<p>While I agree that cheating is "wrong" it's not uncommon. I know at my middle school we even had a network for homework cheating and specific places you could go to copy hw...you just bring hw for a class and turn it into the pile and take out whatever you need and copy that and then get yours back out of the pile.</p>
<p>I heard about tons of ways to cheat...on map tests kids made tiny tiny versions and stuffed them in their pencils...or notecards...anybody wearing a sweatshirt on test days were immediately suspicious. It got so bad at one point that for some of the worst cheating classes, kids had to put their backpacks in a different part of the room, take off most top layers(sweatshirts over t-shirts, for example), empty all their backpacks, etc. People developed all types of ways to cheat when grading hw. </p>
<p>For two science classes that I knew about, out of 40 kids, only 2 people didn't participate in the cheating rule on hw that was pretty much "give the person you're grading full points if they only missed one or two, or only take one or two off if they missed more. Only take suitable amounts off if there are blanks." Some got more sophisticated and kept pieces of paper out...and asked questions and wrote answers down as if taking notes, so that pencil marking wouldn't be suspicious as they changed multiple choice answers on homework...</p>
<p>Sometimes the ways ppl cheated were stupid and they got caught(printing out the exact same assignment but just changing names) but for the rest of the time, nobody got caught.</p>
<p>Although not an excuse, it's more the thinking behind why they did it...these ppl I knew were taking extremely difficult classes as part of the school's Gifted Program and the pressure from within and from parents was more than most kids could handle. </p>
<p>I know that when I got a B+ for the first time ever for a semester grade my parents were really angry(even though it was in the hardest class I've ever taken-AP is nothing in comparison). I got yelled at and periodiodically throughout the summer afterwards would be yelled at for it again. Lots of digs at how this grade demonstrated that I was horrible and how it was all my fault and how I was so lazy and how even though I was smart at academics I was stupid at life, etc. My report card was taken off the fridge for being "shameful". I broke down and cried during class when I got the grade-with all the pressures and expectations on me from my parents and even moreso, myself, I felt like I had let my parents and myself down. </p>
<p>I admit it, I cheated sometimes in middle school. I didn't ever take part of the homework trade, although I did let some of my friends have my hw. I accidentally(I swear it was an accident) saw answers on tests a couple times. I might have copied one or two assignments right before class if I forgot to do them. There's only one time in my mind that I flat out cheated on a test with the swappage of answers. Sure, I know it was wrong" but does it weigh on my conscience? I'm sorry to say that no, not really. </p>
<p>Oh, by the way everyone, I don't think that what ONE person does reflects on an entire ethnic group. What some kid of my race over in Oklahoma does has nothing to do with me.</p>