<p>@emeraldkity4, the support staff cuts took place under the old regime. The current mayor is still operating under the budget of the previous mayor. He was elected last November and took office January 1.</p>
<p>The teenage brain does not always act rationally. How many times have we heard kids say “My life is over” or “I’m doomed”. Kids tend to catastrophize. </p>
<p>Our school had a suicide from someone who couldn’t face her parents after getting caught lying to them. Really tragic situation. </p>
<p>Parents need to make sure that their kids know that they have their back. Always. No matter what. I read some stuff on here that shocks me. </p>
<p>In situations where suicide is involved, I feel like the tangible reason people give is just the tip of the iceberg. Most people could not go through with a suicide attempt unless they were in an incredibly distressed state of mind caused by a traumatizing event or extreme mental illness. </p>
<p>I think this is especially true when someone jumps off a building. A student at my school did that year and it was absolutely devastating and a huge shock to the community. Jumping off of a building is much different than purposely overdosing, it is not a cry for help, it is a sure way to end one’s life. </p>
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<p>I am inclined to agree here. It is hard to hide when someone is caught cheating when a student is asked to suddenly leave a room in the middle of the test. </p>
<p>And I don’t see what’s so bad about being harshly admonished for committing one of the worst academic and integrity offenses in the educational context. </p>
<p>Not to mention within a few years, one could end up heading off to colleges…some of whom have strict honor codes which could result in a suspension or even expulsion on the first offense if severe enough. </p>
<p>In face, VMI’s penalty for being caught cheating is automatic expulsion…and it is done with a public “drumming out” ceremony which every cadet is assembled. </p>
<p>Prior to the recession our nation was rolling right along. People did not have to worry about much so they were able to focus on their kids and “perfecting them.” </p>
<p>It seems so many people expect perfection. Higher scores, better summer programs, regional, state and national sport or music awards. We are always pushing for the next level.</p>
<p>These poor kids have to deal with this. Just the perfection of their own bodies is horrible enough. 6 packs for boys, 0 % body fat, girls looking to not have their thighs touch…and on and on. </p>
<p>We have done this to them. They have embraced the need for perfection. </p>
<p>We are killing our kids.</p>
<p>And on top of that I really believe they read about and watch people who cheat benefit from it. </p>
<p>Business, politics, science. How often do we read about successes that involved cheating. </p>
<p>At our school, we had a senior this year who was caught cheating and his experience was the exact opposite of what happened to this girl. Apparently, by junior year, the student here was known for cheating and some classmates were getting frustrated by the unfairness. They privately complained to their teachers, who then watched the student closely while he took his exams. Sure enough, he was caught cheating. It became public knowledge when he wasn’t at honors night because he was stripped of his NHS membership and his other honors. (It became of the talk of the town & that’s how i learned of it bc this kid wasn’t on my radar.) This was his punishment. However, it seems clear that the administration and he didn’t mention any of this on his college applications because he was admitted ED to UPenn, where he had legacy. Another kid in town, very likable and also w legacy and the legitimate stats to get in, was rejected ED. Although Penn had no idea what they got, the university diminished a lot in my son’s eyes; the smart kids in his class became disinterested in attending college w that kind of classmate. And there were lots of snide comments that maybe he’d fit in well on Wall Street after college. Unlike the girl in the article, this kid has exhibited no shame at all…just the opposite, in fact. And his parents have nothing but pride with his college result.</p>
<p>More kids should be shamed. Cheating at the highest level is completely out of control. In our experience it was always the wealthy and entitled brats. Parents were equally insufferable so it’s not hard to see where it comes from.</p>
<p>it’s simplistic to just shame the kids. One question to ask is why do obviously bright students feel the need to cheat? I think there is way too much pressure on kids to be “perfect” - only A’s are acceptable; B’s are akin to failure. This article is old - it’s about the cheating ring at Stuyvesant a few years ago - but it’s still relevant.
