The line between cheating an collaboration is finer than I had once thought. Like Martin I think that sharing ideas in conversation can get complicated when it comes to who owns an idea. I agree with Amanda Weldy’s argument that proofreading can go beyond guidance and begin to violate academic integrity. I’ll remember this for the future. However I feel rather apathetic to cheating as a whole. A lot of the disdain for cheating seems to arise from the feeling that people who cheat are pulling of a 3.7 GPA and graduating into the arms of some firm, while the good, hardworking student graduates with a 3.0 into their mom’s arms. I doubt this is the case.
Let’s say a student gets an idea from an outside source and portrays it as their own in a piece of academic writing. If the essay is awesome and the cheater gets an A, they are the losers in the equation, other students aren’t being robbed of their grades. Graded assignments function as assessments, they inform students and teachers of how well the information in the class is crystallizing. When someone cheats the grade is useless in determining their grasp of the material and they often betray their own education by circumventing the learning process.
The GPA is important but when the cheater walks into their interview an A in Finance won’t help them much if they are unable to intelligently examine case studies, which they would know how to do if they hadn’t cheated in class/ themselves out of a very expensive education.
Cheating can only get you so far.
It is unfortunate that we live in a world where results tend to matter so much. In some cases, the 3.0 student is never offered the interview that the 3.7 cheater is.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that cheaters ultimately hurt themselves the most, they manage to hurt others, too - which should shake us out of our apathy.
I simply don't think it is the case that it is a problem for a student if they go an A as a result of cheating. It is not as if that student has failed to learn to write simply because of one assignment, and they go a good grade. As far as I'm concerned that's not a problem at all.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Eric in that cheating results in not only affecting multiple parties, but also destroying previously-healthy relationships.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about a 3.7 GPA cheater, though. To maintain such GPA, one has to be a good cheater who can cheat in every class. I mean, 3.7 requires a lot of time and effort, something that you find in truly dedicated students. To pull off a 3.7 at WashU, I think, is nearly impossible for a cheater. After all, most common cheaters are not the students in the A-range (although there are exceptions).
Ben--I am fairly sure you are playing the devil's advocate in your comment above. But it would be a problem for students who were caught cheating on an assignment. It could jeopardize not only their grade in the class, but also their status as a student. Moreover, cheating can create problems in the future if a student applies for professional schools, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to what Dean Stratton said above, if a student cheats and becomes accustomed to cheating, he or she will eventually start to lack skills that they need (especially business or pre-professional students) and they will definitely not be able to make it in the real world.
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ReplyDeleteSorry everyone! The deleted posts have typos in them, and I'm too neurotic to leave them be...
ReplyDeleteAnyway yes, Kyle, you're right in that a 3.7 student who only cheats would be an exception. Still though, the hypothetical holds for any level of GPA. Cheaters with higher GPAs than their honest counterparts are offered opportunities outside of college that they should not receive. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify!