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From: jcz@sas.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Cheating vs. Learning
Message-ID: <235@sas.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 15-May-87 13:25:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: sas.235
Posted: Fri May 15 13:25:08 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 16-May-87 17:13:32 EDT
References: <170800003@uiucdcsb>
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.,Cary NC,25712
Lines: 29
Summary: Cheating as an ethical question


ollaberating on an assignment is not cheating - unless
the assignment explicitly states otherwise.   My sister got into
an emotional tangle at UNC Chapel Hill one year when they got
so SS-like that any collaberation on any assignment in any subject
was considered cheating.   Just asking a fellow student what the
assignment was could get you in deep shit if that fellow or an
eavesdropper reported you to the right authority.   *Sigh*
This sort of attitude puts an undue stress on honest people
which is patently immoral - the basis, no doubt, for our
assumed innocense in the courts.

[ Sidebar - they would never do that at my alma m. good ol' NCSU
because most students there NEED help with their reading. :-) ]

Cheating is a problem only for cheaters.   The end result is that
they waste karma on piddlin' task and lose 'character'.   Understanding
that cheating is pointless is an important thing for Schools to teach.
Teaching that cheating is simply criminal has no affect.  Most cheaters
probably know that.  Learning how to achieve in the face of adversity,
how to fail with grace, and the necessity for honesty - these are also
learned in the Schools.


-- 
--jcz
John Carl Zeigler
SAS Institute Inc.
Cary, NC  27511           (919) 467-8000        ...!mcnc!rti-sel!sas!jcz