[etni] Re: Cheating
- From: Ariella Kopels <mckopels@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:55:54 -0800 (PST)
I would also like to put in my two cents about cheating. As we have seen from
several of the examples listed in other postings, our philosophy concerning
cheating does not necessarily match the point of view of other educators in
this country. When my children were elementary school students, they often had
points deducted on a report because they did not copy directly from the
encyclopedia. When I would complain to the teachers I was told something like
"she's only in 4thgrade what could she have to say about..., the experts say it
better." When I said it was plagiarism, I was told that I was being ridiculous,
and that Americans tend to over-react to these things. So what can I expect
from my students? If they are "taught" that copying is not only acceptable, it
is a requirement, how can they do anything else? Over the years I've had
students make this argument to me - it's OK in XXX, so why isn't it OK in
English?
We haven't mentioned the parents who do their kids work. That is cheating too.
I actually encourage parents to help their kids, but I want to see the draft
and the corrections, not a perfect copy. I have had several disagreements with
parents who write their children's work, and refuse to accept the fact that the
gap between work that is done at home and the work their child can produce in
the classroom is too great, and that I know the difference.
Unless we can all get on the same page about the kind of work that we expect
from our students, and about the value of making mistakes as part of the
learning experience - the problem is never going to go away.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ariella Kopels
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