[whimsicalism]

I'm explaining why teachers in some schools do this, I still think it is stupid and ridiculous.

Worth noting though: no, I don't think you can deal with it on a case-by-case basis at the level at which this occurs.

What the better teachers seemed to do is find a way to set up a system with students who would lock & unlock the classroom door for students who needed to go to the bathroom. (the door was never locked from the inside, just the outside)

[Broken_Hippo]

Teachers know when a student doesn't return to the classroom, though. Simple enough to take report that to whoever in the school handles discipline: Usually, the same person that would get involved with other sorts of skipping class. I don't really see the issue: It can't be that many kids doing it every class and having teachers and staff monitor halls, if you have well-funded schools, shouldn't be an issue.

I'm opposed to locked bathroom doors as well: Again, all it takes is one teacher saying, "no", and suddenly, the same student is out of luck.

Or we could be more lenient on students and not worry so much about attendance so long as they hand in their work and get decent enough grades.

[whimsicalism]

> teachers and staff monitor halls

I mean, my school tried that - they implemented a hall sweeping program where teachers locked their doors and security would try to catch all the students in the halls. It didn't really prevent it because they couldn't constantly hall sweep all of the halls during the entire school day (and it increased the number of students entering other classrooms randomly to try to hide from the security guards) and it was also super racially biased in its enforcement.

> It can't be that many kids doing it every class and having teachers and staff monitor halls

No, it is quite a few students. You underestimate the dysfunction in the typical inner city school.

> Simple enough to take report that to whoever in the school handles discipline

And do what to discipline them? Kick them out of school?

> not worry so much about attendance so long as they hand in their work and get decent enough grades.

In an urban environment, "not worrying about attendance" translates to a. to very upset parents (esp. among working-class parents who are not at home and view education as a route to success), b. failing low-income students, c. more crime.

Urban schools are hard to fix!