How to Stop Students from Arriving Late

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White Rabbit - ill. John Tenniel
One day I asked a yoga teacher if she could try to finish class on time. I had often been late for a regular appointment because I had expected that class would end on schedule. The teacher gave me a noncommittal answer, because, she said, people were still arriving for class one minute before class was to start.

It's thoughtless of students to arrive late (and I'm as guilty as anyone else here), but they will slip into the habit if they know the class will start late, and a vicious cycle begins.

When I began practicing aikido our dojo had this problem in spades. The teacher arrived either barely on time or 5-10 minutes late, and even when on time he would chat and dawdle until class often started as many as 20 minutes late. As time passed the students realized there was no point in arriving on time, so they started arriving later. Many students became frustrated, particularly as class that was scheduled to finish at 9:30 pm now stretched till 10.

In the end, the students solved the problem themselves. A few more experienced students began to sit attentively in seiza at exactly 8pm. The beginners quickly followed suit, and the instructor had no choice but to start class! If he was late, he walked onto the mat to find everyone sitting and waiting. Embarrassing!

If the lateness is on the students' side, the teacher can solve the problem. Recently my aikido students came to class to find a note on the door: " Class is cancelled. At 8pm no one was here. If you want to practice, be on time for class!" Word of this policy spread quickly.

These remedies may be appropriate for martial arts classes, less so for others. But as the instructor you can draw students back to being on time by making an announcement, and then sticking to your guns. You may decide to refuse admittance to a few students, especially at first, depending on whether you feel it is disruptive or dangerous for students to arrive late.

In the end, solving a lateness problem isn't difficult, but it may require some backbone and consistent application that the instructor may find challenging. It may seem harsh to enforce your "on time" policy, but it's actually more fair to all the other students who are waiting for class to begin.

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