Quote:
Originally Posted by chedder
Well, post secondary and then real-life have deadlines with consequences. Don't you think they should be prepared for this eventuality at least a bit?
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I think we often vastly overrate how many deadlines exist like that in real-life and how much students will develop that in middle and high school. I will also prefer that they learn the material rather than meet arbitrary deadlines.
I also think that if your lesson is about meeting deadlines than that is the lesson. Have assignments in which meeting the deadline is as or more important than what the assignment is, make it clear to the students that is the expectation, teach them the skills they need to meet that expectation. That is how you teach them to develop time management, planning, hard work etc. that you will need to meet deadlines in the future.
Saying that your book report on To Kill a Mockingbird is due Dec. 1 and if not done by then is a zero doesn't help them meet the goals that you likely had when you assigned that book report. If they end up reading the book, analyzing the themes and writing a passable book report in February isn't that the goal of teaching?
I understand there are obviously certain time lines that have to be met in terms of end dates and dates when grades need to be submitted. I also understand that it can be tough if you think students take advantage of this and of course the workload of marking if everyone hands everything in last minute, but from people I have talked to that run their classes like this they say that really isn't a problem.
I think the primary focus of teaching should be that students learn the material and punitive punishments like late marks and especially zeroes doesn't help anyone learn the material in any way.