I thought about it for a while, and I figured out why you should not cheat in school. Personally, I do not cheat.
At first glance, cheating seems like a great idea!
Pros:
-you get the right answers(usually)
-All you do is copy down the answers(easy work)
-By giving others answers, which by the way is also considered cheating, they may like you more.-
-You get good grades-
-It takes the stress out of school-
-School becomes easier-
Cons:
-You risk getting caught-
-The answers you copy may not always be right.-
-If you do get caught, it's on your "permanent record" (if there is such a thing...)
Wow, this list makes cheating look like a good idea, doesn't it. However, from a moral standpoint you might think otherwise. Like I stated before, I do not cheat. There are people in my school, who cheat and have a higher GPA, are in high honers classes, and claim to be "smart". This is nonsense, if these people didn't cheat they would probably flunk out of highschool there so dumb. People cheat in my school everyday, some people cheat on every assignment they are dealt. Whats worse is the cheating on tests is horrific.
Some students are good at cheating, yet most are awful. Yet, they don't get caught. Some teachers even ask if students are cheating and when they say no, the teacher simply walks away without seeing whats going on(happened today).
Because most(I say most without a doubt) cheats, and I don't; I don't go around saying I don't cheat. However, a few of my friends know I don't cheat and they make fun of me for it. "How could you not cheat", "Not Cheating is stupid". These are the kinds of things they say. I'm mortified to hear these kinds of things. Now onto why cheating is bad.
Like I said, Cheating is morally wrong and theres lots of people who do it. But, whats so bad about it? Just a few quick answers...a good grade, and your happy. Besides the obvious reason: You ARE CHEATING. You may have hinted at what I was getting at before. Picture this:
Gary never cheats, ever. He tries his hardest, but still gets a C average, but he wants to goto college.. He is proud of the grades he recieves on his report card. Gary, however goes to a school in the inner city which is poorly funded, understaffed, and has to many students. Sara, a girl who lives in the suburb of this city goes to a rich school, overstaffed, and with too few students...and lots of computers. Sara used to never cheat, but freshmen year things got stressful(especially when she joined sports). Sara felt she would just get a few answers for a test she didn't study for, and that would be it. But, like most bad habits, this one grew, and quickly. Within a week sara was copying all of her assignments, tests, and even some projects. And she was good at it too. Here report card read straight A's. She was moved upto honors classes, but she still cheated.
...Come Senior Year, Gary still vigilant in his cause, raised his grades to a B average and became a high ranking student in his school. Sara, on the other hand was never caught cheating, she still has straight A's, and has made an art of cheating on finals. That summer, Gary and Sara apply for college, but Gary doesn't make it; Sara does. Gary cannot goto college because there is no other college he can afford except for the one he was rejected from. Sara on the other was accepted and attends the college for a year.
Meanwhile Gary gets a job at a gas station. Sara gets caught cheating. Sara is kicked out of college, but thats ok cause her parents get her a high paying job at the company they own.
So, what does this all mean? Well, if you cheat, your probably screwing someone over. It could be in your school, distract, or even nation. If you care only for yourself enough to screw the people over that really deserve good grades then you need to readjust your thinking. The people who work hard, deserve credit. Keep in mind that giving answers is also cheating.
One last thing, if you don't think this is happening. If you don't think cheaters are getting straight A's and are screwing over people that work hard, then think again. Because it's happening everyday, because it's happening to me. I don't cheat, and I got straight A's last semester, yet there were 80 people ahead of me. Just to double check and see if these people cheated or not, I asked one of them today. She admitted that she did. Her class rank: 1.
I see people who are in higher classes then me all the time, cheating. But, I see it even more with the people below my rank. I'd say that about 75% of my school cheats every know and then(The kind of people who disregard cheating as a "no big deal" kind of thing) , and 15% cheats very often. I can almost say that the following is a fact: less then 10% of the people in my school cheat rarely, when they forget to do there homework, or don't cheat at all.
Just keep this in mind next time you scribble down the answers.
