<p>I am a sophomore in highschool who does decent in his classes. I didn't do so well grading wise last semester, but I hoped to do well the second semester. During the second test for my Honors Pre Calc class, I finished, and on the way to the teacher to turn it in, I stopped and fixed an answer that I was trying to figure out on the way to the teacher. I had a pencil in my hand and just filled in a blank that I couldn't figure out with a random guess. But in that moment, a boy went by me and talked to me as if i was done with the test, saying " dude I didn't get number 3 and 4 and just put questions marks. I'm so screwed" I just smiled and went on with writing my answers in. Unfortunately, I had decided to whisper to myself the answers as i wrote them down. The teacher saw this, saw the student talk to me, and accused me of cheating. She sent a referral to the assistant principal, and gave me a detention and such. Luckily, she only gave me a 0 in that section that i was accused of cheating, and told me that I have a chance to get a C if i did well on the rest of the test. Do i have enough details and such to fight this? How do you fight a cheating allegation from a teacher, and is it even worth it? My hope was Stanford, but it seems that the goal is now gone. Would colleges look at it harshly if I am not able to erase it?</p>
<p>You absolutely should fight this. It appeared to the teacher to be cheating, but if it wasn’t it wasn’t. You should not get penalized for this. Speak to the teacher, principal, your parents, all of the above.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think the teacher over reacted. Frankly I wouldn’t settle for an F, assuming that was all there was to it. You do have the advantage of a third party to help you straighten out the situation.</p>
<p>Definitely speak with the teacher, your parents, your counselor. It sounds like this situation can be remedied. Don’t be afraid - go to the teacher right away and explain the entire scenario. Get adults involved to help you if this does not work. Give the teacher the benefit of the doubt that she didn’t understand what she was seeing - but make sure you explain in detail what really happened.</p>
<p>She clearly isn’t trying to fail you on purpose, but you should fight this until the end. If you didn’t do it, you didn’t do it so talk to the other student as soon as possible. …Even if things don’t go your way, dont give up your dreams to go to Stanford.</p>
<p>I agree with burry. Deal with this head on. </p>
<p>But keep in mind, this does not permit you to speak rudely to your teacher in any way. Just tell the teacher you’d like to speak with her after class, and explain that you were hurt by her accusations as you have never cheated and never will (assuming this is true, of course.) Calmly tell her that you understand how she would think that you’ve cheated, but you didn’t. Make sure she knows you’re aware of the consequences, and that you would never risk your future for one answer/test.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your responses! Here’s some more info. I was walking to the desk, my friend was talking about numbers 2 and 3, and i wrote down answers for 17. And then she suddenly got mad and told me straight out i am cheating and that I have received a referral. I felt like she was over reacting and that she was too strict. She bluntly gave me the referral and a call to my mom without asking me. I tried to explain but she didn’t hear any of it and kept telling me to be quiet. This class was third period, so I started crying and stayed in class during lunch. I was visibly upset. I heard her talk to my mom and such, and just kept crying. I did say I am mad at my self, but in the way that I am mad at my self for not studying and whispering to my self. Unfortunately, she took it as a kind of confession and told my mom that I confessed to cheating. THankfully, she did have some kind of heart, and gave me a zero on the page that I " cheated on" and gave me full credit for the rest of the test. I don’t really know how to argue against her. It is a teacher vs student after all… there were many witnesses and i hope they will help me. I am expecting a call from the vice principal later on, and I hope to clarify there. Would there be any kind of chance that she take back what she said and not give me a referral, academic integrity cheating thing, and others?</p>
<p>thank you again</p>
<p>Ask your mom to go with you to talk to the teacher. You are scared and need help. If your mom can’t go in person or talk to the teacher on the phone, ask your counselor. You are obviously very scared and sometimes when you are fearful you cannot convey the details the way you might like. An adult can help you do this. Please try to calm down. It sounds like what you did was very innocent. You must try, politely, to make the teacher understand this. Good luck!</p>
<p>well the problem is my mom is a first generation immigrant and not the best english speaker. I am calm( i think) and have been rethinking the situation and facts. would it be not right if I go instead of my mom? i am afraid her english skills may mess this up</p>
<p>Find a teacher you trust and like, and ask them to contact the admin to assure them of your academic integrity. If you know your counselor well, ask him/her to do the same.</p>
<p>First off, I have to say that what you described looks very bad. But in any case, I’ll give you my advice.</p>
<p>Here’s what I would do: If you’re worried about your mom, by all means go yourself. And ask if there’s any way you can demonstrate your understanding of the material on a different assignment (essay or something) that you can take as the teacher watches so she knows you didn’t cheat. Explain that although you know it looks bad, you were not cheating, and while you will be much more conscientious about your actions in the future, cheating can mar your permanent record when you apply to colleges. This will also be more effective if your principal is there, the principal looks good if his students get into better colleges. Be clear that you are willing to retake a new test on the spot and want more than anything to show that you do know the material. Grovel until they agree not to put anything in your record. Good luck.</p>
<p>My mom did send an email and it seems that she will review what happened more thoroughly. She said she wants to believe me and will talk with me and the student to figure out what happened… to the principal thing, he’s retiring this year… and also, the teacher was really mad and kept saying that she didnt have to do this for a long time and blah blah. She did agree to my mom’s email that i am a good student and such… does this mean i will have a higher percentage of chance of getting this fixed?
and would saying that I partly talked to the student before writing down the answer be cheating? he said " wow numbers 3 and 4 were hard" and i partly said to him and myself "i’m going to have to guess " regarding question 17, and then went to writing it down and muttering the answer to myself. Does this look bad or do i have a chance?</p>