5 year olds cleaning bathrooms

[sandnsea]

Now does this prove to some DUers that this country has lost its mind completely?


"To try and teach kids good bathroom habits, parents claim a kindergarten teacher at Edgewater Elementary has been forcing kids to clean the floors, including messes like urine. One angry parent is challenging this policy.

It was during a routine conversation with her son that Amanda Whitenburg realized there was a problem. "I asked him how school was. He told me he hated his teacher, and I got confused and asked him why," says Whitenburg.

Her 5-year-old son said the trouble started at Edgewater Elementary School in Point Place. During a trip to the restroom, he discovered someone had urinated on the kindergarten bathroom floor. When he told his teacher, the boy claims she forced him to go back in and handle the mess. "He stated that his teacher had made him clean up another child's pee. I'm appalled. As a parent, I don't want to send my kid to school to have em clean up pathogens," says Whitenburg."

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=3265198

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. So I guess the kids can pee all over the restroom

now. Let the custodian clean it up. No reason to teach them to be courteous in a public restroom.

What's next? Sharpening their own pencils is too much of a strain?
:sarcasm:

[Goldom]

2. Sharpening pencils can't spread disease.

And at least then they'd be their -own- pencils.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Using a paper towel on the floor

with your foot isn't going to spread any disease. Leaving the pee there might be a bit unhealthy though. I agree this teacher shouldn't make the kids who don't make the mess clean it up. But I also think this is just another petty bad school/bad teacher story.

[Skwmom]

28. Oh really? Have you ever seen a five year old try to

clean up a mess with a paper towel and a foot?

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. Many times

Yes, it's not that difficult for them.

[Horse with no Name]

40. Not to mention the germs that are left on the bottom of his sneakers

from human waste that he tracks back into the classroom and then into his home.
How many little kindergarteners have you seen that sit with their legs crossed and play with their shoes?
It gets on their hands--->then then into their mouths, etc.
Total insanity.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. Then how about a restroom attendant?

A man in a suit and tie handing out hand towels to the children as they walk in? And maybe another guy can set up a sneaker cleaning chair over in the corner, like the ole shoe shiners.

[Horse with no Name]

60. You can be ridiculous all that you want to

It doesn't excuse this.
As far as your notion of freepers here planting all of these anti-public school stories?
How bout the notion that they have planted freeper fundies in the public schools posing as teachers and doing these horrible things to our children? These are REAL stories generating in the schools, not fiction fabricated in the media.
Generally these kids go home and tell their parents--then their parents do usually one of three things:
1. Complain to the school
2. Home school
3. Private school
I don't want to hear the complaints of not enough money--there is ENOUGH money for a janitor. And if the janitor can't clean up the mess--before a child should be made to do it--the only other adult available is THE TEACHER...get her tyrant ass in there to clean it up if she doesn't want to call a janitor. Otherwise close this particular bathroom down until the janitor can get there.
If a school cannot afford to operate then close it down. But I swear to GOD if my child was made to clean up after other children's bathroom accidents, there would be hell to pay.

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Horse with no Name]

75. Sad. n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

126. What I think

is Bush should stop his fucking tax cuts for his wealthy friends and put the money where we need it. Like health care and public school education. Is he deliberately trying to destroy public school? Wait I know the answer already. Of course. He wants to privatize it all. :mad:

[elehhhhna]

141. You said it! Thank you.

[LiberallyInclined]

168. Urine is sterile.

just sayin'...

[dolo amber]

97. I thought urine was sterile...

:shrug:

[Bouncy Ball]

106. When it first comes out, yes, but when it's been sitting

for even a couple of minutes, bacteria are multiplying in the urine. Urine that has been outside of the body for more than just a few minutes is not sterile and the bathroom floor certainly isn't sterile.

[Alaskan Liberal]

135. It's only sterile if you're not infected

A urinary tract infection is germs growing in your urine while it's inside you. Sharing these germs helps them find more suceptable hosts and become more resistant. 5-year-olds do not have the capacity to clean up potentially infectious body fluids. That's why they get tuberculosis (yes, I damned well know what I said) in their urinary tract. 5-year-olds need help learning to whipe their butts appropriately, not training in universal precautions.

I suppose the Molecular Biologist will be pontificating in this thread. I'm done here.

[aePrime]

138. Urine is sterile n/t

[sui generis]

3. five year olds shouldn't be cleaning restrooms

it's not the threat of cleaning them that keeps them from peeing everywhere. Now if some pissy little five year old came in and peed on the teacher, peed on the bathroom walls, and peed on the principal, I think I would bring the PARENTS yes the stupid fucking PARENTS in to clean up the mess. In fact I'm all for public caning of bad parents. :nosarcasm:

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. And if they call the parents and they refuse to come up to school

or don't have a phone or no transportation, what would you recommend then?

[sui generis]

16. behead the child of course

:eyes:

There are better things to do to remedy the situation. Can you prove the kid actually did it and did it intentionally? It's a lazy stupid teacher who would go this route.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Read the article

It says she has been a good teacher for (I think I remember right) 27 years. She is obviously neither lazy nor stupid. Just used bad judgment. But hey let's jump all over her and use this as proof that public schools are BAD places for kids.

[Maru Kitteh]

85. Just because she's been a teacher for 27 years doesn't mean

that she's ever been a good one let alone now. This woman sound like a dried up old witch who hates her job. If we paid our public teachers better we might attract candidates with more sense than this.

What about vomit? Diarrhea? A simple turd? Blood? Where's the line? Should we give the five year olds an illustrated flow chart? Bullshit.

Five year olds are in school to learn how to read and count and why George Bush is an asshole, not to clean up each others bodily fluids and perform janitorial services. I can't believe anyone would EVER think otherwise.

[elehhhhna]

142. Welcome! You are a fine adiition to the DU family! Kudos.

[Maru Kitteh]

164. Thanks !!!! Very kind of you to say ~ :-) ~ n/t

[LostinVA]

103. My 2nd grade teacher taught for 25 years and was a sadist

She did some horribly humiliating stuff to us -- I stuttered for five years because of that bitch. And she won "Teacher of the Year" three times. Jesus.

I am on of the most pro-teacher people on this board, even though I am not a teacher. I have defended teachers over and over again on DU because I think they are overworked, underpaid, and not respected enough. But this has nothing to do with if she's a good or bad teacher.

The kid was made to clean up SOMEONE ELSE'S URINE. I don't care whether or not urine is sterile. What would any of us here do if our boss told us to go clean up a coworker's bathroom mess? Hmmm? So, why are the kids expected to do so and keep their mouths shut about it?

