Not That Alert

Tuesday. Middle school yearbook. Seventh period.

It was Adam Sandler day. Which meant everyone was dressed in shorts, sloppy t-shirts, sandals, and a baseball cap worn sideways or backwards. 

The yearbook staff was coming up with interview questions. They're going to have to go out and talk to their fellow students to get quotes for the yearbook. But, middle schoolers. Some weren't so very focused. (But things could have gone a lot worse.)

Mostly, I was keeping track of restroom passes. 

It's become a thing. We only allow one student out of class at a time, but each student takes a while, so there ends up being a line for the restroom. Keeping track can take half my attention most days. 

So, when the student asked to go while someone was out, I gave my usual response. "As soon as the student who's out gets back." 

While we were waiting, three other students asked to go. As usual. They got added to the continuing list. The last student who asked got a no response, however. We were at maybe twenty minutes left of class, and by the time the previous three went and returned, we'd definitely be at less than ten minutes left of class. We're not supposed to let students out that close to the end of the period. 

The girl returned. I called for the boy to go. He did not hear me. He was sucked into his phone. (Because it was yearbook, because they had come up with interview questions, because it was that kind of day, those are all reasons why phones were out and I wasn't making an issue of them.) 

Well, fine, then. If he wasn't going to go, then I'd go to the next person on the list. 

After she had left, and by that I mean that she had been gone for a couple minutes, the boy again asked. What happened when I called for him? But, it was ten minutes until the end of the period. So, even when the girl came back, I wasn't going to let anyone else go.

"But I really have to go..."

I mean, how serious was that need that he was completely tuned out when the person we were waiting for to return returned, and he didn't notice? When kiddos need to go, they usually are watching that door. (And the girl was not gone that long.) 

I told him he could go after the bell rang. At that point it was something like seven minutes until the end of the period. 

The time passed. The bell rang. The students filed out. The boy? I found him sitting in one of the nice chairs in the entryway to the classroom after I had done my final check and I was ready to leave. 

"I thought you really, really needed to use the restroom." 

I guess it wasn't as critical as he was making it out to be.

Broken Record, Student Edition

Wednesday. English 9, special day class (read: special ed). Fourth period.  

The lesson plans had all sorts of warnings about this class, including the note that this was her least favorite class. The instructional assistant went on to warn me that the half the kiddos just didn't care no matter what they did. So, I was prepared for the worst. 

And... things weren't that bad. They were doing a vocabulary assignment that went along with their reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, and then they could use that assignment on a quiz for the last couple chapters they read in class. 

Early in the period, Kaleb asked to use the restroom. He returned in a timely manner. 

About halfway through the period the instructional assistant left (as that was her usual quitting time). 

It was almost the end of the period, and Kaleb again asked to use the restroom. I said no. 

Kaleb was not pleased. He asked why he could not go. 

I explained that he had already gotten one restroom pass in the class, and getting one pass out of class was all he was going to get. Besides, there were only ten minutes left in the class period, and the school administration had instituted a rule that no students were to be allowed out of class for those last ten minutes. 

Kaleb did not see my point. One pass per period? That was unreasonable as far as he was concerned. 

So, he asked again. Could he go and use the restroom? And again, I said no. 

"But why?"

Me: "I already explained why." 

Kaleb argued that when he asked the first time there had been eleven minutes left of class. (According to the clock on my computer, it had been less than ten minutes.) But even he couldn't argue that since the first time he asked time had passed, and at this point there was definitely less than ten minutes left of class. 

Then, Kaleb: "Can I go to the restroom?" 

Again, I answered no. Again, Kaleb asked why. And again, I said that I had already explained. 

This time Kaleb offered that he would be able to get to the restroom and back before the end of the period. (Likely true, as the restroom was just steps away from the classroom.) I did not doubt him, but I did not give permission. 

It was now time for the class to start getting packed up, so I made that announcement. Kaleb? Asked to use the restroom again. And again, he asked why not?

Now the rest of the class was invested. They encouraged Kaleb to just walk out. If it was them, they would just walk out. (If it was them and earlier in the period, I would have let them go as they hadn't used their pass for the period.) Kaleb did not take the dare. 