<a href=“Why Students Cheat on Tests -- New York Magazine - Nymag”>http://nymag.com/news/features/cheating-2012-9/</a></p>
<p>I feel sorry for the girl and her parents. I can also relate it to the incidence my son went through a couple of months ago. This is the worst nightmare of any parents in this situation. It turned out that my son was much stronger than I thought. Even though the teacher admitted that she was only “speculating” and had no evidence at all, she still went ahead and accused of my son cheating and on top of that, when she caught the other student cheating during the exam, she decided not to stop it and “let them suffer” (what is in her mind?!). Now I think I know what she meant - she hoped that she could catch my son cheating later on in the exam. She is probably still mad because the panel voted unanimously to clear my son. Teachers are human and a few are apparently on the dark side. Just my 2 cents</p>
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<p>Some do it because they feel the need to look out for #1 and the end justifies the means, others may have had a momentary lapse in judgement, etc, etc, etc.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it is not only an individual act, but one which harms other students by diminishing other students’ accomplishments while boosting one’s own by false pretenses and deception. I also do not believe that high school kids are so young as to be naive and innocent about the gravity and wrongfulness of cheating as some seem to believe. </p>
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<p>As someone who was an alum, that struck many of us old alums as weird as regent exams were regarded as LCD exams which one should do well by default. </p>
<p>For instance, I scored in the mid-'90s on a regents exam in a subject where my class grades averaged Ds and Fs. None of the teachers back then felt that was anything out of the ordinary. </p>
<p>Not only was I disgusted by the cheaters involved in that incident, I along with many other alums were perplexed as to why they’d go through so much trouble to cheat on a test which was considered LCD and which most of us didn’t take very seriously back when we attended. </p>
<p>This puzzlement is furthered when I’ve heard from old teachers, HS classmates, and friends who currently teach in the NYC school system that more recent regents exams are actually watered down and easier than the ones we took back when were in HS…and those exams were already considered a joke by many kids in the NYCSHS back in the day. </p>
<p>A dear friends dd goes to Hunter College High School. She is a junior and always complains that most of her classmates cheat on a regular basis. Not only do they cheat, but they have high paid tutors at their disposal for each and every subject. This girl has to work 10 times as hard to keep up with her classmates who have the extra supports outside the classroom and then they cheat to top it all off…oh yes, they are also able to get their hands on ADD meds to help on occasion as well. </p>
<p>Sounds like something that was just going to happen. The options are to allow cheating so no one commits suicide out of shame of cheating, or to not allow cheating and expect that people don’t kill themselves for being caught, I think we have to go with not allowing cheating. </p>
<p>This sounds unpreventable. You could argue that it’s a case that the drive for perfection drove her to it, but what should we do, dis-encourage striving for perfection? </p>
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<p>Certainly unpreventable by the teacher. If she hadn’t been caught, but instead got a “gasp” “C” on the test, could that have set her off? Certainly possible.</p>
<p>The parents and neighbors knew that she had some serious issues - she disappeared for 3 days and when she came back it was very tense. That seems like a warning sign for some serious issues. I don’t know if the parents did anything at that point and even if they did if it could have prevented this.</p>
<p>I think the point of this incident was that the teacher was being unnecessarily inappropriate when she caught her cheating. Everyone else was still taking a timed exam, there’s no need to go off preaching while they’re on the clock. Second, that was not the time nor the place to be “scolding” her for cheating; just take her packets up, ask her to put her cell phone down, and whisper to her that her test has been invalidated and that she can either go to a different room or sit quietly. Lastly, I do not understand in the slightest why you would continue to shame her when she starts crying. I don’t really care whether or not the teacher “believed” it, that’s inappropriate, unprofessional, and downright mean. Not allowing someone to cheat is one thing, but being cruel to someone who clearly isn’t retaliating is going over the line to me. </p>
<p>I don’t see how some people can’t realize that for some students, you can’t put them down any harder than they put down themselves… It’s seems in this case Omotayo already knew the gravity of what she did once she was caught, and her beginning to cry meant that she knew she had nothing to excuse herself for. Adding insult to injury isn’t the proper way to get a point across. This article shows how the pressure we put on high-achieving students can kill. A classmate of mine killed herself for reasons like this and it was devastating to me how people washed over it because “she was just mental in the head, it’s not like we could have done something for her”. We shouldn’t make kids feel like they have to strive to be perfect, just that they should put their all into everything that they do. It’s a big difference in outlook, but students would be better off for it.</p>
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<p>Who pressured her to be a high-achieving student?</p>
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<p>Really? So a person needs to give 100% into everything they do? Even if the person plans to be an English major, they should study 100% for a calculus exam rather than being happy with a “C” and using their time on what they are interested and talented in? That sounds like a mantra that is putting pressure on a student…which is what you are against.</p>
<p>Lightheart, nice post. I agree that some people feel parenta/socetal pressure to excel, but some have an intrinsic desire to perform at their best. How many teens are perfectionists? Children raised in the same home will have different responses to criticism. You look at one child sternly, and they crumble or cry. others will be punished for the same offense, and continue to test the limits. </p>
<p>If I rely on what has been posted on this discussion board, this teacher cared more about making her point than all the other students, taking a timed test, who didn’t need drama. This girl crumbled, and teacher continued her tirade. So insensitive to everyone. </p>
<p>I think that you are all making a lot of assumtpions about the poor boohooing cheater and the evil teacher that are not borne out by the accounts that <em>I</em> read.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that there’s more to this story, specifically concerning this girl’s emotional state.</p>
<p>The teacher probably could have handled the situation more sensitively, but it is cruel and absurd to blame her for the student’s tragically extreme reaction. How many people can honestly say that they’ve NEVER raised their voice in frustration or anger to a family member employee, service worker, etc, perhaps when others were around? And probably with less justification than that of a teacher confronted by a cheating student as well. </p>
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<p>Sometimes, the best way to get the attention of other students and to underscore the gravity and seriousness of a given offense is precisely to do what this teacher did. </p>
<p>In the academic context, cheating…especially on an exam is a felony-level offense. </p>
<p>Do it at the undergrad level…especially at institutions with honor codes that are taken seriously and one may find they could be suspended or expelled on the first offense depending on the severity of the offense and the given college. </p>
<p>Then again, what this teacher did wouldn’t have been considered worthy of criticism from most parents or unusual back then. </p>
<p>Especially considering NYC area private elementary schools could and did expel students for much less serious offenses…and weren’t shy about giving the students and sometimes their parents the third degree about it before doing so. </p>