Class start time?
I teach a 6pm class which is also a long walk from the front door of the school. Many of the students have day jobs and have a hard time arriving on time and then with the long walk to the classroom makes them chronically late. We only have 1 hour so I want to start class on time but how long should I wait to really get started? I don't want the stranglers to miss out on the lesson.
Hi Kou,
Keep working on those students. I agree that being on time and prepared are two essential parts of the career development process. Self discipline is important if one is going to get ahead in his/her field.
Gary
Sometimes I get the feeling that the students who are late for my class do not think that being late is an issue. I addressed to them too that being on time also show that you're responsible and is dedicated to what you're doing. Same goes for the real world.
One a side note, when I was going to school, my instructors had purposely set our classes to the early morning hours because they said it was to get us prepared for the real world since office jobs start at 8 in the morning.
As mentioned in the previous module, one of the instructor's roles is to be a "model".
Instructors must be in the classroom 5-10 minutes before class start. This will give the students a better understanding of why they are expected to be in class on time. Teachers cannot mandate students to be on time in class if they themselves are not able to come on time.
I strongly support starting the class on the dot. Grace period doesn't exist in a training environment. We just don't teach our students the technical aspect of the course but also, the soft skills (including professionalism).
Hi Jay,
You are right about that. Being of old school I just assumed that since the class starts at 4:00pm I would be their at 4. The reason being that was what was expected of me and I wanted to be ready to learn. Now we work off of the WIIFM model very often and if the students can't see what's in it for them they just come when they want to. Not to my class though. When I shut the door they are not to enter until I open the door and let them in. The late students are not going to disrespect me or the other students by coming in late and disrupting the class. When a late student walks into class he/she has taken control of the class for the time it takes for them to get settled into their seat. I won't give them that control since I am the instructor.
Gary
Gary,
Yes I agree.
It seems more and more these days that students seek out some kind of "reward" for being on time and doing the work.
I don't know if this is a good trend or not!?
-Jay
Hi Jay,
This is how I see things as well when it comes to tardy students. I start at 4 and reward those students that are there and ready to go. I like your idea of the quiz as a way of getting the students to come on time. It is amazing that with points at stake they can get there on time.
Gary
I also teach a 6pm class and was having the same problem, students showing up late due to coming from work, traffic issues, etc.
What has cleared this up for me is to have a quiz at the beginning of each class. If the students arrive late, they miss out on the points. It is amazing how all the students usually arrive on time now due to this INCENTIVE.
Also, I don't feel it is right to "punish" the on time students by making them wait for all the students to arrive.
Jerome Trask
Our school policy on attendence is reflected in a students professionalism grade. Each time a student is late they receive a 1 point deduction in their grade. When they accumulate 8 points they must retake the course. In addition when a student arrives at one mimute past the class start time they are charged 15 minutes lost time, 16 minutes late they are charged for 30 minutes etc. When a student reaches 12 hours total lost time they must repeat the course. Combining these conciquences gives students added incentive to arrive on time.
Hi Tracy, sometimes I have the oppisite problem, some students want to leave early. I have used bonus points for students that stay until the end of class. It has worked for me.
I teach clinical lab starting at 07:45am. I don't give, however, a ajustment because most of my students are coming in for a second career. I try to teach my students professionalism, since most of them will be working in the operating room, so I don't want them to slack and think that the doctors will wait for them to arrive before starting the surgery. So, I lock the doctor exactly on time. If they come in late without notice they know that they will not be allowed to enter. It may sound harsh, but it is a way of creating discipline and responsibility.
The studants should make the school there #1 priority.
Hi Tracy,
It is our policy to start our classes on time, set your expectations on the first day and revisit them at the end of the first day for those students that were late. Reward the on time students with extra information.
Students arriving on time and being ready to go has always been a big issue for me. The first night of class I'm a little flexible with the stragglers. I try to always set the example and be in class early and never arrive late after breaks. I also set my expectations the first night about showing up for class on time.
Normally leading by example and establishing my expectations generally works out, however, there are those students who always show up late. I see this with younger students.
For my classes, they start at 0730 and 1300. No grace. If they miss the material, then they miss it. I have found out that if you make an exception to the rule, you find yourself making 50 exceptions to the rule. a 15 minute grace period tells some people class starts at that time 0615 instead of 0600 and then there is a 15 minute grace peiod on top of that etc. etc. and now people are coming in an hour late expecting not to be counted tardy or absent. Set the standard and do not loosen it. For anyone or any reason. They usually get the hint to adjust their lives to be in YOUR class when YOU are ready to teach YOUR class.
I struggle with this problem also. I have a very dedicated student who relies on public transportation to get to school. I don't want her to miss out on information but at the same time I don't want to cheat other students out of time that they are paying for.
I decided to rearrange the classes so that the start of each day is now usually something that the students can work on independently, such as working in the computer lab. This has worked well and the student that comes late can also stay late if more independent time in the lab is necessary.
Hi LaDonna,
Well said. You are giving clear instructions and consequences if not followed.
Gary
Remind your students that in the workplace that tardiness is not tolerated. State that you would give them a 10 minute grace period to get prepared for the day, ask questions and so forth. Give rewards that will help the students get used to arriving on time. Incentives help.
Hi John,
Students model what they see and experience. You point about starting on time is one that all instructors need to follow. By starting late an instructor has lowered the bar and said to the students come whenever you want because I'm not concerned about time. That is a class set up for a difficult time all course phase.
Gary
I believe that if we do not start on time we have set a pace for students that will only get worse. If we always start on time most will make every effort to be there