Around we went again. Maybe twice? I lost count. Eventually, time ran out. The bell rang. And they all left. 

Deep sigh. I'm not sure why Kaleb thought that repeatedly asking me the same questions would get different results, but freshmen. Kaleb did not realize just how stubborn I can be when pushed. 

Caught in the Lie

Friday. English language development (read: extra English class for students not fluent in English). Ninth grade. Sixth period.

(If the above picture looks a little familiar, that's because I was subbing for Ms. A, who I've done two long terms for, the last one last April. Now that she has her two children, she's unlikely to need another maternity leave.) 

Ms. A left me a list of her students who were on the escort list. And she had warned me (I ran into her the previous day) that sixth period was her difficult group. 

So, when Aiden asked to use the restroom, I was ready. He did not complain too loudly (although when I mentioned he was on the escort list, he played like he had no idea) when I told him he'd have to wait for security to escort him. Although, he wasn't too happy when security took a while to get to the room. 

(Students get placed on the escort list when they take too long to use the restroom. It's not that far. We tell them five minutes, but if it takes a couple minutes longer, no big deal. But some take significantly longer than ten minutes.) 

While Aiden was waiting, Khloe asked to go. I again called security, and when they finally showed up, I figured they could escort both students. It would save a trip. So, both got up and went towards the security person in her golf cart, and I saw her talk to them both. 

Four minutes later, Aiden returned. Khloe... 

Other students were in and out. Because the assignment for the day was test prep, the teacher had said for the last bit of the period the kiddos could watch a movie. I was getting things going on that when Jordan asked to go. I knew I had a girl who was waiting, so I told him to put his name on the list. That's when whoever was out got back, and Jordan convinced the girl to let him cut in line. 

It was only after the movie was going that I noted the list and realized that Jordan was my third escort list kiddo, and he shouldn't have left on his own. (He timed it for when I wasn't paying attention.) Grrr. 

Jordan was only gone about ten minutes. It was later that I talked to Ms. A. (She was on campus in a meeting.) She caught Jordan out and about. He was on his phone. (They are supposed to leave their phones in a box in the classroom, so he shouldn't have had it on him.) Ms. A confiscated his phone (and turned it into the office). 

So, I feel comfortable that Jordan got his consequence for sneaking past me on the escort thing. 

As for Khloe, she returned after more than a half hour out of class with a story about security telling her to stay in the bathroom because she was feeling sick... I didn't catch half the story, and it didn't pass the smell test. If Khloe was feeling sick, security would have taken her to the health office, and someone would have informed me of this. 

Freshmen... 

Yeah, I took note of all of this, and their teacher knows. And she's not happy about it. 

I mean, seriously, the amount of work it took them to evade security... If they only put that kind of effort into their school work. 

Returned

By the luck of the app, I happened to catch a day in the art class I had started this school year in. (If things hadn't been so dead lately, I probably would have "missed" it, but I couldn't afford to miss another day as there was no guarantee that anything else would pop up.) 

First period. Tuesday. 

They had a shading assignment. I was given instructions to go over with them, so it was a more labor intensive day for me. (Not a bad thing, but it meant that I was pretty busy engaging with students, and I had less dead time than usual.) 

And, of course, I had many restroom pass requests. 

I don't give this a lot of thought. If no one else is out of the room, the kiddo can go. I write down their names and the time they left (so I can track how long they were gone). 

Joshua was out of the room. I had three other students who were waiting to go. And the phone rang. 

"Did you let Joshua out to go to the restroom? Security found him out wandering..." And this is where I got reprimanded for letting Joshua out of class, because Joshua was on the escort list. 

Escort list? 

Okay, so some students take advantage of restroom passes. They leave their class, and instead of doing their business and getting back to class, they wander campus. They meet up with their friends. They share vapes in the restroom. I don't know what they do out there, but it's not something they should be doing. 

Students who take too long out of class get added to an escort list. That means that if that kiddo asks to use the restroom, the teacher has to call security to escort them to the restroom. They hate this, but they've demonstrated that they can't be trusted to leave class on their own. 