[cpamomfromtexas]

137. I agree some teachers suck

I was diagnosed as slow because the first day of school after the teacher put the alphabet on the board, I asked how to spell the names of the letters of the alphabet. Actually, I believe they came close to saying I was retarded. I actually think she was retarded because that's a pretty advanced question for the first day. I remember that like it was yesterday.

[elehhhhna]

143. My Bro (Computer genius, Berkeley grad) was "diagnosed" as

retarded by his haggy old 1st grade teacher. Ma's still pissed off.

[AgadorSparticus]

173. Same here. I came to this country as a young child and when I transferred

to a school in minnesota, the "educators" labeled me "retarded" because they thought I couldn't speak. And with all the education between the teacher, principle, and asst principle, collectively, they couldn't figure out that I didn't speak english. Scary sad. My dad went in there and raised hell. I was put into an English immersion class and was fluent within 6 months.

But I can't complain too much about that school. My second grade teacher, Mr. Bruce Wilson, played Beatle songs while we painted. It was almost utopia.

[Bouncy Ball]

109. proud I think you are

misdirecting your anger here.

I love public schools and support them TOTALLY. I think good public school teachers should be given fucking MEDALS for what they do.

But there ARE horrible teachers, there ARE horrible principals, horrible schools and you know this just as well as I do. Trying to polish up those turds isn't going to help the profession or public schools any.

I'm not so emotionally invested in public schools that I'm going to defend a teacher who acts in a clearly inappropriate manner, and no matter how you cut it, having a kid clean up someone else's urine is just WRONG.

[FreedomAngel82]

127. I agree

When I was a junior we got a new principle and he wasn't bad but he was lazy sometimes. My mother once worked in the cafeteria and there was a couple kissing in one part of the eating room of the cafeteria. She told the principle and he didn't do a fucking thing about it. I'm at school to learn and not see a couple making out in a public venue such as school even if it is high school. My mother told me when she told the principle he wouldn't do it because "he didn't know them." Duh! You're the fucking principle!

[LiberallyInclined]

169. why not?

at what age should things like responsibility and civic pride start ot be instilled?

[sandnsea]

4. It was another kid's pee

And no, I don't expect 5 year olds to be mopping bathroom floors at school. What the fuck is wrong with people. Days like this, I just don't even know why I bother with this dumbfuck country at all.

[sui generis]

17. right there with you

I'm having a hard time with people defending this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Don't you get it?

I am not defending this. I am just pointing out that constantly posting stories about bad teachers is getting ridiculous here on DU. I would think the average poster here would understand this.

[sui generis]

61. well then your post was out of context

no I didn't get it until you said that this very moment.

not attacking you - don't take it personally. I don't have a problem with public school at all. I think parents need to be more involved in raising their children than the teachers are, as well as responsible for the behavior of their children. Punishing the kid won't fix a bad parent, or keep the problem from continuing to happen in new and more creative ways.

I do worry about overzealous teachers, but I'm also usually pretty un-paranoid until someone has been proven guilty. If someone is taking action without proof though, I would have a problem with that.

- hope that helps, wasn't trying to be a butthead.

[proud2BlibKansan]

79. Thanks

I know I am getting too upset over this as well. It is just getting soooo old. And it is so disappointing to see here on DU.

[Horse with no Name]

80. You ARE defending it .

Don't pretend otherwise.
Just like you defended a 5-year being tortured.
Pathetic.

[readmoreoften]

144. Yes, it was ANOTHER KID'S PEE.

If I saw a strange child urinate on the floor of a public school floor, you're damn straight I wouldn't clean it up as a teacher. So why should a student do it? If your co-worker's kid comes in on 'bring your kid ot work day' and pisses all over the floor, if I'm your boss, is it cool for me to make YOUR kid clean it up?

I didn't think so.

[kiki]

8. If you read the article,

this kid was made to clean up SOMEONE ELSE'S pee.

Sounds like a teacher with aggression issues on a power trip to me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Sounds like a teacher trying to teach her kids

that they are part of a community. We all play a role in making our communities nice places.

Like I said earlier, I don't agree that the kids should be cleaning up other kids' pee, but without stationing a custodian in the restroom 24/7 with a mop, there will be a considerable amount of pee on the floor.

[sandnsea]

21. Then what are you posting about?

Kids shouldn't clean up other kids' pee. You're going on and on... why???

:shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. How many stories in the past week have been posted here

bashing teachers? See my post #19 about freeper tactics.

[sandnsea]

36. I'm not bashing teachers

I'm making a point about a dangerous slide towards accepting abuse. This stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum, it's cultural creep, or something.

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. Have you seen how many of these kinds of stories

have been here on DU lately?

[sandnsea]

46. Kid being handcuffed??

Uly?? That's all I've seen. Sorry.

[bloom]

94. I don't think these stories would end up

with hundreds of posts if there weren't people defending really stupid actions on the part of teachers.

I agree that it is pretty strange if all of sudden in the news it is "bash teacher time" and there are no doubt people in all professions that are doing something stupid.

But nevertheless - I don't think it helps teachers or the perception of teachers to defend basically indefensible acts. And it surely doesn't make the threads go away.

[Bouncy Ball]

110. Proud you are really being silly.

Come on, you WORK in a school. Don't tell me you don't know that what the teacher SHOULD have done is call the office and ask them if the custodian could go down and check the bathroom to see if it's true.

If it is, HE would clean it. The person who has the gloves and the appropriate cleaning materials. You know, THAT person (male or female).

I know you must know that.

[FreedomAngel82]

128. Most schools have at least one custodian

The teacher was out of line to make a child clean up SOMEONE ELSE'S pee. Now the teacher could've asked the child to go and get the custodian but that's outrages and just disgusting.

[notadmblnd]

20. I'm glad I saw you sarcasm icon...

because I was about to let loose on you. I'm telling you.. people are pigs. I'm a 46 yr old female and some of the things I've seen in public restrooms is enough to make a person sick. Women have this wonderful habit (NOT) of pissing all over the toilet (because they're afraid to sit down or cover the seat with paper) and leaving it for the next one. Others seem compelled to display their used feminine hygiene products for everyone else to see.

No, children should not be cleaning urine and feces of another person in bathrooms at school thats what custodians get paid for. The potential for the spread of disease especially at this age, is too great. My son just got over the chicken pox, where he got it is a total mystery to me. School says it is not going around so the only conclusion I can come to is that he picked it up somewhere in a public restroom.

[LostinVA]

44. He shouldn't be cleaning up someone ELSE'S mess

That is not even close to be fair, just forget about whether any five-year-old should be punished for peeing on the floor. They can barely reach the toilet.

