A schoolwide schedule change is coming after Christmas break, and that means we're redoing our bathroom schedules.
I'm faced with a conundrum. I either have three hours between bathroom breaks (right BEFORE lunch and right AFTER recess), or I can add one exactly one hour before the post-recess break. Three hours seems too long, but one hour seems like there's not enough time.
We are required to do whole-group bathroom breaks, and they really want us to limit the number of students outside of class. I have to keep the two already scheduled where they are. There are no other available times. It's either the one hour gap or three hour gap.
I teach self-contained sixth grade, and we are fully in-person.
*When someone reads this in ten years, I'm writing this amid COVID. Lol*
How long have they waited between breaks thus far? How are they handling it? Do you have a lot of people needing to use bathrooms individually outside of the breaks? Do you have time to schedule one sooner than the 3 hours, or will it take away from too much academic time? Do your students drink a lot of water during the day (considering it's probably their excuse to take their mask off?). All things to think about.
Right now our breaks are about every two hours, and it seems about right. Note that I am not asking if we should go to the bathroom every hour. Lol. This is just an instance where I'm trying to figure out if I should add ONE additional bathroom break.
With it there is a 2 hour break between breaks one and two, two hours between two and three, and one hour between three and four. Lunch ends about 1.5 hours before break three.
Without it, there would be two hours between breaks one and two, and three hours between breaks two and three. Lunch AND recess fall between breaks two and three. Lunch was 2.5 hours before break three.
Do you feel your kids need an additional one? Are there several who need to go to the bathroom past the breaks you give them? If so, I'd consider adding a break. If not, don't.
I'd also consider that if you schedule another bathroom break, that's some instructional time wasted. Do you have the time to do that?
I would start out with the extra one since there is a new schedule, then fade it out over time.
Our school is a middle school on a bell schedule. They have 2 built in bathroom and mask breaks in P.E. and lunch. They do not permit us to allow students to leave the room otherwise. In emergencies, we have to call the office for permission.
I don’t love it, but I understand it. As far as I know, it’s not been complained about.
I have three breaks right now, which is normal, but I don't CURRENTLY have any breaks with more than 2 hours and 15 minutes between them. I HAVE to change the times, so I am now going to have a three hour span between two of the breaks, and that seems long. Maybe I'll do like was suggested and cut out the extra break later?
> 
12-01-2020, 03:52 PM