They provide subs with the list. It's in the folder we get. Although, usually the teacher will leave the names of who we need to call security for. It didn't even occur to me to check the list, not that I had time to do so. 

(Oh, and the list is a mess. It's mostly alphabetical by first names, grouped by grade level, but there are a few with last names listed first. And then half the list is a jumble of I don't know what, because it's not quite alphabetical and it's definitely not grouped by grade level.) 

Joshua returned to class fifteen minutes after he left (yes, I was keeping track). Surly. Ah well. 

Ms. D was on campus (they were doing some curriculum planning) and stopped by after first period. I told her of the incident. 

It turns out that Joshua was on the escort list for a week a while ago. Otherwise she totally would have left his name. And there were no other students on the escort list (as far as I could tell; I went through the list and compared it to the class rosters, and... well, I mentioned that the list was a mess). 

There has got to be a better way to deal with restroom passes and wandering students. I don't know what it is.

Disappeared

Thursday before winter break. (I saved all my subbing stories for when school was back in session.) Seventh period business math. 

The last two days before winter break I caught a math class. Although, it doesn't really matter what the class was as the finals had been Tuesday and Wednesday, and with the grades due Friday, Ms. C had to have submitted them before she left. Which meant the class would have nothing to do (that counted). 

But Ms. C left them a math worksheet (word problems relating to Buddy the Elf from Elf). 

Not that they were really doing it. 

We'd been in class maybe fifteen minutes when Harley asked to use the restroom. As she sped from the room, the rest of the class erupted in complaints. 

"She's gone." 

"Don't let her go." 

"She won't be back." 

"She's on the escort list." 

(She was not on the escort list. I checked.) 

Unfortunately, I had already said okay, and there was no warning in the lesson plans to not let her go. If it had been any other day, I would have been more upset, but considering the timing...

About five minutes later, Prescott asked for a restroom pass. I told him he had to wait (I have a one-at-a-time policy as do most subs and teachers). He was certain Harley wouldn't be back, so I let him go. 

Mistake. 

Anyway, Harley did return. Fifteen minutes later. So, yeah, it was a while. I did my usual, "Where ya been...?" that I ask students who take forever out of class. She said she had gone to the office for reasons. (I wish they would just ask to go to the office. I don't generally say no.) 

Harley then asked to leave class again. This time she "needed water". The office people gave her a burrito, so now she was thirsty. Um, no. One outing per class period. (And besides, it was a minimum day. We had maybe twenty minutes left of class.) She was not happy with me. (She complained of dehydration, as the students always do when they insist they need to get water.) 

Remember Prescott? Yeah, he was still not back from his restroom pass. He who had been whining about how long Harley would take. 

As the end of the period approached, I collected back their papers and made sure they returned computers. The bell rang. And that is when Prescott finally returned to class. (He had left his backpack behind.) 

Deep sigh. 

He who howled the loudest? He was out of class for forty minutes. (It would have probably been longer if it had been a regular schedule day.) 

When they take forever to the restroom, I do note it for the teacher. Those who are in the habit of disappearing to the restroom get placed on the escort list. That is, if they need the restroom, they must have security escort them. 

Caught in the Lie

Wednesday. Eighth grade English. Third period.

Bernard asked to use the restroom.

Restroom policies are thorny. Why can't we just let the kiddos go? Because some of them just roam campus, getting into mischief and missing class time. So, there are various policies. 

My policy is one at a time, and I keep a list. If the teacher doesn't care about the list, they can ignore it. But for those that keep track, it's there. 

Ms. N left me her policy, which was that the students were given a pass with five out-of-class-free times. I was to initial this for any student who went.

So, when Bernard asked to use the restroom, I asked him for his pass. He told me Ms. N had never given him one. 

I don't like telling a student no for the restroom, so I let Bernard go. But I made a note on my restroom list that "Bernard said he never got a pass". 

The next day I got an email from Ms. N. (She just responded to the email I sent her about how the day went.)

Quick question: did you sign off on the students who used the restroom yesterday? If not, I will do that tomorrow or make them stay after and owe time, especially since they know they need a bathroom pass (Bernard did get a bathroom pass, FYI... sorry you had to deal with that).

