What's the Big Deal About Cheating?
The simple fact is that cheating is wrong. It's wrong because it violates at least two • basic pillar principles: trustworthiness and fairness. If you've ever cheated, chances are you came up with an excuse for it to keep your conscience from bothering you. These excuses are called rationalizations. Rationalizations are explanations that use flawed logic to justify improper conduct. They allow cheaters to feel good about themselves despite their dishonest behavior. Here is a list of common rationalizations for cheating, and reasons whey they are wrong. Have you ever used any of these rationalizations?
Rationalization #1: Everyone is cheating, so why can't I? » Reality Check: It may seem like it, but not everyone cheats. Cheating is common in some schools, but you don't have to let cheaters bring you down to their level. Don't just go along with the crowd -lead them with the example of your honesty and integrity.
Rationalization #2: In the real world, cheaters prosper and honest people are left behind. » Reality Check: Unfortunately, many people do get away with cheating and reap short-term benefits as a result. However, cheating demeans your character, destroys your honor and creates a reputation that you are willing to do whatever you have to in order to win. This reputation lets others know you can't be trusted. Keep in mind that if you are caught cheating, you risk failing the test or assignment, and might face suspension or expulsion. How prosperous is that?
Rationalization #3: My teacher grades on a curve, and some students cheat, so I must cheat to protect myself. » Reality Check: As the Greek playwright Sophocles said, "Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud." Better to have a B or C earned honestly than an A earned through deceit. Sure, grades are important, but they're not the ultimate goal of education. Remember: when you fight fire with fire, you end up with the ashes of your integrity.
Rationalization #4: I need to cheat to get good grades to please my parents and get into a good college. » Reality Check: Do you really think your parents would approve of compromising your integrity for a grade? And if you cheat your way into college, how do you expect to compete once you're there? More cheating? How will you get a job? Lie on your résumé? When will it stop?
Rationalization #5: I have so much work, I simply don't have time to study. » Reality Check: Never sacrifice integrity for expediency. It's better to cut down your commitments than to take moral shortcuts that can have a lasting negative impact on your character and your future.
Rationalization #6: It doesn't matter if I cheat in classes that aren't important because I'll never need to know that stuff. » Reality Check: Even if you don't see the value, it's your duty to live up to the expectations of academic integrity. If the assignment really is negligible, is it worth jeopardizing your reputation by cheating? A teacher in a difficult math course once told students on exam day, "Today you are taking two tests, one is in algebra and the other is in integrity. If you have to fail one of the tests, don't let it be in integrity."
Rationalization #7: The class is simply too difficult. I can't get the grade I need if I don't cheat. » Reality Check: No one has a right to the grade they "need." In this world you are only entitled to the grade you earn. Furthermore, it is often hard to distinguish between what one really needs and what one simply wants. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche put it, "necessity is not a fact, it's an interpretation."
Rationalization #8: When I cheat, no one gets hurt. If anything, I'm only cheating myself. » Reality Check: There are several people who are harmed by cheating, including honest and legitimately qualified students who are put at a competitive disadvantage. If you cheat you are essentially lying to your teachers, college admissions officers and potential employers who rely on your grades as an accurate reflection of your competence. Cheaters also degrade the honor of their families, teachers and schools.
Rationalization #9: I only cheat a little bit, like writing down formulas. I don't do it all the time. I'm basically an honest person. » Reality Check: Just as a woman can't be a little bit pregnant, a student can't be a little bit dishonest. How many times do people get to lie before they are liars? Saying "I'm basically honest" simply means that you are willing to be honest unless it costs too much.
Every choice produces both intended and unintended consequences. What do you think are the good and bad consequences of cheating in a school setting: On the cheater's academic record? On the cheater's reputation among different groups, if the cheating is known? ~ On the cheater's character? On the cheater's personal relationships? On others in the class? On the teacher in the class? On others who go to the school? What do you think the appropriate consequence of cheating should be if: Someone falsifies accounting figures in business? Someone gets a job after lying on a résumé? A journalist fabricates portions of a story? A coach violates recruiting rules to acquire an athlete? A professional athlete uses illegal performance-enhancing drugs? A high school principal falsifies records to understate dropout or violence rates? A teacher changes answers on statewide exams to make the school look better? A student at your school plagiarizes a paper? A student at your school cheats on an exam? A student copies a classmates homework?
People of character do the right thing even when it costs more than they want to pay. Furthermore, cheating is a slippery slope. It is a habit-forming coping mechanism: Once you begin rationalizing small infractions, it becomes easier to engage in big league dishonesty and fraud.
