Schools of Thought (Highschool Edition)
Rules are laid out around us from before we are able to form coherent thoughts and words. More often then not rules are not adequately explained (if at all), simply listed off to us.
There are a number of proponents for stricter rules in the school room regarding academic integrity, and cheating. These same critics go a step further to claim that the cheating stems from the laziness of students, or their unwillingness to create their own material. I offer a different scenario.
In my high school experience the subject of plagiarism was only glossed over, and intellectual property was never actually discussed. A number of instances of "cheating" that I have witnessed were actually due to improper documentation, or lack of it completely. While students may commit such "heinous" acts as coping homework answers, it does not register with them what is WRONG with doing such things.
I am in an interesting position in the sense that I have completed a fair amount of my college education at this point. One of the most helpful learning tools during my time here was the SAGES program, where a substantial amount of time was spent on academic integrity, and what it means to each student. More importantly these courses helped to define the importance of building skills for yourself that would otherwise be lost if such "short cuts" as plagiarisms were taken.
A final idea scrap to consider is the fact that in high school the skills necessary to craft your own work are not practiced as much as they should be. During my high school experience, I had to write an average 3 papers per year, in a 5 paragraph format. In total I had to complete about 14 written items over 600 words. On a similar note, I currently write around 8 items of no less than 1500 words per semester. When I first came to college I was in no way prepared for that sizable jump, and I feel that this fact contributes to the "prevalence" of cheating that is found in today's classrooms. When students feel unable to cope with work loads, or do not have the skills needed to cope with said requirements it is often easiest and quickest to "borrow" pieces from different sources and authors.
With the prevalence of the internet, computers, and more importantly instant messaging, the work of many students is actually deteriorating skill wise instead of improving. The internet has help to make it easier than ever to find relevant information to your topic of discussion, and plop that info directly into your piece.
For there to be any long term improvement, it is my belief that more focus needs to be put on the basics, rather than making more rules or harsher guidelines. Restrictions only help to alienate the student body, and even such things as allowing different mediums may make a world of difference. As we have already touched on in class, different people have different comfort levels, and what may work for one student will not necessarily work for the next.
(The script for the above cartoon was done by a 15 year old high school Sophomore...yes that is actually how they write)
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