Uh oh... Bernard's in trouble...

This is why I write these things down. Students get caught in these lies (and hopefully will be less likely to lie in the future when they get caught). 

As for my answer, I replied that everyone else had given me their pass. 

Middle schoolers trying to get away with stuff. If I had a dollar for every time they made the attempt... 

Mistaken Identity?

Tuesday, fifth period. Chemistry.

In the normal chaos of getting things going at the start of the period, one of the security staff walked into the room. She pulled me aside.

Apparently, there have been some gang issues on campus, and she warned me about a couple students. She came in to ask me to keep the classroom door closed and that a couple students had been poking their heads outside when they shouldn't be.

I took note of the students she pointed out, and she left.

They were working on their final project for the year. They're doing presentations on natural or man-made disasters.

As expected, one of the students security had pointed out asked to use the restroom. As instructed, I acted as if he was on the floaters list (the list of students who have to be escorted by security to the restroom). 

He was not happy about that. "Are you profiling me?" 

How do I explain? I mean, normally I wouldn't have questioned him at all. I've had him in class before, and he hasn't been an issue. He was not actually on the floaters list. 

So, I decided I'd tell him part of the truth. (I didn't say security had identified him as gang-affiliated, only that security had asked me not to let him out of the room without an escort.) He still wasn't happy about it. He decided he didn't need to use the restroom after all. 

Did security point out the wrong student? Did I identify the wrong student? (She pointed him out as the boy with the red shoes. He was the only student at that table with red shoes.) Who knows? 

In times like these at this time of year (the students get a little crazy once they can smell summer vacation), it's best to err on the side of caution. 

(I was surprised to hear of the gang issues. I mean, in that part of town, it happens. I did know about a couple gun issues and there have been way more fights than normal lately. It's been an odd year.)

Ditcher

Austin is in fourth period. Every day he asks to use the restroom. And every day he takes way too long (like 20 or more minutes). And almost every day I've called security to bring him back. (Some days I get busy with other things, and by the time I notice he's been gone, he returns.) 

Since we're on a block schedule, I only have him two or three times a week. So, it hasn't really been that many times. But last Tuesday, I was done. I had to get security to retrieve him, and upon his return I said that was it. For the rest of the school year, every time I have him in class, he would not get a restroom pass from me. 

So, what do you think the first thing he asked me for on Thursday was? 

Nope. Not happening. 

Other students advocated for him. How could I deny him the use of the restroom? That was illegal. Etc. 

I had warned him...

Towards the end of the period, Austin approached me. He really, really, really, truly had to use the restroom. He would only take five minutes. And he would leave his cell phone in my custody. He offered his wallet, too. 

Against my better judgement, I let him go...

...And he returned in five minutes, on the dot. 

Nice. 

The next day was an "odd" day (I didn't have fourth period). On my free period, I walked out of my classroom to use the restroom. Who did I run into? 

Austin was strolling along the sidewalk with three of his buddies. 

He said hello. I asked him where he was supposed to be. I then asked him why he wasn't there. 

Did he head in the direction of his class? Of course not. 

That boy will find any excuse to get out of class. So, will he get a restroom pass from me next time? Probably. But as I know he can get back in five minutes, he's going to have to convince me that he will. 

I have a feeling I'll be calling security on him again.

Escape Artist

It was the second week of the chemistry class. Eighth period, the end of the period. 

Several students had lined up near the door as they had all put their chairs on their desks. (The janitors ask us to do this so they can sweep up the room. Someone keeps tracking dirt in, so the sweeping up is appreciated.) 

I watch the door as sometimes students like to slip out. And the previous week, I had had someone pull that, but I hadn't caught them. 

This time, I did. Austin. 

I reported him to the office. The discipline office "had a talk" with him, and I was told if it happened again, the consequences would change. 

I'd been keeping an eye on Austin ever since, but he didn't try to leave class early again.

On my last day in the chemistry class, Austin asked to use the restroom. 

I did not think too much of this. I scanned his student number ID bar code into the app on my phone and hit "restroom pass". 

