Why schools should relax about cheating
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“It’s completely ridiculous that schools are so uptight about cheating because what schools call cheating is what people in the work world call effective workplace behavior.”
Penelope Trunk, career specialist and founder of three startups, wrote this in an unconventional blog post on cheating earlier this month.
At first glance, this headline may appear outrageous to professors, parents and those in academia, but after they read it they may question their conventional outlook on cheating because she backs up her statement with a lot of great reasons.
According to an Academic Cheating Fact Sheet by noncheating.org, while about 20 percent of college students admitted to cheating in high school during the 1940’s, today between 75 percent and 98 percent of college students surveyed each year report having cheated in high school.
I am sure the numbers only increase when students get to college because there just isn’t enough time in a day to attend classes, do homework, go to your internship, work a part-time job and then study for all your exams crammed into one week.
My opinion is backed up by news headlines about large-scale cheating scandals “at some of the nation’s most competitive schools, like Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, the Air Force Academy and, most recently, Harvard.”
Researchers believe cheating has become more widespread due to technology, increased pressure and competition among Generation Y, but I believe cheating has increased due generation differences.
Today’s youth grew up with computers, smart phones and tablets; we were groomed to be time-efficient multi-taskers. We never had to wonder the answer to a question because we used the Internet or a mentor to answer it as soon as it popped into our head.
In the work world this is called resourcefulness.
I do not think more students are cheating because they do not have integrity or because they are dishonest people but rather because they are resourceful generation who collaborates with one another to save time and get things done.
Do you think cheating will help students succeed in the working world? Why or why not? Tell us in your comments below.
P.S. If you’re one of those busy students looking to save some time visit onlineclasshelp.com for help.