While I am blogging about small school moments, mechanical air dryers rate a line or two. I am secretly disguised as a middle school art teacher today. The student bathrooms have one or two air dryers each. Students are supposed to go to the bathroom during 3 minute passing periods.

It takes at least two minutes for those air dryers to get my hands dry.  Many students are obviously not washing their hands, are drying hands on their clothes, or are going to class while shaking wet hands. As much as I love the idea of saving trees, I suggest administrators and building managers install paper towels in student restrooms. Yes, towels are messy. Students crumple and toss those towels — sometimes from across the bathroom — often missing the trash.

But our schools will be healthier places if more students wash their hands. A kid who has to wait in line to get to the sink and then wait in line to get to the hand dryer is a kid who may say, “Forget it! I’m not going to be late to math again.”

Teachers and administrators ought to try going from one end of their school to the other end during a student passing period while making a bathroom break in a student bathroom along the way. Are students given the time they need? Are students washing their hands? (A teacher in the bathroom will probably automatically increase the hand-washing rate, so if half the kids wash their hands, I’d assume the number may be more like a third or a quarter.) How are students managing books and electronics they are carrying?

Eduhonesty: Obviously that hand dryer aggravated the heck out of me.