The following are a first draft and a revision done for this week's
assignment. Note the changes, especially the reduction from 491
to 455 words between the draft and the revision (and the change in
title!). Solving School Cheating: Second Draft
Cheating in School (First Draft)
In all my years as a teacher, no student of
mine has ever admitted to a plagiary, even when it is unquestionably
true. The closest I get to an admission is that someone "read it
over for me," or "I used my dictionary." It is a hard
truth: even when caught, the cheaters continue to cheat. There is no
harder task in a teacher's job than to give that richly deserved
"0"! Cheating diminishes other students' accomplishments and
thus needs to be actively challenged.
Students primarily cheat to make their lives
easier. Young people, under heavy parental pressure, find cheating a way
to meet their parents' expectations. Better that than having your mom or
dad yell at you! In schools these days the question often heard in
classrooms is, "What did you get?" Peer pressure, then, is
another reason for student cheating. To say, I got a "C" is
undesirable, especially in today's competitive schools. Perhaps the most
important reason for cheating is what Katie Hafner's article referred to
as "mental softness." For this, the Internet itself is mainly
to blame. There, ideas and the words used to express those ideas can be
accessed easily, from almost any terminal in the world. Why bother
thinking if someone has already done it for you? An easy life is
available to the student cheater, one without parental nagging, ridicule
at school, or the need to work hard.
With such "softness" evident in
our students, the solutions for cheating will need to be hard ones.
Parents must come to accept their children's abilities, and to celebrate
their accomplishments, however small. Heavy pressure, by itself, cannot
make a student smarter. Students themselves must be encouraged to make
comparisons based on how much someone has improved and on how much that
person has had to work in order to accomplish a grade. A "C"
for some is a major achievement. The hardest challenge is to reshape the
Internet as a tool for creating higher order thinking, and not one for
avoiding that difficult work. Teachers, who have been less than savvy
about the temptations of the Internet to potential cheaters, must make
themselves aware, instead, of the potential of the Internet for
teaching. Good, research-based, assignments (properly cited) that use
the Internet should be the norm in every classroom. In these ways, we
can work on these soft attitudes and remake them into a passion for
disciplined work.
Cheating is a real danger to student
achievement, one that needs to be challenged vigorously. Parents, who
harangue children over a percentage or two, can learn to ease up a
little. Students can learn to admire each other's accomplishments
without resorting to comparisons that offer little in judging a person's
true worth. And teachers can learn from their mistakes and begin to
bring the Internet into their secluded classroom worlds. If we work on
this together—teachers, parents, students—then our success will be
assured.
(491 Words; First Draft by Brad Hyde)
Solving School Cheating (Second Draft)
In my years of teaching, no student has ever
admitted to a plagiary, even when questioned. The closest I get to an
admission is that someone "read it over for me," or "I
used my dictionary." It is a hard truth: even when caught, cheaters
continue to cheat. However, there is no harder task for a teacher than
to give a richly deserved "0"! Cheating diminishes other
students' accomplishments and thus needs to be actively challenged.
Students cheat primarily to make their lives
easier. Young people, under heavy parental pressure, find cheating a way
to meet their parents' expectations. Better that than having your mom or
dad yell at you! In schools these days the question often heard is,
"What did you get?" Peer pressure, then, is another reason for
student cheating. To say "I got a 'C'" is undesirable,
especially in today's competitive schools. Perhaps the most important
reason for cheating is what Katie Hafner's article referred to as
"mental softness." For this, the Internet itself is mainly to
blame. There, ideas and words used to express ideas can be accessed
easily. Why bother thinking if someone has already done it for you? An
easy life is available to the student cheater, one without parental
nagging, ridicule at school, or the need to work hard.
With such "softness" evident in
our students, the solutions for cheating must be hard ones. Parents need
to accept their children's abilities, and to celebrate their
accomplishments, however small. Heavy pressure, by itself, cannot make a
child smarter. Students must be encouraged to make comparisons on how
much a peer has improved and on how hard that person had to work in
order to obtain a grade. For some a "C" is a major
achievement. The hardest challenge will be to reshape the Internet as a
tool for creating higher order thinking, and not one for avoiding
difficult work. Teachers, who have been less than savvy about the
temptations of the Internet to potential cheaters, must make themselves
aware, instead, of the Internet's potential for teaching. Research-based
assignments (properly cited) that use the Internet should be assigned in
every classroom. In these ways, we can work on the soft attitudes and
remake them into a passion for disciplined work.
Cheating is a danger to student achievement, one
that needs to be challenged vigorously. Parents, who harangue children
over a percentage or two, should learn to ease up a little. Students can
learn to admire each other's accomplishments without resorting to
comparisons that offer little in judging a person's true worth. And
teachers can learn from their mistakes and begin to bring the Internet
into their secluded classroom worlds. If we work on this
together—teachers, parents, students—then our success will be
assured.
(455 Words; Second Draft by Brad Hyde. Will be revised again for the
class held next Wednesday, October 31)
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Pearson Adult Learning
Centre
English
10: Teacher Writing
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