Alright! Another debate I get to have with DEC Stuff (I really love playing mental gymnastics with you because you are actually a fellow intellectual). Sadly I don't have time to write you a book tonight since I have school in 8 hours and should probably be getting some sleep -- oh well, I'll just cheat instead of study so I'll have time to respond to this. j/k.
Anyway, while you raise a lot of good points, a few of your arguments/examples are flawed. The first thing is that it is *really* hard to cheat your way through honors classes. While you may be lazy, you must still know what you're doing to pass the class with high marks. Honors/AP classes are a beast, and no matter how much you cheat, you'll still bite the big one the second you have to write an essay. If you're talented enough to pull an A in an honors class by cheating, you are probably smart enough to do it without cheating, and are just lazy.
I won't claim to have never cheated. I will say that I've never cheated on a test by looking at another person's paper, however. On the occasions that I have cheated (mostly in pre-calc), it has simply been by programming notes onto my calculator -- harming myself and not others, at least in terms of that particular class. I still had to know how to use the formulas though, so it didn't guarantee me success, as some of my test grades will attest.
Now we're about to get into Kirby is a cold-hearted bastard territory, but I'm not all that emotionally affected by the Gary example. If you're trying as hard as you can and still only pulling a C-average, you probably aren't college material, and you're just bogging down the system by attending. OK, I read a little further, and he gets B's. Still though, even if Sara cheated her way through some classes, she probably picked up a lot, and she had to know some of the material in order to cheat successfully. Now, regardless of all of that, your example gets really flawed at this point . . .
If Sara's family truly is rich and she is an honor student, the chances of her applying to a school that would suit her family and is also the only college that Gary can economically attend is very slim. Most State colleges have open enrollment, meaning that Gary's B-average, and presumably decent ACT/SAT test scores, would get him in the door regardless of other factors such as Sara being admitted as well. If he can't get a 980 SAT score or an ACT score of at least 21 (these are Kansas requirements, so fill in your state), then, as I mentioned earlier, he probably isn't college material in the first place. Sara would also have to attain those test scores, and if she truly did cheat her way through high school, her standardized test scores would reflect that.
Now, this is a slightly different take on your quote than the context you used, but in response to "the people who work hard, deserve credit.": I have to disagree. Credit, success, etc should not be based simply on how hard you work. It should be based on your performance. Example: A football coach is debating between 2 potential quarterbacks. John is a natural-born QB, has never had to practice or train in his life, and is a future Joe Montana. Billy is a kid who couldn't throw a ball through a swinging tire if his life depended on it, with no athletic ability, but who has been trying and training to no avail for 10 years to get the starting varsity QB job. Who are you going to pick? John of course. Credit should go to those who succeed, regardless of effort, not to those who try and fail.
Well, my rant starting heading in a slightly different direction than I had intended, but I'll chalk it up to a lack of sleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll write a better response. Always fun to argue with you DEC Stuff -- keeps me sharp.
Kirby responded pretty well to DEC's post, so I wont respond to things line by line.
As to whether its *really* hard to cheat your way through honors classes, it all depends. My history tests would be easy as hell to cheat thru, and I would be cheating in there (its Honors AP Us History.. talk about suicide) if the teacher didnt know what a PocketPC was. I mean, history is just facts. You can pass that class on notes alone. On the other hand, my AP Calculus and Physics classes would be pointless to cheat in. In those tests, there are very few facts you have to memorize- 90% of the answer is given to you, and the 10% remaining is knowing when to do what, in what order, with what numbers. If you dont believe me, my PocketPC is a prime opportunity to cheat, and I can even use it in my Calculus class (the teacher is old) but I dont, because the risk of getting caught (slim to none) is greater than the benefit (one or two formulas)
That's just for tests, of course. Homework is much easier to copy from, and I do copy if for some reason I didn't get the assignment done before. Sometimes there are days when I legitimately didn't have time or energy to do my assignment. Those are few, most days I'm posting on bulletin boards instead of doing my homework or studying, but what can I say?
