Can I go to the bathroom, please?

First, let me start by saying I love my job. I really do. Teaching is an incredible passion of mine, and I feel truly blessed to have found a job which is both fulfilling and rewarding. I look forward to work each day, and I know that is rare. My students are a joy, but...and you knew there was a big old but coming, right?

Children these days do NOT know when to use the restroom. They simply don't go when they need to. Every single period, I have at least three or four (boys & girls) come up and ask to use the restroom. There is no remorse, no emergency, no excuse. They just wait until they are in class to ask. And, I've tried everything. Some of my co-workers penalize students for repeated bathroom break requests in class, but that's difficult to keep track of without wasting valuable time. I've pleaded with them as a whole to use their passing period and break times to take care of "business", but there is no improvement.

I also feel the need to say I'm not stupid. I know that a lot of the time the students are just looking for an excuse to get out of the classroom and walk around for a minute, but the difficult part is, I have no idea when that's the case. I can't very well deny a student because I suspect they are not really going to pee their pants any minute. That will be the one time the kid goes home and tells their parents I "tortured" them in third period.

The moral of the story...when in college pursuing your teaching credentials, look for that course I plan to create someday entitled "Why teaching will just result in you excusing students to the restroom all day."

If you teach and have a solution, I am yours for life.