By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The mother of a third grade girl attending Mill Plain Elementary School in Vancouver, Washington is demanding changes in a school room program where students are required to pay to use the bathroom. The program was to be a lesson in money management where students received and worked for Monopoly Money to buy items in the classroom but the teacher required a payment of M$50.00 in order to use the bathroom.
Jasmine Al-Ayadhi told reporters her nine year old daughter, Reem, did not want to pay to use the bathroom and ultimately had an accident, causing her both discomfort and having to endure teasing by other children. In agreeing with the need to teach children the value of money Jasmine said, “Work for your money, to earn it, to buy like a little toy or a little squirt gun or a little ball. When it comes to a bathroom issue, when a child has to pay money to use the bathroom – that’s wrong. It’s inhumane. That’s a health issue.”
Reem said the students in her class earn money by doing things, such as good deeds, being nice, and finishing school work. She said she uses the money to buy treats like popcorn and pizza.
She also said each student in her class has to pay their teacher M$50 dollars in pretend money to go to the bathroom.
On Thursday, Reem was down to her last M$50. She also had to go to the bathroom. She wanted to buy popcorn, like her friends were doing. She said she wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom because she didn’t want to pay. She then had an embarrassing accident.
“When it comes to using the bathroom, having to hold her pee, and if she wants to use the bathroom, you make a choice,” Jasmine said. “OK, if you want to use the bathroom it’s going to cost you M$50, but then you don’t have money to buy popcorn. What do you think a child’s going to do?”
The school gave Reem a change of clothes, a pair of royal blue boy’s basketball shorts. Reem said the other kids made fun of her for having an accident, and then for having to wear boys clothes.
“It didn’t feel so well because I had to wear boy pants and I did get teased,” Reem said.
Jasmine said she talked to the principal on Thursday, who promised to follow up about the issue on Friday. As of Friday night, Jasmine said she hadn’t heard back.
“This is a school,” Jasmine said. “This isn’t a jail. This isn’t a prison. We send our kids to school to learn and to get a good education.”
The school’s spokeswoman released a statement.
“We were made aware of the situation Friday evening. We will investigate as soon as possible Monday morning. We work hard to ensure the health and safety of every child and will make sure we do not have any classroom rule that prevents that.”
A similar incident occurred in Lebanon, Oregon and was reported by news station KATU of Portland, Oregon and the school principal dropped the payment requirement after the story aired.
A pediatrician was consulted and provided an opinion of this based upon his experience. Dr. Bruce Birk is a Portland pediatrician. He says that there’s consensus in the medical community on this issue.
“It would be chaos in a classroom for teachers not to have a system,” says Birk. “Holding in the classroom in between well-established potty breaks has not been shown in any sense of the word to be harmful to kids.”
Yet the message this might be teaching children is something that some parents are going to have much objection to. But not only the parents have concerns, the incident at Mill Plain Elementary could have been interpreted as close to violating state law, at least in the sprit of the law as noted by the state legislature.
In 1977, when bathrooms requiring payment were more common, the legislature enacted a law in the state’s Public Health and Safety code to address the issue of those needing to use restrooms and facility owners demanding payment for their use. The law reads:
RCW 70.54.160
Public restrooms — Pay facilities — Penalty.(1) Every establishment which maintains restrooms for use by the public shall not discriminate in charges required between facilities used by men and facilities used by women.
(2) When coin lock controls are used, the controls shall be so allocated as to allow for a proportionate equality of free toilet units available to women as compared with those units available to men, and at least one-half of the units in any restroom shall be free of charge. As used in this section, toilet units are defined as constituting commodes and urinals.
(3) In situations involving coin locks placed on restroom entry doors, admission keys shall be readily provided without charge when requested, and notice as to the availability of the keys shall be posted on the restroom entry door.
(4) Any owner, agent, manager, or other person charged with the responsibility of the operation of an establishment who operates such establishment in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
While many could see this as making a mountain out of a mole hill, one has to ask what kind of lesson a policy requiring payment by nine year old students to use a bathroom teaches children.
By Darren Smith
Sources:
KATU
Revised Code of Washington
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
Paul,
Sorry that my last comment posted before I was finished writing it. I meant to finish that last sentence by saying that kids will usually obey classroom rules/policies when they are reasonable…when you explain them in a way that makes sense to young children.
Elaine – I had only two classroom rules. 1) Be good to yourself 2) Be good to everyone else. When I started teaching I had more, but then you had to keep track of them while you were teaching. With these two, it pretty much covered everything.
