High schoolers are constantly trying to take shortcuts to complete assignments faster, and sometimes this means cheating to obtain a better grade. Cheating has clearly escalated in 21st Century modern society now that students have a world of technology at their fingertips.
For example, students could easily whip out their phones at home or at school to look up answers to homework, quizzes, and even tests. Due to the increased availability of electronic devices such as cell phones and computers, cheating has become easier to execute, and each year, the amount of students who abuse the educational system through cheating rises. The real question is, why do students feel they should do it?
“I think that cheating is wrong and only hurts you because it keeps you from learning the material yourself,” says Meredith Beyers, a 9th grader. “ [Cheaters] care mostly about themselves even though sometimes cheating can end with ruining their educational career.”
Meredith expresses the way in which she interprets the act of cheating, saying, “Every cheater at some point has felt like they were doing something reprehensible but some choose to keep doing it because they ignore the consequences. The more you do it, the less remorse you feel.”
From a bigger perspective, in twenty years, the letter grades that students received in their high school classes are hardly going to matter; once students grow into adults, their lives are more centered around gaining experience in order to correctly carry out certain careers. However, if high school students become used to cheating and do it on a regular basis, this will pose a serious threat on their lives and reputations later on.
Mr. Burke, a health teacher, has observed cheating at GVHS. He reflects on this with a grim look. “When it happened, I told the class that I knew that someone had cheated and my idea was to give the student a chance to admit it and the student did.” Mr. Burke takes precautions against cheating when proctoring a test. “I walk around the room, I give different tests to different classes and mix up the order of questions.” These methods to prevent cheating are effective in many cases because cheating has become a real problem due to increased technology usage.
Julia Lennon, a high school student, offered her thoughts on cheating. “I know it’s a cliche, but I think it’s wrong,” Lennon says pointedly. “People cheat because they get flustered because they didn’t put in the time and effort themselves. They’re honestly worse off by doing it. It’s also unfair because they didn’t put in the work.”
Although cheating has become more common over the course of the past decade, its presence especially growing in high schools, the chance of a greater amount of students getting in serious trouble as a result of cheating is also increasing respectively. Some of the most important aspects of living are to work hard, persist through challenges and mistakes, and do the right, moral thing, even if bad habits like cheating, lying, or doing what others do seems easier. When a person cheats, the only life that he/she is putting in jeopardy is his/her own.