You’re Only Cheating Yourself 573.1
It’s in the news all the time: Kids are cheating in school in new ways and in unprecedented rates.
One of the reasons is the way schools and parents deal with or ignore the underlying issues of integrity and character. For instance, one of the most popular things adults say to discourage kids from cheating is: “You’re only cheating yourself.”
Of course, cheating damages credibility and character, but it’s also flat-out wrong because it’s dishonest and unfair. Cheaters don’t just cheat themselves. They cheat everyone affected by it, including honest students who are put at a competitive disadvantage and college admission officers and employers who think students’ grades accurately reflect competence. What’s more, cheaters dishonor their families, teachers, and schools.
When we try to tell kids that when they cheat, they’re cheating themselves because they don’t learn the material, we have to remember that most kids who cheat think what they’re asked to learn is unimportant. They’re quite comfortable not knowing the value of X or the capital of Zimbabwe. As to mastering skills, cynical and worldly-wise students believe learning cheating methods is more useful than learning the material.
Finally, it’s dangerous to promote self-centered, cost-benefit calculations regarding cheating in a way that ignores or minimizes the crucial moral issues of honesty and honor. Nearly two-thirds of all high school students cheat because they’re not afraid of getting caught and because they get better grades by doing so.
To address the problem, we must promote virtues like integrity, not self-interest, and tell kids that whether they get away with it or not, cheating is wrong. Of course, it helps if we really believe that.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Comments
Ironic that you use the analogy of kids not knowing the capital of Zimbabwe as an example...One could write a thesis on cheating based upon Mugabe and his election...just a thought.
J.Korwasky
Posted by: Joseph Korwasky | June 30, 2008 10:41 AM
I fully concur with all you wrote, however there is another significant influencing factor that is often overlooked.
Our young people are inculcated with the mantra, "You must get good grades". Parental pressure to get good grades turns the grade into the objective. The objective being to get "A"s on the tests, resulting in an "A" in the class.
Grades obtained have taken priority over knowledge gained.
During my primary education, each day when my father arrived home from work he'd ask, "What did you learn today"? On occasion he may have asked if I did well on a test, but I can't recall him ever asking about a grade.
Our young people are responding to the command to get good grades.
In their minds, honesty and integrity may be important, but getting good grades is made more important. I would expect to find that some parents tacitly condone cheating if it results in the highest grade in the class.
Posted by: Hayden Driscoll | July 4, 2008 8:05 AM
Our lack of attention toward doing the right thing is surpassed only by parents, coaches, teachers, etc., who cannot sufficiently and concretely tell young people what the right thing is without condition. Kids cheat because the price for failure never equals the benefit of success. Therefore the act, regardless of the pursuit, provides no meaningful negative consequence. There is a rationalization for our own failures in life among other things when dealing with young people at times. You have to be what you want others to see, always, regardless of where the camera is. Character plus the pursuit of excellence equals success. Until we value the process for achievement more than the end result in the system, we'll continue to see a decline in moral fiber.
Posted by: Dan Salzwedel | July 6, 2008 1:39 PM