Unfortunately, there are only a few students out of hundreds who prefer not to cheat.
The problem of cheating is one of the most difficult to solve as every second student admits cheating when asked about it, let alone the number of students who cheat and are afraid to tell about that. For centuries, cheating methods have been changing and today a technological boost also has contributed to that. Apart from simply copying someone’s home assignment or test answers today students can send right answers to each other in chats or look for correct answers to the questions on the Web – the majority of ways to cheat seems endless. The main question is: what to do with cheating in the educational establishments? There are several ways.
Reasons, why students opt for cheating instead of learning, are incredibly different. Sometimes they have no desire to learn or were not able to do that themselves. Let us see what are the most popular students’ excuses why they cheat.
- “I did not have the time or an opportunity to do the task.” This excuse is a kind of manipulation as every student always can turn to the teacher and warn him or her about the uncompleted task and do that for the next lesson, for example.
- “My parents admit only excellent and good grades.” Terrified of being punished or scolded students opt for cheating. Many of them do not realize that a grade can not be compared with the knowledge or skills received, so parents should tell their children about that.
- “I am the coolest and smartest in the class.” It happens that students come to the conclusion that learning is useless and it is easier to get an excellent grade presenting someone’s paper as yours. The problem is that the consequences of plagiarizing are very disappointing and sooner or later you might be caught red-handed and suffer greatly.
- “I have no idea of what was explained by the teacher.” Often, students are afraid to admit that they have not understood anything. It happens that instead of explaining once more teachers or parents begin to criticize this student, so what is the sense to ask them? It is easier to have everything ready quickly and without troubles.
The list of reasons might be rather long as many of them are of the personal character. The main question is: how to combat this nasty habit? To minimize the chances of the child to cheat both parents and teachers should work hard on the problem.
Of course, it is not pleasant to realize that your beloved kid is a liar and uses unethical methods in studying. Some parents even struggle with teachers accusing them of unjust treatment. But have you thought: why would a teacher invent that? As soon as you have been warned about the existing problem or trying to prevent it, do the following:
- Be a decent example for your child. Adult life is not an easy one so so times we even do not spot how we promote cheating by our own actions. Haven’t you ever tried to save lying about your child’s age or asking him or her to lie for better? Such and many other illegal and simply unethical actions are a bad example for your kid and an evidence that there is nothing bad in that. You should not only explain that cheating is negative but also show that on your personal example;
- Praise for learning, not for grades. Grades are only a numerical representation of your child’s level of knowledge in one or another topic. It is an extremely subjective evaluation so it can not be accepted as the utmost goal. The thing that really matters, in this case, is knowledge. Praise your child for consistent learning and memorized material but not grades. Encourage him or her to learn instead of receiving grades;
- Have regular talks on cheating. The moral aspect of cheating must be discussed in every family on the regular basis. Students should know that cheating is illegal and be aware of the consequences it might bring about.
The volume and number of students who cheat vary depending on the personality and actions of the teacher of the certain discipline. That means that the preventive measures of some teachers are more effective and minimize the chances of getting a high grade you do not deserve to have. Let’s find out what should teachers undertake to lower cheating rates.
- Put deterrents to cheating. Though it may sound complicated, there are simple actions a teacher can do to prevent cheating. For example, separate students during the test with an empty desk, ask the youth to switch off the mobile phones and hide them, assign essays or long informative answers instead of multiple choice variants, give personalized assignments etc.
- Support students and create a pleasant learning environment. Students who feel more motivated would have less desire to cheat.
- Tell about the consequences. Students must be aware of the penalties they must adhere to if caught cheating. For example, you are a teacher of a foreign language and you see that a student submits you a research paper found on the Web and translated into the other language. This is an apparent translation plagiarism case but he or she might not know that. As a result, a teacher must accuse himself of this fact as the student has tried hard and translated it. But if he or she had been told about this issue before, a teacher could have received a completely different paper.
- Ask why cheating takes place. Sometimes the reasons are so surprising that cheating can be prevented with minimal effort. Talk with students and you might learn many interesting facts that will help you to struggle with cheating.
- Inform parents about any similar cases. The war can be won only if you surround the offender. The influence from both sides, yours and parents’, can be twice more effective against cheating.
Cheating has always been a downside in education. Teachers have been incessantly trying to solve this problem once and forever, but the efforts have never been fully successful. That means that even minimizing the chances of cheating is a step forward in the constant struggle and both teachers and parents should do everything possible for that.
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