The simple fact is that cheating is wrong. It's wrong because it violates at least two • basic pillar principles: trustworthiness and fairness. If you've ever cheated, chances are you came up with an excuse for it to keep your conscience from bothering you. These excuses are called rationalizations. Rationalizations are explanations that use flawed logic to justify improper conduct. They allow cheaters to feel good about themselves despite their dishonest behavior. Here is a list of common rationalizations for cheating, and reasons whey they are wrong. Have you ever used any of these rationalizations?
Rationalization #1: Everyone is cheating, so why can't I? » Reality Check: It may seem like it, but not everyone cheats. Cheating is common in some schools, but you don't have to let cheaters bring you down to their level. Don't just go along with the crowd -lead them with the example of your honesty and integrity.
Rationalization #2: In the real world, cheaters prosper and honest people are left behind. » Reality Check: Unfortunately, many people do get away with cheating and reap short-term benefits as a result. However, cheating demeans your character, destroys your honor and creates a reputation that you are willing to do whatever you have to in order to win. This reputation lets others know you can't be trusted. Keep in mind that if you are caught cheating, you risk failing the test or assignment, and might face suspension or expulsion. How prosperous is that?
Rationalization #3: My teacher grades on a curve, and some students cheat, so I must cheat to protect myself. » Reality Check: As the Greek playwright Sophocles said, "Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud." Better to have a B or C earned honestly than an A earned through deceit. Sure, grades are important, but they're not the ultimate goal of education. Remember: when you fight fire with fire, you end up with the ashes of your integrity.
Rationalization #4: I need to cheat to get good grades to please my parents and get into a good college. » Reality Check: Do you really think your parents would approve of compromising your integrity for a grade? And if you cheat your way into college, how do you expect to compete once you're there? More cheating? How will you get a job? Lie on your résumé? When will it stop?
Rationalization #5: I have so much work, I simply don't have time to study. » Reality Check: Never sacrifice integrity for expediency. It's better to cut down your commitments than to take moral shortcuts that can have a lasting negative impact on your character and your future.
Rationalization #6: It doesn't matter if I cheat in classes that aren't important because I'll never need to know that stuff. » Reality Check: Even if you don't see the value, it's your duty to live up to the expectations of academic integrity. If the assignment really is negligible, is it worth jeopardizing your reputation by cheating? A teacher in a difficult math course once told students on exam day, "Today you are taking two tests, one is in algebra and the other is in integrity. If you have to fail one of the tests, don't let it be in integrity."
Rationalization #7: The class is simply too difficult. I can't get the grade I need if I don't cheat. » Reality Check: No one has a right to the grade they "need." In this world you are only entitled to the grade you earn. Furthermore, it is often hard to distinguish between what one really needs and what one simply wants. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche put it, "necessity is not a fact, it's an interpretation."
Rationalization #8: When I cheat, no one gets hurt. If anything, I'm only cheating myself. » Reality Check: There are several people who are harmed by cheating, including honest and legitimately qualified students who are put at a competitive disadvantage. If you cheat you are essentially lying to your teachers, college admissions officers and potential employers who rely on your grades as an accurate reflection of your competence. Cheaters also degrade the honor of their families, teachers and schools.
Rationalization #9: I only cheat a little bit, like writing down formulas. I don't do it all the time. I'm basically an honest person. » Reality Check: Just as a woman can't be a little bit pregnant, a student can't be a little bit dishonest. How many times do people get to lie before they are liars? Saying "I'm basically honest" simply means that you are willing to be honest unless it costs too much.
Every choice produces both intended and unintended consequences. What do you think are the good and bad consequences of cheating in a school setting: On the cheater's academic record? On the cheater's reputation among different groups, if the cheating is known? ~ On the cheater's character? On the cheater's personal relationships? On others in the class? On the teacher in the class? On others who go to the school? What do you think the appropriate consequence of cheating should be if: Someone falsifies accounting figures in business? Someone gets a job after lying on a résumé? A journalist fabricates portions of a story? A coach violates recruiting rules to acquire an athlete? A professional athlete uses illegal performance-enhancing drugs? A high school principal falsifies records to understate dropout or violence rates? A teacher changes answers on statewide exams to make the school look better? A student at your school plagiarizes a paper? A student at your school cheats on an exam? A student copies a classmates homework?
People of character do the right thing even when it costs more than they want to pay. Furthermore, cheating is a slippery slope. It is a habit-forming coping mechanism: Once you begin rationalizing small infractions, it becomes easier to engage in big league dishonesty and fraud.