Delay in submitting assignments

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do and Attitude determines how well you do it”

Work submission done two weeks before the deadline, two days before the deadline, two hours or two minutes before the deadline makes no difference to the teachers unless and until it is done after the specified date. They are marked in the same manner.

Now, this delay in submission is really procrastination, a laid-back attitude or a constant pressure of giving 100%? Are our students really to be blamed for late submissions? Today leaving things to the last minute has become ubiquitous not only with youngsters but many of the adults as well. We try and over stress ourselves to the deadline. This work culture has created a dilemma for teachers who are continuously trying to extract work from them. And then it is difficult for the students as well to emerge out of this habit even in later years as they lack in judging the importance of time.

It is not always necessary that the students delay their assignment because they do not value time. Sometimes it can be a mismatch of consistency between the teacher and the student. At other times, a student wants to give his /her best for which they go an extra mile which is appreciative however Time needs to be valued.

Time Management is as sacred as the knowledge of a particular subject. Time and Tide waits for none. Once gone, it is lost forever. The simple act of leaving work to the last-minute shows utter negligence towards time and definitely towards prioritizing work. As aptly said, “When is a revival needed when carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep”. Billy Sunday

Delving deeper into this hiatus between work and students, we come across numerous points and sub-points. It’s like opening a Pandora’s box which lets a plethora of problems to surface, but then it also gives a glimmer of hope. The reasons according to teachers for late submission is having hundreds of digital distractions like heaps of media channels offering multitudes of programs which are the latest additions to the digital world apart from the set-top box and most of us have succumbed to it. Innumerable gadgets and apps have made life easy but then everything has its pros and cons. Rather than finishing the assignments, we have students interested in Instagram, Snapchat and what not. Peer pressure accounts as another major constraint for this kind of attitude. The urge to appear Uber is intact deeper.


The solution to this proliferating problem is to create lessons that engage which caters to Generation Z and simultaneously diminish the gap between the taught and the teacher. Making them understand via maximum usage of technology as it is a necessity in today’s scenario.

The Eclectic approach to teaching will probably create and interest them, pragmatic learning will open new avenues to explore which would be a welcome change for the ones studying. Group projects, collaborative learning can be a part and parcel of today’s education world. Considering it to be a futuristic skill which they’ll need to develop for succeeding. This metamorphosis is much needed as we wouldn’t deny that we are dealing with the most volatile resource. The more we mold ourselves according to them, lest would be our inconveniences.
Rather than playing a blame game for deferred submissions, the undermentioned thought is congruous with all the observations.

Watch your thoughts, they lead to attitude.
Watch your attitude, they lead to words.
Watch your words, they lead to actions.
Watch your actions, they lead to habits.
Watch your habits, they form character:
Watch your character, it determines your destiny.