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.
Nick,
I think that’s enough of your veiled digs.
Karen, I am generally a very happy easy going person, but I won’t allow myself to be anyone’s victim, I fight back. Now this is the last comment I will make on this issue as Professor Turley has asked us to get back to the topic and stop with the personal observations about other commenters.
Karen, A child never heals from the primal trauma of abandonment and then neglect, not being held, during those first 2 critical years. Combine it w/ him being from Medellin, during the Pablo Escobar reign of terror, and it’s a blessing he’s still alive. He has a GREAT girlfriend. That has helped a lot. But, he will carry that scar forever. Since he was young, I have used the analogy of walking w/ a limp. It’s a limp others can’t see. But, he can still run, jump, etc. Just differently than most.
Annie – I hear that you believe that references to LPNs are aimed at you. And I’ve also read your comments about certain teachers being run out of the classroom and failed PIs. You complain about personal remarks but you are just as guilty. Why do you engage? Nobody wins in a tit for tat. If you feel offended, just don’t read any more posts by the person or people you dislike. It really is that simple (although I forget this sometimes, too). You have been made a grandmother again, which is a great blessing. Don’t make room for negativity.
We can have a rollicking debate here, but it becomes less interesting when it devolves into a brawl. Can’t we all just hear different ideas, agree or disagree, and then move on? I don’t want to see the formation of a single, sanctioned, mode of thought and opinion. We all have different opinions, and it can get messy. Welcome to the world.
I couldn’t let this pass:
Stocks edge higher as investors asses deal news
Posted Monday, May. 19, 2014
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Stocks are edging higher in midday trading as investors consider the latest news on corporate mergers.
Abbott Laboratories rose 2 percent after financial analysts cheered the medical device maker’s proposed acquisition of CFR Pharmaceuticals for nearly $3 billion.
Pfizer rose 1 percent after AstraZeneca’s board rejected Pfizer’s latest takeover offer. AstraZeneca sank 10 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,516 in midday trading Monday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose five points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,883 and the Nasdaq composite rose 32 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,123.
AT&T fell 1 percent after the company said it plans to buy satellite TV provider DirecTV for $48.5 billion. The proposal could face tough regulatory scrutiny. DirecTV also fell 1 percent.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/05/19/5830031/stocks-edge-higher-as-investors.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
Clearly the price of going to the bathroom needs to go up.
Enough said:
on 1, May 19, 2014 at 1:05 pmNick Spinelli
Paul, That is what I mean when I say “hijacking.” Making comment after comment about other commenters and nothing substantive, whether on the original topic, or another topic the thread was meandered to.
Amen
What a not-so-fine mess.
Nick – thanks for the recommendation. I’ll read Love and Logic. I’ve read other articles where the consequences have to make sense to the child, or be a natural result. The book seems along those lines.
Attachment disorder can be very difficult. Kids do pay the freight on their parents’ choices. I hope your son was healed, and that he is healthy and happy. Adopting a child is such an incredible blessing.
Paul, That is what I mean when I say “hijacking.” Making comment after comment about other commenters and nothing substantive, whether on the original topic, or another topic the thread was meandered to.
Paul,
I was widowed when my children were age 19, 18, 10 and 7 and yes indeed I did support them by myself until I remarried years later. I have no secrets, I’m incredibly proud of myself and my children. My oldest in the military, married. My second oldest, married SAHM ( degree in Art History) with three kids. My third, an attorney, married just had my 2nd grandson I spoke of. My youngest a boy, who was without a male role model, taught himself how to take apart transmissions, rebuild cars and get them running as a teenager, is a Millwright journeyman who just purchased his first home as a young unmarried guy. I raised them in a liberal Democratic house, ALONE, they are kids any parent would be proud of.
Mr. Keebler:
Maybe they just dont get enough of your cookies?
BFM, Some of the older folks here might remember The Joe Pyne Show. This was back in the 60’s. He was the original Jerry Springer. He had “the beef box.” You would come down to “the box” sorta like a witness stand, and state your beef. I really like your idea. Once a non substantive person, and there are too many, starts hijacking a thread they are sent to the “beef thread.” Unfortunately, it would take moderation and you know some will refuse to go. But, I like the concept a lot.
Nick – the prevailing theory, that I have gotten from many commentators is that you cannot hijack a thread. Although I was accused of it, then when I accused others of doing, I learned it could not be done. So I learned that threads ebb and flow like a real conversation. I am fine with that as long as it doesn’t get personal.
” You would come down to “the box” sorta like a witness stand, and state your beef. I really like your idea.”
Good idea Nick. If you get it off the ground I am going to nominate you Moderator Emeritus.
The position is largely ceremonial. But you would consult on the operation of the Beef Box, mentor new beefees, and perhaps at the initiation of each new beef, give a few words to place the beef in historical and social perspective.
You might also give an introduction to be beefees, things like time in juvenile detention, charges nolle prossed, indictments, convictions, bankruptcies, late bill payments, traffic tickets, marriages, divorces, separations, and anything else that might be of interest to the general reader.
This ought to be really interesting. I can’t wait to see the first addition of the beef box.
Why can’t people just leave the personal attacks at home?
A modest proposal:
I think we need a bickering thread where all feuds, vendettas and bad blood can be expressed.
With that simple addition to the blog we could simply move offending posts to the bickering thread – no deletions required. Of course sockpuppets would have to register and post solely on the bickering thread.
I think there is the possibility that this simple change could greatly increase satisfaction with the blog and possibly increase readership.
Thank you for your kind attention.
bfm – if sockpuppets had to register wouldn’t that take all the fun out of being a sock puppet?
Paul, I never said I was divorced before TODAY. I am well aware of what I said just a few moments ago.
Join the club. But, I’m always willing to help out. He is apparently a little guy going after big guys. Being the underdog is fun. You have nothing to lose.
Annie – I know that you have mentioned your children and that you raised them alone. I may have just assumed that you were divorced.
I’ll “kick” in some $’s. I’ll also offer my services gratis if he needs a PI, specialized in civil litigation.
Nick – I really don’t understand his case. He has explained it, but it is over my head.
Once again, I have deleted a couple of comments to try to get this thread back on a civil and relevant discourse. We are not interested in continuing this back and forth. People are objecting to each other but then fueling and continuing the exchange. Please avoid the personal asides and observations and return to the subject or move on.
Annie,
We know who the good guys are. We’re with you.
Hey folks I am trying to convince Laser he should start a Kickstarter to fund his case against the DOJ. I am in if he does it. He is going to need more help, who is behind him?
Paul that is a lie. How dare you say I ever spoke of being an abused woman myself. Really how low can you go? I did say I was a widow, I never said I was divorced, and I most certainly NEVER said I was an abused woman. Now what else would you like to pull out of thin air regarding myself? Creepy beyond belief.
So Paul, what if I said I remembered you saying that you were a felon? Would that make it true?
Annie – this is what you said
And the accusations of abuse have come from you against Nick, defending yourself. I do not remembered Nick accusing you of being an abused woman, although we have had that as a topic on other threads.
I know that you and Nick have a history that goes back to another blog, but you need not carry it over here. Either of you.