[Bouncy Ball]

105. THAT kid didn't pee on the floor.

He merely reported it. Why should he have to clean up the urine of another child? And don't you think that involves health issues?

Tell you what, if you think that's such a great idea, have YOUR kids clean up other kids' urine.

[philosophie_en_rose]

172. Courteous is different than handling human waste.

Forcing little children to swish their foot on a urine soaked towel does not foster altruism. It teaches them that others will be responsible for messes and what's important is that you don't get caught and aren't the one assigned to clean up your own mess.

P.S. to the posts below: Schools in Japan almost universally have custodians. I went to school in Japan and, although there was a team effort to clean, it was not industrial strength cleaning.

[ultraist]

5. A teacher at my kids' old school tried this

She put the kids on bathroom cleaning duty. Each child had to take a turn cleaning the toilets, floor, and sink. Parents found out and were appalled that their children were being forced to clean up other children's mess in the bathroom.

They put a stop to it as it was putting the children at risk for very unsanitary conditions, thus illness. Additionally, most children didn't pee on the floor or seat but were being punished for the acts of a few.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. In Japan

the kids do all the custodial duties. They have no janitorial staff in their schools. They also have no kitchen staff; the kids prepare lunch every day.

[sandnsea]

18. Let's see

"In Japan, schools have "cleaning time" built into the schedule, where the kids (and occasionally the teachers too) do a campus wide cleaning. It usually lasts about 15 minutes, and takes place either after lunch, or after school. It's an admirable thought, but kids are, after all, kids, so mostly they end up swinging brooms around and pushing dirt into places where you can't easily see it."

http://outpostnine.com/editorials/teacher33.html

I don't recall a classroom where my kids weren't required to pick up their own things and straighten the room. It just wasn't hyped into "cleaning time".

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. And I'll bet the kids in Japan

don't pee all over the floors and the walls in the school restrooms.

[sandnsea]

38. Do you read???

They DON'T CLEAN THEM!!! It's a 15 minute classroom clean-up. They don't even work hard at it. It instills the idea of responsibility, it's NOT slave labor.

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Then who cleans them?

Last time I read anything about this, I learned they have NO custodians in Japanese schools. The children DO IT ALL.

[sandnsea]

51. The first hand report

doesn't concur. I guess they have...gasp...custodians. :eyes: Duh. Anybody who has had kids knows you have to clean up after they clean up; to some extent.

[proud2BlibKansan]

57. Uh, no they don't

The kids are in charge of cleaning the school. I have read and studied this for years now. It shocked me the first time I heard it.

[sandnsea]

70. Okay, she's a liar

The woman who wrote the first hand report. Got it.

You know better because you read reports that sound different in writing than they are in practice.

[proud2BlibKansan]

77. I also have a friend who lived in Japan

and taught music there. No custodians. Maybe some schools have them and some don't.

[sandnsea]

78. Oh so do I

A friend of my daughter's just got back from Japan. 5 year olds don't mop the bathroom floors.

[proud2BlibKansan]

81. Maybe the older kids do that

What I have been told is that each class takes turns doing various duties around the school on a rotating schedule.

[sandnsea]

88. Most likely

5 year olds, I mean seriously. If you were remotely concerned about sanitation, would you not have somebody older than a 5 year old clean a bathroom?

[proud2BlibKansan]

125. I would prefer the kids not have janitorial duties

I think they come to school to learn, not to clean. But I also see nothing wrong with asking them to pick up after themselves or to help keep the school neat, orderly and clean.

[LostinVA]

107. A friend of mine (American) taught in Japanese schools for 5 yrs.

Middle schools. I emailed him earlier. He said he taught at 17 different schools over those years (he "traveled" around some), and they all had custodians. The kids kept their classroom clean (they stayed in the same room all day), and four times a year had a "community cleanup" where they picked up trash, etc. And, they did NOT cook their own food. Lunch ladies cooked the food, gave the kids the food in pots, etc., and the teacher ladled out the food in the classroom. Then, they all cleaned the dishes up. It was part of their lunchtime.

He taught there from 1996-2002, in a rural/farming area.

[bpilgrim]

120. they miss too

and their's don't have seats.


peace

[bpilgrim]

119. not entirely true

all the schools i worked at had kitchen staff though students did clean the class room and heads but these were HS's in OSAKA.

i'll have to ask my wife about k-elementary school.

but i would have a problem with my children (k-elem) working in the heads no matter where i lived.

peace

[Straight Shooter]

6. Now that's the way to make a 5-year-old appreciate authority figures.

Not. x(

[SmokingJacket]

7. Lunacy. BUT...

ask yourself: why is this a news story?

I mean, I agree, 5 year olds should not have to clean up other kids' pee. The teacher has a screw loose somewhere. But I would argue that schools and teachers are no crazier than they have ever been - are probably less crazy (I had a teacher with two different paddles, one that was more painful than the other) -- but that the number of news stories about crazy schools has exploded recently. Certainly a bad teacher wouldn't make the news in the old days; he or she would just be reprimanded and possibly fired.

Seems to me there is a hidden agenda behind all these "look how crazy our public schools are" stories: to undermine the public's faith in them.

[ultraist]

14. Maybe it's an increase in awareness...

that is causing such stories to get into the news. OR, maybe we are regressing in our attitudes towards children and children's rights and some are up in arms about this.

Exposing a five year old child to poop germs by having them clean a public restroom is abusive. What's next? Orphan trains? Child labor camps?

Our country has a long history of depriving children of their rights and we are seeing the influence of the fundie, "spare the rod, spoil the child," puritanical attitude permeate our schools, police depts, and families.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. Poop?

Where is cleaning up poop mentioned in that story?

[ultraist]

58. Poop germs are all over school bathrooms

Do you have children?

There is NO WAY I would have had my five year old clean our bathrooms at home and certainly wouldn't allow them to clean the school public bathrooms. That is highly inappropriate.

[proud2BlibKansan]

71. And even though the bathrooms are mopped several times

every day and disinfected every night there are still poop germs all over?

[ultraist]

86. That's correct

Public bathrooms are filthy and full of germs. Every time the toilet is flushed, germs spray out everywhere.

This child was sent in after it had been used, thus the pee on the floor.

Do you have kids? Why do you think it's appropriate to have a five year old clean a public restroom, what is your justification for this being an age appropriate task?

[proud2BlibKansan]

124. He was not made to clean the restroom.

His teacher asked him to use a paper towel and his foot to clean up a wet spot on the floor. There's a giant leap from that to making a 5 year old clean an entire public restroom.

