November 18, 2007

Right now, right here — hopefully in a timely fashion — let me make a bold declaration: I don’t agree with the tardy policies of our schools. Many, if not all, reputable schools in Karachi boast a strict late policy. Simply stated, students must be on time to school or else. While some schools grant a certain grace period under special circumstances or may tolerate a few discrepancies, generally speaking, the late-arriving students are brusquely sent home. Specifically, a morning delay of a longer period, such as an hour or so, is completely intolerable.

Indeed, this no-nonsense stance seems appropriate since a school is a place where our children learn not only textbook education but many values as well; above all, how to lead a disciplined life. Hence, it only makes sense that they learn the importance of punctuality from this esteemed institution.

Considering the consequences, this policy seems to work. If a student is late one day, and goes through the embarrassment of administrative interrogation, he/she (and the parents) is on extreme alarm in the following days to reach school on time. So, in effect, one might say, the school is able to ensure punctual attendance.

Yet, I can’t help but wonder: what is the child’s or parents’ motive in avoiding tardiness? Is it a determination to be punctual for the sake of punctuality or is it a desire to avoid further (public) humiliation from the administration? I think, if we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that the latter is a more immediate driving force. Thus, the question arises: what are the students learning?

Over time, we as a society have ascertained that – as popularly known – the “danda” system works best. If I, so long as I am superior to you, am strict, you will follow; if I embarrass somebody, she will fear me, and if I bestow a favor upon someone, he will feel indebted to me, and so on. From hierarchical households to micromanaged workplaces, forced respect is the order of the day. However, this mode of thinking only engenders a fear or love of people, not of values or ideas.

Similarly, in place of understanding the significance of punctuality, our children learn to fear people of higher authority – something which, with time and recurrence of similar experiences, becomes more and more solidified in their sensitive minds. Alas, we begin teaching our children this in the very place where their minds are supposed to be liberated.

Instead of instilling the lifelong lesson that we should not be late because it is good to be on time, our children systematically learn that they don’t want to be late (no matter what the cause) because they dread facing Mr./Ms. So-and-So. The latter ensures that we will always walk in one line: we will try our best never to be late for school. The former, on the other hand, prompts reflection on the actual value of punctuality and of time in our lives – and the realisation that sometimes things don’t go according to our plans.

No matter how much we strive to open their minds to higher concepts in the classroom, our students’ mental growth will remain stunted so long as non-textbook learning teaches them that they are ultimately answerable not to themselves, but to some higher authority, be it administration, teacher, and later on, their manager. These hidden messages, conveyed through a school’s policies and attitudes, can easily undo all the efforts of superior instruction … for, in the end, we all know that students do not retain the actual lessons studied in their classes, but the overall personalities and outlooks which have been honed by the school and its teachers over the years. (What a pity it would be that as a child grows into an adolescent, he/she learns to mentally tune off such verbal beatings, as is mostly the case.)

Being on time to school is extremely important and having a firm late policy is essential as well – however, it should be executed in a manner befitting a place of education. Rather than erecting an administrative persona toward whom all fear and anger is directed, the onus of tardiness should be shifted to the parents and children so that internal scrutiny takes place.

As an alternative, perhaps we should have a desk with late sign-in sheets, along with an unobtrusive administrative overseer. The child will sign in and move on to the assembly or the classroom (with a late pass), depending on how late he/she comes in. (The distractions involved in entering a classroom late can easily be overcome with the teacher’s quiet directions, if needed at all.) If a child is repeatedly late, then, a parent-administration meeting should be held to explore reasons. If the cause seems superficial, or the parental attitude is too casual, then a warning should be given. In extreme cases only, after a warning has been issued, should the child be suspended.

Interestingly, we often craft policies keeping the worst in mind. So, we tend to think of exploiters more than abiders. But, in doing so, we forget that by taking the exception as the rule, a high-trust relationship between the policy makers and its general users is very difficult to establish. In this case, the administration must remember that most parents understand the importance of punctuality at school and diligently work to make sure their children reach school on time. However, we do live in the real world – from illness to oversleep to absent drivers to flat tires, anything could occasionally hamper one’s smooth and early arrival at the school.

If school administrations take these in their stride, as the above outlined methodology advocates, then the students will inevitably take responsibility for their own actions, leading them to contemplate why being on time to school is vital to their educational experience. Such self-accountability is even more applicable to those individuals who are habitually late.

As for the day off they currently get, the original feeling of a bruised ego or remorse wears off before long. Mothers know that the long faces are soon replaced with eager ones asking for TV-time. By the end of the day, parents are generally at a loss as to the significance behind this “punishment” which is filled with all sorts of play.

It is high time that our schools revise their tardy policies so that the children’s day-to-day and lifelong learning do not get sacrificed in the name of rigid policies. After all, no matter whose lens one looks from, education, in all its multifaceted glory, is our central goal.

There! I’ve made my case — I just hope that I’m not too late.