Trust No One?
I'm brand spanking new to teaching, so I have no experience in this, but it kind of seems to me like everyone is a suspect when it comes to cheating, like we expect it will happen. Maybe we should, I don't know. But for me, I've always had a personal policy of trusting everyone until they give me a reason not to. I haven't been burned too many times. I find that when you treat people with respect and give them your trust, usually you will get it back.
Am I just being naive?
Hi Larisa,
Great response! Some students are real sneaky, and they will come up with real creative ways to cheat. We just have to do all we can to minimize cheating.
Patricia Scales
I had this approach at first as well. I have only been teaching a couple years. I have taught a course 3 times and all 3 times I have been burned. Sometimes it is a student that you would least suspect. And the ones that help the cheater, are just as equally at fault. I think that even people with very honest hearts find it hard to resist an easy opportunity to cheat. When you just didn't study hard enough, and your neighbor is an A student, and you can see her scantron if you juuuuuust look over with your eyes.....
It happens...it's so sad, but it happens. I think it doesn't mean that you have to "trust no one", but you definitely need to be wise enough to reduce opportunity. A really sneaky cheating experience I had was when a student would have a question about the exam and call me over (so I left my visible spot and my attention was taken away), people would full-on share their answers while I was talking. :(
90% or more do not and will not. There will always be that small majority but yes, you have to watch them all.
Hi Caroline,
It is nice to hear you do not allow your pre-judgements to interfere in the classroom. Thank you for allowing everyone to enter with a clean slate. As a society, we are way too quick to prejudge.
Patricia
Hi Peter,
I agree that you should treat people with respect and give them your trust.
I too judge everyone like a clear white sheet of paper - and leave pre-judgements at home. I allow everyone to define who they are with me, and I leave my preconceived ideas at home. However if I catch a student cheating - Ill always consider them a cheat.
Caroline
Peter - I have been naively trusting my entire teaching career, most of which was spent teaching in medical schools prior to my failed attempt at retirement seven years ago, and I continue to be so. But I state directly in my course addendum that I do taking cheating seriously, and I will fail anyone who I can show has done so. I have rarely done so, and in my current teaching situation, it has only happened twice in seven years. My policy is much "harsher" than the institutional policy, but that is also my prerogative. I have my students sign a contract at the beginning of each class indicating that they have read all aspects of the course addendum - which we go over carefuly the first day of class - and that they agree to all aspects of the axddendum.
Hi Peter,
You are not being naive, but you have to watch all students. Sometimes those that are caught cheating are the ones least expected.
Patricia
No, I don't feel that you are being naive. I too find that when you treat people with respect and give them your trust, usually you will get it back. Part of giving them that respect is instilling in them, if they don't already have it, a respect for their chosen profession; a respect for themselves to become competent at what they intend to do as well.
