Students cheat.
There is no way around this truth. They cheat, and as a teacher, it is hard to know exactly how to deal with it all. Another truth is that I'm incredibly outnumbered in the classroom, sometimes up to 26-1. In public schools, that ratio is now something like 40-1. So, it is physically impossible to keep my eyes on everyone at every moment. If students are determined to cheat, they will sometimes get away with it.
I'm grading tests right now, and one whiny kid, who totally bombed his test, wrote a diatribe about how he didn't know anything about the essay topics, but neither did three cheaters in the class, and how he would like extra credit or a second chance, because he-who-is-oh-so-holy didn't cheat when he had the chance.
Ummm...you don't get rewarded for not cheating. I'm sorry. Life doesn't work like that. It's like the kids who got paid for getting good grades. In my house, we were expected to do our best. If it took money to get us to be responsible, then how would we ever learn integrity? I digress...
So, now I have to deal with the whiner and the cheaters tomorrow. I have to decide if I'm going to turn them into a dean, or just deal with it myself. And, I have to figure out how far I can go with the "proof" of hear-say. Grrr.
9 years ago
2 comments:
Are these more cheaters on top of the plagerizers??? And whiny kid's parents need to be beat with very large sacks of coins for instilling into their child the very notion that he deserves a second chance on a test because he didn't cheat. You don't get a thank-you for not running a red light! You don't get a gift certificate for not committing a crime! Good god- what have we come to as a society when kids think they are owed something for doing what is EXPECTED. Shoot whiny kid down, preferably in flames. He had his chance when he got his syllabus and saw the test scheduled for that day. OK- I'm done. You indirectly made me angry... ;)
Thank you for getting angry. It makes me feel better, and less angry. Anger shared... Whiny kid wouldn't name names (and has his parents' support) so I couldn't go further with the "investigation." In a way, it makes my life easier. And, they cheated by switching assigned essay topics on the test (long story about how that WAS possible--and will be no more). It was still cheating and still made me mad, but it wasn't like they were copying off of a cheat sheet. At least...not that I know of.
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