Because if you can leave 20 seconds early, you technically can leave 30 minutes early. If you let your class leave early, why can't every other teacher? Who is to determine how early is too early?
Also, it causes less chaos in the hallways, and decreases vandalism and loitering. It's partly about discipline and respect, and partly about having your lesson planned out, which may not be finished in time if left early - if you don't finish the lesson in time, the next lesson will go over as well, and you won't finish the curriculum without skipping or rushing through important sections. If the system works anything like our school, the classes are also co-dependent, meaning the teachers from one class expect your class' work to be finished by a certain time as they partially build on it.
It's a bit of an exaggeration to assume that using the last 20 seconds of a class to put away your books and writing utensils will inevitably lead to, or justify, physically leaving the classroom 30 minutes early...
No one is talking about leaving the class early, so this reasoning doesn't seem to follow a logical course.
Yes, I am vastly exaggerating to bring the point across. Reason being, letting my class leave 20 seconds early, can make the class next door want to leave 30 seconds early, and the next a minute or two early. That eventually may become five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and so forth. It forms part of the foot-in-the-door psychology, in which initially a small transgression is allowed, and because of that being allowed, a larger and larger one can be allowed if not kept under strict control. Example: my "friend" who initially wanted to "borrow" a little tobacco from me, that tobacco later became stealing a whole bag and 10g of marijuana, and then he denied it, saying we are friends and I know him (yeah I fricken known him - he's an ass) and it's just a little thing not to break our friendship up about. A year later and my other friends are getting just as sick of these habits of him, it recently amounting to my flatmate having to pay a R400 bill of his because "he forgot […]
[…] that he is broke", drank out a week's worth of food, and then had us pay for it. We have yet to see the money, and it's been almost 2 months. He regularly invites himself over, and gets all pissy if we don't allow it. If we told him earlier to stop being a cunt and stop stealing from us, and using us, we might have (1) not had any of these problems and (2) not have been "friends" with him.
Long story short, if you are lenient, cocky assf*ckers like him will take advantage, and if you have a class of them, you're screwed unless you learn to put your foot down.
I'm not attacking you, catfluff, all I'm saying is that we're not talking about leaving the classroom earlier at all. We're talking about using the last 20 seconds of class to pack your books and pens.
To say that packing books and pens 20 seconds before class ends leads to children walking out of class 30 minutes early seems illogical to me....
No, I know you are not attacking me, sorry if my reply seemed that way. I thought you wanted me to clarify why I was exaggerating, sorry. I agree about letting people pack up, but not about letting them leave. I normally continue while my students pack up, as long as they do so quietly and still pay attention.
Also, it causes less chaos in the hallways, and decreases vandalism and loitering. It's partly about discipline and respect, and partly about having your lesson planned out, which may not be finished in time if left early - if you don't finish the lesson in time, the next lesson will go over as well, and you won't finish the curriculum without skipping or rushing through important sections. If the system works anything like our school, the classes are also co-dependent, meaning the teachers from one class expect your class' work to be finished by a certain time as they partially build on it.
No one is talking about leaving the class early, so this reasoning doesn't seem to follow a logical course.
Long story short, if you are lenient, cocky assf*ckers like him will take advantage, and if you have a class of them, you're screwed unless you learn to put your foot down.
To say that packing books and pens 20 seconds before class ends leads to children walking out of class 30 minutes early seems illogical to me....