As the year draws to a close, many students take advantage of the school’s late work policy by turning in all of their missing work the last week of school. As a result, teachers become bombarded with late work, having to spend the majority of the last few weeks putting in the grades of these students.

Teachers are already caught up in preparing and grading final exams before summer break. Adding late assignments to that mix puts even more stress on teachers. After all, the breaks are not just for students. Teachers are not able to enjoy their first precious moments of summer if they are caught up in grading old assignments.

Simply put, students should not wait until the end of the grading period to turn in their work. As a result of no deductions for late work, many students feel that they can wait until the very last minute to turn stuff in. What they fail to realize is that not only does this place a burden on their teachers, but it puts the student at a disadvantage, as well. This type of behavior does not go well with college professors. As students get accustomed to flexible due dates, procrastination becomes a habit that you do not want to take with you post-graduation.

The late work policy is there to help students, but that should not come at the expense of the teachers. A couple days late is understandable, but more than two weeks is procrastination. When you get your work done on time, not only are you being considerate of your teacher’s time, but you’re also doing yourself a favor, too.