One of the biggest struggles for some teachers is when students want to leave the classroom frequently. Not only do the students miss vital information in your lessons, but it also disrupts the class and the small fraction of time you get to teach your subject.
To combat this, many schools issue rules and regulations regarding hall passes. For example, my high school didn’t allow students to use the bathroom during the first 10 minutes of the class, and the last 10 minutes of the class (the bathrooms would literally close in-between periods). While other schools put other policies in place, one teacher is now under investigation for a rather harsh hall pass policy she handed out in her class.
Shared by a concerned mother on Facebook, the hall pass policy apparently limited students to only leaving the classroom twice a month. The teacher, who was identified as Mrs. White at Aspire Hanley Middle School, wrote in the “contract” that the students could only use the pass twice during her class time–which, included multiple periods. Not only did the hall pass limit students from using the bathroom, it also limited their ability to see the nurse, get water, or speak to an administration member.
Parents were outraged after seeing the post on Facebook, and the mother who shared it on social media decided to go down to the school and speak to the administration, who claim they had no idea this policy was being implemented. Since the post went viral and several parents complained, the school district’s Superintendent, Dr. Nickalous Manning, said in a statement:
“Today we were notified that one of our teachers at Aspire Hanley Middle School allegedly issued an agreement between students and the teacher around permission for restricted bathroom, water and nurse visit privileges. Our staff is currently investigating the claim at this time. We want our scholars and parents to know that our focus will always be on the wellbeing of our scholars and we take every allegation seriously.”
h/t: LocalMemphis.com.