Fair school

4/21/2018

At my school some girls wrote on the wall in the bathroom. So now girls have to go 2 at a time. It doesn't solve the problem (it has gotten worse since this rule started) and this isn't fair.
-It's embarrassing to have someone always say what's taking so long.
-The boys don't have to go 2 at a time.
-What if none of the girls in my class need to go so I can't go?
-What if the two girls draw on the walls?

If anything like this happens at your school you can...

-Paint the walls in the bathroom/let girls do it. If you paint the walls no one will want to draw on it becaus they will not want to ruin something pretty. Especially if they helped make it.
-Tell your teacher how you feel.
-Make a Blog post like this one!

Do you have any more ideas? How can we make this more fair?

https://www.google.com/amp/abc11.com/amp/education/fayetteville-bathroom-art-targets-bullying-inspires-girls-/2355833/?source=images

23 Comments

Westley Young link

4/21/2018 12:18:11 pm

Hi Lizzie!

I think if you feel a sense of injustice it's good to find a solution, and you have already begun to do that with your blog post. You have already thought of some great alternative solutions to resolve the problem. They definitely need to be shared with those who can help you make a difference.

Are there any others like you who could help you put together a series of solutions that you could then present and discuss with your teacher?

My only advice is to be patient, polite and persistent if you truly believe changes need to be made and you can explain why (which you have done here). I know it can be frustrating when rules are implemented that you don't agree with, but you can make changes if you believe you can do it.

Good luck!

Westley

Lizzie

4/21/2018 02:07:33 pm

I thought about your question and thought I could actually have a friend help me. Thank you for the comment!

Rebecca Recco link

4/21/2018 02:17:17 pm

It’s really cool that you’re helping to find a better solution to this problem. Way to take on a leadership role! My suggestion is to try and come up with ideas that will help people who misuse bathroom privileges understand how bad behavior hurts other people. Instead of having girls go 2 at a time, have students who misbehave conference with the rest of the girls about what they did, and everybody work together to find a way that person can make it right again. For instance, that person could help repaint the bathroom, or create beautiful artwork to hang in the bathroom to remind others to use it respectfully. Good luck with your mission!

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:10:42 pm

Thank you for the comment. It's very interesting that you said instead of having them go 2 at a time, have them conference with other girls. That's a good idea!

Abe Moore

4/21/2018 03:57:23 pm

Hi Lizzie,

My question is - does the two at a time solution really address the cause of the problem?

I like your idea of painting the walls and students having a sense of pride in the buildings. Our school has this problem from time to time, we tackled it in a slightly different way.

We have two wonderful cleaners who students all know and love. They are VIP's at our school becuase they keep our rooms tidy so we have a nice place to learn. They are kind, friendly, and hard working, so we do everything we can to make their job a little easier. We've found that because students really care about our cleaners, they look after our classrooms and toilets.

Do you think creating empathy for the people who have to clean the grafiti off the walls might work in your situation?

Great work on the blog, it looks great.

Abe

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:10:22 pm

Thanks for the comment! I think I found the answer to my question. Our school does not know who the cleaners are. So since my school does not know who the cleaners are, they don't care or love them. So if we tell my teacher and the principal about your idea we won't have this problem! Again thanks for the comment!

Faige Meller

4/21/2018 04:19:21 pm

Lizzie, How courageous of you to take a stand in what you believe. You are truly an Upstander and I understand your concerns. You came up with some good suggestions. You might share your concerns with your classmates and see how they feel about the situation.
Good luck,
Faige

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:08:51 pm

Thank you for the comment! I think I should tell my classmates about it and see what they think. That was an amazing idea!

Janet

4/21/2018 06:15:27 pm

Hi Lizzie!
As a 2nd/3rd grade teacher, I agree with you that this rule is unfairly applied and unhelpful.
Have you tried presenting your solutions to your teacher or principal?
I’d be extremely embarrassed if I had to bring a friend with me every time I went to the restroom!!! Not to mention, that’s a lot of missed learning time for students who are just accompanying the restroom user.
I think your school should talk to students about expectations on how to appropriately use the bathrooms, and remind students of what is not acceptable behavior. Part of being a kid is learning and relearning what is ok behavior and what isn’t-and that rarely happens through group punishments!
Good luck!

