Teacher asking my 5 year old daughter to take a boy student to toilet

Question

My daughter is in year 1 in the UK. She was asked by her teacher to help a boy of her class go to the boys' toilet and get back. What should I be aware of in such cases? I am not sure what were the circumstances under which she asked this from my daughter but I think this is inappropriate for whatever reasons. How can I handle this so that I don't appear unduly aggressive towards the school and this teacher in particular?

Edit: I think I will clarify some facts about the situation. Factually, as I heard it from my daughter, the teacher asked her to "take the boy to toilet". I do not know what were the teacher's intentions (out of, as comments said, “showing him the way and the door, possibly waiting outside for him to guide him back” or “bring him inside, assist him in any way”) at this stage - I will have to find that out when I talk to her. In terms of what really happened, she told me she actually went into the toilet and stayed with the boy for a minute and came out along with him. I am also not sure if my daughter did so because she clearly heard her teacher asking her to do so, or because she just inferred this to be case from her words.

Also, it is quite possible (because I kind of know the boy whom she is talking about) that this boy is a special needs child, as in he needs some help for his simple activities at school. I think this fact adds further complications to the situation.

Answer 1

The best way I've found to approach teachers about things they do in the classroom (which they presumably think are okay) and you disagree with, is to approach them from the point of view that they're not wrong: but instead, that you have a preference that's different, and you're asking them politely to adjust to your preference, but understand it's a significant ask.

My son, for example, who's only a year or so older than your daughter, has had an issue recently where he's dropped his pencil and it rolls under something. Due to COVID, he's not supposed to be up and about too much, but when he asked the teacher to get his pencil, she decided that he had thrown it intentionally, and made him change what he was working on instead.

I don't find that a useful way to approach that issue (both because I believe him when he said he didn't, and because I think it's a poor way to address it in general; if he's working on something happily, discipline shouldn't get in the way of that.) The way I will address this with them is:

1. Let them know that I appreciate what they're doing with my son in general
2. Let them know that my son came to me with this problem, and ask if they can give context to what happened
3. Ask if there's anything we can do together to help solve the problem (the problem being that my son is, apparently, throwing things, or perhaps more likely is being uncareful with his pencil).
4. Thank them for working with me to help my son be as successful as he can be in their environment.

Your issue could be addressed pretty similarly, I think.

1. Let her know that you appreciate what she's doing with your daughter
2. Let her know what your daughter told you, and ask for her perspective on the matter. Let her know that you felt uncomfortable with it, perhaps in those words specifically.
3. Ask if it is possible to accommodate your feelings here, and be pretty specific about what bothers you about this - but without using accusatory language; perhaps something like "I'm uncomfortable with my daughter being in the toilet with a boy", or "I'm uncomfortable with my daughter getting used to the idea of being in the toilet with a boy", or whatever is your specific concern - but phrased as if it is specifically your issue, not her problem, and you're asking her to make an accommodation for you.
4. Thank her for working with you to help get your daughter the best education she can.

Here, in 2. it is important to ask them for their perspective, as it may be different than what you got from your daughter. (Perhaps she asked your daughter to show him where the toilet was, but didn't go in, or perhaps she meant for her to do something different from what she actually did do.) It also gives you context as to why she might have done that - did she ask her to do that because she's the most responsible kid in the class? Is it one of her close friends? That's not to say your concern isn't still valid, but it might help you understand her better.

The important thing here is to go into this assuming that she wants the best thing for your daughter just as you do, and she just has a different point of view. If you approach the conversation, at every point, as a collaboration, it will go well.

Answer 2

I think this is inappropriate for whatever reasons

In my opinion, you need to be clear why you think it is inappropriate. I can think of three possible reasons, (1) they are of a different gender, (2) a young child should not be given responsibility over another child. (3) the child helping would miss some of the class.

(1) I presume that the girl was only intended to be a guide for a pupil who did not know the location of the toilets. I don't suppose she was intended to go inside the room or help with buttons or anything similar.