Yes, I have kids and I regulary asked them to clean our bathroom at home. If their teacher had asked them to do this, I would not have freaked out, that's for sure.

[ultraist]

134. You had your kids clean bathrooms at five years old?

Why do you think it's appropriate for a five year old child to clean up someone else's pee in a public restroom?

[elehhhhna]

146. So they can clean a public restroom,just not in handcuffs, right?

sarc/off

[Blue Diadem]

74. Every time a toilet is flushed, droplets release into the air,

creating a spreading of whatever happened to be in the toilet when it was flushed.

Saw a test done on that on TV.

[LostinVA]

108. Correct. And public toilets don't have lids n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Yep, the freepers all over the internet

have been posting these kinds of stories for years. It is incredibly disheartening to see this happening on DU. The freepers' agenda is to discredit public schools and build up support for school vouchers. PLEASE don't tell me that this is happening here too. :cry:

[ultraist]

92. Those of us who are educated about age appropriateness are freepers?

And those who promote "punitive authoritarianism" are not? You are confused about that.

Those of us who have educated ourselves on effective parenting skills are NOT the fundie freak feepers that you accuse of us being.

I am OPPOSED to vouchers, FYI.

[Bouncy Ball]

112. proud

while freepers do quite gleefully tear down public schools, you yourself admitted this teacher was wrong.

So what's the problem?

I want to IMPROVE public schools, I want to BETTER the education all kids get, and if it means a bit of awareness and education on the part of some teachers and administrators (note: don't make kids clean up other kids' pee), then so be it.

But like I said above, I'll be damned if I am going to defend bad behavior of teachers. If the profession is EVER going to get better, then the ones doing such things better improve or get out.

[proud2BlibKansan]

157. I agree with you Bouncy

I just think this is a petty complaint.

And 99% of the teachers I work with are good teachers who care about kids and work hard to improve their craft. But what gets everyone's attention (including DUers) are the stupid problems like this. Surely you understand why that frustrates me.

One of our kindergarten teachers was at the hospital last night with a student who is fighting cancer. She could have gone home at 4:00 but she didn't. I spent my planning period today taking boxes of food over to a family who lost everything they own in an arson fire two weeks ago today. The counselor in my school is holding a bicycle safety rally on Saturday. Every kid who comes gets lunch and a bicycle helmet. She is not being paid for this and is paying for the food out of her own pocket. NONE of these stories are being broadcast, but if any of us had dared to ask a kid to wipe up pee in the restroom with a paper towel, the whole world would know about it.

Here on DU and on too many other discussion boards, the topic is incompetence in education. I am just getting sick and tired of it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. Thank you

It appears you "get it". phew

[Blue Diadem]

There has always been a bad teacher here or there, but keep in

mind that this is a new age with 24 hr news, internet and the ability to call the news action teams for assistance.

Also don't be fooled that a bad teacher in previous times would have been fired or even reprimanded. Once they have tenure, it's very difficult to do anything. I know of an instance where a long time teacher had problems his entire career. For years, parents were told he was reprimanded and those reprimands were placed in his file. They weren't.

I don't think there is a hidden agenda, I think it's just easier to spread and obtain the news.

[mondo joe]

10. And this proves the COUNTRY has lost its mind how?

Please elaborate.

[arwalden]

13. Joan: "Clean Up This MESS!!" -- Tina: "How?"

Joan: "You FIGURE IT OUT!"


Tina: (tearfully) "Jesus Christ!"

[Bouncy Ball]

113. Doesn't she beat her with a can of scouring powder in that scene?

[arwalden]

121. "Scrub, Tina! SCRUB! We'll Clean It Together! SCRUB Harder!"

Yep... that's the scene where Joan has a breakdown and starts beating Christina with the can of powdered cleanser. (It's the scene that immediately follows the coathanger scene. Joan still has her face masque on... and she looks quite the monster.)

[Bouncy Ball]

122. God Faye Dunaway was BRILLIANT in that movie.

Just brilliant. She NAILED Joan Crawford, all the way down to the overarched, severely plucked eyebrows and everything. I've read the book and seen the movie several times.

[arwalden]

123. I'm Not Mad At You... I'm Mad At The DIRT!!

:hi:

[0007]

24. Teaching hygiene and consequences from bad habits should be

the rule for little ones.

When some children live in pigsty's what can one expect?

[Bouncy Ball]

114. Uh, it wasn't that kid's pee.

And that was completely inappropriate.

If the kid spilled something in the classroom, then hell yes, have them clean it up.

If they are messing around and drop their bowl of chili on the cafeteria floor, hell yes, have them clean it up!

But wiping up someone else's urine on the bathroom floor? Come ON.

[seabeyond]

25. ok we are talking about a 5 yr old, telling dad a story

about his teacher. and the injsutices they feel with authority for first time directing them. having different expectations first time in life from another adult. away from mom first time in their days, or use to be, or some are. do we know if it was just a drop or two., and the teacher taking child in and saying look, when you find this, all you have to do is get, this much toilet paper, and just swoop over, not a deal. now, if you spill this is how you will do.

and the child is then learning.....learning, that their is that expectation that each child can, and should clean up their mess

i mean, do we really have the info from this 5 year old, that didnt want to do it. tell his daddy, well, not quite the whole story

i mean. 5

lets nbe real

and is this who we are

not to mention, i have been cleaning up my boys pee, and you now what. one is 10, and i am still doing it. thinking, duh...........his butt should be in there learning how to clean a bathroom

my 12 yr old neice said the other day

i thought you liked cleaning.

[Mizmoon]

26. A custodian is paid to clean the bathrooms

that is a service the parent's tax dollars provide. Children are not slave labor for the school.

