Question about Public School Bathrooms

[HRAAB]

I wonder if that's why I ran a straight D- in gym. I was one of the few who refused to shower (and, admittedly one of the few who didn't break a sweat, either). It was just a big overhead sprinkler - give me a break. They couldn't have dragged me into a group hosing.

 

 

It was the only C I got (except for geometry which I don't talk about). Even if the teacher had failed me - if she could have gotten away with that since I complied with all other requirements - I still wouldn't have done it. I remember my mom and dad talking with her on back to school night and the teacher insinuating I had a problem. God bless my mom and dad. They backed me 100%. When you're that age, you don't have any authority to stand your ground against school rules. And I didn't and don't have a problem; I'm just fine the way I am. :001_smile:

[Murphy101]

It was the only C I got (except for geometry which I don't talk about). Even if the teacher had failed me - if she could have gotten away with that since I complied with all other requirements - I still wouldn't have done it. I remember my mom and dad talking with her on back to school night and the teacher insinuating I had a problem. God bless my mom and dad. They backed me 100%. When you're that age, you don't have any authority to stand your ground against school rules. And I didn't and don't have a problem; I'm just fine the way I am. :001_smile:

:iagree: I was not a prude by any stretch, but I deeply resented the insinuation that there was something wrong with *me* not wanting to bare all in front of strangers under duress, for a grade no less. :glare:

[Snickerdoodle]

:|

Edited September 19, 2010 by Snickerdoodle

[galtgrl]

If I was a kid, I'd do my best to hold it all day.

 

:iagree:

 

That's what I did many years ago when I was in ps anyway, and the stalls all had doors!

It would've been asking for trouble to use the bathroom in high school or junior high. You just didn't go there!

The whole idea of doorless stalls is appalling to me.

[EKS]

My husband had a competition in Evanston, Il. He went to use the bathroom in one of the locker rooms and there was only a single toilet in the middle of the room!!! Nothing was around it.

 

I have nightmares about these things!

 

Oh my goodness! Me too!

[Garga]

I, too, have the recurring nightmare about having to go to the bathroom in public.

 

I think it's because while we're sleeping, if we have to go, our bodies know we can't (because we're in bed)...so our brains come up with a dream where we have to go, but can't because everyone is watching.

[merry gardens]

I was at a local middle school school today and was shocked to go into the girls bathroom and find that all but one of the six stalls had no doors. Is this common in schools now? It may sound strange, but this loss of privacy would be one reason that I would never consider putting my kids into this particular public school (and it is in one of the best in the state). Anyone have experience in public schools to know if this is common now?

 

Lesley

:eek: Yucky. yucky, yucky, yucky. :ack2:

 

How humiliating and degrading.

 

I'd complain to the school board. Sounds like they are violating the students' right to privacy. They should be sued.

[mammaruss]

Same reason as a pp mentioned - to stop smoking in the bathrooms etc.

 

Our upper level schools say they eliminated doors - to discourage smokers, kids with their drugs, and any other hanky panky. The authorities at the school feel all the kids are safer if the kids can be seen......We live in one of the worst counties for drugs.

[DianeW88]

Why in the world? :001_huh: Couldn't they just spring for the other half?

 

Stops inappropriate behavior. Not only smoking and possible drug use, but shoving other kids' heads in the toilet, making out or beyond, etc., etc., etc.

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[melissel]

You know, I tend to think of my middle and high schools as kind of weak institutions in a kind of backwards small town, but then I read these threads and I realize how good I had it. You guys were FORCED to shower? No one ever used the girls' showers in our high school gym--EVER. All our bathrooms had doors, and no one was smearing feces anywhere or hanging on the stall doors to break them off. (Some delinquents were, on the other hand, soaking toilet paper globs and throwing them up so they stuck to the ceiling, but those delinquents shall remain nameless :blush:)

 

I still can't get over this whole thing.

[mammaruss]

Yes. Another factor in the two times I got an F in PE.

 

Same here!! I remember arguing with my PE teacher about it when I was in 7th grade. She ALWAYS seemed to pick on the girls that refused to shower and make it worse by ridiculing those that didn't--which lowered the our self esteem even more!!grrrrrrrrrr. I would get so angry!!

[mammaruss]

:iagree: I was not a prude by any stretch, but I deeply resented the insinuation that there was something wrong with *me* not wanting to bare all in front of strangers under duress, for a grade no less. :glare:

 

Amen.

[Ferdie]

Our middle school has doors on the bathrooms stalls.

[chickenpatty]

Yikes! This thread is going to give me a nightmare! LOL, seriously, stalls without doors is one of my reoccuring bad dreams!

[hsmom3tn]

I don't know if the schools here have doors on the stalls or not. They did when I was in school, so hope they still do. It is true, though, that many things go on behind those stall doors that kids shouldn't be doing...

 

I have seen clothing stores with no doors on their dressing rooms, and that was disturbing enough. I don't think I could use a restroom with no doors on the stalls.

[joannqn]

When I taught, I had one student who would turn on a faucet so that no one would hear her in the stall. My elementary and middle schools had no doors. I would "hold it" until I got home - sometimes for six hours.

