At the gym on Wednesday I overheard a conversation among three people in their twenties. They were comparing ways that they cheated at college. One was particularly pleased with finding the answers for an exam on-line. Her justification was that she needed a high grade point average to get into nursing school and she was doing poorly in two classes. I shuddered thinking of her as a nurse tending to me. What other shortcuts would she be willing to make?
As a college professor I used only essay questions on the exams I gave. I also allowed students to use the literature texts while they responded. There was no need to cheat, nor was there any way to do so. Critical responses to the readings could only come from absorbing the works and reflecting on them. I did discover that essays written for admission to the college were remarkably better than ones written in class. I assumed that in many cases someone else had done the work for admissions.
Only once did I encounter blatant copying. The essay written at home was so polished I knew the young man couldn’t have written it. Entering a few words into Google identified the actual author. I stapled the plagiarized essay to his paper and handed it back with a failing grade. I don’t think he had any idea that after years of correcting essays I had a pretty good sense of the abilities of most first year students.
When I heard the people at the gym justifying their behavior with the time honored “Everyone does it, ” I couldn’t help thinking of a common parental statement from my youth. “If everyone jumped off a tall building would you?”
Saved By Words 
If anyone copied my writings, he or she would be laughed out of town — unless they were already out of town, in which case they’re probably there of their own free will. Is this a great COUNTRY, or what?
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is priceless.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t have the Internet when I was at school, so never knowingly cheated. If we ever used a well-known piece, or comment from someone famous, we were allowed to credit it in the glossary, as long as it was in context.
I dread to think how Google has allowed below-average students to pass important examinations these days. Another reason to be grateful that I am old, and that I was brought up with ‘standards’.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hate to think that those same cheaters are now teaching and nursing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Or Presidents and Prime Ministers! 🙂 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Precisely.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Totally agree, Pete…I was brought up to be honest, above all. And standards and morals…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yikes. A sad commentary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
With us it was jumping in the river.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are so blatant with it nowadays. I remember a student commenting on my series of blog posts about the hearing on Justice’s Corona’s impeachment before because she will use it in her class. The nerve. Fo all I knew, she might have copied some of the previous posts. As a student before, I preferred answering essays too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. She copied your posts! What nerve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a very sad state of affairs Elizabeth 😦
I don’t think people realize that when you’re a professional with many years of experience you quickly recognize deception when you see it 😉
Bless you,
Jennifer
LikeLiked by 1 person
The student was certainly surprised.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find it strange that young people haven’t come up with a better excuse than “everybody does it.” That reasoning never worked when I was a kid, so why should it work a generation later?
LikeLike
They seem to really believe it justifies cheating.
LikeLike
And with us it was jumping under a bus. But the sentiment is the same – and a poor justification for any behaviour. I do understand that information gathering is very different these days and my niece (aged 20) and my grandsons are learning through very different methods to those I was used to. An argument is that because information is so readily accessible it is no longer necessary to retain it. I find that sad. And being able to turn to Google is not going to help that student nurse on the wards.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A whole generation will be up a creek when the internet crashes! I am grateful for actual books and the things I had to memorize. Without retaining information deep thinking is very challenging. Ah well. My age is showing.
LikeLike
Fine, until for reasons of accounatbility any essay questions we set had to be accompanied by model answers and marking schemes, plus at the same time we had to set the resit questions and marking scheme. Then the students somehow got hold of a copy of the marking scheme.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Makes you wonder who they were thinking was going to be accountable.
LikeLiked by 1 person