topic Re: The Right Thing to Do? in Community Chat

The Right Thing to Do?

Pippy_1 — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:19:04 GMT

http://www.newser.com/story/201112/dartmouth-busts-kids-cheating-in-ethics-class.html

Dartmouth Busts Kids Cheating-In Ethics Class

64 were using clickers to answer questions for absent classmates

One might expect students taking a class called "Sports, Ethics, and Religion" to know better, but Dartmouth College says that it's uncovered widespread cheating in a class with that title, reports Bloomberg. "I feel pretty burned by the whole thing," says class professor Randall Balmer, who says he found 43 kids were using a clicker to answer questions for absent students. "I’ve never faced anything on this scale before." After he made the bust, and reported it as an honor code violation, another 21 students came forward.

The class was aimed at jocks, and many of those accused are student athletes, notes the Valley News. Laments Dartmouth's ethics institute director, the current generation was "raised with the notion that they are the best, not with the notions of integrity, responsibility, and self-sacrifice. It’s a difficult notion for an 18-year-old—self-regulation." Balmer opted to drop students by a letter grade rather than flunk them, in what Gawker says is "the right thing to do, not that any of them would know it."

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

Puzzle Piece — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:29:33 GMT

Wrong is wrong and cheating is cheating. There are consequences, always consequences.

The reason teachers keep the students as opposed to dropping them is, if they have few real students, the class can be cancelled and they loose pay as they are not needed. Been going on for years. It's wrong and it should not be.

Those 'jocks' need to be dropped and take the class when they are ready to be in a class.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

Clover29 — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:13:39 GMT

I had no idea what clickers were. If anyone else is curious, this explains it:

http://www.businessinsider.com/dartmouth-students-used-clickers-to-fake-attendance-2015-1

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

RainCityGirl — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:19:12 GMT

I love irony, and this is a perfect example.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

151949 — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:19:58 GMT

On 1/11/2015 Clover29 said:
I had no idea what clickers were. If anyone else is curious, this explains it:

http://www.businessinsider.com/dartmouth-students-used-clickers-to-fake-attendance-2015-1

I can't imagine college students not doing this - what fool would not know that would happen ? I thought the deans and professors were supposed to be at least a little smarter than the kids.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

151949 — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:22:10 GMT

BTW - most students think ethics is about the worst , most boring class they have to attend.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

kdgn — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:37:13 GMT

The honor code at any of the service academies would have demanded expulsion.

One grade? Flunk them. That's the only way they will learn the consequences of unethical behaviors.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

Financialgrl — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:38:17 GMT

This is a class geared for jocks - you know the ones who beginning in high school or earlier rules do not apply to them. Wasn't it about 6 months to a year ago (I think it was UNC) where athletes were given credit (passing grades) for classes they never even attended.

Face it, most athletes aren't in college due to their stellar grades and SAT scores; they are there because some recruiter saw them and that college needed a QB, wide receiver, pitcher, first baseman, etc. They've been treated differently solely for their athletic ability and as we've all seen they have handlers that make their issues just go away. Then we are surprised to find the NFL has guys with thuggish behavior - they've been taught that their actions have no consequences for many years before they hit the pros.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

violann — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:51:00 GMT

When I returned to take undergrad college classes, I was shocked to watch one of my professors practically risking the students before tests so that he could determine whether any of their efforts were being "electronically enhanced".

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

RainCityGirl — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:53:14 GMT

On 1/11/2015 kdgn said:
The honor code at any of the service academies would have demanded expulsion.

One grade? Flunk them. That's the only way they will learn the consequences of unethical behaviors.

This is a society who forgives ethics violations all the time. Just look at our politicians. It's not surprising that it would be part of our classrooms. A friend of mine saw one of his students cheating on a test when the kid walked up to the stack of tests turned in, looked at another's student's answers and had the audacity to change his own answer right then and there. My teacher friend took the test from the cheater and tore it up right in front of the student, meaning he earned 0% on the test. The student's mother was a teacher, and you can bet she was at the school the very next day demanding that he let the student take the test again. He told her that as a teacher and a parent, she has missed her chance to reinforce a very important learning experience for her son by letting him know he had consequences to his actions, but instead she chose to cover for him. She then ran to the principal to complain, but THIS time there was a principal who backed the teacher. Life lessons in consequences can teach invaluable things that ensure mistakes made will not be repeated.. Unfortunately, there's always those who want no consequences for very bad decisions, just a little slap on the wrist. Is that really how life works? Apparently.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

Free2be — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 22:22:37 GMT

Not being in the classroom to learn yet expecting to pass as if they know the subject isn't much different than a few of the posters who watch a little news then come here and spout off like they know what they're talking about, the march in Paris as only one example but it happens all the time especially if they can use the topic against the president and/or administration.

One has to value knowledge for it's own sake to appreciate the value of ethics which is so strongly intertwined with honesty and what is real and right vs what is emotional or tweaks the ego.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

madzonie — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:19:24 GMT

Ethics are MIA in so many areas of our society:

Sports

Politics

News

Big business/corporate world

College

Finance/banking

Very very sad state of affairs...

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

Pippy_1 — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:56:06 GMT

On 1/11/2015 madzonie said:
Ethics are MIA in so many areas of our society:

Sports

Politics

News

Big business/corporate world

College

Finance/banking

Very very sad state of affairs...

I agree. To read this article comes as no surprise to me, taking into account the miserable society we ourselves have developed to live in.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

ROMARY — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:59:44 GMT

'Goofing off' seems to be 'the way of the world' right now. The pendulum (hopefully) swings.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

Pippy_1 — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:02:45 GMT

On 1/11/2015 ROMARY 1 said:
'Goofing off' seems to be 'the way of the world' right now. The pendulum (hopefully) swings.

Hmmmm I don't know since you can't unring a bell. How can goof offs teach their children to be anything but goof offs?

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

ROMARY — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:06:28 GMT

Maybe a couple of generations later they'll figure out that being conscientious is the better, more prosperous way of life.

Re: The Right Thing to Do?

lulu2 — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:10:32 GMT

On 1/11/2015 RainCityGirl said:
This is a society who forgives ethics violations all the time. Just look at our politicians. It's not surprising that it would be part of our classrooms. A friend of mine saw one of his students cheating on a test when the kid walked up to the stack of tests turned in, looked at another's student's answers and had the audacity to change his own answer right then and there. My teacher friend took the test from the cheater and tore it up right in front of the student, meaning he earned 0% on the test. The student's mother was a teacher, and you can bet she was at the school the very next day demanding that he let the student take the test again. He told her that as a teacher and a parent, she has missed her chance to reinforce a very important learning experience for her son by letting him know he had consequences to his actions, but instead she chose to cover for him. She then ran to the principal to complain, but THIS time there was a principal who backed the teacher. Life lessons in consequences can teach invaluable things that ensure mistakes made will not be repeated.. Unfortunately, there's always those who want no consequences for very bad decisions, just a little slap on the wrist. Is that really how life works? Apparently.

I caught a student cheating. The parent was not upset about the cheating rather the fact his daughter was caught. In his eyes she failed at cheating.