We've all been there at one point or another. Either one of your friends or someone sitting nearby in class has pulled out a cheat sheet for a test or quiz. It is obvious to you, but the teacher never seems oblivious to any actions they make. From writing on the desk, to putting the answers inside of your pen, I have heard and seen many ways to cheat. So, when that time comes the question is... What do you do?
It just doesn't seem fair at all. I spent my time studying or at least expecting to take the test using my own knowledge and abilities. But there they are, in the middle of class, earning a better grade than me simply because they have friends who have the teacher a few periods before we get to class.
Which actually brings up a funny story. Last quarter there was a quiz in my physics class. One of my friends who I sometimes go to lunch with sat diagonally and to the right in front of me. So, this friend of mine, Matt, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, although partly because of lack of application. He probably had not studied, listened in class the previous week or so, taken notes, or looked at anything the night before in preparation.
He arrives to class, puts down his backpack and places his hoodie on the desk. He then proceeds to take out a strip of paper and hide it behind his jacket while seemingly copying something onto it. Basically, he looked very suspicious. He was all slunk down in his desk, hiding behind the jacket and attempting to look like he was doing nothing all at the same time. He had gotten answers for the quiz during lunch right before class.
Well, my teacher walks right out of his office, which gives him a straight and clear view of my good old friend Matt. Matt doesn't seem to notice this at all and I just sat back and watched the chips fall where they may. My teacher walks up to his desk and just stand there, looking down at what Matt is doing. Matt finally realizes and slowly lifts his head, while still writing on his scrap of paper. Wow! Suffice it to say, he got a zero on that quiz.
However, I am fairly sure that others in the class cheated on that quiz as well. They got through unscathed, it seems. Matt is now always taunted and kidded that he is a cheater whenever a test or quiz comes up.
My question is why do we put up with those who cheat, even when we catch them doing it? In physics, some people who I know cheat during tests join in the mocking and laughing at Matt. Why are cheaters only cheaters when they get caught? It is a conundrum that I cannot fathom a way to explain.
And that first question isn't just for anyone reading this, it is for my own consideration as well. I have seen and noticed cheating in my classes. And yet I simply stand by and say nothing. Why? Do I have a personal wish to let these people get the same credit that I get, perhaps even more credit, when they have done much less?
It just seems like everyone should do his or her own work. And yet sometimes I feel I have failed and fallen into the trap of cheating to some extent. It is definitely something I need to remove from my life entirely. Especially if I want to rant about it as I am currently. I don't know. I guess I am just venting/reflecting on my own actions out loud.
Tell me how you guys feel and what you have done.
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Yes, cheating always made me so frustrated. I remember spending hours on math or physics homework in high school or even college only to find out that some students got the answers from previous students in the class or simply copied from a friend. Of course with all the cheating occurring all around us, it can be tempting, but I still believe that they are really only cheating themselves. I know, how cliche, but its just a short term solution to a problem and I'm sure addictive.
I do not really agree with the statement that cheaters are only cheating themselves. It would not make me as frustrated or mad if those were the only consequences. They also cheat me out of true credit for what I have done. It is as though they demean or belittle my score by getting the same score or a better score with little to no effort on their part. I mean, I can see how it does end up cheating them. But, I don't feel that they are the only ones to get hurt when they decide to cheat. And I must agree that the prevalence and commonness of cheating does make it an almost irresistible trap to fall into.
I didn't mean that they are the only ones being hurt, because obviously they are hurting and frustrating all of those around them who actually put in a lot of effort and hard work. Personally, I have definitely been very angry and upset by cheaters throughout my life, especially in my pre-medical courses in college where people copied eachothers labs, homework and only studied the night before at test by taking adderall or caffeine pills (which i think is still a form of cheating!). I just found it unfair that I would study for days and do my own work and still get the same grade as someone who just cheated!
I meant that in the end they will not be prepared to work independently and proficiently in their future careers-- they will be too dependent on other or in be disliked by those around them.
Yeah, I guess that would be true. It actually seems kind of scary with some of the proffessions these people hope to join after they graduate. I would not want someone who copied someone else's labs and cheated on tests doing like surgery or something on me. That is weird to think about. I really don't want it to be a possibility. We put so much trust in doctors and medical people since they went through so much schooling, i just hope they did not skip that part in the textbook and copy the homework from a friend!
Oh no, I don't know why it just added my response 3 times! Sooo sorry!
