Our nation is in the midst of an epidemic of cheating. We discussed one way to possibly turn the tide in the battle against cheaters.
"Given that academic cheating is viewed as helping by some and necessary by others, we should document a student's cheating history and put it on their transcript. Further, repeat cheaters ought to be made ineligible for government financial aid of any kind."
Cheating simply is not taken seriously in the schools any more. Part of the problem is that the penalties for cheating amount to a slap on the wrist. Consequently, many resort to cheating including the honor roll students. They view it as necessary if they are to get into the good schools and get those good jobs, right? Everyone else is doing it, right? Gotta keep up ...
One way to curb cheating would be to put some teeth into getting caught. If your motive for cheating is to get into the best schools and get the best jobs, you might think twice if getting caught means you forfeit your chance for school loans, scholarships, and financial aid. Plus, imagine having to present your school transcript to the college admissions department with your cheating history displayed front and center.
Now, would kids still cheat? Sure. There will always be cheaters. But often the role of rules and laws is to clearly mark what behavior is morally acceptable and what behavior is not. Right now, cheating is morally acceptable in school. This is wrong, and measures are needed to correct it.
"Right now, cheating is morally acceptable in school."
This statement needs clarification. While many students see nothing wrong with cheating, I have yet to meet the teacher or administrator who thinks so. Students regularly fail my sophomore class for plagiarizing sources on research papers, despite the time I spend on "consciousness raising" with regard to plagiarism. Parents often try to intervene when this happens, decrying my policy as too draconian. I give a zero on the assignment, place documentation in the student's writing folder, and notify parents and administrators. Nearly every English teacher on my staff does similarly. I have always been supported by administrators in my policy.
Plagiarism is treated even more sternly by colleges and universities. Most schools expel students for it, with a forfeiture of tuition. Can you support your contention that cheating "is not taken seriously in the schools"? It seems to me that students and their parents are the ones not taking it seriously.
I support your proposal, by the way, despite its lamentable lack of pronoun/antecedent agreement. ;-)
Posted by: Rob Ryan | January 22, 2008 at 09:50
While plagiarism is a serious problem, what about students cheating by using a calculator or writing a math equation on their hand? Is that cheating on the same level as plagiarism?
When in the real world are you going to be asked to perform math without being allowed to use a calculator or being able to look up the proper formula to achieve a correct answer?
Posted by: Matt | January 22, 2008 at 15:31