funny excuses for homework

35 Most Ridiculous Excuses Teachers Have Heard from Students This Year

by Rachael Moshman

“The dog ate my homework” is old news. We asked actual teachers for the worst/best excuses they’ve heard from students this school year.

Best excuses teachers have heard from students

Weird happenings:

Most teachers agree the best excuses (or worst?) are often the most bizarre.

“Marker accidentally got all over my camera, so that’s why you can’t see on my screen.”
“My math book caught on fire.”
“This email is to inform you that I didn’t do my homework and can’t log on to class because I have no Wi-Fi.”
“There’s a hair in my belly button and I won’t be able to concentrate until I get it out.”
“We just found out a homeless man is living in our basement and keeps unplugging the Wi-Fi right when it’s time for Zoom school!”
“I went fishing and was chased by a shark, so I didn’t have time to do my assignment.”
“A squirrel stole my reading log.”
“I don’t know how to take a picture with my phone.”
“I’m still learning how to use my superpowers and accidentally burned my computer with my laser beam vision so all my assignments will be late.”
“I left my backpack outside and our new goats ate all of my books and assignments.”

Family matters

School may be the student’s responsibility, but that doesn’t stop them from spreading the blame! Here are some of the best excuses involving mom, dad, grandma, siblings,…and even spouses!

“My mom forgot to pray for me this morning, so that’s why I’m not following directions.”
“The app on my mom’s phone glitched and she couldn’t find the actual key to start her car.”
“My husband will do the work for me.” – Kindergartener
“I wasn’t able to do my homework last night because my grandma needed the computer to chat with her boyfriend.”
“Sorry I’m late. It was my turn to walk the horses and it took longer than I expected.”
“I was busy helping my aunt make a Tinder profile.”
“I’m grounded, so I couldn’t do my homework.”
“My dad said we need to cut our budget, so I’m going to cut down on school.”
“My little sister peed on my Chromebook.”

Hamster problems

Hamsters seem to be the new problem pet.

“My hamster is missing.”
“The hamster jumped out the window!”
“My dog ate my hamster.”
“I couldn’t log on because my hamster pooped on my keyboard and now my Chromebook isn’t working.”
“My hamster chewed through my power cord.”

Mysterious ailments

Some of the worst/best excuses are when kids diagnose their own medical conditions

“I need to be excused from the test because my menopause is making it hard to concentrate today” – 4th grade boy
“My gout is really acting up so I wasn’t able to do the homework last night.”
“I sprained my ankle, so I can’t come to Zoom class.”
“My grandma says I have come down with a serious case of sass mouth. I think I’m too sick to work today.”
“I got a flu shot last week and my arm hurts too much to write.”
“I’m only nine. That’s way too young for homework.”

The truth of the matter

No, they didn’t do the work, but at least they were honest, right?

“I got distracted looking at pictures of dogs.”
“I’m not prepared for this assessment because I didn’t do the virtual lessons.”
“I lost track of time watching TikToks and didn’t do my assignment.”

Keeping it short and simple

Because it’s hard constantly thinking up the best excuses…

“No, thank you.”

Join the #teacherlife community for more relatable content!

35 Most Ridiculous Excuses Teachers Have Heard from Students This Year

TREAT YO' INBOX!

All the trending teacher stories, resources, videos, memes, podcasts, deals, and the laughter you need in your life!

Suggestions

12 of the Funniest Excuses for Not Doing Your Homework

Homework is something that a lot of students choose not to do, even though they know they can get into a lot of trouble for skipping it. If you’re an educator, you’ve probably heard an unlimited number of excuses from your students, and some of them might have been absolutely hilarious.

From a student’s perspective, homework can be a serious obstacle to doing things they love, such as meeting with friends, playing video games or watching their favorite TV shows. In fact, a Chinese study found that more than 70 percent of schoolchildren don’t like homework .

Who’s going to want to do that math homework or write college papers when a new Marvel comic book has just been released, right?

So, when students begin to realize that they won’t complete the homework in time, they try to come up with believable excuses, which can be extremely creative, weird or funny.

So, to celebrate the inventive excuses students use to get out of homework, we’ve gathered some of the best from across the internet in the list below, enjoy.

1. “My brother’s friend , who came to our house yesterday, said he could eat paper, and I didn’t believe him. So he decided to show how much paper he could eat and grabbed my homework right out of my desk. I didn’t see that it was my homework and realized that it was too late.”

2. “ My dad needs a paper shredder for work, and it was delivered to our house yesterday. He wanted to show us how it works and mistakenly took my homework and destroyed it.”

3. “ My mom once said that she wanted my best homework framed. When I completed all the work yesterday, I said to her that it was the best because I did everything right, even the tasks for extra credit. Today, I couldn’t find it so I went to my mom. She said she had to have it framed because it was my best homework!”

4. “ I didn’t do my homework because I figured I’d do it tomorrow, because I’ll be older, and therefore be wiser, then.”

5. “ Yesterday, I didn’t have time to complete the homework because I was at the rally all day. The rally was calling for an increase to teacher pay, so I had to be there.”

6. “ To be honest, I didn’t do my homework because I know how heavy your current workload is and I didn’t want to add to it. I thought that I could give you some more free time.”

7. “ Well, incredible story. I was going to school this morning and it was very windy. I carried the homework in my hands, but it slipped out of them and blew away. I tried to chase it for a couple of blocks, so that’s why I’m late to class.”

8. “ While I was getting ready for school this morning, I was putting some books inside my backpack. When it was time for my homework, my mom said she needed to see me in the kitchen right away. I went there, and when I came back, my homework wasn’t there. Clearly, my dad accidentally took it to work because his briefcase was next to my backpack.”

9. “ I was in the school yard when I heard some student saying bad things about you. I felt like that should let him know that he was wrong. It would be wrong to hurt him, so I thought a good way was to throw something at him. I quickly looked through my backpack, but the only thing I could find was the homework I had to submit today. After hesitating a bit, I let him have it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find it afterward; someone must have taken it.”

10. “ My grandpa was on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” yesterday, so he asked me if I would be available for a call if he didn’t know an answer and had to call a friend. I absolutely had to be there for him, so I didn’t have any time to complete today’s homework.”

11. “ After completing my essay yesterday, I looked at my assignment once again and realized that it was so good that it could make other students in the class feel bad about theirs. I decided not to hurt their feelings and left it at home. What can I say, I’m a great essay writer .”

12. “ I was sunbathing near the pool yesterday and doing the homework at the same time. When I was about done, something pushed me forward and I dropped my work right into the pool. It was so wet I couldn’t put it together, so I don’t have it right now.”

Just a Drop in the Ocean

The amount of homework is steadily increasing , so more and more students are finding creative excuses to avoid it. We collected just a small amount in this article, but there are literally thousands of excuses like these, and students keep coming up with new ones.

Hope these excuses brighten your mood right for the rest of the day!

Lucy Benton is a writing coach, an editor who finds her passion in expressing own thoughts as a blogger. She is constantly looking for the ways to improve her skills and expertise. Lucy also has her own blog, Prowritingpartner.com , where you can check her last publications. If you’re interested in working with Lucy , you can find her on Twitter .