Cheating in Schools, beyond Schools and how to deal with Cheaters
Cheating is any action that offers unfair advantage to others while denying others a chance of benefiting from a common resource. The fact that it involves an unfair loss to other parties raises a moral question as to whether it is right or wrong. Any virtuous person’s conscience can tell them that it is wrong to cheat. However, people’s views differ on issues about how to handle cheating cases. Eventually, at the end of the day; the manner, in which a person can handle the situation of cheaters, boils down to the moral standing of that person. This essay reviews cheating and its effects both in schooling institutions and society. It also states how to handle cases of cheating-the challenge being what you as an individual would decide to do if you knew about the happenings of a cheating incidence.
Introduction
Cheating can be defined as an act of deception, trickery, lying, imposition or fraud done for the sake of one’s own personal gain at the disadvantage of another. It involves these mentioned acts that create an unfair advantage for an individual against others. It involves going against set rules and standards. Therefore, some severe acts of cheating constitute criminal offences (for example fraud is a type of crime under the law). Criminal offences committed by cheating may get punitive punishment under law but, other cheating offences including those committed at schools are minor and could only get light punishment in the form of expulsions or suspensions from study. However, these minor cheating acts bear the later criminal tendency of cheating in society.
Cheating in schooling institutions
Cheating in examinations by students is a common phenomenon evident within schools and colleges. According to ABC prime time news, a survey conducted in 2002 on 12000 high school students revealed that at least 74% (percent) of the students admitted having cheated at least once in the past one academic year (ABC News prime time, 2010). Cheating occurs in various forms at school or college. Students may take their notes or a shortened note form of the notes into the examination rooms. Whereas, others peer in to the work of their friends seated next to them, some students consult about the questions from their friends. Assignments and academic reports form part of the evaluation. However, these are done at the students’ own free time. Cheating also occurs on such reports and assignments by, for example, students copying similar content from books and the internet instead of personalizing the content. Other forms of cheating in schools include the arrangements for another person to sit for your examinations and the receiving examination content before the examination or letting some one else complete your class work. Cheating is not only students’ vice, at times the college teaching fraternity and other workers are found to participate. This mainly occurs by supplying of examination content to students before examinations. Many at times, cheating goes on with the full knowledge of students-because it does not happen in a vacuum where the do not see it happen. However, some students though, not participants in the vice are never willing to reveal the happenings to the authorities or advice their friends otherwise.
This is mostly due to fear of victimization by their friends or sheer lack of care because they assume it does not affect them(Rettinger & Kramer, 2007) What these students fail to realize is that cheating affects the rest of the students that do not cheat, because it gives undue advantage to cheaters. In turn, makes it difficult for the rest of the students to receive the grades they deserve or affect the grading system (“The Cause and the Consequences of Cheating”, 2005). Therefore, the act of not reporting cheaters is in itself cheating and is wrong-cheaters should be reported to authorities to create an even competition field for all students. The excuse of fear of victimization as expressed by students is totally unhealthy for learning and should not be accepted whatsoever. This is because apart from denying other deserving students a chance it leads to unqualified students getting chances in higher education institutions that they should not have gotten. In turn, they further there cheating and end up as half baked professionals in the job market where they perform poorly.Cheaters in schools should be punished accordingly to deter future incidences of cheating. Several measures of punishment can be taken on students found cheating. These may include expulsion as the stiffest punishment, suspension from studies for a period of time or re-sitting of the concerned examination subject. This should be done so that all students can get the grades that are due to them through uniform grading and fair advantage to all. Taking the view further, this will ensure that only qualified individuals get places at college and work to ensure efficient working and delivery of service. These punishments also ensure maintenance of the credibility of higher institutions and the certifications they offer by eliminating unqualified individuals (“The Cause and the Consequences of Cheating”, 2005).
Cheating in society
Cheating is rampant in society especially in the business industry. This is mostly experienced in the manufacturing industries. The major forms of cheating involved include the use of adjusted weighing and measuring machines as well as production non-patented goods (pirated goods). This forms of cheating results in production of underweight and sub-standard goods. At times this goes on even with the bureau of standard’s awareness, which is blinded, by further cheating in the form of bribery. This form of cheating usually goes on with the full awareness of employees. These employees are compelled to lie at their work places either because they benefit directly or are intimidated and fear to lose their jobs. All these forms of cheating mostly began at a tender age probably in schools or at home. However, because they were not countered early enough, they find their way into society. Though students are taught about the evils of cheating most of them, are unable to exercise good virtues along this line of reccomendation. This is mainly due to the bad examples that they see in society from our leaders in the clergy and politics as well as parents who are often implicated in cases of lying. Conclusively, to combat cheating punitive punishments should be administered to cheaters to deter their future lying or that of potential cheaters. The example shown by these punishments will serve to make others fear committing an offence involving cheating. Cheating in a society that constitutes criminal offences or financial crimes should be heavily punished by fines and sentences. These will deter cheaters and serve as an example to potential cheaters. This is actually, warranted because these offences are committed by grown up people who about morals but, just want to ignore them.
References
‘ABC News Prime Time’. (2010). A Cheating Crisis in America’s Schools. Viewed at http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=2, on 8th may 2010.
Kramer, Y. & Rettinger, D. A. (2007). Situational and Personal Causes of Student Cheating: Journal of research in Higher Education. Volume 50, Number 3, pp.293-313. New York: Springer Link Netherlands
“The Cause and the Consequences of Cheating” (2005). The Cause and the Consequences of Cheating. Retrieved on 7th April 2010 from http://www.dailycal.org/article
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