Student Arriving Late or Leaving Early

STUDENT ARRIVING LATE OR LEAVING EARLY 1

Student Arriving Late or Leaving Early
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Negative behavior of student arriving late or leaving early
Human beings are social beings who easily associate with others. Each and every person has a sense of belonging to a group or particular individuals of interest. Learning institutions admit learners from different origin and background who associate and relate differently with teachers and fellow learners. In such places, learners portray positive and negative behaviors. It is the responsibility of the academic community to maintain a high level of self-discipline to provide a peaceful and conducive environment for learning. However, some learners develop disruptive behavior which interrupts the normal learning process. The teacher should identify the reason for the change of behavior and try to provide the solution in time. Understanding each interest and dislikes helps in solving conflict arising among the students easily.
Both the students and the staff have the duty to understand and respect each other for peaceful co-existence. Also, rules and regulations governing the learning institution should be followed to the latter. Code of conduct and ethics should be well stipulated to guide the learners to form healthy relationship amongst themselves in the class. Every student should be aware of the consequences attached to the breaking of set rules and regulation.
Arriving late to class or leaving early is one of disrupting behavior affecting many learning processes in most of the institutions (Bitter, p.239, 2010). The students are supposed to be punctual in arriving and leaving the class. A sober-minded student is supposed to do the right thing at the right time and at the right place to avoid conflict with the authority. Persistent lateness affects performance of the student negatively because the learner misses the introduction part of learning which forms the basis for the specific concept being taught.In addition leaving before the time the learner losses the conclusion session which summarizes the key points of the lesson taught. Severe consequences of lateness and early leaving are experienced by the learner during the exam period when the learner fails to comprehend the whole concept which eventually leads to poor performance.
The instructor should intervene to curb the behavior because is mandated to manage the classroom for smooth learning without interruption by the late comers or early leavers to avoid disrupting other when the learning is in progress. Such behaviors should not be tolerated because it interferes with learning the process of others and the proper functioning of the learning institution (Mitchell, p.172, 2010). Therefore, the necessary measure should be taken to create a safe learning environment by administering appropriate disciplinary action to the learner.
Possible reasons for the behavior.
There are several reasons for the learner’s change of behaviors in learning institution. They vary from psychological to social diversity. Depression, anxiousness, substance abuse, peer group, cultural issues and illness usually contribute to the student change of behavior. Depressed learners sometimes misbehave to attract the attention of others. Most of them arrive late or leave early to be noticed. The unexpected arrival or departure interrupts the lesson and forces both the teacher and the student to look at them (Seidman, p.40, 2005). Persistent lateness is much irritating and generally annoys the rest of classmate and the teacher.
Sometimes student seek power by acting in a controversial manner to be noticed as heroes by their fellow students. They behave contrary to the school rules and regulation where they find themselves at slog heads with the school authority. They do not like to concede defeat and they tend to deviate to any kind if the instruction is given to them. The fact is that such victims normally they suffer from superiority complex because they often fell threatened and their survival tactics are by either coming late or leaving. Students with low self-esteem find it difficult to cope in school. They lack confidence and usually develop low morale in their studies. They generally feel exhausted and frustrated and develop phobia hence they end up being late or sneak before the lesson elapses. In a real sense, the student may drop out of school because they expect failure of attaining poor grades in their studies.
On the other hand, some students feel socially unacceptable in class. They isolate themselves from others and counter reacts by being late to revenge as a means of attracting others. The facial expression of students who feel disliked is anger and excess fear of unknown accompanied with violent actions. Monopolizing discussion and other class activities generally discourage the learners. The learners feel neglected and end up being late in class. Moreover, drug and substance abuse by student greatly affects the learning program. Addiction to drugs alters the normal functioning of the body and the student must leave the class early to get the drug or arrive in the process of quenching the thirst. Some drugs have a drossy effect which might force the student to leave early to relieve the hangovers.
Associating with wrong peer groups eventually, lead to the student misbehaving.It always advisable to choose the right people to associate with. Focused and hardworking peers rarely report late or leave the class before the lesson is over. Lazy students waste time doing unnecessary things which delay them from attending the class in time as well as leaving early to attend other unfinished duties which lead to poor performance.
Ways of improving behavior
There are some effective ways of controlling disruptive behavior of lateness and early leaving from class. First and foremost create conducive classroom environment. There should be a cordial relationship between the teacher and the student. Respecting and maintaining a high level of discipline at all times should be the driving wheel for the school community. Cooperation is necessary for better performance. Bothe the staff and the student should be committed to achievable the set goals and objective. The administration should involve students in setting school rules and regulation (Hoffman, pg.120, 2014). The act motivates learners to feel part and parcel of the school.
Teachers should use effective teaching methods and avoid lecture method to avoid monopoly and boredom. (Laslett, & Smith, n.p, 2002) Students should actively participate in class activities and the teacher should appreciate any positive progress especially the latecomers and those who leave early. Free and fair leadership in class promote good relationship in class. Discrimination cause disunity in class and others develop low self-esteem leading to lateness and avoidance.
Listening and paying attention to another is very important. Allowing students to express their feelings and air their grievances without intimidation which improves their behaviors. Students should share and offer peer guidance among themselves. In some cases, the teacher should privately discuss with the student on matters affecting them and offer guidance and counseling for positive behavior change. Students should also offer. At that moment give individual attention and make eye contact to show concern and commitment to the pressing issue. Therefore, teachers should be good role models to portray admirable behaviors to be emulated by students. They should practice punctuality, have high standard moral values, set achievable goals, being enthusiastic when teaching. On the other hand, students must have discipline, respect the authority, cooperate, manage their time properly and appreciating one’s effort for effective learning to take place in class. Sharing classroom responsibility encourages the student to positively change the weird behavior as well as to gain leadership experience and exercise power responsibly.

Reference
Bitter, J.R., 2011. Conscious motivations: An enhancement to Dreikurs’ goals of children’s misbehavior. Contributions to Adlerian Psychology, p.239.
Hoffman, K.D. and Lee, S.H., 2014. A CIT investigation of disruptive student behaviors: the students’ perspective. Marketing Education Review, 24(2), pp.115-126.
Laslett, R. and Smith, C., 2002. Effective classroom management: A teacher’s guide. Routledge.
Mitchell, I., 2010. The relationship between teacher behaviours and student talk in promoting quality learning in science classrooms. Research in science education, 40(2), pp.171-186.
Seidman, A., 2005. The learning killer: Disruptive student behavior in the classroom. Reading improvement, 42(1), p.40.