 

Fortunately, my schools' restroom stalls all had doors but if they didn't, I wouldn't have used them. When I was younger (into my 20s), I've been known to be constipated when away from home for up to a week. I'd have to go the second I got home, though. I'd be heading to the nurses office to deal with my period.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I admit it. I'm scared to go to bed.

 

There is nothing worse than dreaming you are sittin' pretty on a toilet in some public place, and you know that more than a few of us are going to dream it tonight!

 

Please feel free to report back here tomorrow with your crazy potty dreams. Or not.

[LaissezFaire]

The schools I've been in around here all have doors. I cannot imagine as a young teenage girl using the toilet without a door. I cannot imagine changing pads or tampons with no door. Good grief. I felt the same about communal showers in high school. I refused! We got points everyday for taking a shower, so if you didn't shower, no extra points. The teacher would stand at the door to the shower, with a clear view, and mark down everyone who showered. I think I got a C in that class. You know what? It's my body, and no one has the right to force someone else into showing their body in a way that makes them uncomfortable!!!

 

I know many people are totally comfortable with it and can't imagine what the big deal is, but for those of us who feel it is a big deal, it's not comfortable. And there's nothing wrong with us who aren't comfortable with exposing our bodies. And I'm not exactly a prude by a long shot. There are some things I just prefer to do in private thank you very much.

 

eta: And with this being in a school bothers me even more. Restrooms in restaurants, malls, stores, etc. can be visited by choice - most of the time anyway. Students in schools don't have a choice. They have to be there everyday, usually around 7 to 8 hrs a day, with no option to use the toilet with the privacy of a door. Grrrrr.....

I got a D in gym every single year because I refused to shower. I also refused to dress out. My teacher was a Lesbian and while that in itself is not an issue, I was uncomfortable showering and dressing in front of her.

[Tap]

Personally I think it's horrible. And honestly, men do not have it all out there in the open, it's pretty discreet for them. Women have to have their pants all the way down around their ankles.

 

 

We must have very different life experiences. I went to highschool in a small town, in an area surrounded by forests and land. We partied a lot in those days....A LOT. We spent almost every weekend in the forest, at campgrounds, rock pits, old barns...what ever/when ever. There weren't bathrooms around. I can certainly attest that I have seen many, many more men's privates stumbling on someone peeing in the woods, than women's. Even in a bathroom, I don't recall seeing girls who dropped their pants to their ankles. Knees sure, but not ankles. That would be kinda gross considering the floors. Since they are sitting, it isn't like the privates are just hanging out for anyone to see.

[BethInNH]

I admit it. I'm scared to go to bed.

 

There is nothing worse than dreaming you are sittin' pretty on a toilet in some public place, and you know that more than a few of us are going to dream it tonight!

 

Please feel free to report back here tomorrow with your crazy potty dreams. Or not.

 

How does this restroom make you feel?http://www.yatblog.com/2006/08/08/swiss-public-toilet/

But seriously, no doors on the bathroom stalls?? That just boggles the mind. I'm one of those folks who runs the water in the sink so her hubby can't hear her pee if he's in the next room!:glare:

[Gwenhwyfar]

We must have very different life experiences. I went to highschool in a small town, in an area surrounded by forests and land. We partied a lot in those days....A LOT. We spent almost every weekend in the forest, at campgrounds, rock pits, old barns...what ever/when ever. There weren't bathrooms around. I can certainly attest that I have seen many, many more men's privates stumbling on someone peeing in the woods, than women's. Even in a bathroom, I don't recall seeing girls who dropped their pants to their ankles. Knees sure, but not ankles. That would be kinda gross considering the floors. Since they are sitting, it isn't like the privates are just hanging out for anyone to see.

 

haha see now that's the funny bit ~ i've done my share of tcb in the woods during random bush parties... but it's just not the same as a specific public washroom sans doors! i dunno why. :laugh:

[LaissezFaire]

We must have very different life experiences. I went to highschool in a small town, in an area surrounded by forests and land. We partied a lot in those days....A LOT. We spent almost every weekend in the forest, at campgrounds, rock pits, old barns...what ever/when ever. There weren't bathrooms around. I can certainly attest that I have seen many, many more men's privates stumbling on someone peeing in the woods, than women's. Even in a bathroom, I don't recall seeing girls who dropped their pants to their ankles. Knees sure, but not ankles. That would be kinda gross considering the floors. Since they are sitting, it isn't like the privates are just hanging out for anyone to see.

 

LOL, honestly that was just a humorous remark, it wasn't the gist of my post. Women wiping themselves...you are going to see a whole heck of a lot. Men just shake it and move on.

[Renee in NC]

You know, I tend to think of my middle and high schools as kind of weak institutions in a kind of backwards small town, but then I read these threads and I realize how good I had it. You guys were FORCED to shower? No one ever used the girls' showers in our high school gym--EVER. All our bathrooms had doors, and no one was smearing feces anywhere or hanging on the stall doors to break them off. (Some delinquents were, on the other hand, soaking toilet paper globs and throwing them up so they stuck to the ceiling, but those delinquents shall remain nameless :blush:)

 

I still can't get over this whole thing.