“I hope the departure is joyful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo
I'm gonna betch slap the dumb outta you
I think people don't tell because it's usually not a big deal. If a teacher grades fairly, your grade won't be affected by another person's grade. If someone doesn't study but cheats and gets an A, and you don't cheat and get a B, you still got what you deserved. That's why I don't care. School isn't a competition with other students. If you don't make valedictorian because someone is cheating, then it becomes a big deal. And the whole "they're only hurting themselves" thing rings hollow. Think about it, if a person cheats, he or she obviously doesn't know the information well enough to have retained anything. So they hurt themselves LONG before they decided to cheat by not studying. really cheating would be helping for people who didn't study.
“I hope the departure is joyful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo
I'm gonna betch slap the dumb outta you
I guess that is somewhat true. But it almost puts them on a pedestal above those who did not cheat, which is somewhat discouraging when certain students put in all the effort. It is probably not the worst thing that someone could do in the world, and a large population of the world probably does cheat to some extent, myself included. But it is still sad.
Unfortunately, at big universities, the unfortunate truth is that school is a competition. And the grade of the person next to you will affect your grade. This was my experience in college, as I sat in 300 person classes where only 10% could get grades. This brought on the cheating, the lying and competitiveness. And it is not fair when one person studies all the material and gets a B on the curve while the person next to them cheated and got an A and is the one to get into medical, graduate or law school.
That does present quite a problem. This is a very literal representation of the fact that cheater's actions do not only hurt themselves and do in fact degrade those around them. Thanks for the insight into your college scene. It gives a new dimension to the problem.
I don't mean to be negative, and not all colleges are like that. I was biology major and surrounded by very competitive, intelligent and determined pre-meds, many of which were honest and studied very hard without cheating. I still did well throughout college, and will be going to a top grad school (if i can pay for it!) this coming fall, and I did all of this without cheating. I beat the curve in these big classes by studying hard and rising about the cheating. I wish curves did not exist and that everyone who worked hard could get the A, but unfortunately thats not possible at big universities!
Yeah, I guess it would not be good to go around life with a pessimistic outlook on everything. There are some things that we cannot personally change. It is kind of a bummer. But for the rest of the things that we can change out there, Look Out!!!
That's true. That's why I'm happy i don't go to a big college. My German teacher always jokes that about how he's happy when someone doesn't get an A cause he's that much closer to a promotion and therefore a new car. But I think that is more a problem with university policy. One person's grade really shouldn't depend on another's.
You can always just let the teacher know when someone is cheating.
“I hope the departure is joyful and I hope never to return.” - Frida Kahlo
I'm gonna betch slap the dumb outta you
I think big universities well prepare you for the real world, where you are on your own to figure things out and be independent. While school should not be so competitive, the real job force is competitive and learning how to not only work work with others but also how to lead is essential for success. When interviewing applying for a job, in any field (art, theatre, nursing, engineering, you name it) you will always be compared to other people and this will continue to occur in the workforce.
Learning this in college was an important lesson for me and I feel well prepared to enter not only graduate school but my future career. I do wish at times I went to a small school, where I could have had more professor contact and a better chance at getting good grades!
I dont know about college, havn't got there because I havn't won the schoolarship(yet : ). I think that cheaters suck, but telling on them is not going to do a thing. You just have to be better than them. Like _meke said if you get your B and they get an A, at least your B means something.
It is a good point that telling on them won't do much, especially since it will probably just be one person's word against another, which never turns out good. In high school at least, it is safe to say that we just need to do the honorable thing and try our hardest and let those who cheat attempt to get ahead in their own selfish ways.
cheating has seemed to always been a problem but sadly it's been hard to avoid it. even I have stooped down to "getting help" on an assignment that i haven't finished. I also have to agree to those of you who said that you can't really tell on people who cheat- you don't want to be made fun of but then you don't want a classmate to get a bad grade either...but they shouldn't get it if they didn't deserve or earn it. this is a really hard subject to talk about because so many things are technically called cheating...like "getting help" or "group tests" (in my chemistry class my table wanted to try this). It's hard to know when you've crossed the line but also when you should have said something about someone else.
all in all, cheating has seem to become hard to avoid. let's just hope that the next doctor or lawyer we go to has cheated their way through the big time schools. that would really stink to be getting a B grade lawyer and be paying for A+ work from that lawyer...i guess the best thing to do is not let people cheat off of you and do YOUR best to not cheat!
It is hard to avoid. It happens everywhere. I know some people who will not show up to class on the day that we have a test or essay. Then they ask people about it so that they can be more prepared and will have a true knowledge of what to expect, or even all the answers. One of the valedictorians does it on a regular basis. Hmmm... There truly is not much that can be done. Well, i thank you all for your comments and for the insight into cheating. It is probably something that will have to be dealt with throughout all our lives. Even when one form of cheating is destroyed, a new method will replace it that will probably be even better and more efficient.
I can't bring myself to cheat. Even when writing book reports in school, I couldn't not read the material and rely on Cliff Notes like many of my friends.