Always late
I had a student once who was very slow. She shuffled, dragging a big load behind her, consisting of a backpack, a dufflebag on wheels, and an armful of books. She came prepared to spend the day at school because her transportation depended on others. Anytime she entered the classroom, usually late, she disrupted it because of the slowness and the noise of unpacking everything, sorting through papers, and generally "getting ready" for the class that had been in progress already for 10 minutes. At break time, I sometimes had to go and find her because she was not back in time. How would you deal with this?
I had this problem in a class once. I began having a quiz at the beginning of each class, on the subjects from the previous class/homework. They were not long, but their points added up. When they know they are losing points, they start making more of an effort. This also helped with my efforts to get them to read their homework.
Those who made the effort had an advantage, because the quizzes gave them an edge in the grade book.
I teach night classes and as you know must of these students have jobs. I have one student that is always late. She comes from another job and sometimes has problems leaving. How would you handle this
I teach at a two-year certificate school. We have 11-week terms and I am teaching my third term. I explain in my syllabus and opening class how students are graded. One portion of the grade is "class participation" (which counts for 10% to 15% of their final grade). Its content is left to the teacher's discretion.
I explain that everyone starts each class with a 100 grade in class participation. If you arrive late, 10 points are deducted from your grade. If late more than 10 minutes, 20 points are deducted. Returning late from any of our three 10-minute class breaks is a 10 point deduction.
A student can earn bonus points for coming to the board and completing a problem (whether it is right or wrong). Their grade for the day can exceed 100.
The method has had some positive effect on timeliness. It has also resulted in more class participation at the board by the less involved students.
On the first day of class, I note the students who come in late. As they enter the class, I ask their name and write it down. Toward the end of the first class, I discuss how tardiness in the real world is not tolerated, and I point out how arriving late disrupts the class and interferes with the learning of the students who have arrived on time. I then ask the class if there is anyone who cannot arrive on time. There are students who will state that work, family, etc., prevents them from arriving on time. I simply tell them to enter as quietly as possible and take their seat. Those students who do not speak up have no excuse for being late and can lose participation points if it continues.
I agree that this would be a positive way to handle tardiness. As a new instructor, it seems that this has been more of an issue than anything else. I like the phrase, "the tassel is worth the hassle." Giving them suggestions would also reinforce that we genuinely care about their success. Thank you.
I agree with this technique and use it myself. I like to focus on how we are preparign them for the "real world" and potential emplyers will not accept tardiness.
This is a very good approach to the cronically late student. Most often I find the student has so much on their plate, and to make matters worst, it is the first time they are aware of how hard it is to juggle work, school, and home. I like to take the time to talk to the student and find out why she or he is late, then I can judge how to handle it further.
As a post secondary instructor in adult education, I have several students in each class who have problems with time management and excuse programs for tardiness. At the beginning of every class, I emphasize that we are training the students for real life in the workplace. Employers will not tolerate excuses for chronic tardiness. I will generally counsel with them individually after the second tardy and give them manageable baby steps to take control of their time. (1) get up 10 minutes earlier (2) get used to turning on local news for traffic reports (3) have a back up plan for help with sick children (4) look in the mirror and tell yourself that you're worth the effort. My favorite phrase is "the tassle was worth the hassle."
I often will directly ask the student the second time, if the student is late due to a job thats one thing, but if they just cant get out of bed theres a real problem.
Hi Billie ,
I would mark the student accordingly, and once she goes over the attendance limit she would be reprimanded just like any other student. This student, however is worthy of a conversation expressing the importance of being on time and other life lessons to discuss.
Patricia Scales
