Cheating: Is it Worth It?

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A story to help high school students make the right decisions...

By Dr. Patricia Fioriello

Marco enters his high school in the morning with tired eyes, j st li!e e"ery other st dent. #e goes to his $irst class, greeting some o$ his $riends on the way. #e ta!es a seat and %re%ares $or a $ ll day o$ joyo s learning. &Can I co%y yo r homewor!?' a "oice as!s $rom Marco(s right. #e t rns to see one o$ his classmates loo!ing at him ho%e$ lly. #e wo ldn(t ha"e a %ro)lem handing it o"er i$ he !new that she(d at least tried to do her homewor!. #owe"er, he !nows that she doesn(t care a)o t her ed cation at all, she only cares a)o t %assing her classes with as little e$$ort as %ossi)le. *ot wanting to )e r de, Marco reaches into his )ac!%ac!, % lls o t his homewor!, and hands it to her. +$ter all, it(s not h rting him to hel% her o t.

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Marco has a test in history today. +s he enters the classroom, he notices st dents des%erately cramming !nowledge into their )rains in ho%es that their last min te e$$orts will )oost their test scores. Marco had st died a little last night and is %retty con$ident. +$ter the test is handed o t, he easily answers the $irst $ew - estions. +s he contin es, the test )ecomes harder. #e doesn(t remem)er any o$ this material. #ad they e"en co"ered this in class? Is the teacher %laying a jo!e? Feeling ner"o s, Marco care$ lly glances aro nd the room. #e notices a )oy to his le$t who is "ery clearly reading notes $rom a %hone that(s hidden )etween his legs. #e loo!s to the right and sees the )iggest history ) $$ in the class s%eeding her way thro gh the test. .he ta!es a )rea! to gi"e her hand a rest and ta!e a drin! $rom a water )ottle. Marco %ee!s at her test and sees that she(s on the same %age that he(s st c! on. #e loo!s to the $ront o$ the room. /he teacher isn(t %aying attention to the st dents at all. #e loo!s )ac! to the girl(s test. .he ndo )tedly has more right answers than he does and the $ew that he co ld get $rom her wo ld raise his test grade signi$icantly. With an neasy $eeling in his stomach, he loo!s directly at her test answers. 0 st as he $inds a - estion that he(s st c! on, the girl t rns to the ne1t %age. Marco cringes, sighs, and tries his )est to answer the rest o$ the - estions on the test.

Image 2 yo r image o$ gro % o$ )oys %laying

Marco has a math class ne1t. Math is his worst s )ject. While he and the rest o$ the class are wor!ing on an assignment, the teacher lea"es the room to r n an errand. +ll o$ the st dents ) rst into action, as!ing to co%y $rom one another while some loo! in the )ac! o$ their te1t)oo!s $or answers. When the teacher wal!s )ac! into the room, e"eryone - ic!ly %retends that they had )een doing their own wor! the entire time. Marco sits in silence. #e(s still on the same %ro)lem that he was trying to $ig re o t when the teacher le$t the room. #e !ee%s his silence, letting the rest o$ the room inwardly giggle at their

tri m%h as he str ggles to sol"e a math %ro)lem.

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+s Marco is heading to l nch, he %asses a gro % o$ !ids %laying cards. /hey(re la ghing and "ery clearly ha"ing a good time. &4o cheated5' one o$ them s ddenly says alo d, loo!ing - ite cross. &4e%,' says another, &and I won5' /he cheater loo!s "ery %leased with himsel$ while his $riends do not. Cheating has made him ha%%y and "ictorio s and has made his %eers $rown %on him. /his ma!es Marco thin!. +re cheating d ring a game and cheating on a test the same? Cheating in a card game ma!es yo win and h rts others. Cheating on a test ma!es yo r grade higher and h rts no one... or does it? I$ no one is getting h rt, why does Marco $eel so )ad a)o t cheating?

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/here are many ty%es o$ cheating, Marco thin!s. 4o can cheat at a game or on a girl$riend. 4o can cheat at s%orts or on a test. B t the worst ty%e o$ cheating is cheating yo rsel$. Co%ying another st dent(s answer on a test will h rt yo no more than it wo ld to g ess and answer correctly. *ot st dying $or a class and cheating yo r way thro gh it, on the other hand, will only h rt yo r own !nowledge. 7aining the !nowledge $or yo rsel$ hel%s yo grow and !ee%s yo r grades high. 7aining no !nowledge and sing others to s cceed is cheating. +nd cheating is h rt$ l not only to yo ) t to yo r $ t re as well. /hings /o /hin! +)o t: 38 ,8 38 68 98 What is yo r %hiloso%hy a)o t cheating? Do yo agree with Marco? What wo ld yo do i$ yo saw someone cheating? Is cheating e"er j sti$ied? What can yo r school do to hel% st dents with this iss e?