scijessreads

This quote isn’t exactly matched to this topic I am about to expand on, but it does fit with it very well. Because in the end, what you given time to or respect the time of is what you prioritize.

When did showing up late and expecting everything to stop for you become a thing? I feel as if in the past few semesters of classes, my students haven taken to showing up consistently late. And not a fashionable 5 minutes, but like whole half hours after the class begins.

Showing up late interrupts not only me, but it interferes with the learning of other students. Showing up late and expecting me to say everything all over again for you is just… no. If you can’t respect my time, why should I bend over backward to help you when it is not convenient for me or the class?

I’m not saying that one can never be late. It happens. But if it does, you also have to accept responsibility for whatever happens as a result of the lateness. Miss a big deadline? No one cares why, just that it happened. Coming up with excuses and expecting preferential treatment is not appropriate for the situation. Just accept that it happened, accept the fallout of it happening, and move on.

Maybe my obsession with being on time stems from my upbringing. My mom was always early to things. My high school English teacher used to say “to be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is inexcusable.”

What you say when you’re late, even without words, is that you don’t respect or value what the person or situation you are late for. And if this is a habit in real world is going to be a rough place to deal with.