A Full Day (of Excuses)

"I can't" has been replaced with a list of more sophisticated excuses. Today was the first day back after five days off for Thanksgiving, and it felt like all I heard were reasons something could not be done. Some excuses held merit and some were hollow. Quite frankly, I was exhausted at the end of the day from all the clamoring.
But then this evening I read Mary's post about Growing Brains and it got me thinking. Perhaps all the grumbling and excuses are not just laziness. They may be a sign that students are uncertain or apprehensive about what's being asked of them.
We have just a few weeks left in the semester and the holidays are a crazy time of year. Tomorrow I'll try asking more questions to dig down to the true nature of the excuses. Maybe I can ease some fears or encourage someone to take that leap of faith into the unknown.