Academic Dishonesty Reflection

Jenna Grousnick

Many high schools and colleges around the world have faced problems with students and academic dishonesty. Many schools have either developed harsh punishment or have washed their hands clean of it. I feel that if one is entering college, one should know better than to cheat and plagiarize on assignments. I believe that in high school they should provide an educational approach (much like the program idea that Maccabe proposed) to teach students that cheating will get them nowhere except into trouble with their administrators at school.

One of the articles suggested that it was the teacher’s fault that the students cheated on papers, tests, and homework. This is completely absurd. Teachers’ jobs are to teach and educate the students. It is both an insult to the student and the teacher when a student cheats. Especially in advanced placement classes where cheating may be more prevalent than in regular level classes, the students should feel that they are above cheating being that they are in higher level courses. I know personally that it would be an insult to my smarts if I were to cheat. When students cheat, in my opinion, it seems as though they are testing the teacher. The teacher has been in school much longer then the students and will be able to recognize if someone has cheated on a paper or test. Not to mention that teachers were students once too and it is likely that they may know all the ‘tricks in the book’.

I believe that academic honestly should be applied in major tests and assignments foremost. If one were to cheat on a homework assignment, while still being a problem, it is not as big as a problem as if one were to cheat on a more major assignment. Talking with friends about a test should not be considered cheating depending on the information being shared between the friends. For example, my friend and I would discuss our statistics exams and tell each other in the hall if we thought that it was difficult or not. I do not believe that this was cheating; we did not tell each other the answers or any of the questions on the test. We just discussed what we thought of the test.

I believe that if teachers have a portion on a test where the student is to sign off that they did not see cheating or actively participate in cheating, that they will be telling the truth. If a student is going to cheat, signing a paper will not stop them. Students that cheat have incorrect morals on the topic of cheating. They may justify it to themselves any way that they want, but it still does not make it right. Students that are honest, receive the grades that they earned. While students that cheat, may still get a good grade what does that say about our system. It encourages students who are honest to cheat because they will not get caught and get the good grade without the hard work. Schools need to catch cheaters and reprimand them in some way so that students get credit where credit is due.

With all the technology available to students, it becomes much easier to cheat on assignments and tests. Students have thought of every idea possible, from calculators to IPods and writing the answers in cleverly hidden places. Anti- cheating programs have to adapt with the times. Teachers need to be aware of these types of cheating techniques and ask to check students’ items if they are suspicious of cheating. Some may argue that this may be a violation of privacy but I personally believe that if the teacher asks the students to put their phones, IPods and such in a box in the middle of the room that would suffice. Then there really is no need to check any of the students’ personal belongings. Schools and teachers need to develop a plan that everyone can agree on to stop students that cheat.