Consequences of Cheating

In reference to education, my idea of cheating is when a student engages in a practice that is unacceptable in order to complete and pass any given assignment by the professors, or schools standards. The different methods of cheating have changed and evolved over the past years, and like any other unethical decision has continued to result in consequences that could possibly affect students for the rest of their lives. I remember my classmates in elementary school cheating on tests and getting caught most of the time. Many of my classmates in high school got after school detention for cheating, and today a lot of those same classmates are still known as liars and cheaters because they grew accustomed to such actions and are still cheating and lying their way through life. Cheating on exams back when I was in high school usually involved more obvious gestures that were easily detectable by teachers. They were things like writing notes in the palms of hands or stretching the neck just far enough to peek at a neighbors answers. It is much harder in this day and age for teachers and professors to detect cheating due to advanced technology students have access to, such as the internet. Students can obtain countless varieties of information online to help them cheat on exams. Online articles and question forums can provide students with the exact answers they are looking for in order to pass an exam. It is especially easy for students taking college courses at home through an online college such as Penn Foster. I am a Penn Foster student and I do not have a professor standing over me observing whether I am cheating or not, that’s where it’s up to me as a student to make the right decision and not cheat. The most common reason, in my opinion, for students to cheat is the desire to pass their course with the highest possible grade point average. A student’s grade point average affects the way their possible employers feel about hiring jobseekers fresh out of college; the higher the grade point average, the more likely it is that a person will get the job. For this reason, some students will naturally do whatever it takes to keep that average as high as possible. A student may be desperate to get accepted into a graduate school which would put them under great pressure. The pressure to be successful in accomplishing their goals would make it more likely for them to cheat. Some forms of cheating are not always considered cheating, depending on the situation. If a student is given an exam and was informed that it is an open book exam, then it is not considered cheating because the professor gave permission to use the text books. In other cases this would not be acceptable, like in a closed book exam, where books and notes are not allowed for examinations. Needless to say, cheating can result in consequences that could affect a person for the rest of their life. For some, those consequences will come sooner rather than later. For example, say a student doesn’t get caught cheating their entire college years. They probably would think the coast is clear from that point on, but later on when that same student gets hired on with a company their work will most likely reflect their lack of knowledge. The work would probably not be acceptable to company standards, and would not be fulfilled adequately because in college they chose to cheat. If the job can’t get done properly by the employee, most likely that person will be fired. The most embarrassing consequence, I think , would be getting expelled from school, and from that point on being labeled a liar and a cheat. Just like when I said before about the same liars and cheaters from high school still following in those footsteps, that kind of reputation can follow a person for the rest of their life, and for some of my school mates, it did. What about applying for a promising position and the employer asks questions about previous college education? Would a person get hired if the employer knew about him or her getting expelled from school for being a liar and a cheater? It is highly unlikely anyone would get hired under those circumstances. The unethical decision to cheat obviously isn’t worth it in the long run. I have never cheated on an exam because I just don’t have the conscience for it. I take pride in my work and my reputation is important to me. If everyone had the same opinion as I do then I think there would be a lot more successful businesses in America. This practice has been around a long time though, so I don’t think it will be going anywhere anytime soon. The reward for being honest on exams in school and trying to be as knowledgeable as possible is definitely worth the investment. Cheating may lead to success quickly, but in the long run it is sure to lead to failure.