A viral social media post has sparked outrage and debate over a California teacher's policy offering extra credit to students who refrain from using the restroom during class.
Sita Zarcufsky, a Pool Programs Coordinator in Eureka, California, shared her frustration on Twitter after discovering her daughter's math teacher enforced a strict rule of only one bathroom pass per week. Students who didn't use their pass received extra credit.
Zarcufsky's Viral Post
"I am livid," Zarcufsky wrote in her viral tweet. "My daughter's math teacher is giving extra credit to students who don't use the bathroom during class. If they don't use it, they get academic extra credit. But my daughter is mad that I want to email the teacher and CC the principal. Am I wrong here?
Her tweet quickly went viral, garnering over 16 million views and sparking a heated debate among parents, educators, and the general public.
Many believe the incentive is unfair to students, and there are those who feel students should use the restroom outside of class. In support of Zarcufsky, some users said, "Some kids may have a medical condition; seems like this policy would be unfair to them."
Another user said, "TMI but as a girl who suffered from ridiculously heavy periods I absolutely hate these rules for girls in school today. It shouldn't require a doctor's note and FMLA paperwork. I understand some students take advantage and use it to skip a lot of class but making everyone suffer for the losers who will drop out and go nowhere in life isn't fair."
Others called for consequences for the teacher, warning of harmful side effects if students avoid using the restroom to receive extra credit.
"There are going to be kids who feel the need to perform to the rules to prove that they have worth and in doing so, they might be unintentionally harming themselves (utis, dehydration, etc). your daughter might not understand but this is horrid on so many levels," commented another user.
However, others disagreed, feeling that bathroom passes are often abused by students trying to avoid class.
"Just curious, why are you mad? I agree 1 pass per week is extreme, but what would you propose instead? Should teachers go with the flow when bathroom passes are abused the way they are? Should half the class go play on their phone in the "bathroom"?," stated the user.
