being at odds with their teacher. Not all students, especially at the primary level, have the courage to maintain a given position or stance when their teacher expresses any form of disapproval. And this is exactly how a request for ‘confirmation’ is received and internalised by many students.

Imagine asking to be briefly excused from a meeting at work, only for the chair to say something like, “You stepped out 10 minutes ago. Do you really need to leave again?”

Supposedly, a question is being asked. However, most people have enough emotional intelligence to pick up that their stepping out is being frowned upon. This is how many children feel when their request for bathroom access is questioned or put under scrutiny. A young child may just quietly return to their seat without putting up resistance, because to do anything else feels like defiance.

Further, many children do not have good bladder control. Besides medical issues, children, like adults, develop a better understanding of their bodies with each passing day. Teachers cannot be expected to accurately assess a child’s need to access the bathroom and should not be expected to police the frequency with which a student uses the bathroom either. If a teacher notes that a student makes several trips to the bathroom per day, perhaps a discussion with the child’s parent is warranted, as this could very well be a cause for medical concern.

MINIMISING DISRUPTION

It is understandable that schools would want to minimise classroom disruptions as much as possible. When the school has scheduled break times, it allows the teacher to more easily monitor and keep track of the students individually. However, the desire for control and order must be secondary to considerations regarding a child’s health, well-being and dignity.

It is harmful to a child’s self-esteem to prevent them from accessing the bathroom to begin with. Successful potty training is a major milestone for many children, partly because it is one of the earliest activities that help to instil a sense of bodily autonomy and independence in the child. It is a reversal of that psychological milestone to have the child seek permission to relieve him or herself. It is even more of an embarrassment to the child when the child has an accident, especially in the presence of peers.

Students should not be prevented from accessing the bathroom. They should not need to ask twice or thrice and they should not need to give a confirmation that they really need to go, especially when they are at an impressionable stage in which their ability to gauge their own capacity to ‘hold it’ is questionable.

Though unfortunate, the incident at George Headley Primary can and should become a catalyst for the formalisation of a policy within the education ministry surrounding bathroom usage. As with so many other issues, the ministry has to set parameters outlining how far a school’s policies can go in regulating a student’s access to bathroom facilities. Beyond the issue of scheduled bathroom breaks, the ministry has other bathroom-related issues it also needs to contemplate, given changing social norms and modern considerations.

For one, the ministry should consider outlining a clear position on surveillance in school bathrooms and should set boundaries regarding the intrusiveness of monitoring tools like CCTV cameras. The issue of parental access to school bathrooms is another area that needs clarification. The aim should be to pre-empt the next bathroom controversy before it happens.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com