Some time later, a different student asked to go. I do a one-student-at-a-time thing. (The restroom is close. It shouldn't take them more than five minutes, and if it will, I'll give them more time.) And that's when I noticed Austin had been gone a while.

I don't usually note the time when a student leaves, but with the app it was easy enough to look up. Austin had been gone thirty minutes. 

Yikes.

I called the office and reported the cut. They called security. 

Austin returned a short time thereafter.

I really, really like the hall pass app. It's such an amazing tool. (I had to ask for access, and I'm really glad I did.)

Now, if only Austin would do his schoolwork. But that's a battle for another day. 

Overheard

Third period anatomy and physiology. Monday.

They had an assignment online. As the class was populated by eleventh and twelfth graders (sixteen and seventeen year olds), I wasn't terrible concerned about all the visible cell phones. 

My mistake.

"Just say you need to get water..."

This came from a student's phone. Apparently, she and her female friend were arranging to meet up during class time. 

The girl hissed into her cell phone, "The sub heard you." As did the rest of the class. (The room was pretty quiet. Not silent, but quiet enough.) 

No other sounds came from her phone.

And the girl never did request that hall pass. 

Smokin' in the Boy's Room

It was Friday in one of the "severe to moderate" special ed. classrooms. Fourth period.

The teacher had left detailed lesson plans. Alas, they weren't detailed enough for someone who had never accessed this particular website, and it was taking me a lot of time to find and figure out what it was the kiddos were supposed to be looking at.

(The instructional assistants tried to help, but the teacher had always done it before, so they were unsure how to access the lesson as well. They got one of the neighboring teachers to help, but in the end I misinterpreted the instructions and did the wrong lesson. Sigh.)

So, while I heard a bit of the commotion going on, I only found out what happened after. (At the time there were three other adults in the room, the fourth was on her lunch. One was the class' IA, and the other two were one-to-one aides for specific students.)

The class IA went across the way and got a teacher out of the classroom diagonally across from us (one I have subbed for a few times in the past).

"Go in the restroom."

(I should mention at this point that the classroom had a restroom attached. It's very convenient, especially in classes where students need to have diapers changed.)

Ms. A was very hesitant. "Do I really want to see this?"

"You'll know when you go in," the IA said.

After she went in, there was a flurry of activity. I was busy going over the (what turned out to be wrong) lesson with the kiddos. One of the IAs gave me a heads-up that security might be arriving...

So what was going on?

The class IA had gone in to use the restroom after a student from across the way had used it. (This is so usual that I didn't notice at all.) Apparently he had been in there a long time as there was a certain odor that the IA picked up on.

The odor of marijuana...

Now, pot is legal in California, but it's legal like alcohol is legal. Adults only. Kiddos under 21 are a big nope.

And besides, schools are smoke free. Teachers and staff who smoke tobacco must go off campus if they want to smoke. I assume the same applies for smoking other substances. (I've not checked the updated rules. I'm sure working high is frowned upon.)

The IA knew who the student was and which class he had come from. (It's a large campus but a small group of special ed. students. The IAs know all of them.) His teacher knew, and administration was alerted.

But what got us in the end was he used a classroom restroom to do this. Where he was known. If he had gone to one of the usual boy's rooms where several students were always in and out...

I mean, it was like he was trying to get caught.

Deep Sleeper

It was seventh period at the continuation high school. Science class. They were supposed to be working on Punnett squares, but most weren't doing much of anything. Basically, it was a typical day.

I had not had a break since about noon. This is not typical, as the teachers usually have their "lunch" period sometime in the afternoon. But I was picking up an extra period as the teacher had to leave early. Because of the scramble, I had not had a chance to hit the restroom, so by the end of seventh period, I really, really needed to go.

It was about 3:15. The kiddos tried to leave. The bell hadn't rung. But another teacher had let his kiddos go, so I dismissed the class, and then the bell rang.

I was ready to be out the door when I noticed that one of the kiddos was still at his desk. Asleep. Sigh.

I totally should have noticed that earlier, but oh well. I went over to wake him up.

"The bell rang. Time to go."

No movement.

So, I went to gently nudge his shoulder. No movement. Louder, "It's time to go." No movement.