 

No kidding. I asked my dc about their school - the stalls all have doors and the urinal has side walls. My oldest ds's school has doors.

 

I never took a shower in high school or middle school. We had to "change out" for gym but never shower. I wouldn't have. I went to 4 high schools and 3 middle schools in 3 different states and never saw what people are describing.

 

The toilet paper gobs - yes. Feces - no! I don't know if anyone ever hung on the doors.

[astrid]

Between this and the locked door thread, I wonder why parents don't mind sending their kids to daily prisons.

 

 

Oh, I wouldn't be so quick to assume that parents "don't mind." They might feel they have no choice. See the thread above by "Renee in FL" about trying to feed, clothe and shelter nine people on $19K a year.

 

I'm sure folks mind. Some just don't have the ability to do anything about it.

 

astrid

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Oh, I wouldn't be so quick to assume that parents "don't mind." They might feel they have no choice. See the thread above by "Renee in FL" about trying to feed, clothe and shelter nine people on $19K a year.

 

I'm sure folks mind. Some just don't have the ability to do anything about it.

 

astrid

 

I could be facing this, myself. I am seriously starting to doubt that we'll be able to afford hs'ing through high school for all of our children.

 

I understand that people have reasons for choosing public school, and I know that some people would rather not send their kids to ps but have no choice.

 

When I say they "don't mind," I mean I wonder why they don't organize with other parents and community members to demand that the children have basic human rights while they are in school.

[Tap]

LOL, honestly that was just a humorous remark, it wasn't the gist of my post. Women wiping themselves...you are going to see a whole heck of a lot. Men just shake it and move on.

 

Only if they are standing on top of you! LOL I am assuming there is a reasonable of space between women, and stall sides, so unless they were so close that they were blocking the woman's way out of the stall, I can't imagine they would really see much. LOL

[Jenny in Atl]

I guess GA is not as backward as some other areas of the country... :lol:

My oldest is at a "gasp" public high school (it's a science/performing arts duel magnet). There are some very tough kids in attendance (diverse racial population/socioeconomic/etc) and a large visible police presence. Even with all this, all the girl's bathrooms have doors.

[MBM]

I was at a local middle school school today and was shocked to go into the girls bathroom and find that all but one of the six stalls had no doors. Is this common in schools now? It may sound strange, but this loss of privacy would be one reason that I would never consider putting my kids into this particular public school (and it is in one of the best in the state). Anyone have experience in public schools to know if this is common now?

 

None of my children's schools were like that. To my knowledge all of the bathroom stalls had doors. I don't think I saw ALL of the bathrooms, though, particularly my sons'.

 

If it did happen, I would ask the principal for an explanation. How odd.

 

[Chris in VA]

My junior high had curtains on the stalls, but by the end of the first week, the "burn-outs," i.e., girls who were tough and smoked, had burned them all off and flushed them. I used the restroom maybe 3 times in the year I went there.

 

There are doors on the middle and high school stalls here.

 

The numbers, however...

What's next numbers for all the students?

Dd is #6. She writes it on all her papers. It's her desk #, in case someone passing papers can't read her name...

And the kids, down to Grades K-12, have a 4 digit number for buying lunch, which they keep secret and only tell the lunch lady. Parents have the option of paying into an account that can be used for lunch, so the kids don't have to carry lunch money.

And, the families all have Blackboard accounts, which lets us *all* know what is assigned/due/coming up. I don't consider it monitoring as much as sharing info.

[Renee in NC]

I could be facing this, myself. I am seriously starting to doubt that we'll be able to afford hs'ing through high school for all of our children.

 

I understand that people have reasons for choosing public school, and I know that some people would rather not send their kids to ps but have no choice.

 

When I say they "don't mind," I mean I wonder why they don't organize with other parents and community members to demand that the children have basic human rights while they are in school.

 

Because it isn't true here? Or at other schools I have seen? I think I would be furious if there weren't doors on the stalls or anything else that seemed "prison-like" but I haven't seen it yet. Well, my 3rd grader's teacher is sort of warden like, but I digress.:tongue_smilie:

 

My reasons for not liking ps are different - mostly about individualism and tailoring the curriculum to the child instead of vice versa. Food, medical care, adequate shelter, etc. are more important, though, so they went.

[Luanne]

... that the kids who would do these things in the bathroom would (and probably do) find other places to do them anyway. It really seems unfair to me to punish ALL the kids in the school because of a few bad ones, but then again ... to me ... that seems to be what public school is about lately ... in more ways than one.

 

It isn't like middle school age kids don't have enough to be sensitive about ... let's make it even more difficult for them, shall we?

[Tidbits of Learning]

What's next numbers for all the students? I ask again, when will they learn personal responsibility?

 

LOL!:lol: They have numbers!!! My kids were in public school for years and I can still tell you my kid's numbers for each year! They had to put the number on all their papers, folders, and books as well. It didn't matter about their name so much, but they better have their number on everything.

[Garga]

Numbers aren't that big of a deal. It's not like they call the child by their number. The number is for easy record keeping. Now if they started calling the kids by their numbers instead of their names...then you could worry! :D