My school has severe, severe penalties for cheating. Teachers report directly to the Principal, who reports to the DOE, who will exact a punishment somewhere between a parent conference and expulsion. Thus, only the really good cheaters are able to cheat. Please welcome the Gifted/Talented and AP classes, ladies and gentlemen. GT and AP classes are marked by two attributes, which I've never seen lacking: chronic procrastination, and unashamed "using of the system." By "using the system" I mean that we will use every advantage or loophole we feel we can use without getting in trouble. A "collaborative study session" at Starbucks which is actually sharing answers to take-home exams. Writing notes inside your calculator/pocketpc. Taking your notes, condensing them, putting them to music and distributing the mp3 for the class, then during the test you find people humming to themselves.
Why does this nationwide group of people cheat so rampantly? Speaking from personal experience and observation, these kinds of students will do the least amount of work possible while still maintaining satisfactory grades. Call it chronic laziness, I think of it as using your God-given Loophole skill to your advantage.
As for your example, DEC, anyone with a B average who doesnt get into a low-income college simply wasnt meant for college in the first place. I have a 3.2 (sprinkled with a few Ds) and was accepted to a high tuition, out of state college without ever touching a college application. Granted the college has a "different" admissions procedure which involves personal interviews with a recruiter, but I'm going to let personal experience stand against your hypothetical situation again.
And as for cheating, if you arent good enough not to get caught, don't freaking do it. The only time you should whisper or otherwise exchange answers on a test is when the supervisor and surrounding "good" students are deaf or blind. God invented the Back of the Hand, and Notes section of the TI calculators for a reason.
I only "cheated" in one class in school - Advanced Higher Physics. I just couldn't get my head round it, and for the exams I copied all the formulae on to my arms (a bit like Rimmer from Red Dwarf). I still failed it!
Fortunately I have six perfectly legitimate Higher "A"s.
I copy down my mate's homeworks when I've forgot (can't be bothered more like), and I let them copy down mine when they forget. This kind of cheating has no victims, because you don't get examined on homework or get any kind of credit.
Personally I've never cheated on tests, but so far I haven't had to (good scores without even revising (I got 8 in Maths SAT)), but when things get hard I still will not cheat.
There's a teacher in our school (names will not be said) who actually helps kids get good French GCSE speaking scores by cheating. You are meant to write down your script then learn it, then go into the recording place with only 60 or so keywords to help you. He sends them in with the whole script. Probably the worst thing though is that other teachers know he does this and I suspect a lot actually do the same (our Spanish teacher said she might).
As a result, some people will pass French GCSEs, get a job using French, get sacked because they can't speak a word and end up unemployed - a whole year or so wasted when they could have been getting further education.
That is a little silly. If Sarah cheated her way through school she would not have the knowledge to get a high paying job. I also think many high paying jobs would not want her if they knew she got kicked out of a college for cheating. Of course you say her parents gave her a job in the business they own but that is a rare case (most people's parents don't own a business). I agree you should not cheat but the reason is because you are only hurting yourself in the end.
99 percent chance that the above post is 100 percent correct.
Ok Kirby, you are definitely right. The example is flawed, not to say it's impossible though. In truth, essays are a bastard to cheat on. However, I am VERY good at essays because I use something called Bullshit. That, however is not cheating.
Even still, cheating gets harder the higher the class you are in. So like kirby said, if your in an AP class it's harder to cheat. The fact of the matter is, my example is only being used to illustrate a point, which I think you should of all picked up on. A few things I failed to mention...
If you goto a rich school, your probably more likely to get good grades because there are more resources, more teachers, computeres, funding, newer books, ect. However, if you goto a poor school your grades are probably going to be slightly less than that of the rich school. In my town, the people on the north are rich, and the people on the south are poor(er). If you look at my schools test scores/overall GPA, ect. It's higher than that of Central, and much higher than that of South.
