Poll of the Day > Attn: My female students

(+) Yeah! (+)

I do not, ever, want to hear about your periods. Like, no need to mention that your getting feminine stuff out of your backpack. I literally do not care what you're getting out of your backpack.


Now, with that being said, I do have a question about periods. This girl in my class has been asking to go to the bathroom almost everyday in my class. She says it's because of female problems.

Today I told her to do whatever she needs to do before coming into my class, which she did (well, she went into the restroom).

During class, she asked to go to the restroom again to change her pad. I told her no. Like, there's no conceivable way that she bled that much in like 30 minutes, right?

green dragon posted...

Like, there's no conceivable way that she bled that much in like 30 minutes, right?

dont give them the chance to be right man

this is how they getcha
---

Not even in English class where they must be grammatically correct?

Be very careful.
---

TheWorstPoster posted...

Not even in English class where they must be grammatically correct?

I'm a science teacher.

TheWorstPoster posted...

Not even in English class where they must be grammatically correct?

I'm just trying to make sure I'm not gonna get yeld at by her mom or something

SunWuKung420 posted...

Be very careful.

What?

green dragon posted...

I'm a science teacher.

You could teach them the science of stringing words together!

green dragon posted...

During class, she asked to go to the restroom again to change her pad. I told her no. Like, there's no conceivable way that she bled that much in like 30 minutes, right?

The general rule of the thumb is to assume they are trying to pull a fast one unless they have a medical problem and a doctors note would be provided for that so you would already be aware. I mean it's just this one girl right? So if this was a common issue you would have more girls doing the same thing.
---

Well yeah, I think I did the right thing, but maybe she's a heavy bleeder? I don't know.

green dragon posted...

SunWuKung420 posted...

Be very careful.

What?

yeah you want to be careful denying girls the right to go to the bathroom if they say it's because of their period

you don't want to end up actually denying one bathroom use when it's legit and then she bleeds through her pants and you end up in the news because of a crusading mom
---

Ok, see that's what I was worried about, but I told her to go before class, plus she has been saying this for maybe a week. I do give out bathroom passes, and she's already burned through all of hers.

She has lunch right before this class, and I've told her to do what she needs to before class.

So, I assume secondary school?
---

Nichtcrawler X posted...

So, I assume secondary school?

Yes

While kids do like to pull fast ones, I think you should err on the side of caution here.

Menorrhagia causes extremely heavy menstrual bleeding. The bleeding is heavy enough to soak through one or more sanitary pad or tampon every half-hour for several hours. You may need to change your pad during the night. Your menstrual flow may contain large blood clots. Your periods may last longer than seven days or be irregular. You may experience constant pain in your lower abdomen during your periods. Substantial blood loss may lead to anemia. Symptoms of anemia include feeling tired, shortness of breath, and a pale complexion.

---

green dragon posted...

Nichtcrawler X posted...

So, I assume secondary school?

Yes

So tell her to get her "female problems" acknowledged by whichever school authority that handles such stuff. Getting special clearance would also mean she gets to go without asking, meaning she no longer has to disturb your class.
---

there's no girls on this site
---

Guide posted...

While kids do like to pull fast ones, I think you should err on the side of caution here.

Menorrhagia causes extremely heavy menstrual bleeding. The bleeding is heavy enough to soak through one or more sanitary pad or tampon every half-hour for several hours. You may need to change your pad during the night. Your menstrual flow may contain large blood clots. Your periods may last longer than seven days or be irregular. You may experience constant pain in your lower abdomen during your periods. Substantial blood loss may lead to anemia. Symptoms of anemia include feeling tired, shortness of breath, and a pale complexion.

Freaking, crazy. Never knew that, but I dought she has any medical issues. This has been going o. For awhile. She says she gets her pads from the nurse, and the nurse would've said something to the teachers. This girl shows a lot of avoidance behaviors in class when it comes to getting work done.

Idk, maybe she doesn't have enough time or something. I remember everytime I tried to change it, I was late to class and too embarrassed to explain.
It changes with some girls, but maybe she really does need to. Have you asked the other teachers who have her? If it's just your class I'd be suspicious.
---

I usually have to take a piss or shit not long after eating, sorry your shit happens to be after a lunch period but you should take in to account for the increase in bathroom breaks.

dedbus posted...

