Cheating in our schools

One student looks at his neighbor’s exam paper and quickly copies the answers. Another student finds out the questions on a test before her class takes it and her friends. Still another student sneaks a sheet of paper with formulas written on it into the test room. What about you? Would you be tempted to cheat on an exam if you knew you wouldn’t get caught? According to a recent national survey, 40 percent of American teenagers would cheat under that condition. What is causing this epidemic of cheating in our schools? Most students cheat on tests because they feel pressure to get into a good college, because they want to avoid the hours of studying they need in order to get high grades, or simply because they are not concerned with honesty.

First of all, most parents want that their children would graduate school well. They keep them under pressure all the time. Adults are even threatening their kids that if they do not learn well they will be grounded and their cell phones, computers and other things will be taken for a while. Teenagers are being told that if they do not study, they will not get into college and if they will not get there they will live in very poor conditions. Most of kids are scared of those things and they are forced to cheat, they cannot see another way. Cheating seems the best solution for such problems.

Another problem that causes cheating during the test is laziness. Children choose to hang out with their friends instead of studying. They spend their time outside playing, chatting, browsing the internet or doing other things except learning. It is very boring to sit and learn when friends are calling you to go out. When they get home, in the evening, they sit and try to concentrate on their homework but usually young bodies are too tired after daily adventures. However, they pack their bags and go to sleep. They do not think about consequences which they will face in school during the test. Kids hope that someone will save them during the exam by telling the answers.

Lastly, nowadays children are not taught of such personal values as responsibility and honesty. They do not appreciate such things because they do not see any good examples. They do not feel guilty when cheating. Most kids do not know how to gain something by themselves, the reason is that they watch TV and see other people cheating, lieing and getting everything they want. What is more, they think that real life runs by getting everything easily and fraudulently.

All things considered, I think that society is the guiltiest of this epidemic of cheating in our schools, because it shows a lot of bad examples how to behave. Kids need to be shown and taught that only they take responsibility of their actions. They need to be told that cheating is not the only way to get better grades. Teenagers must be encouraged by their parents and a teacher, not threatened that if they get bad grades their life’s are over.