The past few day’s I’ve been on a mission: find the solution for students coming LATE LATE LATE to school in the morning. A few disclaimers: 1. I have seniors the first block of the day. 2. They have major senioritis. 3. They’ve learned over their four years that there are no consistent consequences for their tardiness, they simply show up sign their names in a book and keep it moving.
I am sick.and.tired of beginning class at 8:25 (although school STARTS at 8:20) with only 4 out of 20 students. I give them until 8:45 to get there by having breakfast and the do now for the first 20 minutes. I’ve tried calling home every third tardy, I’ve turned in behavior referrals, spoken with the guidance office, child study team, it’s affecting their grades and I’m simply fed up with it. So my new mission is to figure out a way (in my classroom) to remedy this problem. Maybe not for this year, but I’d like to come in next year with a solid plan. I think the key to a successful approach is to have a positive incentive or rewards system for the students who are there on time. A friend of mine gives out scholar dollars. With these scholar dollars students can buy test points, free homework passes, bathroom passes, and any number of other things. I’m wondering if this is something I can maintain.
Tomorrow AND Friday I’m doing a lab. I’ve split the students in two groups. Half are doing the lab on Thursday and the other half on Friday. I didn’t tell them their groups. I told them if they aren’t in class on time on the day that they do their lab, then they don’t get to do the lab. They will do an alternative lab
1 response so far ↓
Nicholas Lusk // June 25, 2009 at 6:25 am |
I teach at a High School twice a week. Two classes on Tuesday and two classes on Friday. What I have done is made class into a competition between the four classes. They get points. At the end of the Semester which is in a couple weeks I will through them a pizza party. Its a class group effort to earn points. This causes them to work together. If one of them falls behind or make a mistake the rest of the class gets on to that kid or kids.
But that might only work here because people don’t like to be singled out. Could just resort to corporate punishment…you can have Travis come in once a week. (J/K)
Good luck. Another thing you could do is make them stand all class period until they stop being late.