Archives for the Month of August 2007 on Anneliese Fetterman's Online Journal
Blog Posting #1: Academic Integrity
“It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Just about every school has one: the notorious kid known for being the man who could crack any computer grade system, pilfer any test answers, forge any signature, and find the answer guide to the homework every time. As far as everyone else, you would either befriend him or loathe him. For Monta Vista, it was Lloyd Lee.
I would always dread going to my AP Government class. Not only because I was continuously struggling to hold a decent grade in there, but also because I would constantly be witnessing people ace the class by cheating. While taking our daily quiz, I would look across the room and see Lloyd and his posse sharing the answers. Afterwards, when the teacher would list off the correct answers, the group would celebrate on their victory of yet another 5 out of 5, while I would be wallowing over my 2 or 3.
It is instances like these that I would question myself, is it worth it to hold onto my integrity? It sounds like a silly question, but in reality, it would be so easy to glance just for a split second over at my neighbors quiz and finally be able to get a perfect score. Integrity is one of those intangible qualities that undeservingly go unnoticed on a day to day basis, so who would know or even care if I cheated just this once? I think about how disappointed my mother is every time I come home with a low score, but then I think about how much more she would be disappointed if I came home with a delinquency notice for cheating. It was the constant seesaw of honesty and good grades.
I then began to think about my future at Case where I would be pursuing nursing. Would I want my nurse who is about to insert my IV to have cheated on his exams while in school just to be able to pass with a good grade? How comfortable would I feel having my grandfather’s nurse care for him when she wasn’t actually skilled at changing bandages, rather, changing her lab scores. From this I realized that benefits cheating are only short lived, and in the long run, it won’t be the test you’re cheating anymore, but instead, yourself.
Unfortunately, many students still find it necessary to cheat, and no matter how many lectures are given, it will always be this way. Let’s just hope that the bridge you are going to drive over was not built by the cheating engineering student.