Tuesday's Treasure

One of our school policies which has been in effect for years is "Go to the toilet before you go outside." This school policy is in effect for two reasons: One, it's an aim at the kind of personal habits that create a responsible discipline. We provide a toileting time for students many times a day because very young children sometimes need help in judging the need to "pee!" So before every meal, a teacher attends the children with the question, "Do you need to use the toilet?" If yes, the child finds one. If no, he can wash his hands and be seated at the table.

We ask the same question before we go outside, all children must try to use the toilet. After sitting, playing or being "in the building" suddenly being "outside" will bring on a natural and very demanding need to urinate. As adults we know this. We impart this information to children. Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't.

During play indoors, the bathrooms are open for any child to use anytime he thinks he needs to.

When we go outside, we always have two teachers and sometimes three outside with the children. If there are two teachers, one teacher puts the other teacher at risk leaving the playground for any reason. If a child were to need a one on one, that would leave no other teacher to watch the other children. It's a great big red light.

So we tell the children, "If you need to go, now is the time. If you wait and must be brought back into the building, you will lose your medal simply because you are putting everyone at risk because you have broken the rules." It's about that simple.

Think about it this way: if you were traveling on a bus with 40 people, and there was a bathroom stop, and some little person refused to use the bathroom, and when the bus started up again, within five seconds that little person demanded that the bus stop so that he could use the toilet, most of the other travelers would be "hissy!"

The whole idea of school is order - doing things at appropriate times - not at inappropriate times. It's about the group activity; it's about thinking ahead; it's about doing what needs to be done NOW not later. It's about growing up. It's about being responsible. It's about taking responsibility for self. It's about not being a baby.

Now the one exception to the rule is poop. I had to throw that in....

There are lots of little rules like this at the GS. One of them is drink your milk. We expect every child but one to drink his or her milk. It's as simple as that. The one exception? A child for whom milk makes her ill.

Another rule is don't run in the building. Running in the building knocks over children, toys, and work someone has created. Running is for outside, games of chase and dash are outside games and do not belong in the building. When a child runs in the building, it's a medal offense. Why? because the danger lies in cracking heads and ruining work done over a game that belongs outside.

There are reasons for everything and everything is for parents to ask about. Children will lose their medals for making another child cry, for disrupting a class and drawing unnecessary attention toward self. A child will lose his medal for disobedience when that disobedience causes someone else to suffer. A child who creates a dangerous situation will lose his medal.

All of these rules are about social order, safety, and growing up to be responsible citizens. They are learned best in early childhood, and that's why we do it that way.

And if you lose your medal, you must forfeit all treats, prizes and extras for the day. A medal bespeaks a child's behavior during the day, so the game is : DON'T LOSE YOUR MEDAL!

We hope parents understand that one lost treat, one day of going without creates a much more positive learning arena than the constant drone of reminder for kids who are in the habit of brushing off adults and simply not listening.