Deep sigh. I can't leave the kid alone in the room. But I really have to go. How to wake him?

I tried turning off the lights. I stomped around. Nothing was waking him. Finally, I got into his face and told him it was time to wake up.

And finally, he did.

He rubbed his face. Shifted position. Got out his pencil. And made a pretense of working...

So, yeah, not awake.

"The bell rang. It's time to go."

Finally, he got the message. He kind of staggered out, not quite conscious.

I feel kind of bad for pushing him out the door like that. It was clear he wasn't quite with it yet. But, I really, really needed to get to the restroom. I'll save my gentler wakings for when that isn't so urgent.

The Long Walk

Monday I was called to cover a Spanish II class.

Class had barely begun when a girl asked to use the restroom. (This is not unusual.) But when another girl and then another boy asked, I noticed that the first girl had been gone a while. (It's a one at a time rule, so they couldn't go until the first girl got back.) This was weird as the restrooms were about three doors down from the classroom.

Finally the girl returned about twenty minutes later.

Whenever a student takes forever, I note it. Some students use it as an excuse to roam campus, and they can get into all sorts of mischief (vandalism, disturbing other classes, meeting up with friends, or meeting up with boyfriend/girlfriend to do things they shouldn't).

However, this time the girl immediately apologized for taking her time. She explained.

Apparently, there's been "an issue", and she was afraid she'd get "jumped" in the restroom, so for safety, she had gone to the health office to use the restroom there. The health office was on the complete other side of campus.

There have been a lot of fights on campus lately. I can't fault her for looking after her own safety.

Although, she could have asked for a health office pass. I never refuse those.

Ah well. At least I know where she'd gotten herself to.

The Hall Pass

Seventh grade history. They had bookwork.

It was second period. A student grabbed a huge trophy and headed for the door...

Wha???

"That's our hall pass," another student informed me.

The thing was massive...

I've covered this teacher's classes before. There used to be something way more reasonable. I recall a shoe.

"Someone lost the last pass, so now this is what we use," the student continued the explanation.

Um, okay then...

Once I was up to speed, I found the whole thing rather funny. And totally in the wheelhouse for this teacher. In fact, the trophy says it's a hall pass...

(The sticky note was my addition as I don't reveal real names on the blog.)

So, for the rest of the day, when a student asked to use the restroom, they wrestled this unwieldy thing out the door (the closed door, which is hard to open while lugging this), and then returned in a similar manner. The thing is taller than most of the kiddos!

There is a certain genius to this. They can't go gallivanting around campus with this behemoth in tow. And it's not like it's going to get misplaced.

I may have to tell other teachers this idea.

Generally, when kiddos ask to leave class, we write them a pass on a specific official pass paper. Some teachers have created reusable options so they don't have to continually write them. They are generally small enough to be easily carried. (Some teachers have a sense of humor about it. One teacher has a toilet seat. Another has them carry a toilet brush.) This trophy was unusual enough to merit a blog mention.

Pouting

Special ed. U.S. history. Fifth period. They had terms to define.

"May I use the restroom?"

The teacher had given me a list of "no go" students. They had "abused her trust" and had therefore lost out-of-class privileges. So, when the boy asked the question and I heard rumblings of "you're not allowed to go", I made sure to double check the list.

Yep, he was one of the three.

Oh, he was incensed. Angry at the others for ratting him out.

"It's not them," I told him. "Your teacher left me a list, and you're on it."

Oh he argued. And whined. And begged. But it sounded to me like he probably left the room and didn't return for half the period. I've had those issues. I'll trust the teacher on this one.

I got class started, and then I walked the room. The boy had his head down on his desk. I tried to get his attention, but he wouldn't budge.

He was pouting.

Okay, fine. I could let his teacher know this.

A bit later, he asked me if he could leave the room. This time he wanted water. He was thirsty, and he couldn't work because he was thirsty.

So, which was it? Did he need to use the restroom, or was he thirsty? And before you say both...

When I told him he couldn't leave, he said he thought he could only not leave for the restroom. He thought a water break would be permissible.

Sigh.

I let his teacher know all of this. Perhaps she'll have a conversation with him.

