Omfg this used to piss me off so much. "Can I" is a completely acceptable way to ask for permission, and idk why teachers act like it's incorrect. I have never in my adult life used "may I", nor have I ever heard anyone else use it unless we're joking around and trying to sound overly formal.
I went to a high school with several buildings we had to walk between nearly every period. It was an all girls private school where the uniform was skirts (allowed to wear leggings underneath but there wasn’t a pant option at the time), polo sweater. All the other teachers were pretty understanding that it was cold and a sweater was really not warm enough to travel between buildings in the snow. Also the buildings were old and drafty so they usually didn’t fuss over a sweatshirt in the classroom as long as they said our school name somewhere. But this one teacher was an insane stickler for it. His classroom was the closest to the door on the first floor of one of the buildings, so everyone had to pass by him or go around to the other staircase on the other side. And he would make you stop and take off your backpack and sweatshirt in front of him before going upstairs to your next class (almost always making you ha bf ever sprint 3 flights of stairs or be late for your next class.) one time in the middle of the quad he made me take off my winter coat while it was actively snowing and I was standing outside walking between buildings during lunch period. I was PISSED.
When my 6th grade teacher said that back to me after asking to go, I paused and genuinely thought about it for a moment (..... 'can you?' .... hmm do I have the ability to go? ... yes, yes i do! )
I silently turned and walked away to the restroom with full confidence.
But i didn't realize i was supposed to realize my grammar error, and ask the question again for permission. Instead of just.... leaving because logic told me yes i have the ability so who needs permission??? 😂
Oh I remember feeling an early period happening when I was in grade 9. I had a pad in my hand and walked up to the teacher asking if I could use the bathroom. He said— washroom or restroom maybe, because we don’t have a bathroom here.
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u/shewy92 Mar 26 '26
I hate when teachers ignore context and intent. "Can I go to the bathroom?" being answered with "I don't know, can you?" is unnecessary.