When I was a younger teacher, one of the biggest things that I hated to deal with were tardies. Plain and simple, classes without the disruption of tardies were just much more enjoyable to teach. I hated the conversation with students who were always tardy. But, I do feel like I was able to turn a negative into a positive by changing my approach to how to help students want to get to class on time. It was to help students identify solutions on their own problem. Once I stopped giving them solutions and they started identifying their own, things generally improved significantly.
So, what can you do to help a student identify their own solution to being tardy?
Once a you understands why a student is coming late to class, you can invite the student to identify ways to come on time. One way to do this is by asking questions that invite the student to come up with their own solution to come on time. Examples of questions could include:
· Can you think of things that would help you come to class on time?
· What are 2-3 things we could do to help you be to class earlier?
If students can’t think of any solutions, it is okay to share a couple of ideas to get students thinking and ask if any of those ideas are helpful. When a student comes up with their own solutions, they are more likely to be willing to improve their punctuality.
The key to improving the problem of tardies is to address it early, and then be consistent in your expectations. If students feel like they are not missing anything important because the teacher does not start class until 10 minutes after the class should start, they will not feel its imortant to be on time. Be consistent with starting on time. Let the class know how important it is. Then, deal with the students individually as you need following the skill listed above.
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