(Legal research) The Origins of Cheating
No commentsBy Dorian Ramsey
Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism, the theft of ideas and other forms of intellectual property that occur within an educational setting. In high school, a standard penalty for academic dishonesty is a failing grade, while in college it can result in expulsion. The most widely spread forms of academic dishonesty are cheating and plagiarism. These notions are usually identified, because a clear distinction between the terms is quite obscure. However, the difference exists in the very essence of the given forms of academic dishonesty, which must be pointed out.
Cheating comprises such activities as giving and receiving information during an exam, using and dissemination of unauthorized material during an exam, taking an exam or writing an exam for another person, or asking someone to do so, submitting the same paper for more than one course, misrepresenting and fabricating written work.
Whilst, plagiarism is the use of another writer’s words or ideas without acknowledging the
source; in a word, it is akin to theft. In Harvey Gordon’s Guide for Harvard Students plagiarism means “passing off a source’s information, ideas, or words as your own by omitting to cite them - an act of lying, cheating, and stealing.”
Wikipedia defines plagiarism “as a form of academic dishonesty; it is a matter of deceit: fooling a reader into believing that certain written material is original when it is not. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense when the goal is to obtain some sort of personal academic credit or personal recognition.”
Overall, academic dishonesty put down so deep roots in the system of education that now seems practically ineradicable. Statistics shows that academic dishonesty among students has risen dramatically during the past 50 years. Moreover, it acquired various forms, including sharing another’s work, purchasing a term paper or test questions in advance, paying someone to do the work for you.
The article that highlights the most common facts on cheating elicits the fact that the phenomenon of cheating begins in elementary school when children break or bend the rules in the course of competitive games against classmates.
Research about cheating among elementary age children confirms that young children believe that cheating is wrong, but, nevertheless, find it difficult to resist when others offer to break the rules. After all, they are more trustful and don’t have strong and unwavering convictions. At this very age, when the value system is not completely molded and young children fall under the influence of authority easier, they should be imbibed that there is a stigma to being a cheater and plagiarizer.
Speaking about academic dishonesty in high school, it is important to mention that it culminates during high school when about 75% admit to some sort of academic misgivings. Moreover, high school students are less likely than younger test takers to report cheaters, because it would be “tattling” or “ratting out a friend”.
High school cheaters usually don’t give up their cheating habits in college and in their future job. What is more, their cheating techniques become more sophisticated, and they are less likely to get caught, being fully versed how to twist their professors round their fingers.
What stands behind academic dishonesty?
The irrefutable fact is that the scale of academic dishonesty increases with each year to come. Undoubtedly, there are a slew of ulterior reasons that force students to trick their instructors. Why even the best students feel compelled to cheat. We will try to figure out the most common causes, which stand behind academic dishonesty.
Many students blame their high workload. In fact, students are always up to the elbows in work. Their life is so hectic that at times they can’t manage to juggle life, work, studies, and friends. So, they are compelled to look for the way out of the situation, asking for help other people and excessively resorting to the help of the Internet.
Good students plagiarize because they feel pressure from family and peers. They want to maintain established reputation and don’t want to do modestly well, because they got used to be at the top of the class. Good students don’t want to undermine their authority. The new research has shown that in the past it was the struggling student who was more likely to cheat just to get by. Today it is above - average college bound students who are cheating.
No wonder that in the intense competition, students do everything to go ahead. According to the 1998 poll of Who’s Who Among American High School Students, 80% of the country’s best students cheated to get to the top of their class.
There are demands from society for people to be knowledgeable. Having overloaded schedule and stressful life, students can’t cover all the facets of knowledge. Naturally students are eager to meet the demands of society, getting good job, earning much money, and they vigorously try to elbow the way through the crowd to the top.
“The grading system fosters competitive, zero-sum game spirit in which if one wins, the others lose.” Grades have been made the major focus of many students, and there is a great pressure for high grades. In the contemporary educational system grades measure not only the abilities of students, but also talents, potential, and even the individual prestige and authority of the students among their peers.
Students cheat because they see others cheating, they don’t want to be unfairly disadvantaged. Freshmen see that cheating and plagiarism are a campus norm and they go with the stream. What is more, they see cheating in every facet of life: politics, business, home, and school.
What can be done to diminish the scale of academic dishonesty?
Reading Donald Norman’s article “In Defense of Cheating”, I excerpted one passage, which offers a very sensible solution to the cheating problem.
