Staying put in a classroom, possibly for as much as two hours, can be challenging for the new teacher. We all know that an urgent desire to urinate is not conducive to coherent thought or rational conduct, but you just can’t leave kids unsupervised.
Steps to self-reliance.
* Avoid early-morning coffee - it’s a well-known diuretic, as is nicotine. Tea is better.
* Avoid porridge - it contains immense volumes of water
* Don’t dehydrate, but don’t over-indulge in bottled water before morning break, either. Apparently your body learns to cope when you switch to a high water-intake regime, but takes a while to adjust. Start at the beginning of half-term, not on a teaching Monday morning.
* If you really have a problem, tell all in advance to a trusted colleague and arrange a code word that you can send by pupil. It’s not just your bladder. What about your other addictions?
* You can’t smoke, but neither can you chew nicotine or any other kind of gum.
* You can’t eat, either - tough on chocoholics.
* You have to turn off your mobile phone - or, at least, set it to vibrate rather than ring.
It’s hard being a role-model.
