DETENTION LEARNING PACKET #1

Transcription

1 DETENTION LEARNING PACKET #1 LATE TO SCHOOL INTRODUCTION This is a Detention Learning Packet. It consists of several pages of text and a Response form. The text includes two stories about students who broke a school rule and were given a detention. The Response form asks questions about what the people in the stories did that got them into trouble. HOW TO DO THE ASSIGNMENT Your assignment while in detention is as follows: 1. Read the text. 2. Write answers to the questions on the Response form. This will help you understand what you did wrong and how to avoid doing it again. Your detention is not completed until this assignment is finished. WHAT S WRONG WITH WHAT YOU DID You have been given a detention because you broke the school rule about being late to school. It is important to get to school on time. When you are late getting to school, you not only cause problems for yourself; you inconvenience others as well. That s what makes being late to school wrong. CAUSES OF BEING LATE TO SCHOOL: TWO STORIES Now you will read two stories about students who have been given a detention for being late to school. See if you recognize yourself in them. SOONER-OR-LATER LARRY Larry can t stay on a schedule. You never know when Larry s going to arrive. He may show up five minutes late, or he may show up an hour late. It doesn t matter whether it s school, a ball game, a movie, or whatever. Larry has no sense of time. He misses TV shows he wants to watch, he doesn t get his homework done on

2 time, and he never seems to be able to meet a deadline. His grades are low and he can t figure out why. Larry depends on others to tell him what time it is, or what has to be turned in to class on a given day. He doesn t plan ahead, or work out schedules to get things done on time. He waits until the last minute to eat breakfast, or to get dressed, or to brush his teeth before running out of the house to catch the school bus. Eventually, everybody who has anything to do with Larry winds up having to make allowances for Larry s inability to work within a schedule. Which means that everybody is inconvenienced because of Larry. Larry has been given a detention for repeatedly being late to school. One more unexcused lateness, and he will be suspended. But why waste time worrying about Larry? Larry doesn t seem to worry about anybody else. OUT-OF-TIME OLGA Olga is a go-getter. She s into every activity, on every committee, and into every program she can find. She likes to interact with people, to be busy all the time, and to be involved in everything that s going on in school. What she doesn t like is sitting in class, listening to the teacher talk. Or sitting in the library or at home, reading her assignments. These things bore Olga to distraction. But having a can of soda at the restaurant on the way to school, while talking a blue streak with her friends: now that s living! But it means that she is often late to school, which is why she has been given a detention. As far as regular school work is concerned, it s almost as if Olga was a part-time student. While excited about school activities, classes hold no interest for her at all. Olga looks forward to a soda at the corner restaurant every morning, but she dreads sitting down in class and concentrating on her school work. She s habitually late to school, late to class, and late turning in her assignments.

3 How could somebody so enthusiastic and successful in everything else have such a problem just getting to school on time? CONSEQUENCES OF BEING LATE TO SCHOOL The immediate consequence of being late to school is that you may be given a detention. But being late to school is not just about breaking rules. For example, when you are late to school, you may: miss important announcements or assignments lose out on part of the lesson disturb the other students delay the class in getting started upset the daily schedule make it harder for everybody to learn Further, classes may have been rescheduled at different times, teachers may be sick, important events that you wouldn t want to miss may be happening and you ll miss all of it if you are late. Being late to school also disturbs other students as they try to learn, disturbs teachers as they try to help their students, and generally disrupts everybody. People get tired of always having to wait until a person who is late gets there before they can get down to work. When you graduate, the people you work for won t put up with your being late. They ll subtract money from your paycheck for lateness. If you continue being late, they ll let you go. Being late is a bad habit to get into. Break it now! HOW TO PREVENT BEING LATE TO SCHOOL Be there on time! Stop inconveniencing everybody else s schedule because you can t be organized!

4 Here are a few tips about getting to school on time: Get up fifteen minutes earlier. Organize yourself the night before: lay out your clothes and your school work so you won t have to hunt for everything in the morning. Work out a daily or weekly schedule and learn how to stay on it. Get a watch if you don t already have one! Get an alarm clock, too. Don t rely on others to wake you. If you ride public transportation to school, buy your pass or tokens in advance. If you ride a school bus, be at the bus stop on time. Don t stop anywhere on the way to school. If you are late to school because you are having trouble with the school work or with someone at school, discuss the problem with your teacher.

5 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET # 1.1 LATE TO SCHOOL WHAT TO DO NAME DATE GRADE HOMEROOM Below are some questions about the text you just read. Answering these questions will help you learn why what you did was wrong and how you can avoid such problems in the future. Your teacher, a counselor, the principal, or your parents may read your answers. Your answers will not be graded. For most of the questions, there are no right or wrong answers. The answers depend on your situation. Be honest with yourself as you write the answers. Take time to think before you write. The work you do on these Response Packets reflects your willingness to improve your behavior and attitude. Write your answers in the spaces below the questions. If there is not enough room, write on the backs of these sheets. Be neat, spell correctly, use good grammar, and write in complete sentences. 1. How many times were you late to school before being given a detention? 2. Why were you late to school? Explain. 3. Do you have problems being late for other things besides school? Explain.

6 4. Why is it wrong to be late to school, especially if you make a habit of it? 5. In Sooner-or-Later Larry s story, Larry has problems keeping track of time. Explain why Larry has this problem. 6. What advice would you give to Larry if you were his friend or counselor? 7. Why is Olga late for school but on time for everything else? Explain. 8. How can Olga overcome her problem of being late to school? 9. What are the consequences of being late to school besides being given a detention? Explain. 10. Write two goals that will help you stop being late to school.

7 STUDENT RESPONSE PACKET # 1.2 LATE TO SCHOOL WHAT TO DO NAME DATE GRADE HOMEROOM Below are some questions about the text you just read. These questions will help you learn why what you did was wrong and how you can avoid such problems in the future. Your teacher, a counselor, the principal, or your parents may read your answers. Your answers will not be graded. For most of the questions, there are no right or wrong answers. The answers depend on you. Be honest with yourself as you write the answers. Take time to think before you write. The work you do on these Response Packets reflects your willingness to improve your behavior and attitude. Write your answers in the spaces below the questions. If there is not enough room, write on the backs of these sheets. Be neat, spell correctly, use good grammar, and write in complete sentences. 1. You have been late for school before. What is your reason for being late this time? 2. How could you have prevented being late this time? 3. Why does your school have a rule against being late?

8 4. What effect does your being late have on other people? Why is this unfair to them? Don t forget to mention how your lateness affects your teacher. 5. Sooner-or-Later Larry doesn t seem to take being on time seriously. What can happen to Larry later in life if he doesn t change his ways? 6. Write two goals that would help Larry overcome his problem with being on time. 7. Olga is involved in so many activities, she can t keep up with her schedule. But what is Olga s real problem? 8. Why is it bad to get in the habit of being late? How might this affect a person s job later in life? 9. How do you hurt yourself when you are late to school? Explain. 10. Write two goals that will help you overcome your lateness problem. Explain why you will be able to achieve these goals, although you did not succeed in reaching your goals last time. Use the back of this sheet if you need extra space to finish your answer.