At the Manhattan Place Elementary School, Los Angeles, a shocking incident took place that highlights ridiculous and unfair bathroom rules across many learning institutions.
Sonia Mongol was absolutely shocked when her eight-year-old son came home from school in November soaked in urine and dressed in a trash bag.
During his school day, Mongol’s son has repeatedly asked to use the bathroom, only to be turned down again and again.
His teacher suggested he use the trash bin in class, in front of everyone else, which he didn’t want to do.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t hold his need to go to the toilet for much longer and wound up wetting his pants.
Instead of realizing the seriousness of the issue, the teacher refused to let him change clothes or borrow alternative clothes. She forced him to sit in those clothes all day long with a big trash bag covering him and the soiled clothing. Since that incident, Mongol’s son has been the target of relentless bullying.
Needless to say, Mongol was furious. She held a press conference to bring attention to this horrible act of abuse in front of the school. School officials have been contacted, but they have repeatedly declined to comment, which is incredibly suspicious given the circumstances. The school has also refused to allow any protesters to speak to the principal, Evelyn Samos. Since the incident, things have not gotten better.
Mongol’s son receives harassment and bullying, and teachers still do not allow him to use the bathroom. Once, after repeatedly begging to be allowed to go to the toilet, his teacher relented but then locked him out of the classroom so he could not return later. This is a humiliating and horrifying display of cruelty, and it can be detrimental to one’s bladder and kidney health. Mongol is worried that her son will have serious trauma surrounding this incident for the rest of his life.
Many people are shocked and demanding change and a reformation of these ridiculous bathroom rules. Mongol’s son was repeatedly turned away by teachers, and even the school nurse. There seems to be a significant lack of compassion towards someone who is, essentially, just a kid. If we don’t expect adults to hold in their urine, why are we expecting young children to? It is clear that these teachers and even staff members do not particularly care about the students in their care if they continue to treat them this way.
According to Latricia Mitchell, an LA teacher who is now retired, explained that school rules are allowed to deny bathroom privileges to their students because many kids choose to misuse that privilege, skipping out of class too often to avoid turning in homework or sitting in class. With that being said, Mitchell states clearly that teachers should be able to tell when something is wrong – and if they don’t, they definitely shouldn’t punish a child for their own errors in judgment.
After a long time of waiting, the LA Unified School District board released their statement regarding the incident. The statement said that they took the issue seriously and reported it to law enforcement, who they have cooperated with. It is also reported that the teacher who dressed Mongol’s son in a trash bag is not working at the school any longer, no work is out about whether or not further action will be taken.
