One of the reasons is the way schools and parents
deal with or ignore the underlying issues of integrity and character. For
instance, a popular thing adults say to discourage kids from cheating is,
“You’re only cheating yourself.”
Of course cheating damages credibility and
character, but it’s also dishonest and unfair. Cheaters don’t just cheat
themselves. They cheat everyone affected by their cheating including honest
students who are put at a competitive disadvantage and college admission
officers and employers who think a student’s grade accurately reflects his or
her competence. What’s more, cheaters dishonor their families, teachers, and
schools.
When we tell kids they’re cheating themselves
because they aren’t learning 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 coldly pragmatic students believe that learning
to cheat is more useful than learning the material.
Finally, it’s dangerous to promote self-centered,
cost-benefit calculations about cheating in a way that ignores or minimizes the
crucial moral issues of honesty and honor. Nearly two-thirds of high school
students cheat on exams because they’re not afraid of getting caught and they
get better grades.
To address the problem, we must promote integrity,
not self-interest, and we must tell kids that whether they get away with it or
not, cheating’s wrong.
Of course, it helps if we really believe that.
About the author: Michael Josephson is one of the
nation’s most sought-after and quoted ethicists. Founder and president of
Josephson Institute and its CHARACTER COUNTS! project, he has conducted
programs for more than 100,000 leaders in government, business, education,
sports, law enforcement, journalism, law, and the military. Mr. Josephson is
also an award-winning radio commentator.
This article was published by the Josephson
Institute.
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