A Few Words About Cheating in Schools

By John Shapiro

In the news we are daily bombarded with tales of murder, violence, and deceit. However, one area that is often neglected is ethics. One must consider, however that crossing the lines finally creates cheating. The most effective way to curb unethical behavior is to build an atmosphere of trust.

There are some that argue that there must exist a harsher penalty for cheating. In fact, harsher punishments would do little to dissuade prospective cheaters because there is always the philosophy that "as long as I don't get caught, I will be fine." The only way to sensibly steer students away from that behavior is to raise them in a situation where unethical behavior is not present, nor will it be tolerated. This begins in the family. If a young child hears his parents on the phone avoiding a church event by claiming they must go out of town when there is no trip planned, it undermines his conviction to principles. There is no sliding scale of ethics, especially for children. It can't be "OK" to tell a little lie, but not "OK" to cheat, because it is impossible to draw the line. This must be done at school, community, and national levels as well. Schools must do everything possible to uphold a custom of trust. The influence of peer pressure should not be underestimated as a factor leading towards cheating. The student looks to his friends and classmates for guidance, and the example set should be virtuous if they were raised with the principle of trust. This example must be provided by national leaders also, including the President and celebrities. Our last president, Bill Clinton, did a lot to destroy ethical behavior with his spectacle in office, and there is a terrible model presented by the movies and sport figures. If there is a good example presented at every level and trust is established as being very important, there will be a sharp reduction in the number of cases of cheating.