Social Studies Lesson Plan

Overview:When vandalism in the bathrooms got so bad the janitors couldn’t keep graffiti off the walls, one principal tried a new approach: He locked all except two of the bathrooms while classes are in session. That means the more than 2,000 students use these facilities only during the 6-minute passing period and lunch. Some students are upset, but the administration says vandalism has decreased.

Suggested time allotment: One day to read about this Freedom High School situation and some Web sites with information. Three days to conduct local interviews. Two days to write the article(s).

Objectives

Students will:

1. Research the bathroom vandalism in other schools like Freedom High.
2. Decide it the school has a similar problem. Ask students. Conduct a survey.
3. Interview administrators and janitors to get their view of any bathroom vandalism and what might be done to help prevent it.
4. Explore what others say about these policies: i.e. the American Civil Liberties Union, health department authorities, etc.
5. Develop a plan to help solve graffiti in the school’s bathrooms. If the doors are locked, develop a plan to have them unlocked.
6. Present the plan to the class and to the administration or others who will make the decisions.

Curriculum Standards from the National Council for the Social Studies: Thematic Strands, from “Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.”
• V — Individuals, groups and institutions. Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions…. High school students must understand the paradigms and traditions that undergird social and political institutions. They should be provided opportunities to examine, use, and add to the body of knowledge related to the behavioral sciences and social theory as it relates to the ways people and groups organize themselves around common needs, beliefs, and interests.
• VI — Power, authority and governance. Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance…. High school students develop their abilities in the use of abstract principles. They study the various systems that have been developed over the centuries to allocate and employ power and authority in the governing process. At every level, learners should have opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills to and participate in the workings of the various levels of power, authority, and governance.

Resources and materials:
Web sites with information:
• A Tampa Bay television station reported the bathroom locking. “Principal defends restricting bathroom use,” by Isabel Mascarenas, ran March 8, 2007.
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• A link to Freedom High School’s Web site is available.
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• Not everyone thinks locking the bathrooms is a good solution. Child Advocate.org, a site that “brings attention to the human rights of young people,” has a portion of its Web site entitled, “Using the Bathroom is Your Right, Not a Privilege!” Laurie A. Couture, M.Ed, writes about what to do if a school prevents students from using the bathroom.
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• When locked bathrooms became a complaint in Massachusetts, the state’s Department of Public Health issues a “bathroom facilities memorandum” in 1999 that affirmed students’ needs for access and added a list of suggestions for lessening vandalism.
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