Parents, be aware of bad teachers.

[footballtim]

I think that one of the things that parents need to be proactive in is making sure that their child is not having any problems with their teachers.

One day when I was in a relationship with a woman who had two children, the 7 year old girl had a bad experience with a teacher in school.

The child had bladder problems, and after using the restroom, she asked to go again about 1/2 hour later. The teacher (an older woman) made an extremely snide joke and told her no.

The child ended up going in her pants right there in class. The mother did not tell me this when it happened, because she knew that unlike her, I would have lost my temper.

 

[tommymac]

Probably good that she didn't tell you if you were going to lose your tempter over something like this. Why wouldn't you simply arrange a meeting between yourselves, the teacher and the school administrator? That you weren't told specifically because of your tempter should speak volumes to you.

While I don't agree with the teacher's methods, you must surely see that a child going to the bathroom at half hour intervals is, at the very least, a tad suspicious. It's a fine line. You don't want to use bathroom privileges as a weapon, but you also don't want kids to go to the bathroom at every whim. You don't mention if the teacher was aware of the child's condition. That certainly would have helped.

 

[polamalu43]

I agree 100% with this one. You have to pay attention to your kids behavior once they start school. They might not tell you they are having problems but their actions should show it. If your child complains of a teacher you should go in and talk with the teacher.

 

[Bear]

I would have been very angry as well, and I would have handled the situation. Yes, there is a fine line between a child wanting to get out of the classroom and a true need, but regardless a snide comment in front of the class is unnecessary and unprofessional. I would definitely have had the teacher called to the principal's office to explain to the principal and myself while she felt it was necessary to publicly degrade my child.

 

[tommymac]

I would have been very angry as well, and I would have handled the situation. Yes, there is a fine line between a child wanting to get out of the classroom and a true need, but regardless a snide comment in front of the class is unnecessary and unprofessional. I would definitely have had the teacher called to the principal's office to explain to the principal and myself while she felt it was necessary to publicly degrade my child.

There's a very fine line here and I would be very leery about judging this story based on what little information we have been given. I see two sides to this story and we're not being given a lot of information to go on.

Let's also recall that the OP was not the child's father or step-father. He was just in a relationship with the mother.

 

[Miller]

Teachers must establish their rules, and a strict one doesn't necessarily mean she's a bad teacher. In this case, a note from home stating the problem could help prevent the problem. I've seen the opposite true, where students are using the classroom like a revolving door. Heck, in high school two students were caught having intercourse in the restroom because they both left class on bathroom breaks. The age of the child comes into play, of course.

 

[Victor]

I feel some sympathy for the teacher as well. The parents apparently did not make her aware of the bladder issue; if they had, the teacher would've handled it differently. It probably looked pretty suspicious to her.

The snide comment was uncalled for, though, and I feel terrible for the girl.

 

[tommymac]

The snide comment was uncalled for, though, and I feel terrible for the girl.

Sorta depends on the snide joke, though. I know a guy who freaked out because a teacher told his son to "wake up and smell the coffee".

 

[Lorenzo]

My kids had their fair share of "bad" teachers. Bad in a sense that they experienced spanking (when they don't follow instructions) and harsh words (yelling expletives when they are caught talking to a seatmate). We would always ask them how school went, and if they wouldn't tell, their siblings would. Anyway, we were able to talk to these "bad" teachers and straightened things out (one more spanking and name-calling incident, and they are out of that school).

 

[youngone]

I would not tolerate my son being treated in the same way. I would go straight to the school to make a formal complaint. That is really disgraceful behaviour for a teacher. I had experience with a nasty teacher when I was in primary school.

 

[tommymac]

I would not tolerate my son being treated in the same way. I would go straight to the school to make a formal complaint.

Re-read the original post. The author is not the parent of the child nor is he the step-parent. He's merely dating the child's mother. He can't make a formal complaint.

 

[Andersson]

Sorry but I am kind of against the idea of sending a note in, what happens if its a random case where the child has to go? I had this issue in high school when we were still allowed to leave campus for lunch. After a very large drink sometimes you just have to go.

I have always advised my kids to get up and go even if the teacher refuses. I would rather deal with the aftermath of a PT conference than have my kid end up with issues like bladder control due to "holding it" for too long. And for what its worth, in our area if you are "dating" you have no say, but being a "step-parent" (married) means you do.

 

[Bryant]

This is really sad for the little girl because I am sure she was quite embarrassed and kids being kids will of course pick on her and call her names for it. The whole thing could have been avoided had the teacher just permitted the child to o to the restroom. Yes, the parents should have informed the teacher of the problem, but the snide comment was uncalled for and I would have reported it.