The way I do it is more art, than inaction. I don’t know why I put some things off until the last minute. I think that I’m more of a “deadline” person. My best writing has been done at the last minute, when things are “down to the wire.” 15 page research paper due next Thursday? I have time. I will start it on Wednesday morning at 5am. It’s not poor planning on my part. It’s poor prioritizing, maybe. How do we keep our students from doing what I do, frequently? How do we get our students to take time seriously? Age, obviously, has nothing to do with it. So we can’t say that it’s a phase. I think it is more of a “type” of person. Some people have brown eyes. Some people have blue eyes. Some people are always early. Some people are always late. I think that the best thing that we can so as teachers, is give students ample time, and hope for the best. I know, I know… not very scientific. But we have to realize that we will be dealing with young adults (high school and middle school teachers anyway). We have to step back and put into perspective that only 150 – 200 years ago, 15 and 16 year olds were leaving home and going to college, or going to work in the factories (very dangerous places), or taking over farms. Talk about short-lived childhoods. Maybe shorter, less time-consuming tasks, or maybe even (shudder) tasks that may be considered as “fun,” would help. Even then, I know that we will have students that will procrastinate. So, I put the question out there (take your time in answering); What do you do to avoid the procrastination monster? Or do you just buckle down and embrace the monster like you would a lover… and wait until the time is right?
Mack Strickland