so a little cheating won't hurt...will it?
It may be kind of cliche to say this but it's true: you play like you practice. Now, I realize that what is done is a way different that what happens on a field of play, but in this case, what goes for one goes for the other. Especially in high school.
For me soccer is more than just a game, but there is nothing worse than watching a spot on the team that you know that you deserve--not just gut feeling, but because of your experience and time that you put into playing--go to someone who hasn't played for years. The obvious question that I had was "Why is this happening?" Then the realization that the guy who took the spot was the son of important members of the community, and it appeared to almost everyone that their influence was what got their son the spot on the team. Plus, high school athletics in my hometown are notoriously political, in the sense that the people who put the most money into their son's or daughter's "athletic career" are rewarded with playing time or a spot on a team that they may not be the best candidate for. This form of cheating is a killer for a team...no matter how it is spun, someone who deserves a spot gets left by the wayside. And what does the school do? Any guesses? Nothing, simple as that.
Then the kicker (no pun intended) comes: you have the coach as a teacher, and if he even thinks that you were cheating in the classroom, the assignment that you were working on is automatically an F, no questions wanted.
What I get from experiences like that is that high school says that it is okay to cheat in certain areas like the sports teams if it makes them "better." Because of that students--at least in my high school--didn't take teachers' cautions and go ahead and cheat blatantly without fear.
What do you think other students get out this when it comes to writing? I found out last year just how far students would go without thinking repercussions would ensue. In my senior English class our second semester grade rode on a major writing assignment. We had to write a minimum 10-page research paper on a topic of choice, but our research had to be original. We found out in my class how strict the teacher was with her rules. One student wrote his paper but forgot to note about three paragraphs in several spots to a source. He did it unashamedly. And his grade suffered for it. Terribly, but justly. The thing isn't that the teacher did the right thing it is that this particular senior in high school didn’t think that there was anything wrong with what he did, and as of right now, I have serious doubts that he won't fall back on this method of "doing" homework in college.
High school should be the place where good study skills, work habits, and ethical behavior are “practiced” so when you “play” in college you will be able to survive the activities you’re involved in. Unfortunately that isn’t always the case.
Comments
Posted by: franco
Posted on: August 30, 2007 10:43 AM
The sad fact is that the student probably will go back to his cheating ways because there was no (or not enough) education about cheating and its effects. That last paragraph is awesome - totally accurate.