I got caught cheating. What should I do?

paying3tuitions
Sat, 03 May 2008 15:01:24 +0000

point taken, NSM. I did only teach poor students; younger ones in a public school, and older ones in a max security prison. There I learned that, rich or poor, money left out is a temptation to avoid.

And I was constantly stunned at the high standards of honesty of many poor families.
Plus, generosity. Am still remembering how when we ran a drive for a food bank, the people without two nickles to rub together brought in cans from their pantries, while the owner of a restaurant wrote in to say they “always” give to the poor so won’t be having their child bring in any cans. What a missed opportunity for someone in a position to give to teach their kid some generosity! So yes, middle class people can be stingier than poor people. It’s all about people, I guess, tho that sounds sophomoric.

I was tryiing, hamfistedly, to cause the student to think about “changing a grade” just like “stealing cash” as a violation of community trust. It was an attempt to make an abstraction more concrete, not to blast poor people, who need no more blasting than they take every day. Thanks, tho, for picking that up and correcting it.