<p>@lululemonxx in college you can get expelled for cheating at some schools. Also, them cheating is a betrayal to everyone else and the teacher so they don’t deserve your loyalty.</p>
<p>@lululemonxx Rules and laws exist for a reason. Besides maintaining order, they make sure people are treated equally. If you don’t understand the material, ask for help. It’s not like it is not offered.</p>
<p>And bringing up the parents point, if my parents (god forbid) went out and committed a crime like murder or robbing a bank, I would not feel right keeping that information to myself, because it is unfair to the people it affects (the victim’s families) The same goes to cheating, to a lesser extent. There are doubtlessly many other people in the class who are not cheaters who feel the same way, just to nervous to stand up for themselves because they want to preserve the so-called “good side” with the said cheaters. Besides, it doesn’t even have to be direct if you don’t want to, Leaving a note saying there has been some cheating going on without saying who will cause the teacher to be more astute and after a lecture from the teacher, I’m sure the cheaters will have learned their lesson.</p>
<p>In high school, I learned many things. One of them is how to know who your “true friends” are. I would not consider cheaters true friends nor would I take the extra effort in befriending them. How could I trust a person that I knew was doing something unethical in his own life to be my friend? Would you trust a relationship partner to act like that? Therefore, I mentioned earlier, I would offer to help, but if they flat out reject it, I would feel no regret in reporting them for doing what they already know is wrong.</p>
<p>I was always taught to respect others. Cheating is basically disrespecting your classmates, teacher, and most importantly yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions! But do you think I should still do it even if they knew i caught them and they’ll probably hate me for the rest of their lives? </p>
<p>@AsianDoctor This person already knows that you in particular are aware of them cheating? </p>
<p>I say write a letter to the teacher anonymously. A friend and I did this in my sophomore AP Bio class because we were tired of the cheater, who cheated on every test, bragging about their high grade they achieved by cheating. In the end, does it matter if some people who are scum to cheat so “hardcore” hate you? A lot of people cheat, this is true, but I doubt you were the only one that saw them. And if it was so hardcore and evident, the teacher might already have an inkling but feels like they have no solid proof, so you could be a major help if you write an anonymous tip.</p>
<p>That’s for you to decide, but you could leave an anonymous note. Or not point out the specific people, but say in general, there has been cheating going on (I would sign my name in this case, to avoid being implicated) Or you could take the method I mentioned above in approaching the cheaters to get them to stop cheating, if this is a reoccurring matter.</p>
<p>There are cheaters that learn their lesson and there are ones that don’t. Personally, I don’t see a benefit to letting a cheater continue his or her actions reprimanded. It does no one any good.</p>
<p>On a side note, I think the scale of cheating does matter a little. If cheating is also asking about what was on one or two questions on the test, I’d let it go. But if it is large-scale like you said for a major grade, I would’t feel comfortable with it. Especially if the teacher is unaware and lets it go on. I had a teacher who suspected there was cheating but because no one reported it, let it go on, and it was really frustrating to me because I worked really hard to get a B but I’d see these kids getting As because they were plainly pulling out their books in the back and looking at them, but our teacher was very preoccupied.</p>
<p>@guineagirl96 As a classmate, you should stick up for one another. What makes cheating so bad that they don’t deserve your loyalty? It’s just a test/quiz, whatever. Is cheating so much of a sin that you would turn your back on them so easily? Why be so cruel over such a small thing in life? </p>
<p>@awakeningvenus Look at the bigger picture I was trying to show. Your guys’ point is that you should turn or tell on somebody if they didn’t follow or obey the rules because it’s ‘the right thing to do’. I used the ‘parents’ situation to illustrate the point more dramatically, for those who can’t see the ‘unethical’ side of the telling on the cheater. Why exactly can’t you turn in your parents? Perhaps it’s because, from an emotional (or more correctly a humane) point of view, ‘i’m human, and I care for them’. What made you lose or give up this ‘humane’ side of you over some dainty test, that down the road, will not even total up to a single dime in your life span? </p>
<p>@awakeningvenus well, idk actually, i think i was just being paranoid and thinking that they were looking at me </p>
<p>I’m actually glad that we are able to have a discussion with both points of view. @lululemonxx although I disagree with you, you bring up points that would be the cause a person to be hesitant or not report the cheater. While I may disagree with you from personal experience, I think it is important to address those points you mentioned as others may be going through the same mindset. </p>
<p>I’m going to leave it to others to respond now, because although I have posted 4 times now I have not received a single direct reply (which admittedly, makes me kind of sad)</p>
<p>Have a good day everyone! Good luck with your situation @AsianDoctor</p>
<p>Why is there such a huge debate any time there’s any mention of the word “cheater” and “cheating” on HSL…?</p>
<p>Here’s good life advice: When in doubt about something, go with your gut. Do you think you should report them? Or do you think there’s no need to? If you’re asking this question, I feel like some part of you thinks you should. In which case, do report them.</p>
<p>@shawnspencer I’m not saying these people are your official ‘friends’ you’re stuck with for your entire life, and god forbids you ever do anything wrong to them. But just plainly and clearly classifying how you should act towards any classmate(s) or any person you see on the street… </p>
<p>You want to know what i learned through high school? It is that you should live and act on your humane and emotional side.</p>
<p>After turning your parents in, would you honestly feel okay through the fact that you practically pushed them into punishment? Like i said with the previous comment: Why exactly can’t you turn in your parents? Perhaps it’s because, from an emotional (or more correctly a humane) point of view, ‘you’re human, and you care for them’. Towards the cheating situation… what made you lose or give up this ‘humane’ side of you over some dainty test, that down the road, will not even total up to a single dime in your life span?</p>
