Written by Paul Dix
Scenario:
Abigail is forever late.
She walks in with a mumbled apology, provides the requisite scribbled note from Mum "Sos, late xx" and takes her place. Some days it is five minutes, more often 10 and recently up to 30. The data shows that this term Abigail has only arrived on time twice. Other children are starting to notice, to question, to pass comment. The front office have become accustomed to welcoming Abigail, other staff have mentioned it over coffee and the Head has started to tut when the attendance data for your class is published.
In all other respects Abigail is fantastic. She is a week polite, hard working, diligent child. In many ways she appears to be as exasperated with her punctuality as you are. When questioned she tells you that she is always up early, dressed and ready on time, but she is always waiting for Mum.
What will you do next...
A. Reverse psychology: reward the children who arrive on time, make a fuss over them, motivate them with punctuality points and gather in some prizes to increase the jeopardy.
B. Punish: 'No excuses': everyone else manages to get to school on time, why shouldn't Abigail.
C. Tackle Mum: Deal with the problem at source, if you can find her.
A. Punctuality Prizes
The children are excited about punctuality points. You show them the ‘cupboard of joy' that is crammed with every 99p temptation you could find. Their chatter on the way out to break is all about how they are going to get ready this evening to save time, how many points they are going to get and who, just who will win the star prize; the MP2 player. Children start arriving ridiculously early. They are competing with each other to see who can get the most punctuality points. Parents are also feeling the pressure and seek some urgent clarification as to the exact start time at school. The trouble is there is no change for Abigail. None of the furore about the points affects her. All of this comes to a head when a child who lives near the school slips out of the house at 4am to be first through the door. Suddenly there are police everywhere, helicopters scrambled and general panic. The child is eventually discovered wrapped up in the coat rack getting some much needed rest. You carefully peal the ‘Super Punctuality Points' poster from the wall and stuff it into the bin and try to walk away nonchalantly, ‘My office 10 minutes ?' comes the unmistakably irritated voice of the Head from behind...
Key Questions:
- Can a points system be fair?
- Should children who arrive on time be rewarded?
- Are children who struggle to get to school on time humiliated when they have no chance of changing their routine?
B. No time for excuses
You decide to make the consequences for arriving late much clearer and tell all of the children that time will need to be made up in break and lunchtimes. This changes nothing for Abigail, she is not concerned about missing break or lunch. Other children find the changes more difficult. They argue vociferously claiming ‘'snot my fault my mum was late', and that they have made up for their lateness by working 'SOOOOOOOOO hard'. Upping the anti has no impact on Abigail either, the after school detentions provoke no response or change in daily routine. You final consequence of making her work on her own for the first lesson seems cruel and unkind. You being to realise that the wrong person is being punished. Abigail doesn't have control over her Mum's timekeeping. You suspect that Mum doesn't even know that Abigail is received daily sanctions. You back away from the insane path of punishment just as some parents are questioning your inflexibility and sanity. You have noticed that conversations between children are all about how late they are and who has got how many minutes punishment. They are perversely enjoying by the tension of punishment; perhaps heroes will be made not squashed. The culture in your classroom has taken a difficult turn, time to turn it back.
Key Questions:
- Is a 'no excuses' culture simply a result of a lack of empathy from teachers?
- Is it right to punish children for their parents' crimes ?
- Do increasing punishments result in increasingly good behaviour?
C. Take Mum in hand
Despite letters and failed phone calls Mum is proving very tricky to pin down. Even the family support team have had no luck in contacting her. Abigail makes her own way home but it is mum who drops her off. The trouble is her routine is not predictable and you are teaching by the time she arrives. You resolve to make sure that you ‘bump into mum' in the next week and come up with a fiendish plan in cahoots with your learning support professional. Looking back over the data it seems that Wednesday is the day that Abigail is least likely to be late. You figure that if your class can be covered for 15 minutes you can wait for Mum to drop off and at least agree a time for a face to face meeting.
Waiting to casually pounce in the car park seems extreme but it doesn't take long before you see the car approaching at high speed with a frantic mum at the wheel. As soon as she sees you she starts apologising, explaining that she can't talk now and is late for work and throwing a bucketful of diversions at you. Instead of berating her for her appealing time keeping you decide to just say hello, introduce yourself properly and tell her how fantastic her daughter is. She slows down, listens and then burst into tears. As you usher Abigail into the reception Mum reveals the real issue of an ill grandmother who came off Christmas and never left. Abigail doesn't know it but grandma needs a lot of care, particularly in the morning. Life has got a lot harder very quickly for the family. You agree a time to talk again and as you walk back into school you realise that this brief encounter may have opened the door to finding a solution to punctuality.
Key Questions:
- Should this conversation with mum be left to family support services?
- What would be your next steps ?
- Are there ways that you could help Abigail gets to school on time in the short term?
Your style
A. Bribe Time
Don't rush for the prizes. Children don't need to be rewarded for turing up on time. This is a minimum standard, a basic. Thanking them is enough. Attaching points to people and prizes can have unforeseen negative consequences
B. Hard Time
Don't reach for punishment. You cannot punish children for the mistakes of their parents. Punishment is a weak, soggy and largely ineffectual deterrent for lateness.
C. Time to care
Dealing with parents with kindness is always the best way to get behind the mask. Your proactive steps are a positive move to open a dialogue and find a way to get Abigail to school on time, every time.