“We could change the educational system to make it more relevant to the world, to teach proper social skills, and at the same time eliminate the deceitful, hidden acts of cheating by recognizing cheating for the good that it brings: group activities toward a common end.”
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College Scholarships for Moms are Working
By rl707
President Obama is urging moms to get back in school. Scholarships for Moms has been established to aid in the attack against the dismal economical outlook.
To start, he has raised the Federal Pell Grant to $5,500. Moms, single or not maybe able to afford the college costs with the additional assistance.
He is also handing out multi-thousand dollar scholarships to help lift the financial burden of college. Many moms will qualify for the $5500 Pell grant and realize the dream of a higher education, a better paying job and contributing to the rebuilding of the economy. Moms are real busy either as stay at home moms or working so the option of taking on line courses makes time and money sense. When the kids are asleep mom goes into motion as a college student. Many colleges and universities have this option, along with schools that are primarily on line.
Many moms will be eligible for a $10,000 scholarship even if they can not get the Pell grant. Only a small amount of moms will receive this scholarship because there are so many moms applying for the prize. College degrees for moms are very expenses whether on line or in a classroom and the various scholarship funds make it possible for the majority who do attend. The scholarship program is two fold, aiding the single mom to go to college and get a better job and at the same time helping the economy to grow. The economy will be healthier by investing in education when the moms spend the $10,000 scholarship plus their own dollars to obtain a degree and better job. In corporate business the degree determines the job and future advancement. Moms are improving themselves and their families by working for a college degree and a better position in life. This scholarship program is so popular that it has a very positive image attached to it.
The greatest value of the scholarship program might be the hope of a mom for a better future to come true. Taken literally, the American dream is achieved when one owns a home. In order to have enough wealth to take the plunge into home ownership, one must have a stable job, which can be attained through having a higher education. The economy will be improved when this educational program gets untracked.
Going to college for moms on a scholarship is like there is nothing to lose but everything to gain, why not. Obama rejuvenating the moms scholarship and grant program has contributed to making better, wiser and more educated moms able to take care of their families and building a bridge to the business world. The monthly scholarship drawing picks only from the moms who have registered, so do not wait, you could win $10,000 for college.
College is for other moms not me, it is to costly & no time are no longer excuses due to the scholarship program that encourages every mom to do it now.
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Obama Grants - Encouraging Moms to Get a Degree
By Fred Jackson
Although higher education is important, often a number of obstacles can hinder potential students from enrolling in college. Family obligations and financial concerns are often at the top of this list, especially when it affects single mothers. Obama grants, which are meant to encourage mothers to return to college to earn a degree, attempt to ease some of the concerns associated with going to college.
In many cases, the purpose of federal grants is to help disadvantaged groups to attend college. A commonly given endowment for low-income students is the federal Pell grant. As the Obama administration has stated that it places a high priority on education, the benefits of Pell grants have been augmented in order to be a greater help to potential students. In particular, working moms are especially encouraged to apply for the Scholarships for Moms program, which is just a title given to a portion of the standard Pell grant program. The administration believes that by equipping low-income mothers to earn a degree, this will provide a stimulus to the lagging economy, and be a great benefit to families of those mothers as it will in turn increase their earning power in the work force.
$5,000 from a Pell grant may not seem like a lot of money, when you look at the high cost of education these days, but it could help defray the other expenses associated with going to college. A student has to pay for books and supplies, housing and travel expenses as well. For single moms, these miscellaneous expenses may also include childcare. Another great characteristic of the Pell grant award is that the money awarded does not necessarily have to be applied to college tuition. Any expense that can be seen to be necessary to obtaining an education, can be covered by the grant money.
It must be remembered that this program is not specifically catering to traditional students; it provides opportunity for traditional and non-traditional students alike. Any mothers who want to return to college to earn a degree are just as welcome as a student who is fresh out of high school. Consideration is given equally to mothers who would like to stay home and take care of their children while doing online courses, to potential students who would prefer to go to a small community college. The most important thing is that all willing students are able to earn a degree that will provide them with significant opportunity in the job market.
An effort by the current administration to show that education truly is the key to a bright future are Obama grants. Everyone from young adults to working mothers has a chance to go to college, with the allocation of a significant amount of money to pay for education.
So what’s holding you back? Take advantage of a $10,000 scholarship drawing. Registration is free if you visit http://www.scholarshipsformomsfinder.info/
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 2:15 am and is filed under education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