[seabeyond]

29. so the child isnt responsible for his own pee

good to know. males typically have that attitude, they dont put their butt on a toilet seat others use

[seabeyond]

31. why my boys like womans bathrooms better

lol lol us females teach our daughters this. generally our bathrooms are about 100% more welcoming

i am so funny

woke in a pissy mood today. you know. doesnt happen often, but sometimes, they just appear

[Mizmoon]

34. It wasn't his pee - it was someone else's n/t

[seabeyond]

47. yes. and what else do you know

seeing how i have done kindergarten gosh not long ago with two children. and i have watched teachers, fellow moms, ......do the classroom. teach our children. really i have a little more faith

so what are the facts here

someone elses pee

a 5 yr old. you know how they communicate and have learned to manipulate. not necessarily a lie, but more a woe is me

was it a drop. was it not. did the teacher, walk child in and basically do it, but teach him how to do it. was it a 5 yr old interpretation

was this teaching, merely teaching, we are responsible for our pee

what do you know. as soon as i know i mean know what happened, man i will jump my ass on judgement to decide if this person did wrong

i dont know. not going to create a drama, and not even know what i am drama ing, about

personally i see me bending down. listening to child. directing to bathroom, hand on shoulder all the while talking to child, in not a deal, to not embarrass any of the kids in this, (cause they are sensitive here) walking into bathrrom, closing doors, and then precede to show the child how to clean up, if it ever happened to them. and then no one will have to walk into this. not the funnest of things. but cool enough we can deal with it. all the while having conversation, and then walking out, leaving to

i can see the child interpreting, i was making them clean up

i can see a parent, go into outrage
i can hear the public cry out..............whaaaaaaa

yep

[Mizmoon]

52. Your kids can clean other children's urine of the floor then

if you think it's such a learning experience. :eyes:

[seabeyond]

59. you know what, they could. i have as a child and beyond.

just take a little, (ok a lot) and a little wipe up, i am sure we are not talking a flood here. do their business. they always wash hands and know how to do it well, and ya, get on with life. tell ya what, my boys and i will accept the responsibility, for all those, that just cannot. i will continue to wipe your pee off my toilet, before i sit

wow. never really sat and thought about this as a parent. but if it arises, i know what to say, i guess. thanks

[elehhhhna]

148. lol.

[StopTheMorans]

101. wow, that is a really great attitude.

in my office park, the men's restrooms are spotless. all of the women with whom i work with tell me that the women's restrooms are disgusting because some women do the "hover and spray", as they call it, and end up pissing all over the toilet and floor. nice generalization :eyes: btw, are you aiming for a "stream of consciousness" feel to your posts :shrug: if so, then it makes them really hard to read/understand. if not, it's cool...

[seabeyond]

102. i only know what my boys, and other men have told me

havent spent much time in the mens. had to go in a couple years ago. at a rest stop convenient store, to wipe a 5 year olds tush. was an interesting experience. had some giggles with other men, walking in, surpirsed to see me standing there. got into a whole conversation about our respected trips, how fun life was, what a trip kids are

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. And just how many custodians do you think the average school has?

Hint: not enough to station one in the restroom full time. And this would be necessary if you really wanted the pee to stay cleaned up in there.

[sandnsea]

49. That is absurd

Do you think we have no children and have never had to use the bathroom at an elementary school from time to time? They apparently manage to take a mop through after recess. Which is probably easier these days because kids have fewer recesses too.

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. Our custodian mops our boys' restroom every hour

and it still has pee on the floor just about anytime you go in there.

[Mizmoon]

56. Sounds like one of the kids has a medical problem

I've never found urine on the floor in my child's school ... ever.

Or maybe you have the world's worst custodians.

[proud2BlibKansan]

62. Maybe you haven't spent much time

in the boys' restroom. And that would be custodian, no plural. We have ONE on duty during the school day. And he spends a lot of his time cleaning up after boys who pee all over the restrooms. I have worked in MANY schools and this is a problem everywhere.

[seabeyond]

68. never found urine on the floor ...cause they have the kids clean

it up, wink, teasing

i have with each boy, about that age.....had to take a change of clothes into school. one, twice. one once. they play, they hold it. they dont mae it. and mess it is

[seabeyond]

64. boys drip. moms get pissed

maybe yawl dont have little boys

so maybe we are just seeing htis as a regular in our life,. an little girl sittin, not quite as messy. you know what of the most basic male/female battle. starts so young, lol lol

[sandnsea]

67. I had 3

If you're cleaning up after your ten year old, that's YOUR problem. Don't think ALL of us raise our boys that way.

[seabeyond]

76. that's YOUR problem.....i kNOw

that is what all you wonderful women just taught me this moment. and you can darn well bet when he comes home this afternoon i am gonna tell him, tooooo

enough.

we just stepped to him taking trash out though. and as i say, i have high expectations in other places, so less demands with chores. we work hard on honesty, academics, character, honesty with self, politics and the dynamics, justice for all yada yada yada. so

good in some areas, not so good in others, but hey.....thank you for putting me in my place

:wink:

[sandnsea]

84. oh excuse me??

You're the one who said she cleans up after her ten year old, then turned around and said maybe we don't have boys and don't understand them. Well, yeah, some of us do. Some of us taught our boys not to pee on the floor and we don't expect them to go to school and have to clean up after some boy whose mother didn't teach him not to pee on the floor.

[seabeyond]

87. your right......fire her ass. knowing nothing

then we will yell about that

[sandnsea]

91. Knowing one thing for sure

Some of us make our boys clean up their own pee and don't expect them to go to school and clean up somebody else's. And the teacher shouldn't have either.

[seabeyond]

54. ya well hey, they drink less water, dehydrated, so

they dont have to pee as much

[Bouncy Ball]

115. YOU ARE BEING RIDICULOUS.

And the bad thing is, you KNOW better than what you are saying.

You don't have to station a custodian in every bathroom, how ludicrous.

You simply tell the office what has been reported to you, then they send the custodian to check it out.

Big WHOOP. And if he or she is working on something else, they get to it as soon as they are finished.

God, you KNOW this. You said you work in a school.

[Horse with no Name]

32. It is one thing to do chores in his own home

But certainly to clean up a bathroom of all places?
Little kids are not neat and tidy when they go to the bathroom--sometimes due to teachers not allowing them go in time and they don't have the control to hold it any longer.
Oh my goodness...a bathroom?
So when a child contracts an ecoli infection, or staph from infected urine, who is going to pay then?

T.P.S. says the teacher involved is a top-notch employee, with 27 years of experience with the district.
I call bullshit. This woman is a tyrant and a bully and doesn't have any business teaching children.
Other teachers out there? You want to know why kids are bad these days?
Because they have teachers like this teaching kindergarten, that's why. You can bet your ass that wasn't the first day that she did that, nor the first year nor the first decade.
With teachers like this, it is a wonder there aren't any more school shootings.
This is humiliating and dehumanizing and there isn't any excuse for it. This 5-year old HATED her? Why teach hate at age 5?
This teacher should be stripped of her teaching duties and demoted to janitor.

[Mizmoon]

39. amen

in my son's school they wouldn't let him buy a bagel from the school cafeteria because they were "special for the teachers". No kids allowed to eat bagels.

What officious asswipes. They were red-faced when I called them on it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. So now we leap to the conclusion that teachers

don't let kids use the restroom when they need to? And this somehow connects to school shootings?

You must have some major issues.

