“My dog ate my homework” just doesn’t work like it used to. Therefore, St. Louis High School students are getting creative with the different types of excuses they tell teachers.

According to Mia Lawhorne, “When I don’t do my homework, I usually tell the teacher that I am almost done. Some teachers just mark it late or give me extra time to finish it. I rarely do my homework, so I have a lot of excuses, and most of the time they are annoyed by it.”

According to Mr. Stedman, “When students don’t hand in their work on time, they usually tell me they don’t get it. When I hear this I think well what don’t you get? I want students to think about what they are not understanding and ask a specific question. Another excuse I hear is that I will never understand it. It’s sad because they are not even trying to understand it. When they say things like this they sell themselves short. They shut down their brain and don’t allow themselves to think. I would say I hear these excuses a lot, but it’s not common. I don’t hear it because I spend a lot of time using a growth mindset. Using the growth mindset is one of the most defining choices that help us be successful.”

According to Katrina Harbor, a sophomore, “When I don’t turn in my homework on time I usually tell my teachers I forgot it at home or I am almost done with the assignment. Sometimes they give me an extra five to 10 minutes to finish the work at the end of the class and other times they mark it as missing”

According to the article, “Top 11 Excuses Students Give Teachers,” “Almost all High School students have done this at least once in their high school career: lie. As human beings, we all have been born to lie. It’s been hardwired into our brains. High school students have many expectations from adults: school, sports, good grades, etc. Sometimes they don’t have time to do everything they need to finish before the deadline, so they decide to tell a little white lie. The most common lie teachers hear is “I forgot it at home.” This is a common excuse that most High schoolers give to teachers. It is not the most effective in persuading teachers to give you more time, but it has been used by many students.” 

Miranda Strong, a sophomore, stated, “I rarely forget to do my homework, but when I do forget I usually tell my teachers that I forgot to do the assignment or I didnt get it done. Sometimes if the teachers are feeling nice or many other people didn’t get it done, they give us extra time to finish it up and collect it after class.”