Rest, relaxation, and fun are all important elements in life, but there has to be a balance between fun and responsibility! You have to know your priorities. I had to play soccer last night.” You will not keep a roof over your head for long with excuses like, “Sorry I couldn’t pay my bills last week…I was busy getting my nails done.” You will not last long in a job if you tell your boss, “Sorry I couldn’t get that report done. One of the main reasons teachers give homework is to help you exercise your responsibility skills. The single reason you go to school is to learn and prepare for your future whether you will someday have a career, manage a home, or both, you will need to take responsibility. Creating excuses for homework lowers your grades and encourages a very bad habit for your future.

Many teachers would agree that the number one reason students fail classes is due to missing homework. Some of the excuses were due to family obligations: “We had to take my grandma out for her birthday last night.” The best excuse I ever heard…”I couldn’t do my homework because I had to go with my mom to get her nails done.” Most of them had to do with extra-curricular commitments: “I couldn’t do my homework last night because I had a baseball game.” Or, “I had to go to my brother’s basketball game.” As a classroom teacher, I used to hear excuses from a few students every morning about why they did not have their homework.

I did do my homework