Academic Honesty

There is a big discussion going on right now where I teach about academic honesty. On occasion there is a student who cheats. It is so easy to cheat, but there are so many consequences. Cheating certainly effects the cheaters as they do not learn important information that may be of great help in their futures. Of course there may be other consequences like being kicked out of class or school. But it also effects the classroom learning environment, the other students and perhaps the future employer who thinks their employee has actually learned the material in the classes that they attended.

Often the cheaters hold higher standards for others than themselves. They expect their doctor, pilot, or banker to have not cheated. We all assume that they have earned their educations honestly and actually know the information they were taught in school.

Tip for the day: If you actually do the required work yourself, you have a win-win-win situation. You learn the material, your self-esteem improves, and your integrity is in place.