<p>you guys got to take a chill pill… i was only asking what i should do.</p>
<p>anyways thnaks</p>
<p>@shawnspencer and my points are reasonably valid. Why do we hesitate in situations like this, and why doesn’t humanity ever seem to take this into account? Humanity seem to always opt for the situation or answer that gives us a tangible item. Like ‘oh, tell on those kids so i can see my curved test scored bumped up’ ohhh… ‘i should major in engineer because i can get 1mil green papers’. And hardly do we act on the side that gives us enjoyment or happiness because we can’t see it or count it.</p>
<p>What is there to disagree with my points? Is it invalid just because it isn’t *tangible? </p>
<p>Turning someone in for cheating doesn’t solely have to do with doing it for selfish benefits like a grade boost. I’ve never turned anyone in for cheating, but if I did, it would because I just think it’s morally wrong to cheat. Aside from the humanity of giving people mercy or what have you, there’s also the moral aspect of how it’s wrong to cheat. Life is about showing forgiveness and mercy to those who have done something wrong, but it’s also about doing the right thing, and there have to be punishments for those who break the rules, otherwise we’d have chaos in the world (well, even more so than we do now). That’s just my .02.</p>
<p>@lululemonxx I admit I wouldn’t turn someone in for copying a couple of questions, but you act as if cheating is a shameless and victimless crime; it isn’t.</p>
<p>When a group cheats as majorly as the OP describes it affects the curve of the test. This doesn’t just affect yourself, but everyone else who didn’t cheat and has no idea what’s going on. What did they ever do to deserve having their grades artificially deflated? It’s bad enough for students when a curve is killed cause of one high grade, it’s worse when it’s a whole group of unfairly achieved high grades.</p>
<p>Additionally, this defeats the whole point of an assessment. If everyone gets As on the test, the teacher is going to think everyone knows the material just fine. At least at my school, if a large amount of students bomb a test, the teacher either rethinks their curriculum or has us rethink our study habits.</p>
<p>Hardcore cheaters don’t just hurt that one kid striving for valedictorian, they also hurt that one kid barely passing the class. Turning in a hardcore cheater is about showing empathy to the rest of the honest classmates, something the cheater failed to do.</p>
<p>Last comment before I leave because I officially got a direct reply. @lululemonxx being humane and kind has nothing to do with it. You’re not doing them any favors if you allow them to continue like this. Confession: once during a third grade spelling test, I peeked at my neighbor’s paper. My teacher caught me and reprimanded me, explaining to me the consequences and why that honor and trust was worth far more than a grade on a single test. After that day, I have never attempted to or tried to cheat, because you are not just cheating yourself (which is bad enough) you are cheating other’s trust. If they continue to do this without negative consequences, think what a bad shape they could be in the future. It won’t be tolerated in college.</p>
<p>On a side note, I completely disagree that if you report them you are not humane and emotional person. I had a good friend, she was literally the most humane and compassionate person I know. She would bake people cookies on their birthday who she barely knew, she would say hi and start a conversation to total strangers if you are having a bad day, she was the type of person you could sit there for hours and you could tell her about your problems, to anyone. Yet, she had absolutely no tolerance for cheating, which she regarded just as bad. In the situation I mentioned above, it was she who first convinced me to tell the teacher, as she was in the same class. At that time, I didn’t have the strength to. She had ADHD and struggled on every test, always trying her hardest, yet the others were cruising by and affecting the curve. (It only became harder because the teacher thought we understood the material, we clearly didn’t which is what probably triggered the cheating in the first place.) How was that fair to her? It wasn’t. She eventually broke down in tears and told the teacher ON HER BIRTHDAY NO LESS, and went on to say how she really despised cheaters, and they shouldn’t be allowed to do things like that just because people are willing to look the other way.</p>
<p>I too, before, was a bystander. But after hearing her speak in such an emotional and powerful way, made me think that I could not stand by while those others took advantage of the system and more importantly, other people. If she could be affected in that way, there were likely others like her that could be hurt. I didn’t want them to be hurt, plain and simple. So since then, I have taken a strong stance against cheating.</p>
<p>You gotta look at things from multiple perspectives. Sure you may be “compassionate” and “humane” to the cheater, but there are real people out there that are being hurt, that don’t deserve to be.</p>
<p>@guineagirl96 Just because you see it as a problem doesn’t mean you have to get involved. It is not my place, it’s the place of the teacher.</p>
<p>We all have morals, for example, you feel that it is your duty to report people for cheating. Personally, my morals only extend to where I personally don’t cheat but I won’t report others. I believe that if it doesn’t hurt me, or others, then it is not my (or anyone elses) place to get involved. Cheating will hurt the cheater but it won’t hurt anybody else unless we’re talking about grades which would only affect those with inflated egos. </p>
<p>I once told my teacher of this one kid that kept cheating on our unit tests, and he said he would look into it, and the it was awkward between us for the rest of the year. So the one time I did report cheating, it didn’t go so great… but luckily, that same teacher found a better job, so he won’t even be there anymore!</p>
<p>I didn’t want to get sucked into this thread, but…:-S
Moral decisions don’t need to be automatic. Going against the path of least resistance almost always requires some courage and/or mental effort.
Obviously a single instance of cheating doesn’t hurt anyone. In most cases, the positive or negative effect of something will only be visible after it happens a lot.<br>
Morals are different from behavior. My behavior doesn’t always align with the moral beliefs in my mind, and I think that’s true for pretty much everyone. In general, people stay silent because it’s the easiest option, not because they think it’s the best option morally. I agree that you’re not morally obliged to get involved, but you’ll get karmic bonus points if you do. :)</p>
<p>As far as actual advice, I think an anonymous letter would be a good idea. </p>