Controlled bathroom breaks are dumb, if I gotta go I gotta go! (x)
This is the thread I got mad in!
…I’m still mad!
I see people use the excuse “but what if they’re just going so they don’t have to pay attention!” a lot, and it’s a really poor excuse.
Aside from the fact that kids (and adults!) need and are entitled to regular mental breaks, keeping a bored kid in the classroom isn’t going to magically make them pay attention. What it IS going to do is create an environment of distraction for the people around them. You wanna know how I know? I was that kid. I have adhd, and when I wasn’t able to get up and walk around, I talked to everyone. Constantly. When allowed to go outside and refresh my brain when needed, I became a lot less disruptive.
And when it’s older kids? If a high schooler doesn’t want to learn something, they’re not going to, and you can’t make them. That’s their mistake to make. As a teacher, try making the material more accessible and engaging. That’s your job. Whether the student does their job is on them.
“Kids have died in bathroom fights” is definitely an argument I haven’t seen before, but it’s so patently ridiculous that I don’t think it needs to actually be addressed.
THIS SHIT MAKES ME SO ANGRY. When I was a teacher, I taught in a high school that had a lot of kids that came from poorer families. You know what I did? I always had a drawer FULL of snacks. Some sugary treats, but a lot of stuff that one might consider “food food,” not just a treat. You know what I found out? Kids would ask for a snack at the beginning of class if they wanted one, and it affected my class POSITIVELY. Kids that I knew NEEDED something to eat would be able to grab crackers and tuna or something, and other kids would just be happy to come into my class to see what I had stocked in the drawer.
The kids learned to be respectful of the food BY THEMSELVES. Y’all should have seen it. Kids were policing each other in how much food they took, so that one student wouldn’t take all the zebra cakes or whatever, but not a single time was a kid scolded for taking a couple packs of crackers or whatever. And they all made sure that no one left trash around.
Feeding kids is important, and if you can’t teach kids while they eat a snack, you just can’t teach.
I have a fucking teaching credential. They literally taught us about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how kids can’t fucking learn if they’re hungry or stressed or scared. It’s in the fucking credential program. They talk about why snacks and free lunch programs are so important for low income kids. For some kids school is the only place they can get a decent meal.
Fuck these teachers pretending like obedience matters more than learning.
Literally the number one thing I buy for my classroom during a regular is snacks. If I’mma do anything, I’mma make sure those kids eat.
I can’t expect them to learn and be functional if they’re having hunger pains, wtf
My all time favorite teacher (chemistry) started every class with a “candy quiz” where she would ask questions about what we’d gone over last time & then toss candy at you if you answered a question. Even if you got it wrong. “Hershey kiss for effort!” “Maybe some sugar will help you remember.” “Oof, not firing on all cylinders today, huh? Have a Gobstopper.”
I always thought she did it because our class was just before lunch so we were all starving, but nope. It was every class.
My AP English teacher had a bowl of granola bars & two coffee pots set up in the back. One with coffee & one with plain hot water (she provided Lipton tea but you could bring in whatever you wanted).
If you brought in fancy coffee, you got to be her favorite for the day. It only meant you got a star sticker slapped on your forehead, which you wouldn’t think high schoolers would care about, but we did. 🤣
She also had a pizza fund for each class. Mason jars with tape identifying which class it was. We’d toss in our change & whatever & once we hit $20, she’d order us all pizza.
It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized ordering five pizzas was a bit more than $20. She just wanted us to feel a sense of accomplishment. ❤️
One of my history teachers liked to bake & he’d take votes on what cookies to bring in. His snicker doodles were out of this world delicious & I tried for four years to get the recipe out of him. LOL
The best teachers acknowledge that their students are people with basic needs/wants & not just cogs in a machine. 👍
also kids have growing bodies, their school years are the times where they’re the most hungry and will scarf down food at insane speed. they NEED food and snacks throughout the whole day
when i was in high school i sold candies to my peers to make extra money, and i knew others who were selling chocolate bars or chips literally every period. kids literally cannot survive school without snacks. and if they’re from low income families chances are they dont have time or money to eat breakfast before classes start (i certainly didnt) and depend on cheap snacks before lunch to get through the day.
taking food away from kids in the name of obedience can literally stunt growth both physically and academically
kids absolutely have died in bathroom fights but how does that play into why kids shouldnt be allowed in the bathrooms? when fights were becoming common in my school during breaks and stuff we had sign up sheets and a monitor at bathrooms to control that. bc its completely ridiculous to control when ppl use the bathroom.
and honestly if as a teacher ur not engaging enough that kids keep using the bathroom to play on their phones, then that’s on u to do better. i had teachers who were respectful to students and made shit like chemistry and shakespeare engaging and fun that even the “problem students” came to class and would be there to learn. its not the students fault for not being able to focus when teachers are not fostering a good learning environment for them to do so
Police in Belgium arrested 116 people after a protest over the death of a young Black man who collapsed in police custody turned violent.
Belgian prosecutors have requested that an investigative judge be appointed following the death of a 23-year-old Black man identified by authorities only as I.B. The prosecutor’s office said he was arrested Saturday after he allegedly tried to run away from police who were checking people gathered in the city center despite COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings.
Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.
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—
James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk (via quotespile)
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