Obviously, I can't write the greatest stories, but I thought I would try...I realise that Sara and Gary would not truly apply to the same college under normal circumstances. As for standardized Tests, depending on your school: You CAN cheat on these, it's been done before. Although somewhat unlikely(at my school there are about 20 teachers watching the students at all times during ACTS)...It's still posssible in other schools. And even though the ACTS, ect. wouldn't reflect peoples actual grades, there actual grades would still be helping them get into college.
As for the football example, I would have to agree. The people who work hard, in school, deserve credit(as in good grades). Perhaps I spoke incorrectly. Those who work hard in school, deserve good marks, not those who cheat. This goes for sports too. If your the coaches son and you suck, you shouldn't be picked, but somehow you are...
Zyphlar: Homework is probably what people cheat on the most, it is also in some cases a very large part of the grade. Both of my math classes have a homework grade which counts for %40 of the overall grade.
...Cheating is not right, I don't think God would create the notes section of your TI calc so you could use it to aid yourself in cheating. ...I think most of us can agree...or say cheating is wrong, but how many of us don't do it?
Wong Chung Bang, whether you fail or not, you still have no reason to cheat. That class was probably stupid to begin with. Im not going to lie, there are some very stupid teachers, and very stupid classes.
Fishhead, I don't know if I want to belive that or not. I know that lots of people cheat, and that some became teachers. What do you do when you find kids cheating?
Noode: If you don't get credit for homework then why do you copy it? ...?
Mr Coffee: Saras Parents gave her the job regardless of her ability to do it.
I may have mixed some of my opinions(I hope I didn't)....Im getting better at this whole debate thing. Some opinions, I am revising. But I just do this for fun. The fact of the matter is, you should cheat. I don't really understand how you would think it's ok, or how god "allows" you to?
Just keep in mind...when im a teacher, and I have your son/daughter in my class, it will be CHEAT PROOF! ahahahaha. I have eagle eyes...no cheating.
Pete Nattress Cheesy Bits img src/uploads/sccheesegif
Registered 23/09/2002
Points 4811
25th September, 2003 at 16:35:06 -
o_0
almost no one cheats at my school, myself included, i can say that honest to god.
i guess that seeing as its a grammar school then most of us don't need to cheat anyway, but even so...
speaking personally, i hate cheating and i never do it. i don't even use cheats with games, because, after all, what's the point? i'd much rather achieve something honestly than have the guilt on me the rest of my life. simple as that.
Not a lot of people at my school openly and blatently cheated on tests, but there were plenty who did the minimum amount, who handed essays in late (or never) and who bribed people to copy their notes. It's not technically cheating, but it's the same process of trying to get the same for less work? The moral of the story? I beat ALL of them. (without cheating).
Why the hell am I on the computer at 1 in the morning? No, don't answer.
On the subject of shifty happennings in exams, here's a funny story:
Someone monitoring students as they take an exam should not be on a computer as they should be watching the students. It is illegal for them to be on the internet, since they could be swapping answers with other invidulators to give to the students. They certainly shouldn't be looking at porn. And above all else, they absolutely should not at any cost be accidentially projecting their unsavoury activities onto a huge screen for all the students to see. It happened, true story.
Why the hell am I on the computer at 1 in the morning? No, don't answer.
I didnt read this thread.. I just wanted to say that if u dont study.. u better cheat, it works on most schools until last year of school when things get a lil serious... but I cheated that last year too.. I learned nothing at school.
Sure you can make it impossible to cheat, as long as you don't let people get up to go to the bathroom. Or you can put security cameras in the bathrooms.......
99 percent chance that the above post is 100 percent correct.
IMHO, there's nothing at all wrong with cheating. The only reason tests exist is to test your skills. And in real life, the resourcefulness (like getting info when it's not where you'd like it to be) is just as important, if not more important as memorizing facts.
There's also the matter like when exams here aren't even done right. They test only the student's memorization capabilities and how good the students are at following orders. And there's even some examiners who just give marks depending on how neat your handwriting is.
