My Dog Ate My Homework And Other Excuses For Not Doing Homework

Key Highlights

• “My dog ate my homework” is a classic excuse for not finishing homework on time. Sometimes it’s true but don’t bank on it to save the day
• Beyond the dog, we’ll have some fun talking about other creative excuses for not doing homework, from tech troubles to alien encounters
• Remember, while excuses can be tempting, honesty is always the best policy

Introduction

The saying “the dog ate my homework” has been around for a long time. It’s a weak excuse. Now we have more sophisticated excuses that involve technology and aliens. Formal education and academics a serious business. However, like pretty much everything else in life, there are lighter moments there too. So, let’s choose the dog that ate the homework.

The Classic Excuse: My Dog Ate My Homework

Having been in the education space from more then a decade, I have closely seen the excuses students make when they dont do their homework.

When John Steinbeck asked his publisher for an extension to submit the manuscript of his novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ he wasn’t lying or making an excuse. It was the spring of 1936, and his beloved dog Toby, ate half of his hand-written work. Steinbeck got an extension and ‘Of Mice and Men’ became his first critical success.

Before things get too serious and the poor pup has to defend itself, let us have our share of fun with the common homework excuses.

The Dog and the Vet

Recently, a friend, who is a teacher, shared a funny anecdote with me. One of his students repeated the oft-used excuse in her class. She would have done well to remember that the entire assignment was online. Playing along, the teacher asked if the student took the dog to the vet and can he see the hospital receipts.

Excuses similar to My Dog ate my homework are

• Someone stole my homework
• My sibling ripped it or spilled food on it

Beyond the Dog: Other Creative Excuses for Not Doing Homework

The homework excuse “the dog ate my homework,” though seldom used now-a-days, is etched in popular culture. However, students have many creative excuses for not finishing their assignments. Let’s look at these excuses, some funny and some even believable.

Student taking all the blame for not doing homework

• Did not know if any homework was due today and did not check the homework schedule
• Did the homework and thought I kept it in the bag but looks like I have left it at home
• Too much homework from another class
• Busy with extra-curricular activities and volunteering
• Didn’t understand the homework or found it confusing or difficult
• Sickness (specially stomach pain)
• Family issue/emergencies (Eg: a close relative died)

Technology Troubles: The Digital Excuses

As homework goes digital, so do the excuses. Here are some common ones

• Missing Files: Students laim they couldn’t find their final project file on their computer. I’ve let off some of these students with a warning. I told them to ensure they have multiple cloud-based backups as soon as they finish their work. I deleted the homework file by mistake or I lost the password of my homework app and could not reset it due to technical issues are some other similar reasons.
• The Blue Screen of Death: It reminds me of the good old days of Windows OS when computer crashed frequently. It was so commonly problematic that it was hard for me not to accept it as an excuse. Printer not working is a similar excuse where the students blame the hardware for not finishing the homework.
• The Internet Ate My Homework: Even with cloud-based storage at their disposal, students have blamed a sudden internet/wifi outage for not finishing homework on time.

The Aliens Borrowed It: Inter-galactic Imagination to Avoid Assignments

These wild tales often include aliens, time travel, or other unlikely things. While they can be funny, they show a bigger wish to escape the stress of schoolwork. For example, students might say aliens “borrowed” their notebooks for research in space. Others may claim they accidentally stepped into a time warp that made their homework disappear.

These stories are fun, but they also show how far students will go to avoid saying they didn’t do their homework. Even though we might laugh at their creativity, they get full marks for their creativity.

I forgot I even had homework

The teachers will reward you for your candidness but pull you up for being casual. Get ready for some extra homework as punishment.

I spilled cereal all over it because I was doing it over breakfast

That’s an excuse that you can use, perhaps, once. It is hard to believe and they can ask for evidence.

Too Much Homework From Another Class

Get ready to see the teacher talking to another one! Get ready for some punishment from both the teachers once the truth comes out.

You can have some fun looking up more such excuses, from funny to serious, here.

But the Funniest Homework Excuse Award Goes to …

As a social experiment, I kept a note of the excuses students gave for not submitting homework on time. The craziest one was ‘My grandfather’s spirit appeared above my study desk and told me that I will fail in my final exam if I do this homework.’ I told the student that if he uses half as much effort in doing the homework as he did to come up with the hilarious excuse, he would do so much better.

What if the Teacher’s Dog Ate Students’ Homework

Incredible as it may sound, it really happened. I can’t imagine how miserable the teacher would have felt telling the students the ill fate of the pile of homework. Even more interestingly, I wonder how she graded the homework. Oh, how tables turn!

Excuses go only so far

On a serious note, try finishing your homework, assignments, and projects on time. Al least, keep the teachers informed if you think there may be a delay. It can help reduce the need for such made-up stories.

Some tips for conquering homework on time

• Start early! Don’t wait for the deadline to loom large on you
• Schedule your homework tasks in your calendar
• Manage time well
• Remove or, at least, minimize distractions
• Seek help from classmates, teachers, family, or online tutors. If you need top-quality and affordable homework help, My Engineering Buddy is the perfect place to get it.

How Will Your Team React to Homework Excuses?

Here’s some food for thought. It is even trickier if you are a doing a group assignment or a team project with some of your classmates, it is unfair on your part to not do your bit and meet the deadlines set for the group. In future, even your friends may not include you in their team.

The Truth Behind the Tale: Is it Impossible That the Dog Ate the Homework

Well, there can be some truth behind a tale, or, in front of the tail, no pun intended. A dog can chew up your homework. They may do it out of boredom or just to seek attention. Especially if they are teething, ensure that you keep important things out of their reach. A dog won’t care about your calculus homework, the civil engineering assignment, or your research group project. If it wants to chew, it will. So, you have the responsibility to save your precious homework from the pet.

However, you must remember that the teachers are weary of excuses for delay in homework submission. If a dog did nibble on papers you used for doing homework, make sure you have the crumbs. You will make a better case when interrogated. And before you even think of using your dog as an excuse, do it only if you have a dog. The teacher may pay a surprise visit to your home to meet the pooch.

Real-Life Incidents: When Pets Tore the Homework to Shreds

Before we wrap-up, a dog eating a college, university, or a professional assignment or document is improbable but not impossible. Oxford English Dictionary notes that the first example of the dog ate my homework excuse in print dates back to 1929. It was in a speech given by retiring headmaster James Bewsher published in the Manchester Guardian.

“It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework,” he recounted. And I am sure, at least some of the students are speaking the truth when using the excuse.

Conclusion

Excuses like “My Dog Ate My Homework” can be funny. It is common for students to fail to meet a assignment submission deadline. Sometimes, there is a genuine reason behind it. However, most of the excuses are just that, excuses. My dog ate my homework has been around for a long time. The new ones, however, that students come up with are no less funny.

However, they may not save you the trouble. We may have a chuckle hearing these stories but the teachers have heard them before. As a student, you must realize that you are responsible for your academic performance. If you want top grades, you need to be on top of all your academic responsibilities including homework, assignments, and projects.

If there is an occasional slip-up due to an avoidable reason, you may request for an extension. You will be surprised to know how cooperative teachers can be. More so, if you have a good image and they don’t consider you a habitual offender.

And remember that honesty is the best policy. Lying can get you into more trouble that speaking the truth ever will. As Mark Twain said, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” So, play with dogs but don’t let them use your homework as a toy.