School Defends Restroom-Cleaning Punishment

Student pranks can make a school custodian’s job more difficult. A school that disciplined students by having them help a custodian clean a mess they created is under fire by one of the boys’ parents, CTV news reports.

Teachers at Sister MacNamara school in Winnipeg, Canada, handed two eight-year-old boys disposable gloves and had them wipe down sinks, counter tops, and toilets in the restroom after the two boys flushed a sweater down a toilet, causing the toilet to overflow. School officials said the purpose of the punishment was to show the boys how their prank affected the school’s custodian.

The mother of one of the students believes the school should not expect children to clean restrooms and demanded an apology. She said a punishment such as missing recess would have been better than requiring children to help clean a restroom used by more than 300 students. However, the Winnipeg School Division is defending the punishment.