Give me a chance

Whenever I give a warning that some punishment will be administered to a misbehaved student, the chances are he will say, "Give me a chance, sir. I will not do it again."

If the boy really regrets his action and you forgive him, he will change for the better. On the other hand, for those students who only pay lip service to their promise, excusing them once will make them ever bolder to create more trouble for you. Hence, teachers have to use his discretion whether to give a certain pupil a chance to rectify his wrong.

In real life situation, a traffic offender may plead with the policeman on duty to give him a chance by not writing down his violation of the traffic rules. It all depends on whether the traffic rule violator has the will to change for the better. Otherwise he will be flouting the law again if he is given a chance for the first time.

In short, "Give me a chance" has become a avenue for one to escape punishment or reprimand.