“Eight O’ Clock is the time for school,
Never late in the morning.
Eight O’ Clock for the boys and girls
Come to school in the morning”.
The above nursery rhyme is apt enough to describe the importance of punctuality in the life of humans, hence, “punctuality they say, is the soul of business”.
“Beginning of a great day begins a night before”. “Arriving late was a way of saying that your own time was more valuable than the time of the person who waited for you.” Everyone looks for every excuse for coming late till they tag late coming “African Time”.
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. Everyone knows how nice it feels to switch off the alarm clock in the morning and go back to sleep. The only thing is that it makes you late to your school, to your office, to your business and when it becomes a habit, it makes you lose your money, your career, and your credibility – because punctuality is a sign of being responsible in life.
Great men have always understood the value of punctuality. In fact, a life devoid of punctuality will be a life of broken promises.
“Punctuality is not just arriving at a place at the right time; it is also about finishing things at the right time.” It is easy to while away time and say tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow. Lack of punctuality arises from lack of planning and focus. It is often said, ‘we have to root out laziness and do the preparations’. We must have enough sleep and wake up early in the morning. That is how we hold time by the forelock.
But today, many people fail to recognize the value of punctuality. They believe that money, fame, and power ̣are excuses for being late. As a result, a lack of punctuality has become the shameless hallmark of our culture.
I remember what happened to one of our state commissioners. One of our Head Teachers was retiring and a dinner was organized to give him a fitting farewell. The state commissioner was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little address at the function, but the speaker did not arrive on time and the retiring Head Master began with his own words of gratitude. “When I came to this school years ago, I thought I had been posted to a terrible place because the very first teacher I came in contact with….. well, he is not into teaching again, he had left many years ago. He was involved in stealing, blackmailing and breaking of school rules, but when I had an opportunity to talk him out of it, I did with everything I have in me. Thank God he changed before he left the service”. Just as he finished his words, the commissioner came in, “I am greatly sorry for coming late. I learnt a lot from this head teacher when I was in service. I was the first teacher he came in contact with when he was posted into this village”. Now, you can guess the look on people’s face. The above confusion on his part was a consequence of lateness on the part of the commissioner. What a dramatic irony, and a great embarrassment on such a high profile citizen.
Whatever heights you reach in life, never be late. Remember, it is the difference of only a few seconds in catching a train or missing it! Therefore, to catch the train of life, always be on time.
There is a clear link between attendance and attainment. The more time a pupil spends in school the more likely they are to improve their opportunity to fulfill their full potential.
Being punctual for school means making sure your child is at school and ready to learn before the bell rings. There are many ways to ensure your child is on time for school, from making sure their school bags are packed the night before to making sure they get up with plenty of time to eat and get ready. Lost minutes mean lost learning. Did you know that being late 15 minutes every day is the same as missing two (2) whole weeks of school over a full academic year? A few minutes here and there should not matter but every minute counts and that lost time all adds up.
Being late does not only affect your child, it disrupts other children in the class as well as the teachers trying to teach a lesson.
How to Be in School on Time
Do you seem to be late for school a lot? Do people tease you about it? Do your grades suffer because of it? Does your late coming annoy your teacher?
Being on time is so important for academic success! Learn to improve your reputation and your chances for academic success with these tips all the time!
Tips for Punctuality
- Rethink the meaning of “on time.” People who are always on time are really people who arrive early every day–and acknowledge that things can go wrong to set them back several minutes. When things do “go wrong” these students arrive on time!
- Understand the importance of being on time: Students who are always on time are those who earn the best grades, win scholarships, and get into great colleges. In the working world, the people who are always on time are the people who get promotions.
- Get enough sleep: If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, then make a serious effort to get to bed earlier. Sufficient sleep is essential for maximum brain function anyway, so you really don’t want to ignore this aspect of your scholastic habits.
- Give yourself a realistic amount of time to dress and groom: You can do this with a simple exercise: Get up early one morning and time yourself (moving at a normal pace) to see how long it takes you to get ready. You may be surprised at the time it takes, especially if you find you have been trying to squeeze 40 minutes worth of grooming into fifteen minutes each morning. You can try creating a time management clock.
- Know exactly when you need to be at your destination and subtract ten or fifteen minutes to establish your arrival time: This will give you time to go to the restroom or chat with friends. If class begins at 7:45, you should arrive at the school by 7:30 and be in your seat at 7:40.
- Communicate any problems: If your bus is always late or you have to take your little brother to school and it always makes you late, just explain this to your teacher.
- Listen to traffic news: If you depend on public transportation to get to school, always keep an eye on schedule interruptions.
- Have a backup plan for your transportation: If you normally ride to school with a friend, think ahead and plan what to do if your friend gets sick.
- Set your clocks forward by ten minutes: This is a dirty little psychological trick that many people play on themselves. The funny thing is, it really works!
CREDIT: Mr. Babatunde Odumuyiwa