Cheating runs rampant in today’s current educational climate.
See:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/education/22winerip.html?_r=2&ref=education&
See:http://www.ajc.com/news/investigation-into-aps-cheating-1001375.html
See:http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=1
See: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/10/139345533/atlantas-schools-work-through-cheatin…
But cheating isn’t limited to schools, as the July, 2004 issue of Business2Business reported: “Employee fraud is on the rise, soaring from $400 billion in lost revenue for U.S. businesses in 1996 to over $600 billion in 2003.” And we should be alarmed to have created a system where students cheat to get good grades and educators cheat to qualify for bonuses and avoid penalties. By far, the most concerning examples include that of Atlanta schools, described as a “culture of fear,” in which, reportedly, the pressure to cheat stemmed from district leadership down to the classrooms.
I recently saw a school that a business partner and I had consulted to jump over 20 percentage points in reading and math. We wanted to cite the gains in our next proposal, but we weren’t entirely comfortable making a big announcement. It seems we’ve evolved into an education system where attempts at accountability no longer seem justified, and success no longer appears legitimate.
My heart had questioned the strict accountability measures in the earlier part of this decade, and we are all becoming less secure with current policy and its outcomes. Reportedly, following the airing of an April 4, 2004 program, the CNN website cited quotes from honors students: “I actually think cheating is good. A person who has an entirely honest life can’t succeed these days,” and “I believe cheating is not wrong. People expect us to attend 7 classes a day, keep a 4.0 GPA, not go crazy and turn in all of our work the next day. What are we supposed to do, fail?”and another student further reported, “Cheating in school is a dress rehearsal for li[f]e.”
This student’s view is becoming more and more true, as accountability measures combined with power dynamics and limited supports induce education practitioners to cheat. And perhaps it’s time for education policy to consider workplace practices, such as:
– Setting reasonable targets.
– Creating a culture of integrity starting with leadership.
– Enacting consequences for intolerable behavior – this makes a code of ethics believable.
– Managing rewards and praise, carefully.
– Teaching educators how they should deal with “seemingly unimportant decisions (SUDs),” which are the unnoticed ethical exceptions that we make for ourselves.
I once punished my student who tried to hide her textbook under my desk – she didn’t want to carry it home and back to class. When I told her to take it home, or I would have to issue a detention, she acted exasperated and said, “Ms. Naomi, you’re so ‘by the book!'” I calmly responded that if I didn’t call her out, the next time she would steal something, and then eventually, she would rob a bank–I explained that I’d rather have her in detention tomorrow, then in jail in five years. She pondered my explanation, smiled at me, and said, “Thank you.”
These little moments matter and, as educators, we might reflect upon our personal actions and take responsibility for managing the environments in which our children are learning how to “get by.” Leadership can implement practices to support ethics in education, and teachers have a unique opportunity to serve as role models.
Some relevant business resources include: Society for Business Ethics:http://www.societyforbusinessethics.org/, Business Ethics Quarterly:http://secure.pdcnet.org/beq, Michael Connor’s site: http://business-ethics.com/, And the quoted article: http://www.super-solutions.com/EmployeeFraudandWorkplaceEthics.asp#ixzz1VzRRBj7L
But let us know if you have additional ideas!
