We have been trying hard to get students to use planners or agendas, and someone said some schools use the planners as bathroom and hall passes. I'm not quite sure what they mean. Do any of you use the planner that way, and if so, do you think it's a good idea? We are trying to address organizational skills more and need to figure out how to get everyone to use a planner.
As you can see from my id....I am an early ed teacher. However, I am answering this as a parent. My son's school uses planners as passes. The planner that the school furnishes (for a fee) has a section for pass signatures. When they leave the room they get it signed, carry it, and get it signed on the way out of the restroom (during lunch) and on the way back into the classroom. The school is always looking for PTA people to sign planners at lunch.
I've never heard of this, but my gut reaction is, "Ewwww." Where do they put their planners when they are using the restroom or washing their hands? Wasn't there some study done about how many germs women's purses get from being put on the floor everywhere? I imagine the same thing happening to the planner. Again, and probably because this is new to me, I don't see how having them carry their planners to the bathroom will help them use the planners to be more organized. For our elementary kids who don't use their planners, some teachers sign at the end of the day to show it has been filled out, and the parent signs at home when the kid does their homework.
The teachers sign the kids planners at our school, but it is to track how often they are heading out of the classroom. Since we switch classes in middle school, many kids use the bathroom as often as they can get away with it. This way, all teachers have a record. They don't actually take their planners to the bathroom though. I agree, that would be kinda gross.
Our largest middle school does the same thing; students must write "bathroom" or "library" or any other destination in their planner when they leave the room and the teacher has to initial it before they can leave. The planner stays in the room, but provides a record of how many times that student has left a class during the day and where they supposedly went.
we sign planners for bathroom/leaving class. I agree that it's nice to document how often kids are leaving class...there have been a handful over the past years where I've had to tell them to cut back on the bathroom visits...
In my HS, it was a small chart in the book. We were allowed to go to the bathroom once a week per class. People would unravel a bit of the binding and hang it on the hook in the stall.
That's what the kids do at my school. We use ours for everything - nurse, BR, dean, library, office, etc. You notice VERY quickly who's always out of class... there are 4 pages for the hall pass and some kids fill it up in the 1st quarter!
We had planners we used as passes. The front and back covers were made of hard plastic, and we kept antibacterial wipes on hand should anyone want to wipe down their planners. I agree it was kind of gross, but would it have been any better for them to use the communal plastic passes? At least the owner of the planner is the only one who used it. The rule we (jr. high) had was that students were not allowed to leave the classroom without their planners unless they were called down to the office. If they forgot their planner they couldn't go to the bathroom. They had no pass. I stuck to this pretty closely unless it was obvious someone was in a dire situation. Then I would write them a note.
Same here. It was nice to have that so the teachers could see which kids were using the privilidge responsibly and who was just trying to get out of class.
Our planners have a section on the bottom for teachers to sign that the kids can use as a hall pass. Some teachers use them. The idea is that there are 2 lines and the child can't go beyond those 2 lines. I don't use them becaue they are bulky and the kids tend to forget them. We have a shelf outside our bathroom where all hall passes get laid. I have space themed tags that they use as a hall pass.
As I said before, we use the planner as a bathroom pass (or for any reason to leave). I also use this as a lesson of responsibility, I make it clear at the beginning of the year that I expect them to have it every day. If they don't have it, they can't go to the bathroom. For those cases where the person is in dire need, I have them "make up the time" by coming back to my classroom afterschool for 5-10 minutes to help me clean up, etc. Has been effective in getting them to remember their planner and also use it responsibly.
We also use the planners as hall passes. They installed plexiglass file holders (flat on the back but angled in front) on the bathroom walls. Students put their planners in the holders while doing their business.
We use planners as passes too. Although I have no proof that this happens I feel that it is to easy of a system to manipulate. No one seems to check passes. I feel that all a kid needs to do is carry a planner around signed or unsigned and no one will questions them.
When I was in High School, we used our planners to go to the bathroom (or leave for any reason). We were allowed to leave a classroom twice per class period per quarter. We had to fill out the chart with the date, time, destination, and the teacher's signature. I would always put mine on the toilet paper dispenser.
We use them that way, too. It's great in that we can see ALL of the hall passes they've used, so we can see trends. For instance, Johnny goes to the bathroom at 9:00 every day, or Suzi has been to the bathroom every class period that day. My students fill out the planner, and then bring it to me to sign. I will not fill it out other than my signature. Then they put the planner back on their desk, sign out on my classroom sign-out sheet, and take my plastic (easy to clean) hall/bathroom/library/office pass with them to their destination. That way we have a record of all of their times out of class, and I have a record of who has been out of my class each day. Best of all, the kids don't have to take their planner to the bathroom.
I have one pass each for the boy's restroom and the girl's restroom. Fortunately, each grade level has its own set of restrooms, so the kids aren't wandering the halls. Because I teach third grade, there is no way the kids are taking the passes into the restroom Instead, the boy or girl places the pass on his or her desk before going to the restroom and then returns the pass the its regular spot upon return.
I would want a bathroom pass to be something easily-- and frequently- disinfected. Most certainly NOT a planner!!
Some teachers keep a 'check off' list in the back of planners for using the bathroom and give a certain number of bathroom checks per semester...I'm sure this is what the OP has heard of...I don't send ANYTHING to the bathroom with kids. They leave a pss on their desks so I can do a quick sweep of room and see who is out...they also sign out on a wipe off class list.
One of my middle school teachers had a giant pink pen be one of his hall passes. One of those huge novelty ones. It was never stolen or misplaced, unlike some of the hall passes teachers had
:lol: Be careful to include the all important vowel in your words, czacza... I can think of two possibilities. :lol:
Yes, but with one of the possibilities, a trip to the washroom wouldn't be required anymore. (Sorry...I just couldn't resist)
In one room I observed the teacher had a bottle of antibacterial that would be placed on the desk of the person who left the room. It was an easy to recognize visual of who was out of the room when. The students also had to sign out on a sheet before leaving.
when to was in HS & Jr H. we had tear out passes in our planners. they were marked with the quarter on it. and once they were gone you were SOL. but we always left planner@deskandtookthe signed paper with us.
My CT used laminated passes about the size of a bookmark for bathroom/office or library. I really like the idea of placing the pass on the students' desk, but our students had to carry the pass with them so any teacher (or the P) who met them in the hallway could instantly check if they had permission to be out of their room. Ideally, the kids could place the pass in their pocket while in the bathroom, but we still cleaned them with disinfectant throughout the day.