I usually have to take a piss or shit not long after eating

Then go at lunch or passing period? If you have to go not too long after eating, it shouldn't be a problem

It's possible she's not telling much to the nurse. Like, you can't talk to her about it directly, obviously, but maybe you could ask the nurse.
---

Time management is hard.
---

green dragon posted...

dedbus posted...

I usually have to take a piss or shit not long after eating

Then go at lunch or passing period? If you have to go not too long after eating, it shouldn't be a problem

idk about your school but we had 4 minutes between classes

sure she could go at lunch but it's possible if she does have a really heavy flow she does change it at lunch and still may need to in your class.
---

Yuppers, girl here, and school teacher (but of the 4th grade).

I'm guessing you are a male teacher. If she is middle school, she might be insecure about these things and scared to have a problem. If it has been going on, like you said, for a number of days, can you go to the school nurse and talk to her and have her talk to the student and/or her mom. She might have some misunderstandings of stuff and she might feel uncomfortable using the ladies room in between classes when there are others in there. It's a hard call. Just remember to be kind/concerned and not make her feel uncomfortable.

We (us girls) all handle girl stuff differently. Some have heavy menses and some very light menses. Some have cramps and some don't. I'm wondering if she is doing this in other classes and what about phys ed?

You're in a tough spot and male to boot. Just go to the school nurse, or your next higher up. Ask for advice.

Jen0125 posted...

idk about your school but we had 4 minutes between classes

sure she could go at lunch but it's possible if she does have a really heavy flow she does change it at lunch and still may need to in your class

We only have three minutes, but I told her that if she goes before class, and she's a little bit late to class, I won't count her tardy. We have a rule where students are not allowed to leave class within the first ten minutes of class, so I let her go during that time. No students (beside her) are in the restroom. I'm thinking she's meeting friends in the restroom, which is why she wants to leave in the middle of class.

I totally think that 3 minute passing periods is freaking ridiculously short.


mipond posted...

I'm guessing you are a male teacher. If she is middle school, she might be insecure about these things and scared to have a problem

Yeah, you might be right. I'll ask a higher up

yeah i'd talk to the nurse and have the nurse talk to the principal. have the nurse call her down to the office to talk to her about her period privately and see if she actually needs special accommodations. if she doesn't, then she'll need to follow the bathroom guidelines like everyone else.

if the talk from the nurse doesn't deter her from abusing bathroom privileges you'll need to escalate it. that would be embarrassing enough for most people if they didn't really have a period problem lmao if she really does have a period problem it'll help her be more discrete about the issue and get everyone on the same page so you'll stop making a big deal about it and let her get on with her life
---

SunWuKung420 posted...

Be very careful.

Yeah. I'm a female and former teacher and I was told you can't tell a girl no when she says she has feminine problems. Even if the girl was crude enough to announce it out loud in class ( which many did as if it was funny and they wanted a reaction) we could not discuss it with them, just let them go.

Denying them from going can come back to get you.

I'd talk to the nurse, counselor and/or the principal just so they knew she was putting you in a bind. That way if she is skipping class and gets caught they will know why you let her leave.

SunWuKung420 posted...

Be very careful.

very fucking careful.
---

Damn, 3 minutes is way too short.
I guess it's possible she's overestimating how often she needs to change it, because I was like that when I was getting used to it.
---

Even if she's just going to the bathroom who cares
---

Clench281 posted...

Even if she's just going to the bathroom who cares

found the highschooler
---

Clench281 posted...

Even if she's just going to the bathroom who cares

The school? Kids do other things in the bathroom than just use the bathroom

And you have no way of knowing whether or not she actually has to use the bathroom, and you can't just refuse restroom access
---

Clench281 posted...

you can't just refuse restroom access

If a pupil is deliberately disrupting lessons by constantly going to the bogs without a medical note you can remove them from the class though.
---

...or just give her the benefit of doubt in that she isn't trying to mess with you or disrupt class.

