<p>Yes, I think most of those on this thread agree that the cheater is missing ethics and needs to “get it.” I don’t see him WANTING to learn anything, nor do I see anyone in his environment that will help him learn and get him to want to make any changes. He sees himself as “giving a new lease on life.”</p>
<p>^^ Absolutely HImom. The kid must think of himself as part businessman, part altruistic. That was the part that unnerved me and many others here. </p>
<p>That is, if he wasn’t simply thinking of the huge sums of money he was garnering, he was thinking of himself as helping the high-paying, stupid kids get into a better college than they would have and therefore giving them a new lease on life. That’s what irked me the most: that he made no apology for what he did and no had thought of the victims (the kids who studied hard, didn’t cheat.) He doesn’t “get” that what he did was wrong.</p>
<p>He’s a hustler my Sam. A real hustler. And smart? He is so smart, he got C+ students to pay for his B+ intellect. What a hustler. He’s going places. He’s going to be the next Bill Gates, or Howie Spira.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Instead of letting one’s kid take the punishment and consequences of his actions, parents are blaming the people whose job it is to report them? To think that the school owes their kid any kind of special treatment in this regard is telling. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>yeah, because it is not fair when people do not follow the rules and agreements…when they are the ones impacted by the rule breakers. geesh.</p>
<p>Actually, what I heard is that after the movie Stand and Deliver came out, (where inner city kids were accused of cheating for doing too well on AP Calc exams), the NY legislature did indeed pass laws that have made it difficult to prosecute this stuff. I just heard a snippet on NPR and haven’t seen an extended written story, but that combined with the fact that a lot of the culprits here were minors, does explain why a slap on the wrist seems easier to the College Board.</p>
<p>"The kid must think of himself as part businessman, part altruistic. That was the part that unnerved me and many others here.</p>
<p>Oh, let’s not get all high-and-mighty. He learned the behavior from the adults in his community - the faux brokers, bankers, real estate sales people, etc. - who ran off with people’s money and ran people out of their homes and then contributed to Catholic Charities and the Jewish National Fund. When’s the last time you heard an apology from any of them? He just wasn’t good enough not to get caught.</p>
<p>As for the kids who paid him getting places that might have gone to others, it’s a good theory, unsupported by evidence. Not a single college that any of these kids go to claim it is so, or have even made a comment denouncing the behavior.</p>
<p>Mini- you do like to paint with a very broad brush, don’t you?!
Hate to tell you, but humans come in all kinds of packages, and you cannot always tell a book by its cover. Stereotyping in any direction is foul play.</p>
<p>Anyway, I think the parents of these cheaters, whatever their professions or SES or neighborhoods or communities, are acting like many types of parent would in the sense that they are protecting their kids from severe conditions. HowEVER, the thing to teach one’s kids is to avoid dire consequences by NOT COMMITTING THE CRIME in the first place. If you cannot stand the heat, the get out of the kitchen.</p>
<p>It is hard, mini, to understand this, but good and “bad” parents are there to “defend” their children. Just in case the charges are false, and all that.</p>
<p>mini, what would you do if one of your D’s was caught having committed a crime? Would you walk away and say she should go to jail or whatever, because she deserved it? Would you hire the best lawyer you could afford and make sure she got the best defense possible? Would you just blame the system she was a part of?</p>
<p>I am NOT defending these parents and kids at ALL (check out my previous posts). Just showing how complicated all this gets WITHIN the family. And, btw, kids do act on their own- parents cannot control their morality beyond a certain point, not to say they should EVER give up trying. The culture, the media, their peers, their teachers- there are thousands of factors, and who is to say which of these makes the strongest impression on our kids…</p>
<p>All very complicated, agreed. But we do know A LOT about this community - the occupations they pursue, where folks make their money, and how much of it they have.</p>
<p>Why would you think I think the parents should walk away? He committed a “crime” (maybe - it’s not exactly clear what “crime”, which is why there will be a plea deal, </p>
<p>I think the guy who took the tests will end up being an interesting footnote to history – kind of like Monica Lewinsky. She got her 15 minutes of fame but never got married, had kids, etc. I could see this guy 15 years from now wondering why no one ever hired him and he’s still unemployed, living at home in his parents’ basement.</p>