Legal Cheating

Homeschooling is different. We had this discussion in American History one Wednesday. A previously homeschooled college student received an essay packet for a final in English. For clarification, she asked if the essay-final was a "closed book" or an "open book (notes and research allowed)" test. The class was dumbfounded. The teacher didn't quite know how to react, and responded: "Of course it's open book … what else would it be?"

The public school system, whether in high school or college and evidenced by its representative English teacher, expects cheating. A closed book test involves honesty, and apparently that can't be expected in the public school system.

I would agree that it is better to be safe than sorry. By not even giving the opportunity for cheating via the closed book test, there will not be any cheating. Well … that's what some schools think.

Mill Creek Middle School in Kent, Washington, has allowed "cheating." Instead of requiring students to regurgitate "rote memorization," the school now allows online research during the midst of tests … from the weekly vocabulary quizzes to the end of the year final.

One school official rationalizes that it's not cheating because "we changed the rules to allow it." All right then, why was it once considered cheating? I concede that the point of academics isn't to spew back random information. You have to be able to find, analyze, and present information in order to be successful in most of life. However, you need to learn more than finding definitions online. If a student is allowed to research and compare notes digitally in the midst of a test, there is no reason to listen to the lecture or study the material. It becomes an even worse kind of regurgitation … repeating the words of others without previous exposure to any sort of information. No learning takes place if you cheat. Providing a means to allow what is normally considered cheating seems to be very irresponsible.

This reflects poorly on the public school system in general. Certainly each school and teacher is different … but therein lies the problem. Some schools and teachers don't care about quality or completion of work. Another college example is where an American Literature teacher told another friend and the whole class, "I don't expect you to actually read the material … but try to." So much for instilling a sense of responsibility and work ethic.

So, in conclusion, there is a problem in the contemporary public educational system. It was recently portrayed by the legalization of cheating by changing the rules at the middle school. This is only a symptom of the dysfunction of education. The system is obviously not teaching ethics of work or the importance of morality. It isn't creating a dynamic atmosphere to prepare kids for adulthood and life. Instead it seems to separate the environment from reality. If you aren't educating for life, you are wasting five out of the seven days of the week on a consistent basis. As Mark Twain quipped, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."