The Troublemaker

On Thursday, Caleb stormed into the classroom, bellowing that I had "gotten him in trouble" as he thunked into his seat.

I attempted to explain that all I had done was to report what he had done, and he was the one who had gotten himself into trouble. I say "attempted" because Caleb wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise.

Sigh.

I'm not sure why he was surprised. Or angry. Because, seriously, he should have known.

On Wednesday, I was covering the math class at the continuation high school. (On Thursday I covered the computer literacy class at the same school, hence seeing Caleb again.) Caleb was in 3rd period. 3rd period is right after they have a 15 minute snack break.

The school has a fairly liberal restroom pass policy. The only restriction is that they're not supposed to go for the first or last 10 minutes of class.

Caleb walked into 3rd period just about at the bell. He insisted that he had to use the restroom right then. I told him he could go in 10 minutes.

Oh no. This was not going to work for him. He had to go right now.

If it was such a dire emergency, why didn't he go during snack? He had a full 15 minutes.

He was "busy" he said. Well, if he was busy, he clearly didn't need to go that badly. Then it turned into he didn't need to go during snack. My response was the same. (Or it might have been the other way around. Either way, the story changed as I questioned him on it.)

Caleb... Yeah, Caleb doesn't back down. He's one of those students who... I don't know how to describe him. But I've dealt with him quite a bit, so I knew it was going to be 10 minutes of arguing, and I just wasn't in the mood.

I informed Caleb that I'd let him go, but I was going to let Mr. F know what had transpired. He said he was okay with that.

Mr. F, the math teacher, is one of the strict ones. And they all know this. I knew that writing down this incident would result in a consequence for Caleb. He should have known it too.

So, when he stormed into the classroom the next day, I wasn't sure what the problem was. He had agreed that Mr. F would be informed. So, really, he should have known.

(Before I get comments about restricting restroom usage, if it's clear it's an emergency I wouldn't have hesitated to let him go. This was more a case of a failure to plan as he had just had a break.)

Lost Pass

It was the very end of the day in the science class at the continuation high school. A student returned from the restroom.

"Pass." I held out my hand.

The boy looked at the floor. "I lost it."

He had been gone a reasonable length of time. It wasn't a long distance. The passes are the size of a half sheet of paper and are laminated. How...?

The explanation was detailed, but it didn't make any sense to me. Something about it getting stuck in some sort of crack and he couldn't get it back out.

"Oooh! You're going to get in trouble..."

I hardly thought so. But the rest of the class enjoyed the idea.

I noted it in the note (so the teacher knew why his restroom pass was missing). Then, due diligence and all, I notified the office as I checked out for the day.

The secretary got out the walkie-talkie to call the school's custodian... (Walkie-talkies are issued to staff that don't stay in one place very long: the principal, the counselor, the custodian, security, etc.) Partly to see if he could retrieve it. (He couldn't. He couldn't find it.) But mostly, to share the funny with those within walkie-talkie range.

Because...pretty funny.

Forewarned

Sorry, Jeanne. I know how you hate it when I have to deny restroom passes... 

You know you're going to have issues when this is in the lesson plan:

Keep an eye on these guys--a lot of class clowns (mostly boys). THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RESTROOM PRIVILEGES. If anyone asks, keep their cell phone, and if they are gone more than 4 minutes, PLEASE let me know because they will lose bathroom privileges until May if they take advantage of you. I'm not kidding... 

And this was for a class of seniors. Uh oh.

So, when I've barely started my opening remarks, and I get in hand in the air from one of the students listed as a restroom pass abuser, and he's asking for a pass...

Yeah, I just called a moratorium on all restroom passes. Because really. With a warning like that, it was going to get ugly. And this class was right after lunch, so it wasn't like they didn't have a chance to go before they got there.

I braced for the deluge anyway. I was sure someone was going to "have to go" or have "an emergency". (I can't know for sure, and I would have totally let them go in that instance.) But not a one of them asked after I made my blanket statement.

I think I dodged a bullet. Or I was very, very lucky.

The Missing Student

A couple weeks ago now, I covered an interesting 8th grade science class for two days. There were just too many stories to not share...  

