<p>Cheating happens. Let it go. I've seen dozens of peole cheat in my class and I've never given it a second thought. What really ticks people off is when parents, who are really looking out solely for their child's interests, get involved in the name of fairness for all. You present suppossed panaceas for cheating to your school boards when there really are none. Cheating will always be around. Just let it go.</p>
<p>"Cheating happens. Let it go."</p>
<p>Yes, it happens. Yes, we can't let it faze us. But no, we can't let it go unpunished.</p>
<p>It just breeds resentment when you get involved</p>
<p>Yes, I know. But if someone asks to copy your paper, you still have a responsibility to say no.</p>
<p>There are campuses where students enter the community with an understanding that cheating is wrong and should not be tolerated. If you've spent time in an environment like that, I suspect you would not be so quick to dismiss it as something that just "happens."</p>
<p>Cheating (or as they call in at the SAT tests, "gaining an unfair advantage") is wrong, period. There needs to be a concerted effort by the other students, the teacher, the school administration, and yes, the parents, to do something about it. I think that parents get involved when students, teachers, or the administration will not.</p>
<p>And the beauty of being over 40 is that you don't care if someone resents you for doing the right thing.</p>
<p>Cheating is a kind of stealing, but hey, in this world lets jsut let it go...</p>
<p>I imagine two Titanic survivors conversing in a life boat in the North Atlantic: "Our boat is leaking. Bailing won't stop it from leaking, so just let it go."
"On the other hand our comfort level is declining."</p>
<p>Going to a school with an active honor code is so much more pleasant and productive.</p>
<p>"And the beauty of being over 40 is that you don't care if someone resents you for doing the right thing."</p>
<p>BRAVO!!</p>
<p>I really want a doctor who cheated through school, I want an accountant who cheated to pass a class, I want a contractor who cheats me when I build my house, I want the car mechanic to cheat me....yep cheating happens and we should just let it go</p>
<p>"
Going to a school with an active honor code is so much more pleasant and productive."</p>
<p>like UVA?</p>
<p>I will not stand by as the barbarians not only come over the wall but try to take over the whole damned town. Fwiw, I'm pleased that D's college is on of the "honor code" kinds of places and it seems to be seriously observed. Students schedule their own finals, meaning that some can take it on Day 1, others on Day 4. The system seems to work.</p>
<p>I can't help it: kudos to Tanonev for spelling "faze" correctly. Too many use a "Star Trek" spelling.</p>
<p>Here is some reading material for you:
Winners Never Cheat: Lessons for Today's Business Leaders</p>
<p>thomyorke...I am a UVA alum, maybe that's why I was so affronted? TheDad, I can't agree more. It's about changing the climate. Letting go = giving up on the idea that the high school can create an atmosphere of learning and trust. I just wasn't ready to hand it all over to people who see no need for rules.</p>
<p>Jaming Jamsheed,</p>
<p>What is the purpose of education? Maybe I am naive, but I think that students go to school in order to acquire knowledge and wisdom, and then to become responsible citizens who can make positive contributions to our society. If we all take the "cheating happens" approach, then education cannot fulfill its true purpose and we would all become cynical losers. If you choose not to fight for honest behavior, then it might be better not to be involved in the educational process at all because of your lack of commitment to work for the common good. </p>
<p>I find the lack of idealism in the "cheating happens" attitude hard to understand. Why would anyone want to live in a world where everybody cheats and everybody tolerates it?</p>
<p>Jaming - you wouldn't happen to be related to anyone who was 'steering the ship' at Enron (or any of the other recent high profile messes like it), would you now???.....thousands of hard-working people's lives ruined......but...just let it go.....</p>
<p>Sure ... why not? Let's just let the moral fiber of America continue to decline. Let's teach our children to lie, cheat and steal as long as it benefits them or us. After all, we're all out for number one, right? Jaming Jamsheed, maybe the reason you've never "given it a second thought" is because you weren't taught that cheating is wrong. As for your statement of parents looking out for their child's interest ... you got that right! In addition to looking out for my child's interest, though, I am of the thought that everyone should follow the rules and have an even playing field. What goes around comes around, though, so those who are currently getting by riding the coattails of others will eventually stumble.</p>
<p>I'm amazed at the attitude of certain posters (in the other cheating thread) who aren't completely appalled by the actions of "the cheater", but instead want to call it a mistake. One usually learns from making a mistake, however, this particular student didn't learn because they weren't given appropriate consequences. He/she continued to cheat. The administration at that school and the student should be mortified ... the cheater for her actions and the administration for their non-action.</p>
<p>Bingo! Continued is the operative word. A mistake, or even two would be different. This student was not sorry, did not see what they did was wrong, and continued to cheat. That is different than a one time offender that is willing to apologize and not repeat the behavior. </p>
<p>If cheating is going on because "everyone does it," then obviously the stakes for cheating need to be raised until it is no longer profitable. There are a lot of victims here--not just those that had their work compromised. Someone did not get a scholarship. Someone dropped out of the auto admit top 10%. Someone worked hard to raise money for scholarships only to see it misappropriated. Someone followed the rules and ended up beneath the heels of the cheater. </p>
<p>These are the same people that end up falling victim to disappearing pension plans, bankrupt businesses, and other shady practices because they played by the rules, and someone else didn't. So how do we stop the cycle? By teaching our young people that cheating is not right, and to do so you generally need consequences.</p>
<p>Jaming - perhaps you will feel differently when it hits you directly. You wouldn't care if you were at the top of your class, or in-line for a promotion, or only 1 of 2 who could get accepted to a school you've been dying to get into and find out (in the three cases) that the other person/s cheated to get where they were while you actually worked to get where you are?</p>
<p>Next time your on a plane, just think about the pilot who holds your life in his hands. The plane starts to have problems - do you want a pilot who truly knows the ins/outs of the plane that actually studied & knows what he is doing or do you want the pilot who copied off of people's work, etc?</p>
<p>Cheating is WRONG! Our society needs to get on board and call it for what it is - WRONG. Copying other people's homework may seem harmless at first, but the next thing your copying off of someone's test. It seems harmless on the surface but pretty soon you are compromising yourself in other situations.</p>
<p>Resent away, dear! People who do things that are wrong and don't want to change or who are too morally lazy to care about it when others are wronged often feel resentful when people with enough energy to care stand up for what's right. And that goes both ways. My son has been on the receiving end of such resentment for speaking out against what he saw as unethical behavior on the part of adults. He took the consequences like a man, and I'm proud of him for it. </p>
<p>This issue is no different. If you need to resent people for caring about what's right--and many do feel that need-- then go ahead. It won't stop people from doing the right thing. That, too, is inevitable.</p>