Limits, Deadlines, and Due Dates

This message is (mostly) for parents...



We all have rules and restrictions in everyday life--speed limits, comfortable room temperatures, bill payments, when we need to be at work, etc. Some limits we don't like or agree with, but we need to operate within them, or deal with consequences we don't like! What mom has had a pregnancy go well past her due-date, and has dealt with different types of fallout, results, and reactions? (We don't want to go there!)

So it is with school assignments, from routine homework to longer-range projects and writing reports and such. Work is DUE on a specific date. Penalties exist for delinquent work. Excuses don't cut it! (Sorry, officer, I didn't realize a residential neighborhood had a 25 mph speed limit.) I know "I forgot it/left it home/lost it" means "It's not done." Not acceptable-period.

My 7th grade class has a biography writing project we have worked on since Tuesday. The due date for the complete, final copy is Monday!
From past experience, I know I can expect the following results-some beautiful projects, some good, and a few, poor quality or MIA. Students have a somewhat revised rubric, which closely resembles the one in a previous blog. They know what do, and how to do it correctly. The limits have been established.

Yes, there are limits. There must be boundaries for students and children for discipline, safety, and to prepare them for the rules and limits of life as future adults. As adults, we should expect RESPECT for what we know, do, and teach our children. We want to keep them safe, and teach them responsibility. We want them to be proud of their accomplishments, and not try to "sneak around" the rules, because that will diminish their personal effort and growth. As adults, we know that the most self-satisfaction is knowing we did our best, whatever the task.

Let's work together to get the best from our students!