Paul,
Students asked permission to go to the bathroom. If I was busy working with a small group of children, students who needed to go to the bathroom would raise their hands to get my attention and I’d nod–letting them know that it was okay for them to leave the room. They knew if there was an emergency that they could leave without my permission. They also knew better than to abuse the policy. I explained to them that I was responsible for them–and that it was important that I know there whereabouts at all times. If classroom policies are reasonable, most children will usually
What next? “Pay to play” at elementary schools at recess time?
Elaine – what was your potty break policy?
Young school children aren’t hired help. They shouldn’t get paid because they did their school work or behaved appropriately. They shouldn’t have to pay a fee to go to the bathroom. Children should be allowed to go to the bathroom when the need arises–and sometimes the need arises at times other than at the scheduled potty breaks.
“It wasn’t the school that reported this.”
I’m so shocked!!
Right from this very thread! Amazing, huh?
Ah yes, a whole day of wise “little l” parables — all in one thread.
This is my favorite:
“I would pay up and drain it!”
Definite words of wisdom there.
“Unless you’ve been a teacher, you have no idea how “potty breaks” can be a disruptive issue. This teacher was thinking outside the box, something quite rare in the educational industry.”
Those damn disruptions. Seems like someone needed to go “to the box” instead of someone “thinking” outside of it.
“We live in a consumer economy. Teaching children to save, plan, prioritize are the life lessons a good teacher is always working into the curriculum. That’s why teachers w/ real world experience are the best.”
Yes, we do. There is no time to urinate as money might be lost. The sooner a child learns this, the better.
“The child had the money. She chose to go w/ popcorn. She peed her pants because of that poor choice. This is basic parenting and teaching. ”
The child obviously has her priorities mixed up. Given the economic trading floor in her elementary school, she made a poor choice and she should suffer the consequences of her greedy decision. No bailouts here.
“The student paid an ‘opportunity cost’ when she decided on the popcorn over the bathroom. This is something we all do when making purchase, unless we have unlimited amounts of money. I can either use the money to buy this or I can use the money to buy that. Whatever I did not buy is known as an opportunity cost.”
Damn right! Got that third-grader?
“However, much as I would not have used the bathroom as part of the token economy, I can see the teacher using it as a ‘basic need’ opposed to a want.”
Does “it” in the above quote refer to the bathroom or the token elementary school economy? Really doesn’t matter, I guess, as this third-grader needs to see the error of her ways.
“Let me ONCE AGAIN relate the salient point here. The child HAD THE MONEY to go to the bathroom[need]. She chose to save it for popcorn[want]. It is frightening how many of the parents here can’t even ACKNOWLEDGE this fundamental point.”
This is a very valid point, thank you, Nick. ONCE AGAIN, the third-grade child HAD THE MONEY yet chose to spend her elementary trading floor funds in a foolish and trivial way with full knowledge of future needs and obligations.
“Not only does none of these enablers have a problem w/ this girls mother, they are going to nominate her for Mother of the Year.”
Really! Is this true? We need to stop this madness now!
“Then borrow money from a buddy for the popcorn.”
Exactly. This statement brings up the sad fact that the female gender’s inability to successfully negotiate starts at an early age.
“The kids REALLY loved me. Having a man was different and exciting.”
Hmm. I think it’s time for the box.
Els DL – what is your bathroom break policy?
Nick – when I have been gone I work my way backwards through the emails responding to those that I can or want to instantly. I few I hold off because I want to put more time into them.
Parenting w/ Love a Logic is a must read for many of the folks here.
Keebler has now made 7 comments, but none on this topic.
Perhaps KATU was closed circuit tv.
Paul, We both show all commenters the respect of reading their comments and replying. You were gone this afternoon, probably kicking kids or puppies, but you read and responded to SUBSTANTIVE comments made by Simms and BFM. Comments made hours ago.
Max-1 – if it were not for the mother, as Nick has correctly pointed out, only 25 kids and a few adults would know. If you want to call someone a bully over this, go after the person who posted this thread. They started it.
Nick, no one is attacking you. Please relax and chill, serenity now. Peace.
Paul, But try getting in a pay bathroom w/ Monopoly money. We have both brought up wants/needs several times and NO ONE has addressed that fundamental concept that adults MUST teach children. You are not born w/ understanding that important distinction. It is incumbent on adults to teach children this. Apparently, a LOTTA kids are SOL on that.
Those who kept their hands up for the 3rd graders going to the bathroom on demand will report to their local elementary school next school where they will become the 3rd grade teacher.
Let’s keep it simple…Should have been hate and fear.