So, IMHO, cheating helps make up for the inadequacies of the educational system. Now if they made the exams based purely on skills, instead of simple hard work, I'd shun cheating. But as it is, it's the easiest path, and by no means the wrong one. The morality of cheating is different for every different education system.
Cheating in games is a different thing. It's opposite of everything that cheating in real life stands for. It makes the game boring, it makes you lack skills, and well, you really don't get a thing from it.
Yeah, I'm a master at it and for some reason, I've never been caught. I even managed to hide an entire book under my shirt during the trial exams. I find it more of a thrill. But then again, I'm the type of person who wouldn't mind losing in life and living in a dumpster, unlike most of you...
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Did I mention that, due to an unfortunate incident with a whole can of AriZona green tea (thats two regular cans' worth) I actually pleaded the SAT supervisor to let me go to the bathroom.. not once, but three times, all through the test.
Tell me that isnt against the rules. Then again, its worse to piss your pants during an SAT. So yeah.
As for whether its "right" or not, of course its not right to cheat. Who ever said it was? We're just saying we can, and do.
I actually Quite Agree with Muz on a few of his Points.
Cheating is Isnt right, although in some cases it isnt Wrong.
All tests Leading upto the Year 12 & HSC (or whatever its called in America) Dont matter. they dont depend on whether your going to get a Good Job or Not, Year 12 Depends.
they lead you upto it, but do you really need to Know some of the Crap you are Taught? i mean really.
I myself have cheated a few times in Tests, only Maths though.
Also Cheating can be quite easy if you have a good enough plan.
If i was to cheat i think i could get away with it.
----Maths Exam-----
If you were in one of those tests and you werent sitting near anyone close enough to read there Papers.
there is still a soloution.
At the start of the test when the Test Papers are handed out by the teacher fold one up and slip it in your Pocket, then ask for another one saying you didnt receive one.
Then Before the test starts ask if you could go out to the toilet. take the test you slipped into your Pocket and your Maths Text book down to the toilets.
when you come back you switch the papers around.
------------------
that was a 3 min plan i just whipped up, although probably it has many flaws.
there is a way to get around anything.
although i myself havent done this. and i probably would never do it.
I myself want to do something with the Computer Industry either Web Design or Programming. but really do i need to know most of the shit learnt at school?
"I myself want to do something with the Computer Industry either Web Design or Programming. but really do i need to know most of the shit learnt at school?"
No, but many people don't know what job they will get in the future. Thats why you are taught such a wide variety of things.
99 percent chance that the above post is 100 percent correct.
Actually, I told a lie. I did sort of cheat once, in a Spanish speaking test. My keywords (to prompt me when I forgot my script), we're on the back of the actual script. Guess what happened? Half-way through, I forgot and seeing as no one else was in the room, and the examiners would never know, I flipped the paper round and read the rest of that paragraph. But I swear I read all of the other paragraphs without help.
I got a C for that and another test combined, and I was one point above the cut-off mark. But I do not feel guilty or anything like that, because I got C's on every other paper, and coming up is my coursework which I can get an A* on because coursework doesn't have tiers (I was doing foundation level for the previous speaking test).
It just goes to show how lax the teachers are. They send you from your classroom, and expect you to come back 5 minutes later with your tape. You could do anything it that time!
I think the education system needs reform. I think people need to stop cheating. I think all tests should be 100% written. If I was a teacher thats the way it would be. One of the teachers in my school does 100% essay tests and...well, thats awesome in my opinion.
I do think teachers don't always know what there doing, but then again neither do students.
Cheating is not a harmless activity. The people who WANT to succeed using the system have a harder time when you Cheat it.
What's wrong the Cheat anyway? He's awesomes...maybe not as much as SB, but still an awesome sidekick...
...hey...btw...does cheating death count?...i mean i've done that so many times man, it's like I were some kinda cat, but you know, like an ultra cat...cause like you know cats have 9 lives and...ah bugger it...off to the pub...
MUGGUS
Come and annoy me more at
www.muggus69.tk STOUT ANGER!!!
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