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:13:52 pm

Thank you for the comment! I was embarrassed when I had to take a friend with me. It took me a little while so she was out there saying what's taking so long? And I talked to my teacher today. She said she would read my blog and tell the principal about it. So now I feel ok.

Monte Syrie link

4/21/2018 07:04:11 pm

Wow. What a wise young lady. I am so impressed by your sense of justice and thoughtful considerations and recommendations. We need more young people like you who are willing to stand up when they believe something is not right or fair and to offer reasonable solutions. Bravo, Lizzie. Best of luck with your efforts to change this policy at your school. It would be great if you wrote a follow up post to keep us updated on this issue. Thank you for writing this. It was the best thing I read today.

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:17:36 pm

Thank you for the comment! I worked very hard on my blog. I needed to stand up for my school that is why I wrote my blog. At least it's just 2nd grade that has this problem or maybe another grade, but not 1st grade my friend told me that she doesn't have to do 2 at a time. I might write another one and I will tell you about what will happen.

Kimberly Andersen

4/21/2018 07:37:58 pm

Hi Lizzie,
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this issue. As a school administrator we've had to deal with similar issues in our elementary school too. It is a challenging problem but one that I think you have really thought through.
I appreciate how you are thinking about injustice but also trying to come up with solutions to the problem. At our school we had to try so many things before we reached a solution, and just like in your case, our solution involved the student ideas.
Have you shared your ideas with your teacher or administrators? If you were one of my students I would definitely be interested in hearing your ideas for fixing the problems and addressing the injustice!

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:19:29 pm

Thanks for the comment and everything you said. It would be fun if you were my teacher. And I talked to my teacher today. And she said she would tell the principal.

Jina

4/22/2018 02:40:16 am

Hi Lizzie,

The way in which you have shared this injustice is powerful. I wonder if you have shared your post with someone at school who might be able to help you take further action.

Please keep us posted and always fight for what you believe in!

Smiles,
Jina

Lizzie

4/23/2018 04:20:29 pm

Thanks for the comment! I have not shared my blog with a friend but I shared it with my teacher today. And I might share it with a friend.

Brooke Vaquerano

4/25/2018 09:19:32 pm

Way to take a stand! I can’t wait to hear what happens!

Shelby Pendrak

5/15/2018 08:54:32 am

Hi Lizzie! It is so wonderful that you are using your student voice to bring attention to an issue like this. I know sometimes it can feel like no one will listen to you and hear your concerns, but sometimes it just takes a while to be heard. Keep up the great work!

Lizzie

7/23/2018 03:00:32 pm

It makes me feel like nobody cares when people are mean and say "You're taking forever in the bathroom." I talked to my teacher about it and it kind of worked but she's not quite in charge of the school so she told me to talk to the principal. We still haven't figured it out but I'm sure we will when school starts again. Thanks for reading my blog!

Katie

7/16/2018 03:41:54 pm

Hi Lizzie! I really liked the way that you approached this blog post, specifically how you identified the issue and then offered some really practical solutions that any school could use! I like the idea of students getting to paint the bathroom walls themselves, so that they have ownership of their work and then want to keep the space nice. Do you think this would be a good beginning of the year activity? Also, as a student, how do you think teachers can better address trips to the bathroom so the embarrassment factor surrounding time or if only one person needs to go is minimized?
Again, I'm impressed by how you have approached a tough topic, and am excited to see how your solutions might be implemented!

Lizzie

7/23/2018 03:08:00 pm

I think it's a good idea to paint the walls at the beginning of the year because kids will want to keep it nice and make sure that no one draws on it. And if someone draws on it, we could always try the other ideas. The kids could paint the walls and then the teachers could just let the kids go to the bathroom one at a time again so they are not embarrassed. Thanks for reading my blog!

Jesse Crooks

7/18/2018 09:35:19 pm

Hey Lizzie!

Great blog post! I really appreciate how you addressed a community problem and came up with very practical ways to solve it. I think having girls involved in decorating their own space, gives them ownership and responsibility to take care of it.

I'm excited to see how your ideas applied!

All the best,

Jesse

Lizzie

7/23/2018 03:10:29 pm

I thought of that idea because my mom showed me pictures of it and helped me come up with these ideas. I agree that girls should have ownership over their own space and be able to decorate it so they don't want to make it messy. Thanks for reading my blog.

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