8:36. The bell rings, and it’s passing time. You have 4 minutes to get from one class to the other, and you need to go to the bathroom. The halls are crowded, and you’re making your way through. 8:37. You need to go get something from your locker, for your next class. 8:38. You head to the bathroom, but the stalls are full. 8:39. The minute bell goes off. You hustle to class, so you aren’t late. 8:40. Final bell. You tell the teacher you didn’t have time to use the bathroom, and ask if you can go. The teacher says, “No, you just had passing period.”
WRMS students have already argued against having such short passing periods. Because students are so limited on time, many WRMS students also believe teachers shouldn’t be allowed to say “no” to using the bathroom during class. Porter Hamm, an eighth grader on SWAT, said, “I don’t think they should be allowed to say no to going to the bathroom or getting a drink of water, because it’s your body and you should be able to use it whenever you want.
Many teachers require a ticket/pass to use the bathroom, eighth-grade science teacher Ms. Simms said, “I believe it’s important to have a pass/ticket because the student understands the value that having a ticket affords. It’s like currency. If you manage it well, being able to ‘spend’ it for bathroom usage is usually not a problem. Some school districts use a digital pass, which allows the office to know who is out in the hallways and keeps track with a timer.” One thing with passes, is that not all the teams are allotting students with the same number of passes. For example, Champions students get ten tickets per quarter, and SWAT students get 12 per quarter. Some teachers will give a tardy in lieu of not having a pass, but we feel that is unfair, if we are asking permission, there should not be a penalty.
WRMS will be switching to digital hall passes next year. According to a recent survey, some teachers are supportive of this, while other teachers are not. One teacher said, “In theory, it’s absolutely wonderful. In practice, there’s too much room for error. What if the internet goes down, students don’t charge whatever device they need, teachers don’t understand how to work it, etc. There’s nothing wrong with using a planner and writing a pass in the back of it!” Digital hall passes can also be customizable, so teachers can choose how many times a student is allowed to use a pass to leave the room. This brings back the question of whether students should be limited to going to the bathroom during class. We believe they shouldn’t be.
Teachers need to set boundaries for using the bathroom during class. Yes, we understand that some students use their passes to get out of class, but the students who need to use the bathroom are being penalized for other students’ behavior. Not all students are abusing their time when they leave the room. Seventh grader Dominic Adame said “I use my passes to go to the bathroom or to my locker.”
