Irish Teacher: Gabh mo leithscéal — but students having to ask to go to the toilet is ridiculous

Stop the policing of toilets in school

Jennifer Horgan. Pic: Larry Cummins

“Gabh mo leithscéal. An bhfuil cead agam…”

Can’t you just feel it? That “dul go dtí an leithreas” bubbling in your mouth like popping candy?

How often did you say it when you were at school? Squirming, trying to find the right time to interrupt an otherwise quiet lesson, wondering if your request came too close to someone else’s.

And the refusals! I still remember the smack of them.

It may be why I’m deeply uncomfortable with adults policing toileting and access to toilets in schools.

As far as I’m concerned children shouldn’t have to ask.

My children’s school does it brilliantly and I can only hope there are plenty of schools like them.

Students don’t say anything. They simply make a T shape with their hands for the toilet. Anyone can go if the cubicle in their classroom is free.

Some teachers ask kids to put a teddy bear at their desk to show the toilet is occupied. That way, the class can almost manage it themselves.

Students in less trusting schools literally feel the pinch of the toilet police.

Aaron, aged 15, says: “For teachers, it’s as if the whole class shares one communal bladder. But the guy getting to go to the toilet next to me has no impact on the fact that I still need the toilet.”

Poor Aaron. I feel his pain. I was a nervous child. I went to the toilet a lot. And I mean a lot.

I used to pee when I laughed too hard. I once peed from nervousness on stage. And now, three giant babies later, I’m no better. I rush to the toilet between most lessons. It’s part-habit now but I can’t help it.

This is why I refuse to deny any child a trip to the loo. But I know a lot of teachers who think differently. What if it is a way to get out of class? To mess around? Or to distract others? What if students are making a fool of teachers, abusing their good will?

What ifs still play a big role in schools – far too big.

Students deserve the benefit of the doubt and running a classroom based on worst-case scenarios sets the bar far too low. Children generally behave well when you expect it of them.

If a student is poorly-behaved, that is something a school should respond to as part of a deeper, broader, private conversation. It is not something that should determine the treatment of every child.

I know plenty of schools where children must get a toilet pass with a medical note if they want to leave mid-class.

Others are asked to hand up their journals to be signed in and out. They are told that if they ask too often in one week it can become an issue.

It all makes me uncomfortable. Every human being has a right to go to the toilet whenever the need arises and people’s bodies are their own business, whatever their age.

How can any teacher possibly know what’s going on for every child, particularly at secondary where you’re dealing with dozens of students every day?

A student might have a heavy period, an upset stomach, or a weak or nervous bladder.

One case in England hit the headlines recently when a girl ended up bleeding through her clothes on her first period.

Another school erupted in protests when students were asked to show a red card when menstruating.

The INTO, the teacher’s union for primary schools shares guidelines on toileting saying: “If at all possible, children should not be forced to line up and go to the toilet at specific times of the day.

“Where possible, children should be facilitated to go to the toilet when the need arises.”

They advise: “If it is noticed that a child is going to the toilet too frequently, his/her parents should be informed, in order that they can have the child checked out medically, so that the teacher will know whether it is reasonable to limit the number of times such a child goes out.”

There doesn’t seem to be any guidelines for secondary schools where it can be more problematic as toilets are further away from classrooms.

One school not too far from me, states the following: “Students must seek the teacher’s permission to go to the toilets during class time.

“All class-time toilet permissions will be recorded on VS Ware.

“Students are not allowed to go to the toilets between classes unless there is a certified medical condition.”

Well, that would have me scuppered or at least running to my doctor.

Like I say, the policing of toileting doesn’t sit well with me.

Gabh mo leithscéal, but I think we can do better.