It all started in 6th period ethics class. My teacher always picked topics that were relevant to us today -- but none of the topics hit so personal as the topic he presented to us with: cheating.
Now, I can say this with confidence that more than 90% who are reading this right now have cheated in your life. We've all done it and we've done it willingly despite knowing fully well about the consequences. And the funny thing is that it doesn't even matter who you are -- whether you're the star athlete on the team, the teacher's pet, or the honors kid -- everyone does it. We're all cheaters.
Now, the degree to which we cheat is a whole another thing. Most people think that cheating on a homework assignment is okay, but that cheating on a test or plagiarizing a paper or an essay is flat-out wrong. Depending on what we cheat on, does that make the consequences more or less severe? Does it affect our acceptance of certain types of cheating, even though cheating is really considered wrong to begin with?
Cheating has grown significantly among students -- but whose really to blame for this? It is obvious that morals and personal integrity is lacking in the majority of students and the youth today since most think that it's alright to cheat. But students just don't cheat for no reason. Athletes have to maintain a certain GPA in order to play. Honors kids have to get that few extra points just to make their GPA a little more perfect. Students and kids today are loaded with more than they can handle -- an unlimited amount of access of information (internet and technology), after-school activities and clubs, work or part-time jobs, and on top of all that the usual homework and studying for the week. It is no wonder that kids today are cheating more often.
What can we do to solve this problem? How can teachers prevent cheating from happen and what are they doing if they are letting this amount of cheating happen? What does cheating say about our society? And since this behavior affects our youth today, will we continue to carry on our cheating ways as adults in the real world?
Please share your thoughts! I'll leave you guys with some statistics.
The latest (Dec 2007)Junior Achievement/Deloitte Teen Ethics Survey confirms why honesty and integrity tests are a good pre-employment tool for employers who want to weed out candidates who might cheat, steal, fight or just not show up for worl. The findings should be frightening to anyone who is counting on the next generation of workers to drive their organization ahead.
Harris Interactive did the actual survey of American teens ages 13-18, and here are a few of the findings:
• 71 percent of teens say they feel fully prepared to make ethical decisions when they enter the workforce.
• 38 percent of that group believes it is sometimes necessary to cheat, plagiarize, lie or even behave violently in order to succeed. In fact, some 23 percent of all teens surveyed think violence toward another person is acceptable on some level. Of those who think so, the justifications for violence include settling an argument (27 percent) and revenge (20 percent).
• 24 percent of all teens surveyed think cheating on a test is acceptable on some level, and more than half of those teens (54 percent) say their personal desire to succeed is the rationale.
• Of the teens who think plagiarism is acceptable on some level, 37 percent think a personal desire to succeed is justification, and that number climbs to 51 percent among the students who feel an overwhelming pressure to succeed.
• 27 percent of all teens surveyed said it’s not fair for an employer to suspend or fire employees for unethical behavior outside of their jobs.
• 57 percent of all teens surveyed believe it is not fair for employers to make hiring or firing decisions based on material they have posted to the Internet, and another 19 percent weren’t sure if it was fair or not.
• 47 percent of teens said it was acceptable on some level to illegally download music without paying for it, but only 5 percent said it was acceptable to steal something from a store.
What I think is interesting is how cheating is perceived in other cultures. In Russia, for example, cheating is no big thing. They don't even have a word for cheating, because the way they figure it, as long as you know the information and a way to get it, its all the same. Funny how we developed this idea of cheating and consider it morally wrong!
Wow, I really never knew that and didn't really think about how other cultures viewed cheating. That's pretty insightful, but when you think about it, it's not really that surprising. American culture is really conservative about a lot of things and not as open as a lot of other countries are -- topics such as sex and underage drinking are considered taboo and morally wrong still, while in Europe and other countries it's not such a big deal to talk openly about those things.
I like the way Russians think. Wish I could have went to school there :)X
I just played the hand I was dealt..... I'm just playin to win ;-) (rapper 2Pac)
I'll opeanly admit to cheating. Yea, so what I've done it. But only a few times. and only for teacher's whom respect I don't really admire.... actually I retract that statement.
Just resently I had this test in which one part of it was do at home, thirty words, find the definition in our textbook and include a quote from the text. So the resourceful students in my class simply decided, well count 1-30. that way we all only have to do one. The teacher obviously knew. It was so completely obvious. But he was livid. It was actually really funny though.
My valedictorian cheats constantly. That drives the majority of students who do their own work insane. I mean everyone does it.
It's sad that it's okay. It's really sad that our morals have gone down the drain like that.
It's not like I'm being didactic or anything, because I know that I've cheated my own share of times -- but I agree with you that it really is kind of sad that cheating has become more accepted nowadays. But I mean, we can't help it now since everyone does it. In your situation, kids were trying to cut down the amount of time it took to do an assignment -- and I see the justification in that. Of course that doesn't make it right, but to us we feel justified because it saves us time, which is something that a lot of us kids don't have a lot of. My ethics class actually got into a heated debate about this -- most felt justified in cheating on an assignment like this, but not in copying a test or plagiarizing a paper. I feel the same way but it can't change the fact that cheating is cheating.
And that's exactly what I mean -- your valedictorian is just one among the many of those who are supposed to be looked up to, but in reality cheat. And the thing about that is the people that get mad and who actually do the work might even go as far as to start cheating. Not only because the valedictorian does it, but also to get just as much of an edge as everyone else who cheats -- since that'd be the only fair thing to them. That's my take on how we all got to be like this -- it's become more acceptable to cheat since everyone does it.
"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it." -- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
society has this mindset and the logo is "it's a dog eat dog world out there" meaning you have to step on people to succeed...meaning cheaters are everywhere and wont stop! it sucks for all those honest people who are doing what they are supposed to and not getting credit for it! cheating is just apart of the society we live in
I think the last time I cheated was when I was thirteen. I think I can pretty truthfully say I haven't cheated since.
I seriously commend you. That is an amazing thing to hear when so many people in this world, and not just kids but also adults, cheat their way through life. It's seriously unfair to people like you who really work honestly and truthfully throughout life and there are people out there who cut corners or cheat. There needs to be more people that have the same morals as you.
"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it." -- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
I don't think cheating is that bad. I really only think cheating is bad if it's like plagiarizing a paper. In a situation like that, a student is supposed to present something his or her own ideas. But on a test, all that matters is the right answer. Adults don't have to cheat as much because they are not constantly being tested. When is the last time an adult had to find the cosine of a number without using a calculator?
it's okay. I have a black gay friend.
In a sense, cheating isn't that bad. I think if you don't get caught, it's either you have the luck or you're good at cheating and in it's own way that can be a skill. It's true that almost everyone cheats. There's so many things that students now-a-days have to carry on their shoulders that makes it hard for them to be able to study for all their tests. As long as it's not hurting anyone I think it's okay. I'm in the honors and AP classes and alot of times, people cheat. Everyone does in order to get a better grade in class. I wouldn't say my classmates cheat to the extreme, in tests, everyone cheats on like one or two questions. I think if it's beneficial to everyone it's actually a good thing. But there is a way to keep the kids from cheating. Well, at least in the Ap and honor classes. Last year in my AP Biology class, we were always ranked and everyone gets to see it. So eventually, it wasn't just about the grade anymore because no one wanted to be near the bottom and so no one was willing to help anyone. This was kinda harsh but I have to admit it got rid of all the cheating and made everyone work harder for the class.