<p>Completely agree sally305. I simply don’t accept the premise that cheating is inevitable, and because a parent instills values in their children and is confident that they actually practice those values that somehow makes me “deluded”? I wonder what that says about the “enlightened” 98%? By the inverse property, does that mean they all have kids that cheat and the parents are aware and are Ok with it? I don’t believe that for a moment either.</p>
<p>My kids have always understood that cheating isn’t acceptable, and that’s there’s no shame in receiving a zero or an F, especially as an alternative to cheating. It just means they’ll have to work harder to overcome it, and they understand that. If others want to put more emphasis on the dreaded GPA and worry less about how it was achieved, they’re welcome to their opinion.</p>
<p>Waverly…I strongly suspect he’s going to get everything he’s asking for, especially since the school (uneccessarily IMHO) already tried to offer him a compromise and he refused. Then I strongly suspect karma (a.k.a. the Law of Unintended Consequences) is going to get he and his son everything they deserve.</p>
<p>Agreed. I wouldn’t be surprised if alums of many colleges are already so incensed by the kid’s and especially the father’s actions that they attempt to blackball him from ever being accepted to their respective alma maters.</p>
<p>Especially at colleges with honor codes and Federal Service Academies where academic integrity and character is taken very seriously.</p>
<p>^^^^Had to google her as I’d never heard of her. Sounds like she has gone on to great success, graduating from law school and going into partnership with her father.</p>
<p>But couldn’t find out what happened with regard to her Harvard admission. I know she won the lawsuit, declined to participate in graduation ceremonies, but what happened in between that and her decision to go elsewhere (St. Andrews in Scotland)?</p>
<p>Her admission to Harvard was rescinded when it was discovered that she’d she plagiarized large portions of articles she’d written for a local newspaper, a fact that never would have come to light had it not been for her lawsuit against the town.</p>
<p>She really annoys me. Who cares if you are sole valedictorian? That accomplishment gets you literally nothing but bragging rights. Isn’t being nice more important? She was already in at Harvard.</p>
<p>This is a good example of why, in the digital age, people should think long and hard before publicly associating their child’s name with a scandal.</p>
<p>I can tell you one thing: even if the school’s policy were crystal clear that every student got two strikes…and even if the co-cheaters were given two strikes and my son only one…I would still think that the offered settlement (one year in non-honors English and expungement of the record) was a MUCH better deal for the child than suing.</p>
<p>What would it take to get me to sue? Something like an email from the principal saying, “We punished your son more harshly than the others because he’s Jewish and the other cheaters are good Christian boys.” Then I would think about a lawsuit. A Google problem is that big a monkey on a person’s back, forever.</p>
<p>I cited Blair Hornstine, because it’s another case where a parent suing for their child’s technical rights violated the public sense of the spirit of the law, and in doing so did their child a grave disservice. Nearly 10 years after she graduated from high school Blair Hornstine is still known for her selfishness and plagiarism instead of being known for her scholarship and charity work.</p>
<p>“Okay, so now I’m wondering if she’s working in her father’s law firm because no one else would hire her.”</p>
<p>Once you pass the bar, you really don’t need to be hired by anyone. You can struggle through for a couple of years but if you are any good, it should not be hard to make a living.</p>
<p>That’s funny because I think every parent that has a child that cheats believes they raised their child with good morals and to be honest. But, you know what? Kids make stupid mistakes. They are teens and lack judgement at times. That doesn’t make it right but that’s how it happens. I think the severity of the case should be looked at for the punishment. I don’t agree with suing the school. I think the Dad should have took the school’s offer. Like everyone said he made it much worse for his son. I can tell you there are some good kids who are working their tails off in AP classes and make a decision that lacks judgement. But, they learn from that mistake in various ways and it doesn’t mean they have to get an F and kicked out of school. The punishment should fit the crime. I think the punishment should be different for a kid who lacked judgement and let their friend copy their lab assignment versus a kid who copied from a test or broke into a desk to get answers to a test. I can tell you in my daughter’s AP Bio class there are kids who have notebooks from previous years who were siblings or friends. Instead of doing the work they are just copying it while my daughter is doing the actual work in addition to finding time to study for the test. I’m sure these parents know about it too.</p>
<p>andi0527…It depends on how you view cheating. As one of the more hardline views here, I never have and never will view cheating as a “mistake”. It’s a conscious, intentional, unethical decision…and in my mind there should not be any consideration of “differing levels of cheating”. As we’ve seen through the last 20-some-odd pages, different people have different views of how it should be handled, and always will. I don’t think anyone will convince anyone else to change their mind on it, so we agree to disagree I guess. The really disappointing thing is the folks (kids and parents) who think it’s no big deal because “it happens all the time” or “you have to cheat to keep up in advanced classes”. What a crock!! It would be great if all parents really did try to raise their kids with good morals and values, but we’ve seen examples in this thread that show that just isn’t always the case. If the parents don’t think it’s a big deal or worse yet condone it, how can we ever expect the students to make ethical decisions?</p>
<p>Yes, I guess we do disagree along with others that disagree with you as well. I don’t believe anyone here said it was a ethical decision to cheat and you have to cheat to keep up in advanced classes. I think they are finding reasons why these kids chose to cheat. But, I don’t believe that makes it right. I believe that most parents raise their kids to be honest, moral, and ethical. Just because a kid cheats doesn’t mean their parents didn’t raise them that way. I highly doubt any kid throughout their life doesn’t use bad judgement at one point including yours. Maybe they just haven’t told you. No kid is
perfect. I guess your hardline opinion is what is creating the opposition. But, you are entitled to your opinion and I’m entitled to mine.</p>
<p>^Yep, we’ve covered all that. I’m “deluded” because I know my kids would take a zero on an assignment before cheating on it, and because I know they believe in the values we taught them. Because I know this, somehow that means I think they’re perfect…yet I never once said that. I’m “frightening” because I believe actions have consequences, and that there aren’t gray areas when it comes to cheating, and that anyone (including…hypothetically…my own children) should fail whatever class they cheat in no matter what form the cheating took. And yes…there have indeed been those who said cheating was necessary to keep up in advanced classes and ensure the almighty “GPA bump”. Those that want to sugarcoat it will. I call it what it is.</p>
<p>I think most parents believe that their kids have the values they taught them! I don’t think most parents raised their kids to cheat. You aren’t any different in that regard. By saying you “know” what your kids would choose to do you are implying they are perfect. You said you were “deluded”, not me.</p>
<p>Sorry andi…I wasn’t implying that you said that. I was just catching you up from previous postings. But exactly how does knowing what my kids would do in an instance where they had a choice whether to cheat or not possibly translate into me saying they’re perfect? I never said anything of the sort. I simply said they DO NOT CHEAT. They do plenty of other foolish things, make plenty of mistakes, and sometimes use bad judgment. For me/in my world/IMHO (clear enough??) cheating does not fall into any of those categories. Not taking an umbrella when rain is forecast all day is showing “poor judgment”. Wearing knee-high black socks with sandals is a “bad decision”. As I said, cheating is a conscious, intentional, unethical act and should be treated as such.</p>
<p>What I find interesting in this thread is the number of parents who say “cheating is wrong and I don’t condone it”…unless their child was the cheater. Then they’re all in favor of what the lawyer daddy in this case is doing. Why? Does the unfortunate fact that it happens to their child somehow change the wrongness of the act? Sugarcoated semantics leads to situational ethics…a slippery slope I choose not to start down.</p>