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Another story saved from way back when
It is so disheartening to read on these pages the stories of those who were mistreated or downright abused by teachers or other adults over accidents and other toilet issues. Sometimes people have to go to the bathroom at inopportune times – especially girls with their menstrual issues – and it’s really terrible that some teachers would deny them the opportunity to go when they need to. And especially when someone does have an accident. She feels bad enough and embarrassed enough already with a teacher making her feel even worse about it. And then sometimes to even punish a girl for having an accident makes it even worse.
I suppose the good thing about reading those stories, though, is that it makes me appreciate the teachers that I had – teachers that always let me go to the bathroom when I needed to and were nothing but sympathetic to girls who had toilet-related issues. And that was especially true with accidents. Fortunately, I never had an accident in school myself but other girls did and the teachers were nothing but sympathetic and understanding when it happened.
One time my freshman year, I had a Saturday Detention. Four hours of sitting there doing homework with only a 10-minute group bathroom break in the middle. We weren’t supposed to be out of our seats at any other time for the whole four hours. School bathrooms had never been a particular problem for me. I certainly was not like some girls who would simply hold it in and wait rather than go at school. But this was a bit different. This was a group bathroom break with 8 other girls in a tiny, rundown, 3-stall girls’ room. And on this particular occasion I had to go #2 as well as #1. This was suddenly a problem for me. When the bathroom break came, I did pee. But I decided to just hold the other in.
No sooner was I back in my seat in detention, however, when I started to realize that that was a mistake. The urge to go – that is, the urge to go #2 – was suddenly a whole lot stronger. It really started to feel like I wasn’t going to be able to make it to the end of the detention without having an accident. At this point, I felt about ready to panic. Obviously, I knew that having an accident in my pants IN HIGH SCHOOL would make me the laughingstock of the whole school.
Desperate, all I could do was ask the teacher for permission to go. I, of course, knew the rules – I knew that using the bathroom was only allowed during the break – but at that point what else could I do. When I did ask the teacher, she at first said “no” and asked me why I didn’t go at the break. I just said that I was sorry about that but I really had to go NOW! I think a lot of teachers would have been suspicious. But somehow she knew that I really did have to go. And I’m pretty sure she realized that it was #2, as well. I think she probably figured out that I didn’t want to go #2 with all those other girls in the bathroom. She then asked me if I could hold it in until detention was over. I told her that I didn’t think I could. “Well, I certainly don’t want you to have an accident,” she then told me.
So, to make a long story short, she let me go. And this time – in the girls’ room by myself – I was able to do what I needed to do. I went a lot and I still cringe thinking about what would have happened if she hadn’t let me go. And it all would have been my fault because I didn’t go at the break when I was supposed to. But she let me go anyway and saved me from perhaps the worst embarrassment that a girl could suffer – that of messing in her pants in high school. But, as I said, she let me go and do what I needed to do. I then, of course, wiped myself, washed my hands and returned to my seat in detention – feeling greatly relieved and eternally grateful to her for letting me go. I thought for a moment that she was going to keep me behind at the end to serve extra detention for the time I used to go to the bathroom. I would have gladly done that in consideration of what may have happened had she not let me go to the bathroom. But she didn’t even make do that. She just asked me if everything was alright now when I got back from the girls’ room. I told her “yes” and thanked her for letting me go.
And it’s because of this wonderful teacher, I suppose, that feel so bad that other teachers can be so mean and cruel.
It is so disheartening to read on these pages the stories of those who were mistreated or downright abused by teachers or other adults over accidents and other toilet issues. Sometimes people have to go to the bathroom at inopportune times – especially girls with their menstrual issues – and it’s really terrible that some teachers would deny them the opportunity to go when they need to. And especially when someone does have an accident. She feels bad enough and embarrassed enough already with a teacher making her feel even worse about it. And then sometimes to even punish a girl for having an accident makes it even worse.
I suppose the good thing about reading those stories, though, is that it makes me appreciate the teachers that I had – teachers that always let me go to the bathroom when I needed to and were nothing but sympathetic to girls who had toilet-related issues. And that was especially true with accidents. Fortunately, I never had an accident in school myself but other girls did and the teachers were nothing but sympathetic and understanding when it happened.
One time my freshman year, I had a Saturday Detention. Four hours of sitting there doing homework with only a 10-minute group bathroom break in the middle. We weren’t supposed to be out of our seats at any other time for the whole four hours. School bathrooms had never been a particular problem for me. I certainly was not like some girls who would simply hold it in and wait rather than go at school. But this was a bit different. This was a group bathroom break with 8 other girls in a tiny, rundown, 3-stall girls’ room. And on this particular occasion I had to go #2 as well as #1. This was suddenly a problem for me. When the bathroom break came, I did pee. But I decided to just hold the other in.
No sooner was I back in my seat in detention, however, when I started to realize that that was a mistake. The urge to go – that is, the urge to go #2 – was suddenly a whole lot stronger. It really started to feel like I wasn’t going to be able to make it to the end of the detention without having an accident. At this point, I felt about ready to panic. Obviously, I knew that having an accident in my pants IN HIGH SCHOOL would make me the laughingstock of the whole school.
Desperate, all I could do was ask the teacher for permission to go. I, of course, knew the rules – I knew that using the bathroom was only allowed during the break – but at that point what else could I do. When I did ask the teacher, she at first said “no” and asked me why I didn’t go at the break. I just said that I was sorry about that but I really had to go NOW! I think a lot of teachers would have been suspicious. But somehow she knew that I really did have to go. And I’m pretty sure she realized that it was #2, as well. I think she probably figured out that I didn’t want to go #2 with all those other girls in the bathroom. She then asked me if I could hold it in until detention was over. I told her that I didn’t think I could. “Well, I certainly don’t want you to have an accident,” she then told me.
So, to make a long story short, she let me go. And this time – in the girls’ room by myself – I was able to do what I needed to do. I went a lot and I still cringe thinking about what would have happened if she hadn’t let me go. And it all would have been my fault because I didn’t go at the break when I was supposed to. But she let me go anyway and saved me from perhaps the worst embarrassment that a girl could suffer – that of messing in her pants in high school. But, as I said, she let me go and do what I needed to do. I then, of course, wiped myself, washed my hands and returned to my seat in detention – feeling greatly relieved and eternally grateful to her for letting me go. I thought for a moment that she was going to keep me behind at the end to serve extra detention for the time I used to go to the bathroom. I would have gladly done that in consideration of what may have happened had she not let me go to the bathroom. But she didn’t even make do that. She just asked me if everything was alright now when I got back from the girls’ room. I told her “yes” and thanked her for letting me go.
And it’s because of this wonderful teacher, I suppose, that feel so bad that other teachers can be so mean and cruel.