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Most schools require
that students be on time for class. Those that are late must
usually stay after school for a designated amount of time. This
course employs a special policy to help students build
responsibility for their attendance. An instructor for this course
would have to make the decision whether or not this policy would be
appropriate in his or her school.
Students who are tardy
to class are given a choice as to how their tardiness will be
handled. They may choose to stay after school or donate to the
charity that the class will select. The times and amounts are small
at the beginning of the course as students struggle to find their
way around school with their new schedules. Each month, the time or
denomination increases as students grow in the course and take on
more responsibility. The breakdown is as follows:
Month 1
– pay a penny if you’re late or stay 10
min
Month 2 – pay a
nickel if you’re late or stay 15
Month 3 – pay a
dime if you’re late or stay 20
Month 4 – pay a
quarter if you’re late or stay 25
Month 5 – pay
fifty cents if you’re late or stay 30
A student cannot owe
money but may borrow from someone in the class.
Anyone later
than 2 minutes must stay at least 30 minutes.
Obviously if a student is very late, the possibility exists that a
cut class may be recorded.
As compared to using a
standard detention policy for tardies, students using this procedure
tend to:
-
Come to class on
time more often
-
Take
responsibility for being on time earlier in the school year
-
Accept the
consequence of their tardiness without argument
-
Look out for and
assist their fellow classmates who are tardy (which builds a
teamwork mindset)
My story:
My students believed in this policy so much that they even left the
amount of money owed for being tardy when I wasn't in class!
They attached their money to the daily sign in sheet, informing the
substitute to make sure that I knew that they took their
responsibility seriously! Marianne Douglas, author of
'Strategies for Success' |