(2) There is an insurance issue. If either child had a serious accident whilst unsupervised by an adult there might be liability on the part of the school. Presumably they have a standard policy for handling this. Obviously the teacher cannot leave the class alone while accompanying the child. No-one can be in two places at once. It's worth asking about the usual procedure.

(3) The helping child would miss some instruction. This is a possible issue.

Clearly, needing to go to the toilet is a common occurrence. I believe the most expeditious way forward, without making accusations or complaints, is simply to ask the head teacher what provisions are made in this establishment. Also ask yourself what you would have done, had you been the teacher. I suggest you would have picked the most responsible child to help.

Answer 3

I am not sure what were the circumstances under which she asked this from my daughter but I think this is inappropriate for whatever reasons.

If you want to have a productive conversation with the teacher, those are the fundamental aspects of the situation that simply can't be glossed over. If indeed you think it's self-evidently inappropriate to do what the teacher did as a routine task not requiring special attention, it is very likely that you have a significantly different outlook on things, and that requires care and attention to resolve.

You need to ask yourself the following:

• What are the specifics of the situation? - If you want your concerns to be taken seriously without appearing unduly aggressive, you need to treat the other side seriously and learn what exactly happened and why.
• What about the situation is inappropriate? - Once you know the specifics of the situation, do you still believe anything inappropriate happened? If so, what was that; what are the important aspects and what is incidental? The clearer you can make it, the easier it will be to understand your concerns and not make assumptions that might or might not be valid. As chasly's answer points out, there's a large number of things you could potentially be objecting to, and any or none of them could be correct. Without knowing what it is, it's very hard to address anything.
• Why was it inappropriate? - Can you explain why the above is undesirable? Can you do it with reference to facts or values you share with the other party, or does it come down to "that's just how I feel"? Are you alone in your feelings or is it the general consensus? You are of course entitled to your feelings, whatever they might be, but so is the teacher. Since you're the one criticising their decisions in that capacity, you need to be able to explain why you think the criticism is justified.
• Do you believe you are right to feel that way? - This may sound odd, but especially with "that's just how I feel" matters, feeling a certain way, even strongly, is not necessarily the same as knowing or believing to be right about it, or wanting it to be the case. I certainly have things where my gut feeling does not agree with what I would like to be the case based on my other values and beliefs, and there have been instances where my immediate and obvious beliefs were wrong and/or unjustified, but I have not previously examined them enough to realise that.
• Is this for your daughter, or for yourself? - Things you feel strongly about aren't necessarily the same as things that are important for the well-being of your daughter. We all have certain feelings and hangups about things based on our own life experiences and upbringing, but it's important not to confuse "this is how I was raised" with "this is how kids should be raised" or "this is very important to my daughter". Your daughter is 5, and doesn't have many of the ideas that feel obvious and natural to you. We know that you feel what happened was wrong, but are you sure you want your daughter to feel it was wrong? Perhaps her life would be easier and happier if she didn't?

Without answering the above, it will be difficult to make a reasoned case with your school that won't be seen as unduly aggressive and which won't just make everyone's life harder. Since your original question did not seem overly concerned with either the specifics of what transpired nor why it was a problem, I feel it's reasonable to think that perhaps simply dropping it might be the best course of action.

Lastly, it needs to be pointed out that there might not, in fact, be a satisfactory resolution here. You seem to stress the fact that it was a boy and a girl, so I'm going to assume that is an important aspect that makes it inappropriate to you. If that is indeed the case, then I personally would very strongly object to that notion. The gender of the children (or any other persons) involved not only should not be a factor, but making it a factor causes demonstrable harms, both to your daughter, to other children, and ultimately to the society at large. If I were a teacher or another parent at your school, I would resist attempts at making it an important factor. If that is the case, then any outcome will likely have either you or other people at your school dissatisfied with it.