Cheater's father sues school

[mikemac]

I recently read Michael Lewis' book "Boomerang" and find in this kid a perfect microcosm of what lead up to the economic crisis. According to Lewis, the widespread adoption of essentially a "what's in it for me" mentality in which people took what they wanted because they could underlies much of the crisis.

And as an aspiring Ivy-League student (probably hoping it is a springboard to Wall Street) he shows exactly this attitude. You want top grades to admit me to an Ivy, fine, I'll get top grades by any means I can or at what involves the least work to me. The son is incensed that there are actual consequences when he violates rules, even though the consequences have been watered down since he can still enter the IB program next year. And so is Poppa. Right or Wrong is not even remotely part of their thought process.

[cobrat]

I don't know, I don't find copying homework to be a "grave offense."

I doubt the teachers/principal I had at my Catholic elementary school would agree with that considering what they did with kids who did. And on the scale of Catholic schools...they were one of the more lax ones in my area.

[xleadinglifex]

Honestly, it was a homework assignment. If his school's like mine than there are about 2 hours of homework per night per class, and guess what, almost no one has that kind of time, so either your grades or morals suffer. What needs to be addressed here is that the amount of busywork given to kids is what is incensing the amount of cheating on homework assignments and then tests. If a teacher is going to say no to cheating/working on homework with others, they need to think about the amount of work that they're giving students. Most of us in upper level classes don't need hours of homework every night to learn something, so why are we being assigned it?

Yeah, the dad's ridiculous but I think that's pretty normal in school systems anymore, especially private or charters or economically well off publics. A teacher got fired at my school for giving a student a zero on a test he earned a zero on (the teacher had seen him cheating the last test off another student and so he gave him a different form from the other students and the kid failed) because his dad threatened to sue.

[starbright]

^ Is this really the logistic justification you come up with to cheat? Here is what I hear when I read what you wrote: That it's someone else's fault- the work is too much, and it must be the teacher's fault. Kids would engage in moral behavior if only the teachers didn't 'make' the kids have to cheat. That the choice is either lower grades or lower morals so it makes sense and is only reasonable to cheat. Everyone else must be doing it...

This is incredibly sad and wrong. You alone are responsible for the choices you make. The situation and what other people do does not justify one's actions.

Every single person in the world who has cheated the system has a justification- things were too hard, or too demanding to do it the right way but you really needed the good outcomes that could only come from cutting corners....

Those lacking a moral compass just do what benefits them the most and what they can get away with (its all about external rewards/costs and whether you can get caught or not). Those with a moral compass choose actions on the basis of 'what is right' based upon some higher principle or values they have internalized (even when it 'costs' them).

I think there are plenty of kids who have character, who take the moral high road. Not everyone is a cheat. And I think those that think they are getting away with it now will come to be haunted later on in life. Believe me, it doesn't just stop in highschool...the stakes are even bigger later on and you can continue to find justifications for cutting corners in college and on the job too (life is tough...you wanted the rewards....what were you to do if not cheat?).

But at the end of the day, your life is a big sham and you really can't take personal credit for your 'success'....anyone can fake achievement by skirting the rules that the actually more talented and ethical people followed.

[cobrat]

If his school's like mine than there are about 2 hours of homework per night per class, and guess what, almost no one has that kind of time, so either your grades or morals suffer.

As a graduate of a high school where the amount of homework assigned/studying expected that you described above is standard....or even on the light side with many I knew...I have the world's smallest violin for you.

And yet, they managed all that, ECs, and for the few who're really good at time management, geniuses, or just foolhardy...even juggle part-time jobs.

[boysx3]

I also am wondering if the school will be making a notation of this cheating incident on the student's transcript....that could have a much more dire effect on his chances at elite universities than merely being dropped to a lower level class. And I also wonder what might be written in the GC's and teachers confidential letters of recommendation.

Is there another lawsuit in the future?

