Top excuses for being late to school: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Your teacher is an employee who has to prepare lessons, provide you with information on his or her discipline, keep track of your progress, and show up to every class on time. He or she might get mad at your lack of punctuality because by running late, you show disrespect towards the efforts made by your instructor. If your teacher is one of those who remembers every person who comes late to his or her classes, you had better look for some good late to school excuses. If you have a habit of constantly being the last student to show up, think of yourself as the academic equivalent of Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights, who has to come up with a new story every night lest the sultan (your teacher, in this case) “behead” (expel) you. This idea might help you to stay creative in your search for people, objects, or situations on which you can blame your tardiness.

Good excuses for being late to school

If you’re a bad liar, give the most obvious and probable explanation for your delay.

1. If you live and study in a large city with busy traffic, you have the perfect excuse for being late, as it seems like traffic jams are going to stay with us until doomsday.
2. If you live in a suburb, explain yourself by appealing to the inconsistencies of public transport.
3. Have an old car? Say that it broke halfway through your commute.
4. Have a pet? Describe in detail the problems the poor thing had with its stomach.
5. Another teacher assigned your class with a huge essay due today? This is a great reason for staying up all night working on your homework and hence, for being unable to wake yourself up today.
6. “I didn’t hear my alarm clock ring” is still the most trustworthy explanation for lateness. Keep in mind that in some cases, “sorry I’m late” will be enough, and your teacher won’t ask you additional questions on why it happened at all.

If you don’t want to lie to your teacher but don’t want to explain yourself, demonstrate how sorry you are through your voice and facial expressions. Remember Puss in Boots from Shrek 2? Try to practice making those eyes in front of your mirror. If this is not enough to make people around feel pity for you, add a quivering chin as if you’re going to cry.

Bad excuses for lateness

People like to know that you make mistakes, and are willing to forgive you faster if you provide them with an explanation extrapolating on why they are better, faster, and stronger than you are. But maybe you believe that describing your failures and making a fool of yourself is not the best thing to do in front of your peers? These reasons are quite effective if you need to come up with an explanation to justify your lateness to your teacher, but are of disputable value when it comes to maintaining your social reputation.

Avoid the excuses that demonstrate what a wreck you are

1. Don’t say that you’ve spent the whole morning looking for your lost phone, keys, glasses, or textbook.
2. Don’t recount how you were splattered with dirt by some passing car and had to go back home to change.
3. Don’t say that you were sick after the dinner you had or the bar crawl you went on yesterday.
4. Don’t mention your parents. Explaining that you were late because your mom forgot that you don’t like dill in your turkey sandwiches and you forced her to prepare you another lunch is a big no-no for your social life.

In addition, don’t forget that when you apply to certain colleges, you have to turn in a letter written by one of your teachers. Imagine how disastrous it would be if your professor mentions one of your stories of inexcusable lateness in the letter.

Don’t use fake excuses which demonstrate how amazing you are

1. Don’t tell them that you’ve stopped a robbery or homicide.
2. Don’t describe how you had to rescue a kitten from a tree.
3. Avoid stories about how you’ve helped Superman to save the world.

Even if they are true, these stories are not that easy to believe. What is more, no one will like your attempt to show off. Remember that this won’t be your last day in this school, and there is no need to make yourself a laughing stock in front of everyone. If you don’t want to talk in front of your peers, ask your teacher to speak to him or her in private after classes. Make a mournful facial expression when asking for privacy so as to look more dramatic and ensure that your request will be fulfilled.

How to transform an ugly truth into a unique story

If your ultimate goal is to distract your friends or teacher, try to make your story more appealing by adding more details and emotions to it. Illustrate the situation with your body language and facial expressions. Mimic the voice of those who were near you during the scene. Do a rehearsal in your mind before you start speaking in class so that you don’t stumble when telling your story. Add a hook to the beginning of your speech and keep your audience interested in your adventure. If you decide to make up a story, remember to put a grain of truth in it. That is what the best liars always do to sound smooth and seem honest. Even if for the moment your habit of constantly being late is one of your entertaining peculiarities, it will be a headache in your future career. If you’re always late, it is most likely that you simply don’t want to show up to meetings. The reason for your lack of punctuality might be deeper than just playing video games from dusk to dawn and a lack of sleep. You might even dislike your school, peers, or a particular teacher. The questions are “why?” and “what can be done about it?” Try to answer them on your own.