Please Miss....My Praying Mantis Ate Holes In My Homework

Thu, May 04, 2006

Source: Teaching Times

Research from the 2005 RM SchoolGate Survey reveals that when it comes to excuses for not completing homework, the old ones are still be best ones!

Research from the 2005 RM SchoolGate Survey reveals that when it comes to excuses for not completing homework, the old ones are still be best ones!
 
New technology may have rendered today’s schoolwork unrecognisable to our Victorian forefathers, but some things resist change. The 2005 favourite homework excuse ‘Sorry Miss, I forgot’ (27%) would be just as familiar 100 years ago as to teachers today.

Likewise dumb animals – in fact the dumber the better – get a lot of the blame. It would appear that dogs in particular have developed a voracious appetite for paper: ‘My dog ate it’ is still a traditional favourite, (8%) although a new trend in exotic pets can be discerned with - ‘my worms ate it’, ‘my snake was sleeping on it’ and ‘my praying mantis chewed holes in it’.

There are three notable themes throughout the survey:

‘Pupil as Victim’
“It weren’t me, Miss” is a recurrent message through the survey findings with 79% citing reasons beyond their control. In fact, it would appear that uncompleted homework is almost never the fault of the pupil in question, but rather one of his or her family members. Unsurprisingly the preferred culprits are baby brothers and sisters who presumably are less able to defend themselves than Mums.

At this point “My baby sister was sick on it” and “my little brother drew all over it” become popular choices (13%)

However, the favourite – and one that rings truer than most – remains:

‘My mum tore it up as it included my uncle on the family tree who she hates’

The Inventiveness of Girls v the directness of Boys
It was striking throughout the RM SchoolGate Survey how much more imaginative girls were than boys. Whereas the latter tended to opt for the simple (and truer) excuses: ‘Life’s hard, Sir” or “It was impossible” – and presumably braced themselves to face the consequences, girls came up with ever more exotic and elaborate stories, amongst them:

“It was ripped from my hands as the express train shot through the station”

“I was at a falconry display and one of the birds swooped down and snatched it from me”

“My dad took it to Denmark with him on a business trip”

“I left it in Ireland when visiting my Gran”

“I was in a car crash and got taken to hospital”

“It’s currently on a plane to New Zealand”

Notwithstanding, 73% of teachers surveyed cited boys as the main homework culprits.

The impact of Technology
Fewer than one in ten of the excuses reported are believed by the teachers questioned, a fact that Tim Pearson, CEO of RM who commissioned the SchoolGate Survey, is quick to comment on:

“Homework excuses have always been as much a part of education as pupils, teachers and lessons themselves, so in many ways I find it reassuring that the time honoured excuses that I used to try out still prevail!

It is likely however that tomorrow’s school children are going to have to reinvent the art form: With the increased use of technology as a means of delivering homework, most of the excuses in this survey become unbelievable by default. After all, in today’s paperless world, the preferred ‘my dog ate it’ will need to commute into something more along the lines of ‘Lightning struck our house, and my pc shorted out’...”

Fewer than one in ten of the excuses reported are believed by the teachers questioned 

RM Annual SchoolGate Survey 2005
1. What is the best excuse you have ever heard for not handing in your homework?

Stand out answers

A lady threw my bag in the river

My tortoise ate it

House was struck by lightning - computer exploded

The hamster has made a nest out if it

We were at a Falconry display, and a golden eagle called Herman swooped down a went off with my jeans jacket - which had my homework in

I was in a car crash and got taken to hospital

My pet snake was sleeping on it

I was standing at the station when the express train came through and pulled it from my hands, dashing it on the rails

It’s on a plane to New Zealand

Restraining order against my dad, who has my homework

My mum tore it up as it included my Uncle on the family tree, who she hates

My dad took it to Denmark on a business trip

I left it in Ireland when visiting my Gran

I was in the cells - he had been arrested for joy riding

Chased by pink and green rabbits

My worms ate it

Aliens landed and snatched it

Run out of toilet paper

Life's hard sir

My praying mantis ate holes in it
Many of the other responses were elaborations on the theme of various things eating or being sick onto the homework, including brothers, sisters and pets.

Also, it seems that an alarming amount of houses seemed to be burning down. Even more alarming is that many of the teachers added notes saying that it turned out to be true. On a similar vein, burglaries were also given as an excuse - with thieves seeming to target children’s homework. A potentially valid reason that was given was the PC containing the homework being stolen.

The final major trend seemed to be for the homework to have been elaborately lost in various exotic locations, such as New Zealand and Denmark.

2. Which one excuse crops up the most often?

Although “I forgot” remains the timeless favourite, pupils are increasingly blaming technology. As more and more homework is being emailed in to teachers, pupils will not be able to rely so much on the traditional excuses that relate to physical work. Homework that is prepared and sent via digital means cannot be left on a bus or eaten by a dog!

I forgot 27%

Printer/ technical problems 31%

I left it at home / somewhere 21%
3. What percentage of excuses do you believe?

Just under half of those who responded indicated that they believe less than 10% of the excuses given to them. It seems clear that, by and large, teachers are very cynical about the excuses given to them.

Under 5% 24%

10% 23%

30% 13%

4. Do parents ever provide the excuses?

A resounding yes. It seems that parents tend to write notes for the children explaining why the homework was not completed.

Yes 61%

No 4%

Sometimes 31%

Frequently 4%

5. How many excuses do you hear on average per week in your current school?

The results were quite evenly distributed although the majority said more than 10 per week. Some of the responses said much more than 10 per week!

less than 5 21%

5-10 24%

10+ 53%

6. Which sex makes the most excuses?

Boys are by far the worst offenders for not doing homework, and therefore they give the most excuses. One comment though was that girls tend to conjure up more elaborate excuses.

Girls 14%

Boys 73%

Equal 13%

7. How much homework do you think should be set?

By and large, it seemed that most teachers felt that more time should be spent on homework as the pupil progresses.

Pre-GCSE

under 1 hour 23%

1 - 2 hours 52%

2 - 3 hours 21%

3+ -

GCSE Level

under 1 hour 1%

1 - 2 hours 40%

2 - 3 hours 44%

3+ 11%

A Level

under 1 hour 10%

1 - 2 hours 24%

2 - 3 hours 44%

3+ 16%

8. Do you think too much emphasis is placed on homework?

Very even response.

Yes 46%

No 48%

9. How much time do you spend on marking homework?

Up to one hour 28%

1- 2 hours 29%

2-3 hours 35%

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