[Horse with no Name]

72. LOL@me having major issues

You are a school teacher that sees nothing wrong with the police being called on a 5-year old.
You see nothing wrong with kids made to clean up after other children's bathroom accidents.
Little children do not have the bladder and bowel control that older children have. When they need to go to the bathroom, they need to go.
I know of many incidences where parents have had to take extra clothes to the schools because the teachers wouldn't let a child go to the bathroom until recess and they had an accident.
I can definitely see this particular control freak teacher doing that to children.
What leads to school shootings is teachers who disrespect and mentally abuse children for their own sick gratification. This 5-yr old said he HATED his teacher? How many 5-year olds hate?
Not many. So if you groom them from a young age to hate school and their teachers, throw in a couple incidences of them pissing their pants and being made fun of...yes, these types of teachers are cultivating our next set of serial killers and school shooters.
I won't be as rude as you by saying you "have issues", but if the shoe fits.
I will say if you are such in agreement with these nuts teaching, please step down from teaching. You aren't doing anyone any favors.

[demnan]

43. Why is this child being punished?

For reporting a truth to a teacher. He will learn that you cannot tell the truth at any time to anyone if it is an unpleasant truth. He will learn to lie, to ignore and cover up things. The children will never say if the bathroom is unusable again.

If someone touches this child in an inappropriate manner, he will also learn to lie, cover up and not make trouble.


This country has gone completely fucking nuts! I wouldn't blame anyone for homeschooling their kids.

[dddem]

93. I thought I was the only one

who noticed that angle of the story. How to teach a kid not to do the right thing. Also, when my kids were little, I worked part time at one of those indoor playground places. (everyone hated my shift, cause I was the disinfectant queen). It amazed me when I cleaned the bathrooms just how bad some of these kids were about hygiene. These kids should NOT go unaccompanied to the bathroom, but at school, what choice is there. For a lot of kids, taking the time to go to the bathroom is a BIG infringement on play time - so they're not as careful as they probably should be. If parents aren't aware of that fact, then in my opinion, they're just plain not aware. Personally, I wouldn't be happy about my child having to clean the bodily waste of another child, it's just not healthy.

[elehhhhna]

149. brilliant, demna. succinctly put.!

[Arkana]

55. Um, it proves to me that one public school teacher was on a power trip

but it doesn't say that the country has lost its mind. I also don't think this should be a reflection of all public school teachers--heck, both my parents teach in a public school.

[sandnsea]

66. Accepting abusive behavior

Not an attack on teachers. The more we slide into punitive authoritarianism, the more of this we're going to see. From adults in general, towards kids and each other and the world.

[progressivejazz]

83. You've just made the only good point on this thread.

Right on target.

I was wondering who would clean up all the bullshit on this thread.

Your post shines the light of clear thinking on the issue, and that cleans it.

Thank you.

[ultraist]

89. It is an excellent point

We are seeing a "cultural creep" of "punitive authoritarianism." No doubt.

I'm wondering if these teachers who feel it's OK to have five year olds handcuffed or clean public bathrooms have read the first thing about age appropriateness or child development in general.

In addition to the "cultural creep," many teachers are overworked, underpaid, & undertrained; some of the BEST are leaving the profession because of the impossible situation they are put in. I think we ARE seeing worse teachers due to the strain on the schools.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

111. I cal it "punishism". Have for a long time.

I wish people used this word more. Language crafting for political reasons is a game more than one can play.

[proud2BlibKansan]

69. Well keep both your parents away from DU for now

It's open season on 'tyrant teachers' round these parts.

[Arkana]

73. Really? I hadn't noticed.

:eyes:

[elehhhhna]

150. Yep. Wake me up when a public school teacher drowns 5 students

or kills 2 with rocks to the head, like our Texas homechooling Moms do.

Anecdotal evidence wars? Bring 'em on.

[Maru Kitteh]

165. So making a five year old clean up some strangers bodily fluids

is ok because his head was not dashed in in the process? :crazy:

Making excuses for bad behavior just perpetuates the same, and is in itself poor behavior.

This thread is an indictment of one persons incredibly stupid action who happens to be a teacher. Where above do you see anyone calling for razing the system to the ground or anything remotely of the kind? This isn't about the public school system, it's about stupid people and sadistic behavior.

[elehhhhna]

166. hell no, veggie! I was smarting off.

I agree with you.

[Maru Kitteh]

170. Sorry, didn't catch that ....

jeez, what was I thinking? :silly:

[Bryn]

63. I was Sent to Boarding School at age of 4

when I lost my hearing & lived in dormitories. We had to learn to clean after ourselves, we even made our beds, mopped floors, cleaned toilets, etc. with help of our housemothers. They taught us how to put away toys, how to fold our clothes. We had someone do our laundry, though. We had dining room where we were served breakfasts, lunches, & dinners, had the cook and helpers to do dishes (not us) The kids I started with were 4, 5 and 6 years old when I first got there. I was there until I graduated at age of 17 (1954-1968). I have good memories there. It was like a huge family...girls and boys in separated dormitories, but shared same classrooms, dining rooms, etc.

[ultraist]

82. Was that in the US?

Boarding school at four?

[Bryn]

90. Yes - St. Augustine, Florida (Florida School for the deaf & blind)

Things have changed so much there since I left, though so it's not the same anymore.

[ultraist]

95. You have a very interesting life story!

In my area, we have a well known school for the blind, Governor Morehead in Raleigh. http://www.governormorehead.net/

I'm glad to hear you had positive experiences. I have a friend who grew up in an orphanage and had similar experiences.

Unfortunately, not all institutions for children are as good as the one you and my friend lived in. We've had several recent cases of children being abused and neglected in State facilities. Sad...terribly sad.

[Bryn]

98. I guess it's not the same today anymore like it was long time ago

I don't know why it's so bad today. What a shame. I'd love to hear about your friend who grew up in an orphanage. Have you ever seen movies "Anne of Green Gables"? She grew up in an orphanage, but turned out great. I will check out your link about Morehead. I have heard of this name before somewhere.

[ultraist]

153. I'll have to check out that movie! n/t

[Bryn]

96. I Know I cannot compare boarding schools with Public Schools

Too many kids in Public schools it seems to me. Our dormitories/rooms were always clean and neat because we all pitched in with help of our housemothers/helpers. There were several dormitories for ages groups and for boys & girls, we had gym, auditoriums, swimming pools, sports, buildings for classes, etc. on campus. I turned out just fine and have my own home and a good job. I still keep in touch with my close friends I grew up with at that boarding school. Lots of them turned out just fine also. By the way, that's where Ray Charles went also though he left before I came there.

