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Teaching Pre K-8, Feb 2000 by Mann, Thomasina

A mishap gives Thomasina new Insight into tardiness.

I want to revisit the issue of tardiness, due to an adventure I recently had. My school is an historical site, which gives you a clue to the age of the facilities. However, the ladies' bathrooms have a great deal of marble and are quiet, large and pleasant.

One day at lunchtime I was rushing -- as usual. I breezed into the restroom and entered a stall. I turned the silver handle and, as the lock took hold, the handle fell into my hand.

Trapped! At first, I chuckled and grimaced - this seemed to be one way to be forced into slowing down! So I sat down and surveyed the possibility of wiggling out under the door. No way!

Next, I measured the jump down from the top of the stall. If I climbed from the toilet and used the paper holder as a step up, I'd have absolutely no chance of landing upright.

I looked at my watch and saw that only four minutes remained before the last bell. Surely someone would come along - but no such luck. I played with the lock, jiggled the door and prayed to the patron saint of lost causes. I jiggled the lock some more, used my thumbnail and the door swung open!

What's your excuse? As the final ling of the last bell sounded, I rounded the corner to the hall where my classroom is located to see a long line of eighth graders tapping their watches and making those familiar "uh-huh, yeah, I know" noises that I, as a teacher, can make so well.

I started laughing and had to reveal the predicament that had just caught the Queen of Punctuality and made her tardy to class.

Rewriting rules. The rule in our school of 1400 students, which I strictly enforce, is: You must be in your seat with materials ready when the last bell rings. So, one more time in my long career, I had to eat a little crow. Everyone was in a good mood when, sure enough, in pranced two girls who are always late. I didn't say a word. There was dead silence, and one girl started a tale about how she got caught in the cafeteria door. Before she finished the first three words, I said, "No detention."

The next day, a very precocious boy announced in class that I needed to "r-e visit my tardy policy and lighten up a bit because the unexpected does happen."

So now the new policy says, if you're tardy, take a yellow excuse slip and write me all the details. I'll consider the situation and determine overnight if a detention is necessary and let the student know my decision the following day. I think I might have taught these students something about negotiating, as well as teaching myself a little lesson in consideration.

Thomasina Mann* on Teaching in the Middle School

*Thomasina Mann is a pseudonym for a Teaching K-8 reader. The column is underwritten by a grant from Texas Instruments. The views expressed in the column are those of the author.