This Is Too Much! Part 21: The Excuse That Went Too Far!
THIS IS TOO MUCH! - PART 21
The Excuse That Went Too Far!
When School Excuses Become Unforgettable
Children are extraordinarily creative.
Ask them:
“Why were you absent yesterday?”
And suddenly, an entire family history may appear.
“There was a wedding in the family.”
“Which family?”
“Family function, Sir.”
“What function?”
“Important function, Sir.”
“What was important?”
“Very important, Sir.”
And then comes the ultimate answer:
“Sir, I don't remember. My parents know.” 😄
Sometimes there is an urgent family visit.
Sometimes a guest has arrived.
Sometimes the child is not feeling well.
And sometimes -
the headache, cough, cold and fever all arrive together… exactly on the day of the mathematics test!
Coincidence?
Of course! 😄
But during my years in education, I also encountered excuses that were not merely funny.
Some were unforgettable.
Because behind an excuse, sometimes, there is a real story.
CASE 1
The Late Comer Who Wasn't Making an Excuse
There was a student who regularly arrived late to school.
Naturally, the teacher eventually asked:
“Why are you always late?”
The child suddenly became emotional.
He started crying.
Then he explained the situation at home.
His mother was suffering from paralysis and was bedridden.
There was no one else to manage many of the household responsibilities.
Before coming to school, the child had to help at home -
prepare his younger sister,
get her ready for school,
arrange the tiffin,
and complete several household tasks.
What initially looked like another excuse suddenly became something completely different.
It was not laziness.
It was responsibility.
The teacher's question had been reasonable.
But the answer changed the entire picture.
The lesson?
Sometimes a child who appears careless may actually be carrying a responsibility that nobody sees.
We see:
Late → Late Comer
But the complete equation may be:
Late Arrival + Hidden Responsibility = Completely Different Story
That day, the important lesson was not about punctuality alone.
It was about looking beyond the visible behaviour.
While Case 1 reminds us to pause, listen and show grace, the classroom also delivers moments where logic simply surrenders to pure, unscripted absurdity.
And that brings us to Case 2.
CASE 2
THE ₹10 COIN THAT CAUSED DOUBLE DELAY!
Now let's move from emotional to absolutely hilarious.
Two friends, Kailash and Prakash, arrived very late to school.
The teacher looked at them.
No smile.
No welcome.
Just the classic teacher expression:
“Explain.”
The teacher asked Prakash:
“Why are you late?”
Prakash looked serious.
Very serious.
He said:
“Sir, I lost my ₹10 coin.”
The teacher felt sympathy.
Then he looked towards Kailash.
“And you?”
Kailash answered softly:
“Sir… I became late because the coin was under my foot and Prakash couldn't find it.”
There was probably a moment of complete silence.
The teacher looked at Kailash.
Then at Prakash.
Then at the floor.
The ₹10 coin was still there.
At that point, the teacher had two choices: teach mathematics… or simply laugh! 😂
One coin had somehow managed to make two friends late.
😂😂😂
Let's calculate.
Prakash:
Searching for ₹10 = Late
Kailash:
Standing on ₹10 + waiting for Prakash = Also Late
So the final equation becomes:
One Coin + Two Friends + One Foot = Two Late Comers!
And suddenly the teacher had a new mathematical problem:
If the coin was under Kailash's foot, why didn't Kailash know it?
Perhaps because the coin was conducting a very successful experiment in invisibility.
Or perhaps…
the two friends had simply invented a perfect example of cooperative delay! 😄
CASE 3
“DADU, PLEASE GO INSIDE!”
Now comes the excuse that deserves a separate chapter in the mathematics of imagination.
Dev was a very mischievous boy.
One day, he saw his Headmaster approaching his house.
Dev froze.
The Headmaster was coming directly towards his home.
His grandfather noticed Dev's expression.
“Why are you hiding?”
Dev said:
“Dadu, please go inside quickly!”
Grandfather became concerned.
“Why? Let me meet your Headmaster. If you are in some trouble, I will help you.”
Dev became even more nervous.
“No, Dadu! Please go inside. I'll handle the situation.”
Naturally, Grandfather became suspicious.
“What have you done?”
Dev finally confessed.
“Dadu… I told a lie in school.”
Grandfather asked:
“What lie?”
Dev took a deep breath.
“I told everyone that you had died.”
Grandfather:
😳
The grandfather probably experienced several emotions simultaneously.
Shock.
Anger.
Confusion.
And perhaps a little curiosity about what exactly his grandson had been telling people!
He asked:
“WHAT?”
Dev explained:
“I told them you expired last night.”
Grandfather:
“WHY?”
Dev:
“I don't remember, Dadu. But now the Headmaster has come to offer condolences!”
😂😂😂
At this point, the situation had gone completely TOO MUCH!
The grandfather had one problem.
The Headmaster had another.
And Dev had created a third:
How do you prove that someone is alive after announcing that he is dead?
THE MATHEMATICS OF DEV'S LIE
Let's calculate the chain.
One small lie
↓
Grandfather is no more
↓
Headmaster hears the news
↓
Headmaster visits the house
↓
Grandfather is actually alive
↓
Grandfather is hiding
↓
Dev is explaining why Grandfather must hide
↓
The original lie has become a real-life situation
This gives us:
Small Lie + Time + Audience = Big Problem
And sometimes:
Lie × Consequence = Situation Too Big to Control
Dev may have thought his lie was only one sentence.
But the Headmaster turned that sentence into a home visit.
SOMETIMES TRUTH LOOKS LIKE A LIE
Imagine the Headmaster arriving at the house.