[elehhhhna]

152. Welcome to DU, Bryn!

[RandomKoolzip]

99. Instant Flamewar! Just add urine!

n/t

[lateo]

167. LOL!

Bring 'em on!

[Cleita]

100. Sounds like the ghost of my first grade teacher reincarnated.

She always made the six year olds clean their first grade bathroom and messes on the floor when she didn't let them use the bathroom. The parents thought it was just fine. Of course this was in 1946. I had hoped we had come a long way after this.

[Bouncy Ball]

104. But, but, but, the lady on The Daily Show last night

said we're CODDLING kids and making their lives too soft and easy!

Now I'm confused!!!

/sarcasm off

So the boy simply REPORTED some urine on the floor and the teacher made HIM clean it? In most school districts they don't like for kids to do janitorial work--something to do with the rules surrounding such work. They get the--janitors!--to do it.

And as a parent, I'd be sorely pissed off.

[Cleita]

116. You wouldn't believe what the nuns used to make

us do even when we hadn't anything to do with it. My seventh grade teacher constantly punished the whole class for what one student did, so you guessed it, we were punished everyday. It was a very bad school year and I don't think any of us learned much. However, in the collective minds of the parents, "if sister said you were bad then you must have done something to deserve it".

[Bouncy Ball]

118. That collective punishment thing only works in highly specialized

situations, such as basic training in the military where all the subjects are cloistered together 24/7.

[sandnsea]

131. I had nuns

Never made us clean the bathroom.

My daughter's fifth grade public school teacher had a punish the whole class philosophy. She was a coach and she wanted to build a team. So it's not just nuns who have nutty ideas. I told her she was headed towards creating a gang to go after the one kid who was always in trouble. I told her she needed to change the focus to having the class remind each other to cooperate, and offer rewards. She did that, and said it was the best class she'd ever had. Even though she did have the kid in the school with the most behavior problems. She had taught for a long time too, I have to wonder what message her previous students had gotten. Between me, my 3 kids and my stepson, I've gone through over 100 teachers. I've only had one teacher and one principal that I would classify as true idiots. But I've also run across quite a few teaching quirks at the same time.

[Cleita]

136. No one went after the guy who got us punished.

He was the ringleader and really kinda popular with his crowd. I don't remember learning anything though and to this day I have a problem with Math because a lot of her punishments had to do with Math to an excruciating degree, like writing your times tables a thousand time before you went home, in between trying to do the rest of your school work, which she would mercilessly grade you on. So I don't think it did me any good. I don't know of any Math geniuses coming out of that class either.

Also, she would occupy our recesses on very hot days or make us stay after school and make us kneel in the sun on the concrete, saying the Rosary, in the sun when it was often over 105 degrees in the shade. Summer ends late in Southern California. Most of us were pretty dehydrated by that time, not having a chance to drink anything since lunch. Our parents were aware of this too, because they often had to wait for us when they came to pick us up after school, but sister could do no wrong. We must have deserved it.

[Bouncy Ball]

117. Can everyone just please use a single bit of common SENSE here?

A. If a child reports to a teacher that he saw urine on the bathroom floor, the teacher should contact the office (either by note or by phone) to let them know. Office will then let custodian know. Custodian will drop by that bathroom as soon as they get a chance and check it out. If there is a puddle of urine, he or she will don gloves and cleaning fluids and get it gone.

B. HOW HARD IS THAT?

C. I cannot imagine a teacher with 27 years of experience (as this one has) NOT knowing that. A teacher with two months experience or less knows that.

D. How likely is that kid (or any kid in that class who knows what happened) going to be to report anything ELSE he sees in the bathroom? Vomit? Blood? Hell's bells, *I* sure wouldn't be saying anything after having to clean up someone else's urine.

E. School districts do not LIKE students doing custodial jobs that involve bodily fluids. The reasons why should be pretty damn obvious. Hell, they give teachers "bodily fluids kits" that are a ziplock baggie with latex gloves, rubbing alcohol wipes, etc. so that, in the case of bodily fluids of any kind being spilled in class, they can handle it until the custodian gets there.

F. The kid should have been THANKED for telling the teacher about it, not punished.

G. There is nothing in the world wrong with asking a kid to clean up a mess or a spill they made. I have handed kids paper towels and cleaning materials when they weren't watching where they were going and spilled chili on the cafeteria floor. I have made kids clean up all kinds of messes they made in my classroom. In fact, I used to stop with about 90 seconds left in the period (I couldn't spare much more with only 55 minute class periods) and have EVERYONE look around on the floor, under their chairs and pick up trash, pencils, etc.

But cleaning *someone else's* urine on the bathroom floor? A five year old? What boggles my mind is we have a few people on this thread who apparently think that's fine and dandy. It's not. The teacher did not do what she should have done, which was simple: tell the office so they can tell the custodian.

[hfojvt]

130. I sorta get the whole "cleaning up a bathroom is so degrading

or dangerous that only a custodian should have to do it" feel to this incident. Maybe that's only because I work as a custodian. In one factory where I worked as a temp, there was a person who repeatedly put a big clump of hair in one of the urinals. Most of my co-workers thought it was a big joke, and laughed about the "barber" as they called it. My sympathies were with the person who constantly had to clean that up. As a janitor, I would refuse to do it. Let the employees clean their own urinals until that BS stops. If they take turns, then the perpetrator is going to have to pay for his own "prank".

Anyway, I just hope that people do not have an unhealthy attitude towards menial labor. As another poster has pointed out, I have often had to clean someone else's mess (even when I was not on the job) in a public bathroom. Not fun, but it happens.

Is it fine and dandy? Maybe not, but it is not the end of the world either. As another pointed out, why is this even newsworthy? Did the TV run out of car accidents that day, or is there a lawsuit in the works? Should we form a boycott or a picket line, write our senators? Aren't there any good things happening in life or in schools that could be reported in the news or discussed here? Or are we just hungry for an outrage? Show me another story about how stupid and demented the rest of the world is so I can feel superior.

[Horse with no Name]

133. I wouldn't be offended

It is in your job description to clean bathrooms if you work in a school.
But don't feel alone--I am a highly paid professional nurse and I have cleaned bathrooms where people missed, I have cleaned puke, poop, pee, blood, and other assorted bodily fluids as needed--on the floors, on the walls, in the beds, etc. I have had to change clothes and shower when it hit me as well, because that is MY job too.
Every job no matter how menial or how high up the ladder is important.
Every cog in the wheel is important no matter how much they are paid, because the lowest paid person has the power to shut down a business.

