Classroom rules are natural within a school environment. Nevertheless, the stance on bathroom rules may take it too far. Many teachers hand you a pass every six weeks that is specifically for using the bathroom during class. You may think that’s reasonable, but then you look down at the pass and you see that you’re only allowed to go either one or two times per six weeks.

This is unreasonable because one can’t just simply suppress their bathroom urges. If they have to go, then they have to go. Teachers may think that keeping a student in class will benefit them more than leaving to go to the bathroom. However, this isn’t the case.

Countless times when a student finds themselves in this situation during class, they end up staring at the clock every five minutes hoping class is over and doing that embarrassing leg dance under the desk. This hinders their ability to productively pay attention in class whether they’re listening to the teacher or working on classwork. Distracting students further, multiple teachers keep their classrooms incredibly cold which just adds on to their desperate need to go to the bathroom.

Teachers might tell students to go before or after class, but students can’t schedule when they have to go to the bathroom. Between passing periods, there’s six minutes available to go from one class to another, and if needed, to use the restroom. However, if a student has back-to-back classes on opposite sides of the building, six minutes isn’t enough to get from one class to another, and use the bathroom.

Every student is different. I’m not saying some students deserve special treatment over others to use the bathroom, but when health comes into play, there needs to be some kind of distinction. Some students have health issues which may require them to use the bathroom more often than others. It’s not their fault, and teachers shouldn’t be setting high demands just for something as simple as using the bathroom.

Also, why is it that high school mainly holds these strict rules over the bathroom? I don’t recall ever having bathroom passes in elementary or middle school. And if lack of student trust is the issue, then shouldn’t bathroom passes be implemented in the lower rather than in higher grade levels? As one grows older, so does their level of maturity and trust.

Since high school is a place for older students, there shouldn’t be a huge concern over trivial matters such as using the restroom.