Perhaps I was just irritable. Perhaps I was being unfair. I don't know. You tell me.

Brian asked for and was granted a restroom pass on Tuesday. I usually don't notice how long someone is gone. But once ten minutes passes, I start to wonder. And when a student is gone over a half hour, only returning at the end of the period to collect his stuff...

Wednesday he called me over. He asked me how to set up Tuesday's assignment...

On Tuesday they had a "foldable". They folded a sheet of paper "hot dog style", cut it so it had three flaps, and then put specific information on each part of the project. All of this was explained in the handout they'd been given. It was written on the board. There was an example they could look at. And I explained everything at the beginning of the period on Tuesday.

Brian didn't leave class until after I had completed my instructions. Plus, he was in class at least ten minutes after.

But on Wednesday I saw that Brian had done none of the foldable the previous day.

How come he'd done nothing? Why did he ditch class on Tuesday? Where did he go? I wasn't much in a mood to explain the assignment to a student who had been in class. (The three students who had been absent--I had no problem explaining the assignment to them.)

Brian didn't get why I was upset. He told me he hadn't been feeling well.

So, why didn't he ask to go to the health office? I totally would have understood that (and not kept other students from the restroom waiting for him to get back).

"What help would they be?" Nope, sitting in the restroom for most of the period was better. Apparently.

The way Brian looked at me, he thought I was being unreasonable. *shakes head*

Broken Record

Today's #ThrowbackThursday isn't all that old--it's just from October 1, 2014. There was a comment on last week's repost that made me think of this one. Because when the kiddos are super annoying, I know I have something to blog about. 

Eduardo caught my attention early. By the third time he left his seat in the back far corner of the room to throw away another sheet of paper, I knew he was one I was going to have to keep an eye on. But when he asked to use the restroom, I had no problem in letting him go.

I have a pretty liberal restroom pass policy (so long as the teacher has not put the kibosh on passes by stating "no passes" in the lesson plan). I let anyone go. One at a time. Once per period. (And I write down their names.) Most students are okay with this.

Eduardo returned in good time. He went back to his seat.

Not long after this, Eduardo returned to the front seeking hand sanitizer. I looked. The teacher didn't have any.

Eduardo then asked for another restroom pass. To wash his hands. Because he had gotten pencil dust on them? Something like that. His hands looked fine to me. I offered him a tissue. But that wasn't what he wanted.

I explained that he had used his one pass for the class. It wasn't that long until the end of the period. And his hands weren't filthy. He'd be fine.

He didn't see it that way.

He proceeded to ask me to use the restroom. I said no. Then he asked again. And again. And again. It was as annoying as you'd imagine.

In the midst of this, another student approached and asked to use the restroom. I let her go.

He was incensed. How could I let her go? Well, she hadn't gone once before this.

And now I had a second reason he couldn't go. Someone else was out of the room.

Finally, he relented. He'd give me five minutes to "reconsider". Then he'd return.

Five minutes passed, and he did indeed return. This time with his "lawyer". This other student didn't say anything. I think he kind of enjoyed the show. I know the students sitting nearby were getting a kick out of it.

Eduardo started the, "Can I go?" again. After two nos, I stopped answering. He wasn't listening anyway.

Just when I thought I'd spend the rest of the period hearing the question (and Eduardo doesn't know me very well if he thought he'd actually wear me down with this), another student returned to class.

This other student had been called out of class at the beginning of the period. When Eduardo saw him, he said, "Never mind," and instantly went back to his desk.

"Oh good. You made dumb and dumber leave."

This came from a girl seated nearby. The comment was so perfect. I burst into laughter. Which startled the girl.

She asked me about how annoying the boy had been. He annoyed her and several of her seatmates. I explained that such things are just fodder for the blog, and I kind of enjoy them in the moment because of this.

I swear, some days this blog writes itself.

The student who returned to class, ending my torment, is actually a student I encountered quite a lot last year. Great kid. Not sure why he stopped Eduardo. I should give him a pseudonym and write about him, but he hasn't done anything blog-worthy. Maybe he will next year--he'll be a senior.