Punctual

When Tom Coughlin took over as head coach of the New York Giants in 2004 he made some changes to the way the Giants approached their day.  His expectation was that when a meeting was scheduled or someone was supposed to be there, that person needed to be there and be ready to go at least 5 minutes prior to the arranged time.  His mantra was that being "on time" was late.  And being early was being on time.  While initially there was some resistance in the team, Coughlin eventually won them over to his way of thinking.  Being on time was a matter of respect for oneself and your teammates and it was a measure of responsibility.  After all, if I can't trust you to be on time, how can I trust you to win a football game?  

When it comes to our students, we have a duty to help them to see the value in being on time.  It is about respect and responsibility.  We are working with kids to help them to develop skills they will need in the real world.  And being punctual is a real world skill.  No matter what occupation our students will have when they are older, their job will be managed by time and deadlines.  They have to learn to be on time when time is involved.  They have to learn that while some deadlines may be moveable, not all are.  Time is finite and they need to learn to work within those constraints.  To be on time is to show respect and responsibility.     

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