College Worker Shares Actual Excuses Students Have Used To Explain Why They Failed Classes & Genuinely Believe They’re In The Right
Gorodenkoff | Shutterstock College worker Kai recently pulled back the curtain on the kinds of excuses students will give her when things aren't quite working out for them in their classes. Basically, these kids are really struggling with accountability.
In a TikTok video, Kai insisted that she's noticing a trend among the college students she talks to, and that the reason they're failing their classes, at least in their own minds, has nothing to do with their own performance. While college can definitely be a stressful time, there seems to be a trend of students slipping through the cracks academically.
A college worker shared the excuses students have given for failing classes.
"The following are actual phrases stated by college students explaining why they failed their classes, and they truly believe that these are legitimate reasons," Kai began in her video.
She explained that students will often say things like, "I didn't know that there were online quizzes that I had to do, and the professor didn't let me redo it." "Professor never posted a study guide, so I didn't know what to study, so it's not my fault," and "I didn't feel like going to class on Fridays, and the professor wouldn't post the lecture online. So what was I supposed to do."
Some of their other excuses were more like those teachers in elementary school might hear: forgetting assignments, professors not letting them redo or submit them late, or advisors telling them to take a class they didn't need, so they dropped it. The blame seemed to fall on anyone and everyone but themselves.
"Now, when I was in college, you best believe that you were gonna have to study your butt off on your own, because the professor is one resource. What you do in class is one resource. And if you don't study outside of it and you put all the blame on the professor," Kai added.
She admitted there is zero 'accountability' with college students today.
She continued, "There's always an excuse, there's always a justification, and it's never the student's fault. It's always someone else's fault. It's the advisor, it's the professor, it's the time, it's literally anything else but the student."
Many of the issues with college students can be traced to their lack of preparation when entering college in the first place. Roughly 54% of U.S. adults have literacy skills below a sixth-grade level, and about one in five fall below a fifth-grade level. Then, of course, there is the use of AI, which is not allowed at most institutions, but students are still finding ways.
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There's also the reality that many people don't necessarily need or want to go to college. The traditional 4-year pipeline of school is no longer an expectation. If college students are struggling to complete their assignments and failing classes, they're doing themselves a disservice in the long run because college is not cheap at all.
But fundamentally, the world is a very different place thanks to everything from technology to the political stage, and these factors also play into the accountability problem among young people. Trauma specialist Jamie Cannon, MS, LPC, explained, "Our reduced awareness of how behaviors affect outcomes is directly related to the instant access we have to an overload of information. If you are feeling discomfort at a recent social interaction, or experiencing angst related to something you may have said to a loved one, a quick and painless fix is distraction. Brush it off, bury it in the sand, and be done with it. Society will help cover it up by bombarding you with the next best thing in a continuous stream of information and flashing lights."
She added, "This instantaneous access to anything we could possibly need has infiltrated our desires, behaviors, and even our goals. It slinks into our heads and takes root, creating a deep belief that pleasure is always within reach. The downside is that when pleasure suddenly becomes elusive, no one understands why."
Accountability is a powerful tool that can help us better ourselves, but it needs to be taught. Young adults are struggling to launch themselves into independence for a multitude of reasons, from parenting trends resulting in learned helplessness to the instant gratification of technology. Ultimately, accountability needs to be taught from a young age, and it's as simple as following through with consequences.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