He expects to meet a grieving family.
Instead, perhaps he discovers a very much alive grandfather.
And somewhere inside the house is Dev thinking:
“Dadu, don't come out! The story hasn't finished yet!” 😂
This is where childhood imagination becomes fascinating.
Children can sometimes construct a story so confidently that, for a moment:
the truth sounds unbelievable,
while
the lie sounds completely convincing.
Until reality walks through the front door.
Literally.
THE THREE EXCUSES
Look at our three stories.
Story 1:
The excuse looked like irresponsibility.
But behind it was responsibility.
Story 2:
The excuse sounded ridiculous.
But it was almost mathematically perfect in its absurdity.
Story 3:
The excuse began as a lie.
But the lie became so complicated that the Headmaster physically arrived to investigate its consequences.
Three stories.
Three different realities.
And one powerful lesson:
Never judge the whole story from the first sentence.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCHOOL EXCUSES
Excuses can serve different purposes.
Sometimes a child wants to:
- avoid punishment,
- escape embarrassment,
- protect someone,
- gain attention,
- avoid responsibility,
- or simply avoid an uncomfortable situation.
But educators need to distinguish between an excuse and an explanation.
A child saying:
“I couldn't do it.”
may require a different response from a child saying:
“I couldn't do it because I had to care for my family.”
The words may be similar.
The circumstances may be completely different.
Behaviour is visible. Context is often invisible.
A MATHIVATION MODEL
We can think of a child's explanation as:
Visible Behaviour + Hidden Context = Complete Understanding
If we remove the second part, we may calculate the wrong answer.
And for excuses:
Excuse + Verification + Empathy = Better Judgment
Not:
Excuse + Immediate Anger = Automatic Punishment
The teacher's job is not to believe every excuse.
Nor is it to reject every excuse.
The teacher's job is to investigate intelligently.
THE “EXCUSE FORMULA”
Children often discover a fascinating formula:
Problem + Imagination = Excuse
But when imagination becomes excessive:
Excuse + More Excuses + More Questions = Full Fiction Series! 😂
And sometimes the series becomes so complicated that even the child forgets Episode 1.
FOR PARENTS
Parents can help children understand the difference between:
explaining a difficulty
and
inventing a story.
Instead of only asking:
“Why didn't you go to school?”
try asking:
“Tell me honestly what happened.”
That small change in wording can make honesty easier.
And when the child tells the truth about a genuine difficulty, the response should ideally begin with understanding before punishment.
FOR TEACHERS
Teachers meet hundreds of explanations.
Some are genuine.
Some are incomplete.
Some are creative.
And occasionally…
some deserve to be entered directly into the School Excuse Hall of Fame! 😄
But behind every explanation, there is a child.
So perhaps the best sequence is:
Listen → Question → Understand → Verify → Respond
Not:
Hear → Assume → Punish
Because:
Assumption is often the fastest route to the wrong answer.
WHAT DID THESE THREE CHILDREN TEACH US?
The first child taught us:
Don't confuse difficulty with indiscipline.
The second taught us:
Two friends can sometimes turn ₹10 into a ₹20 worth of explanation! 😂
The third taught us:
Never make a lie so ambitious that your principal has to visit your house to verify it.
MATHIVATION TAKEAWAYS
- Every excuse is not necessarily a lie.
- Every explanation is not necessarily the truth.
- Context can completely change the meaning of behaviour.
- Children sometimes hide genuine difficulties behind simple explanations.
- Humour can make difficult classroom conversations easier.
- Trust should be built, but claims should also be verified.
- A good teacher listens without becoming gullible.
- A good parent corrects dishonesty without making honesty frightening.
- And perhaps most importantly:
Before judging the answer, understand the question behind it.
DISCLAIMER
This article is based on real-life educational experiences and recollections gathered over many years.
Names and identifying details have been changed or presented differently for privacy. Dialogue has been reconstructed from memory for storytelling and readability and should not be treated as a verbatim transcript.
The first story involves a serious family-health circumstance and is included respectfully, not for humour. The humorous elements are directed at the situations and the extraordinary logic of the excuses—not at illness, disability, poverty, family difficulties, or any individual.
The stories are shared for educational, reflective and humorous purposes. They are not intended to label children as dishonest or to encourage teachers and parents to dismiss genuine difficulties.
Every excuse deserves a question.
Every child deserves to be heard.
And every lie eventually has to meet reality.
CLOSING THOUGHT
Children don't always come to school carrying only their books.
Sometimes they carry responsibilities.
Sometimes they carry fear.
Sometimes they carry imagination.
And sometimes…
they carry an excuse so creative that even mathematics struggles to solve it! 😂
The teacher's challenge is to discover which one is inside the school bag.
Because in human mathematics:
Behaviour is the visible equation.
Context is the missing variable.
And when the missing variable is finally found…
the answer can change completely.
That is when THIS IS TOO MUCH! becomes MATHIVATION.
One Last Question
Educators and parents:
What is the most unforgettable excuse - or unexpected truth - you have ever heard from a child?
Sometimes an excuse makes us laugh.
Sometimes it makes us think.
And sometimes, if we listen carefully, it reveals a story we never knew was there.
Before judging the answer, understand the question behind it.
Behaviour is visible.
Context is often the missing variable.
And when the mathematics of excuses becomes too complicated…
THIS IS TOO MUCH!
Rakesh Kushwaha
Founder, Mathivation Research Lab
A Mathivation Research Lab Initiative
Where Mathematics Meets Human Experience
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