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Students cheat because we teach them to
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Speaking of kids cheating in school!
"Richard J. Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for the city school system, found in a report issued on Wednesday that the assistant principal, Ruth Ralston, of the High School for Contemporary Arts in the Bronx, had erased students’ incorrect multiple-choice answers on the June Integrated Algebra Regents test, replacing them with correct answers, then lied about it to investigators." Story here
When I wrote about the report that states that 95% of students cheat in school and that teachers should take a bigger part in helping to prevent it, the author of the report, Micheal Josephson, left a comment stating that my expectations of kids is way too low. Here is an excerpt of what he had to say.
The reasons for cheating in school are no more prevalent than for cheating in business and politics -- there are always reasons and pressures. What we need to expect is that individuals will choose integrity and resist temptation and overcome pressure. Character is doing the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay. I resist any implication that this generation is less capable of developing such character than any other. What we have to do is set high expectations, give them the values and tools to support them and impose appropriate..
Here's the thing about teaching character to children. You can't just tell kids how to have good character and then expect them to follow through even though you don't model the character you preach. I mean, can you really as a parent allow a store clerk buddy to give you an unnofical discount/ hookup and then be surprised when your kids gets caught stealing? Can you really have an argument with someone who accidentally bumps you with a shopping cart, and then get mad when your kid starts fights at school? Can you really keep an item that the cashier forgot to charge you for and expect your kids to keep their hands out of their purse?
As far as I can see, it is the parents (and other adults) fault when kids cheat in school. Looking at this particular case, where the school administrator cheated for the students, I am sure you can see my point. The way I see it, when you are dealing with kids, you have to be very black-and-white about right and wrong. As soon as you start introducing shades of gray based upon your own behavior and what you model for the kids, you have set them on the wrong path.
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