[tjdee]

129. Do any of you clean public restrooms? If not, why not?

I am amazed at the leverage teachers get from some people on this board. I know a few teachers, my cousin is a teacher....but dammit people, teachers screw up just like anyone else who's alive.

That teacher should be required to go and clean out a gas station bathroom.

[Solon]

132. My two cents...

For what its worth, a couple of things, I was both a Gas Station Manager at one time, and a Public School Custodian. SOP for both is that, if the bathroom has a mess, you, as part of your job, are required to clean it up. Not only that, but, there is the health issue, which others have not touched upon much in the thread. Would you want to go into a public restroom that was cleaned by a 5 year old with only water as the sanitation agent. Or would you prefer a trained custodian using the proper chemicals to do that type of work.

[youthere]

139. I have a couple thoughts come to mind...

First of all, I'm not condoning or condemning anyone in this scenario because it reads like typical media hype (you know, just a few facts, he said, she said all done to create the most dramatic story).

1. Pathogens? How do you know that child actually cleaned up pee?
was it analyzed?I mean really, did the child save a sample and have the parents submit it to a lab? My five year old thinks every drop of liquid on a bathroom floor is pee too.Could it have been a puddle of tank sweat? a puddle of water from the sink? If the child had been asked to take a paper towel and mop up water on the floor would you feel the same way?

2. I have to clean up messes that aren't mine all the time. Garbage left on the sidewalk, chewed gum off my shoe, and yes...even other people's pee sometimes when I visit a public restroom and I am unfortunate enough to claim the stall after some woman who thinks she has the ability to hover. I also have a son and a husband who aren't winning any prizes for their aim. I take a quick swipe and wash my hands afterwards.Hardly call for distress.

3.The article says the boy reported someone urinated on the floor-assuming it was urine, Is it possible that it was one of those notorious "dribble" that little boys are so famous for as opposed to a sprawling puddle where some mischevious little boy emptied his entire bladder? If my daughter said my son peed on the floor, and all it was was a "dribble" I'd probably say "Oh just take a paper towel and clean it up" because I just don't think it's worth calling out a haz mat team for (and yes, she would tell you I FORCED her, and how MEAN I was).I tend to think (at least I hope) that if it were a huge mess, the teacher would have called the custodian.

It sounds like an article written deliberately vague and misleading just to work people up in a frenzy.
If it WAS urine, and it was the result of some child deliberately peeing on the floor (not just an "overshot") then yeah a custodian should have been called and the teacher was completely out of line, but it just seems like the article was written so that people would read a lot more into it than what was there. That's just the way I see it. I wasn't there.

On edit: The bathroom cleaning detail: I don't see anything wrong with making the kids pick up paper towels on the floor, and the like.It's only fair, you splash water on the floor you wipe it up."Scrubbing" the bathroom is a different issue and should not be enforced, but it doesn't sound (at least not to me) like she was forcing them to sterilize the bathroom, just pick up.

[sandnsea]

140. Amazing

It's astonishing to me that people can't differentiate between home and not home. Or recognize that being repulsed by cleaning up a stranger's pee ought to correlate to a child cleaning up someone else's pee. Or that a teacher monitoring bathroom activity and teaching each child to clean up after THEMSELVES isn't the same thing as sending a kid back in to clean up PEE. The teacher admitted she did it, and the school has decided it isn't going to happen anymore. It's been investigated, there really aren't any "it's possibles" about it.

[youthere]

145. "Amazing "

You completely missed my point. Okay. You're right. Fire the teacher. Sue the school district, all based of 5 or 6 Vaguely worded paragraphs. :sarcasm:

[sandnsea]

154. Who said that?

My point all along has been the ability of people to justify complete bullshit that is causing a horrible slide to a more punitive and nasty society. When you can justify handcuffing a 5 year old or making kindergarteners clean up pee, you can justify anything. Some really vindictive sickness is eroding what's left of our national moral conscience. That's what I'm talking about, not firing teachers or suing school districts.

[youthere]

155. And my point is

That no one has enough facts from one short article to condemn this as "Bullshit"

[sandnsea]

159. The school's admission?

Enough for me.

[youthere]

160. Good. Great. Fantastic.

I'm so glad you were fortunate enough to receive a signed confession from them. Sorry-I don't mean to be snarky. One news article isn't enough for me to start proclaiming saints or sinners. The media has been known to distort things from time to time. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying I'm not getting my panties in a wad after reading one very short article.

[sandnsea]

161. It's IN the article

Read it. And I do mean to be snarky.

[youthere]

162. Okay whatever.

Media never spins anything. :eyes:

[SidDithers]

163. Regarding your point #1...

That is the completely opposite way that you should approach a spill. If you've got an unknown liquid in a puddle on a bathroom floor, you assume that it is the worst case for that location (in this case, assume it is urine) and deal with it appropriately - wear your gloves and use the proper cleaning chemicals. If you go with the attitude that "Hey, it might just be water" and it isn't, then you end up dealing with something worse, and you're not properly equipped.

Sid

[RBHam]

147. Great Idea! America is losing "productivity" points in the Globa economy..

We can get them started young...

Recycling can teach kids about environics...



Street Vending builds character...

http://www.sadashivan.com/news_paper_seller_2

Hey! Now here's that good, old fashioned American entrepreneurial spirit! I wonder what his take home pay is?



Boy! This kid sure is getting fed well for his efforts!



Yep! The wave of the future. I wonder if Jack welch loses sleep over this? Ha Ha!!!!!



If you can't compete, you die!

[WI_DEM]

151. My guess is that the teacher did think it was that child's pee

and that the child came to her/him about it because the child felt a bit guilty but didn't want to admit it was him/her who did it.

Wow that was a mouthful.

[sandnsea]

156. Except for this

T.P.S. did admit Amanda's son was involved in a "restroom cleanup", where he "used his foot to wipe up urine with a paper towel".

She did have these kids cleaning up pee, and she couldn't have known whose pee it was. Kids tracking around pee on their shoes isn't particularly bright either. Better to have them clean it up with lots of paper towels and then thoroughly wash their hands anyway. But if she could see that that might not be sanitary, for 5 year olds, she should have been able to see the shoes weren't a good alternative either. Call the custodian, keep the kids healthy. That's why most schools have that policy in the first place.

[Tomee450]

158. How awful.

Now the child will probably be afraid to report any wrongdoing out of fear of being punished. This teacher needs to come out of the classroom. What poor judgment.

[dsc]

171. It would have been nice if you had included the part of the story

mentioning how the kids were to clean up the restroom. I doubt I am the only one who figured that they were using their hands from your post. That said, this was still a stupid decision on the part of the teacher.