No Bad Deadlines

By Coleen Armstrong

Twenty-eight years into my teaching career, I finally saw the light. I decided to stop being a slave to the clock and the calendar, and I stopped insisting that my students march in similar lock step.

I eliminated fixed due dates for themes, journals, and literature essay questions.

A radical experiment, to be sure. I began with my seniors (the following fall, the change would extend to juniors as well), establishing a policy of full disclosure: I couldn’t possibly grade 100 papers in one night, I admitted, but I could certainly handle 25 or so. So why not pass along the energy saving to them? I recommended a target deadline, and then stated that if they needed more time, all they had to do was drop me a note explaining why and how soon I could expect to see a completed product. Then I established a date near the end of the grading period beyond which I could no longer accept anything.

And then...I waited.

I had no idea how things would evolve. Perhaps I’d be buried beneath an avalanche during that final week. Perhaps everyone would procrastinate well into the following quarter, then beg, plead, and threaten unless I changed their grades after the fact. Perhaps some would turn in no work at all. Because this move flew directly into the face of what teachers have claimed since the beginning of time (“Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile”), I wasn’t exactly optimistic.

But my students surprised me.

“…in my classes warm relationships were already in place; I had always encouraged
a you-can-tell-me-anything atmosphere of trust and camaraderie.”
 – Coleen Armstrong

The first thing I witnessed was overwhelming gratitude. Their hectic lives, with “part-time” jobs sapping 20, 30, even 40 hours each week, their car payments, their relationships with peers and romantic partners, their newborns and/or toddlers, coupled with full class schedules and plenty of homework assignments all made every week a marathon. If I experienced nights at home when my bulging briefcase never even made it out of my trunk, then what must that frenzied treadmill be like for them? And as for the charge from fellow staff members that I was merely teaching irresponsibility, how many adults encountered no leeway whatsoever in their jobs, thereby becoming resigned to mediocre performances because time constraints didn’t permit anything better?

Of course I must add that in my classes warm relationships were already in place; I had always encouraged a you-can-tell-me-anything atmosphere of trust and camaraderie. But the notes I received from those needing additional time were more than touching. I saw no traces of arrogance or entitlement, only grace and concern.

I’m really sorry I haven’t finished those essay questions yet. I have the rough drafts for all but one. For the past two weeks, I’ve had to work till 9:00 pm every night. I want to hand in my best work, and not worry about getting a lower grade, but I don’t want to inconvenience you, either. Could you please accept them on Monday? I’ll have them on your desk first thing in the morning.

 --Christina

I have to ask you to accept my journal late just this once. I went to work on Saturday and rolled down my window, and when I came back it had rained, and my journal was on the floor, soaking wet, so I had to start over. I will do this!!! I will have 15 pages finished by Wednesday. I need to get caught up before I fail my senior year. And from now on, I will remember to put my journal in my trunk!

 ––Steve

Reprimands were unnecessary; lectures pointless. I didn’t need to brandish a sword or threaten failure. To my astonishment, about 99 percent of my students had suddenly become more responsible, not less.

I have not decided yet if I’m even going to attempt this assignment. I can’t write two words right now on each question, because I haven’t even read the book––so how am I going to write two pages? I don’t really have time to do this anyway.

 ––Tony

No, you can’t win them all. But at least now Tony would have a hard time charging me with his failure. If he wanted to blame someone, his only choice was to look in the mirror. And that’s probably the biggest change I observed in my students’ attitudes. They were accountable to themselves––not their teacher.

Only once did a girl complain that my unwillingness to accept papers after the quarter had ended was still too unyielding. But then she broke off, shaking her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m even saying this to you.” We both laughed. Natalie was doing what all teachers encourage their students to do––taking charge. I was now merely her guide, her coach. Which was the way it should have been all along.

Coleen Armstrong’s distinguished teaching career includes several state and national recognition awards.  She is the co-author of Please Don’t Call My Mother:  How Schools with John Lazares and Parents can Work Together to Get Kids Back on Track and The Truth about Teaching:  What I Wish the Veterans had Told Me.  Ms. Armstrong will present at the At-Promise Conference in February.