Clench281 posted...

you can't just refuse restroom access

It's a good thing I didn't do that

Periods are modable mmkay?
---

I'm a junior and senior high school teacher. If a girl asks to go to the bathroom, I absolutely never say no, and I also definitely don't ask why.

...unless it's really, REALLY obvious they're just trying to skip a bit of class. But even then you have to be careful.
---

faramir77 posted...

I'm a junior and senior high school teacher. If a girl asks to go to the bathroom, I absolutely never say no, and I also definitely don't ask why.

I can just imagine one girl after the other leaving your class just because they get a free pass.

---

faramir77 posted...

I'm a junior and senior high school teacher. If a girl asks to go to the bathroom, I absolutely never say no, and I also definitely don't ask why.

...unless it's really, REALLY obvious they're just trying to skip a bit of class. But even then you have to be careful.

at my old school, i never turned down bathroom request, and it was never a problem.
i'll be honest with you, the new school i work at is kinda in a bad town. not saying that the kids are bad, but there is a lot of gang activity around here (the gangs start recruiting 6th graders). we have certain rules at school. we have to keep all classroom doors locked.

the thing is though that all of the other teachers do bathroom passes the same way i'm currently doing it. So i kinda jumped on board and did what they're doing. normally i would give my students as many bathroom passes as they would need.

maybe i was a bit too hard on here today. I can only learn from my mistakes. we will see what happens tomorrow

wwinterj25 posted...

faramir77 posted...

I'm a junior and senior high school teacher. If a girl asks to go to the bathroom, I absolutely never say no, and I also definitely don't ask why.

I can just imagine one girl after the other leaving your class just because they get a free pass.

Doesn't actually happen too often. Only a few times have I had to intercept students on their way back and they're usually honest about it.

I'm pretty lax on breaks from class, too. If a kid just needs a drink from the fountain, unless we're about to learn something critical I usually let them. Leaving class doesn't seem as appealing when there's an open door for some reason.

I suppose that it helps that I work at a small school. I'd be stricter if it were a large school where I knew a lot of kids had spares or something.
---

faramir77 posted...

. Leaving class doesn't seem as appealing when there's an open door for some reason.

100% true like i said, this school has a closed door policy. my other school did not and I have never had a problem with bathroom passes (once and a while we had to do a sign in/out sheet when the bathrooms would get vandalized).

Wow back in my day we had 15 minute breaks between classes. Allowed for proper smoke breaks.
I usually went to the cafeteria and had a snack, or went to the bathroom for a huge dump ;-)
---

Let the girl go to the bathroom man

Fuck
---

*doesn't read rest of the topic*

From what I hear about my friends who teach high school... You pretty much never deny a girl who asks to go to the washroom, and you never question it whatsoever. Just let them go.
---

SinisterSlay posted...

Wow back in my day we had 15 minute breaks between classes. Allowed for proper smoke breaks.
I usually went to the cafeteria and had a snack, or went to the bathroom for a huge dump ;-)

For some reason I'm glad that I never in my school life had to to a dump there.
---

Your best bet in the Facebook justice age is to just let her go. But I will say I had a girl that i was friends with in a high school web design class that straight up told me she would use it as an excuse to get out of class. She used it constantly and would stay gone for long periods of time

If you suspect she is just trying to avoid class, you should ask the nurse about it. You might also ask her to see a doctor and see if she can get a doctor's note.

In jr. high, we had 4 minutes to change classes, and in high school, we had 6 minutes. It usually wasn't enough time for anything unless the classrooms were close together, and if the bathrooms and your locker happen to be along the way. Even worse, there were often lines in the bathroom, so we had to wait, wasting more time.

I was always afraid of missing classes or being tardy. There were times when I had to ask for a bathroom pass in class, and would feel guilty about it because missing class, even a few minutes of it means I'm irresponsible.
---

wwinterj25 posted...

faramir77 posted...

I'm a junior and senior high school teacher. If a girl asks to go to the bathroom, I absolutely never say no, and I also definitely don't ask why.

I can just imagine one girl after the other leaving your class just because they get a free pass.

lol is that the game lemmings? almost forgot that game existed. idk why I thought it was fun as a kid.
---