[cptofthehouse]

Cheating has always been a problem, however, now days it seems that parents don't seem to see the seriousness of such actions, and do not support the schools' policies. I have seen this happen quite a bit. Actually, there seems to me, to be quite an adversary relationship between school and parents these day.

The father's actions in this case have the potential of seriously affecting his son's situation Had he left things the way the adminstrators laid it out, there would have been no notation in the record of the incident. Now with the law suit and publicity, this situation is not going to go away and even if the father prevails in the law suit, the chances that a school official makes an off record notation of the incident has increased dramatically.

I also think it s very unfair that schools do not indicate these things in their records, as many schools do and it really makes it more difficult for those kids whose schools have that policy. The playing field is supposed to be as level as possible and it cannot be so when you have schools wiping the record of any problems clean. My son had all kinds of disciplinary actions in his records, and had to write an explanation of them. Many of the schools in our area do not include this sort of information. They get around it by avoiding answering any questions sent to them by the colleges, with a blanket, "see attached" which is a generic reference that does not address such specifics such as disciplinary actions.

[xleadinglifex]

@starbright, I never said I cheat on homework, I said it's commonplace and logical with the amount of homework. I don't need a lecture on morals from you when I get b's in my classes because I don't do my homework because I don't have time.

And if you think there's time for 2 hours of homework per class and a job and extra curriculars, you clearly had fewer classes than we do. That's 16 hours of homework and 8 hours of school, which is 24 hours and I think people like to sleep sometimes too. So there is literally not enough time in the day for it, school, and sleep. So yeah, sorry if I think it's wrong to assign that amount of homework. And sorry if I think that it's logical that students choose to cheat or work together to avoid failing, since the only way I avoid failing is because I have a near perfect memory of things said to me so I get 100s on all/most tests and quizzes. Students can't afford the zeroes or the time. If there were fewer busywork assignments there would be less cheating. Plain and simple

[Hanna]

I'm the biggest cheerleader in the world for ending high school busywork, but it's no excuse for cheating. I refused to do assignments that I thought were a waste of time, and I accepted the F's. Either have the courage of your convictions, or suck it up and do what you are asked to do. This isn't the way to protest busywork.

"The consequences seem to fit the deed, and certainly are not future wrecking."

I agree that this was a gentle punishment, especially because the school said it would not disclose the cheating. If it were my kid, he'd get much worse consequences at home.

I do feel bad for the kid in one sense. He didn't make the decision to sue, but he'll be the one suffering the consequences. The family has an unusual last name and lives in a relatively small city. Unless the son changes his name and moves to San Jose, everyone's going to know about this. Well, maybe they'll call me in a couple of years when their son is trying to transfer from CC...I've worked with plenty of families in that scenario before.

[TheBigD]

I hope the father is happy, his kid will never get into an Ivy League school now.

[HKLincoln]

Anyone else notice a growing sense of entitlement from parents?

[Erin's Dad]

leadinglife, perhaps you should use your (insufficient) time to work on your homework rather than posting in online forums.

[Ironman1478]

@xleadinglifex

learn to prioritize your time. i had a job, tons of APs and was on the math team and i got my work done and i had little compared to other students who all worked their asses off on top of jobs. You most likely didn't have two hours of homework assigned per night. it might have taken you 2 hours, but there wasn't 2 hours of content. it was probably 30 min that expanded into 2 hours due to laziness, web surfing, internet chatting, etc. it might have taken you 2 hours to do something with all that put in, but if you just sat your ass down for 30 min and actually focused, you probably could have finished it in a significantly shorter amount of time.

also, good luck in college if you ever plan to go into science or engineering.

[kayf]

I think part of the problem is that colleges don't set the right tone at the top.

As a Penn alum, I am soooo furious that they wouldnt fire the person who lied about having Phd until newspapers broke the story. Then there is UT (not Austin, satellite) who also lied about Phd.

Its time to demand accountability at the top.

[lje62]

" Anyone else notice a growing sense of entitlement from parents? "

No kidding !

And not only that, but so many parent's teach their children that rules are for other people and absolutely no personal responsiblity