The more things change, the more they stay the same (Wizbang)

I'm talking about the reasons for British children not to have their homework done.

Technology failure is quickly replacing the destructive dog as the top excuse used by schoolchildren who haven't done their homework.
A Pixmania survey found that the average British teacher hears 15 excuses relating to homework a week.

When taken across the entire UK, that works out at 6.5 million excuses per week, with about 1.3 million of these related to technology.

Of the top-five tech homework excuses, computer crashes resulting in lost essays came out on top.

Others were accidental deletion after completing the homework and a failed internet connection preventing the carrying out of research.

The survey found that 68 per cent of pupils are now submitting schoolwork typed on a computer, which makes it far easier to blame technological faults.

So the excuses continue, the reasons have just adapted to the 21st century.

And what has happened to the old standby of blaming fido for not having your schoolwork ready?

Other more inventive excuses involved Russians hacking computers and stealing the homework as well as dogs urinating on the computer resulting in the computer exploding.

Dogs are getting skillful these days too.

Hat tip- Joanne Jacobs

Comments (1)

Back in the day when comput... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Larry | November 21, 2008 11:46 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Larry:

Back in the day when computers were first becoming mainstream (I was a senior in college), I bought an IBM PC (first generation!) and used it for homework. My lab partners and I were using it to write a report, and just as we were finishing it up (at about 4am), one of my partners kicked the plug out of the wall. Lost the entire report (I don't think AutoSave and backup files were invented yet).

We went to the professor the next day to beg for more time, and told him what happened. He didn't believe us. But he warily agreed to give us another day to turn in the report.

A couple weeks later he came up to us and said, "I believe you, the same thing happened to me last night."