Why late is never too late for one teacher

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High, writes:

This happens to me every year around this time, and I kick myself for getting into this situation. Why am I doing this? How could I let so much amass so quickly?

I come to school bleary-eyed and exhausted. Stacks of essays, reports, letters and reflections are piled indiscriminately in my living room, in the backseat of my car, in my school mailbox and on my desk. I spend hours each night doing my best to put a dent in the unrelenting pile. Yet, despite these efforts, it continues to grow.

The problem is late work. More specifically, the problem is that I accept late work, and I should know better.

Finals are upon us, and students are scrambling to make sure they are going to pass my class. Obviously, our class time is focused on making students successful in achieving both their personal and the class goals, but with weekly essays, class projects and lengthy reading assignments, it’s easy for the unsuspecting student to fall behind. As I’ve written before, I have a strict “No D” policy for my classroom, which means passing my class means getting at least 70%. And as many teachers make it clear to our students, “I don’t give grades; students earn them.”

As I said, I’ll accept late work. It takes some students longer to get in motion than others. Typically, these students are penalized with lower and failing marks, and a perpetual cycle of failure is quickly instituted. I believe every single one of my students can be successful. I would imagine that the majority of us believe this. If it means that Juan is going to take a bit longer realizing the steps he needs to take to achieve success, it means I’ll wait that much longer to actually grade his essay. As a still developing teacher, I am continuing to find ways to improve on this situation, but I don’t see it going away anytime soon.

Of course, critics point out that I’m not making students accountable to deadlines and that they aren’t learning to be responsible. My problem is an ever-present question: At what point in the school year do you look at a student and realize that it is hopeless for him or her –- that no matter how much they show up, at the end of the year they are not going to pass? At least for me, I can’t find myself willing to turn my back on a student in such a situation. Thus, as a result, I have the influx of papers that plagues me at the moment.

This happens to me every year around this time, and it’ll probably continue indefinitely.

Comments

[Ben]

As a teacher for 7 years, I have struggled with the same issue. I have always had a policy of taking off some credit for late work, the later it is, the more credit lost. Then I also have days in the middle of the semester that are cut off days for late work up to that point.

These tactics help a little, but I think, ultimately, the number of students helped by having this flexibility is outweighed by the number who never complete the work because they didn't feel the sense of urgency when it was due. That's why this coming school year I am planning to implement, for the first time ever for me, a no-late-work policy.

Exceptions? Never say never.