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HSFPP Weekly Update #132—Cheating

 Message from Bob and Chris: This week’s update is indirectly related to Unit 2, on careers, in the HSFPP student guide. We have selected two articles In the New$...: the first is about teachers who bought fake credentials, and the second presents survey results about student cheating. Unethical behavior seems to be running rampant in our society, and many people think it is OK unless you are caught. The stigma of unethical behavior may no longer be as great as the potential economic gains. In addition, people such as whistleblowers—or students who complain about cheating—who point out unethical behavior are paying a higher price than those who behave unethically; otherwise, why are so few workers and students reporting unethical behavior?

We present both articles to show that unethical behavior can be found just about anywhere, and that teenagers are not alone in cheating. Taken together, these articles should stimulate honest, open discussion about unethical behavior and how it affects society.

In earlier updates (all of which can be found under the Resource link on the Kentucky HSFPP home page), we provide examples of the impact that unethical behavior has on workers’ pensions and on investors profits. Update # 9 (January 8, 2002) dealt with Enron, whose employees lost more than $1 billion in 401(k) assets, and other stockholders who saw the value of their shares become worthless overnight, due to unethical practices by upper management. In that update, we also mentioned that this was not an isolated case: Lucent, Nortel, and Global Crossing have all suffered similar fates. Not even three years later, a number of mutual fund companies were charged with engaging in unethical practices and had to pay millions of dollars in fines.

In addition, we have done two weekly updates so far (Updates # 66 and # 126) related to illegal downloading of music files, which is common among teenagers. Although the business practices of the music industry are controversial, illegal filesharing is ethically dubious and quite risky: it can result in thousands of dollars in fines and possibly even jail time. Needless to say, it has the potential to ruin the future of many a promising young student.

 

Other Related updates:

Update #129 - Credit History, Personal Behavior, and Employment - 16 May 2005
Update #126 - Revisiting File Sharing - 25 April 2005
Update #66 - Music File Sharing - 22 September 2003
Update #10 - Retirement Plans Continued: The Enron Situation - 14 January 2002
Update #9 - Retirement Plans - 8 January 2002

 

Activity for Educators:

We recommend that you first hand teens the article, “ 106 teachers may be fired in Miami-Dade for buying fake credentials,” and the discussion questions that follow. Then hand out the second article In the New$..., “Academic cheating by teenagers at an all-time high,” with its corresponding discussion questions.

For each question, in order to make the exercise more interactive, have teens who say “Yes” go to the right side of the room, and those who say “No” go the left ; then ask them why they feel the way they do. Do this also with second article. It will be interesting to see how many teens change their opinion when it relates to them.

Finally, you might want to have students read the full article on cheating before writing an essay.

We would really appreciate feedback on this week’s update ! My e-mail address is rflashma@uky.edu.

 

Web Site Pick of the Week:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to people making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers in a wide range of occupations do on the job, their working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects for each occupation.

 

In the New$... 106 teachers may be fired in Miami-Dade for buying fake credentials

According to the South FloridaSun-Sentinel newspaper, “The head of Miami-Dade County Public Schools on Wednesday vowed to fire as many as 106 teachers named in an accreditation scandal in which teachers are accused of paying for fake credentials.

“Miami-Dade authorities released the names of the teachers suspected of being involved in the scam and the sworn statements some have given to prosecutors.

“The teachers are accused of paying for phony college credits to renew their teaching certificates or to get special endorsements in different subjects, officials said.”

It is interesting that a former teacher who retired from the Miami-Dade school system opened a business selling these bogus course credits to fellow teachers. Surprisingly, the Florida Department of Education will give teachers a year to take the courses for which they received false credit.

Source: Ihosvani Rodriguez, South FloridaSun–Sentinel, September 1, 2005.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-dteachers01sep01,0,2133181,print.story

 

Discussion Questions:

1.) Would it be OK with you if your teachers bought fake college credit in order to advance their careers?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

2.)Should students who flunk the courses taught by these 106 teachers be given passing grades?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

3.) Should teachers be fired for falsification of records?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

4.) Do you think teachers should lose their teaching certification rather than being allowed to take those courses they claimed they took, but did not?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

5.) Do you consider your teachers as role models, adults whom you can look up to and expect to behave in an exceptional manner?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

In the New$... Academic cheating by teenagers at an all-time high

“Research has shown that the incidence of academic cheating among high school students has risen to all-time highs. The studies conducted by Who's Who Among American High School Students, as well as those conducted by The Josephson Institute, are just a few of the many that demonstrate the problem. In addition, a 1997 Connecticut Department of Public Health survey of 12,000 students showed that 63% of 11th graders and 62% of ninth graders reported cheating on an exam in the previous 12 months.

“‘In the past it was the struggling student who was more likely to cheat, just to get by,’ according to Michael Josephson. ‘Today, while it is becoming almost impossible to flunk out, it is the above-average, college-bound students who are cheating. As a matter of fact, cheating is higher among college-bound kids than any other group.’

“College bound students are expected to be all they can be to get into a selective college. They need to get the best grades, play the best sports, perform community service, etc. The pressure can be overwhelming – leading many students to cheat or plagiarize.”

Source: Educational Testing Service Ad Council Campaign
http://www.glass-castle.com/clients/www-nocheating-org/adcouncil/research/cheatingbackgrounder.html

 

Discussion Questions:

1.) Have you ever seen a fellow student cheat on a test or hand in a term paper that was posted on the Internet and said nothing to them?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you did or did not say anything.

 

2.) Do you consider it “tattling” or “ratting out a friend” to tell your teacher a fellow student is cheating?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

3.) Should students flunk the course if caught cheating?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

4.) Should students caught cheating have a statement on their transcript saying they have been caught cheating?

Yes ___ No ___. Explain why you feel this way.

 

5a.) If you answered “Yes” that teachers should lose their teaching certificate and “No” that students caught cheating should not have that appear on their transcript, explain why teachers should be punished more than students.

 

5b.) If you answered “Yes” to both of those questions and “Yes” also to Question 1 (in this second set of questions), are you letting your fellow students down by not telling them this is not acceptable behavior?

 

Activity for Students:

Write an essay on what you learned about yourself and your fellow teenagers from today’s discussion.

 

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program

http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/hsfp

The purpose of this Web site is to assist county extension agents, credit union educators, and high school teachers in improving the economic well-being of our constituency, beginning with today’s students; and also, to assist teachers in Kentucky in meeting KERA’s goal that all students become technologically literate. Weekly Updates are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators.