Tardiness in Special Education

M.C. High School has a time management problem. The students don’t realize the importance of getting to class on time and may need consequences to help them put their priorities in working order.

More particularly, the students at M.C. High have a self-management problem that begs for a strategic solution. Although teacher-directed management is implemented in the classroom regularly, the equation of behavior cannot be completed, so to speak, without the self-management variable, implemented by the students themselves, and at no time throughout the day is this more important than before and after class, when students are not close enough for teacher direction. Self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement are three outstanding strategies. As far as tardiness is concerned, students will be reinforced with a routine reward system in place. Self-evaluation would allow them to compare themselves with preset students to determine if lateness is tolerable and by how much. More particularly, they are enticed to determine when and how much they will need to "shape up" for class.

Usually, a form for recording time spent in between classes is provided, and this tactic makes self-evaluation a successful strategy. If not already in place, this effective strategy should become the foundation for hallway traffic at M.C. High. Forms such as these are not only a motivating cue for students to consider time more carefully, but a recorded documentation of where they are coming from and going to. This combined with a simple rewards system should solve any time management problems at M.C. High.