Sample Dialogue 0
Sample Dialogue: A Case of Cheating by Gary Pavela
The best way to demonstrate the characteristics and benefits of ethical dialogue in the disciplinary setting is to present a dialogue in its entirety. The following sample portrays an extended discussion between a college dean and an upperclass student about an incident of cheating. The discussion is longer than might be anticipated, and is developed at length so a broad range of ideas can be explored. Some observers will find the student in this dialogue capable and assertive--but not dramatically so, considering the academic quality of students now being attracted to many campuses. Also, the fictional dean has clearly decided not to "talk down" to the student, and seems determined to treat him as a full partner in a challenging inquiry. The contents of the dialogue are not designed as a model for all institutions, particularly those with a religious affiliation. What is suggested, however, is that efforts to engage students in ethical inquiry should be an essential component of the college and university disciplinary process.
Sample Dialogue: A Case of Cheating
Dean: You 've been accused of using a crib sheet during an examination. I understand you admit your responsibility for the offense. Is that correct?
Student: Yes.
Dean: Since the basic facts are not in dispute, let 's consider some of the broader issues involved. 1
What would you say was ethically wrong about cheating?
Student: Well, cheating violates the rules.
Dean: But Martin Luther King violated some of the rules of his society. Do you feel his acts of civil disobedience were wrong in an ethical sense?
Student: No, but I don 't see the connection.
Dean: It 's a general principle we 're exploring at this point. Is it your position that the morality of our behavior should be defined solely by the rules, or the law?
Student: No.
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Dean: So, what do you think was wrong about your behavior, besides
The best way to demonstrate the characteristics and benefits of ethical dialogue in the disciplinary setting is to present a dialogue in its entirety. The following sample portrays an extended discussion between a college dean and an upperclass student about an incident of cheating. The discussion is longer than might be anticipated, and is developed at length so a broad range of ideas can be explored. Some observers will find the student in this dialogue capable and assertive--but not dramatically so, considering the academic quality of students now being attracted to many campuses. Also, the fictional dean has clearly decided not to "talk down" to the student, and seems determined to treat him as a full partner in a challenging inquiry. The contents of the dialogue are not designed as a model for all institutions, particularly those with a religious affiliation. What is suggested, however, is that efforts to engage students in ethical inquiry should be an essential component of the college and university disciplinary process.
Sample Dialogue: A Case of Cheating
Dean: You 've been accused of using a crib sheet during an examination. I understand you admit your responsibility for the offense. Is that correct?
Student: Yes.
Dean: Since the basic facts are not in dispute, let 's consider some of the broader issues involved. 1
What would you say was ethically wrong about cheating?
Student: Well, cheating violates the rules.
Dean: But Martin Luther King violated some of the rules of his society. Do you feel his acts of civil disobedience were wrong in an ethical sense?
Student: No, but I don 't see the connection.
Dean: It 's a general principle we 're exploring at this point. Is it your position that the morality of our behavior should be defined solely by the rules, or the law?
Student: No.
www.IntegritySeminar.org • contact@IntegritySeminar.org
Dean: So, what do you think was wrong about your behavior, besides
Cited: in Gitta Sereny, Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth (Vintage, 1996). 12 This perspective is drawn from Aristotle 's Nicomachean Ethics (Macmillan, 1962, Ostwald, trans.), p. Behavioral science is contributing to the debate, reflected in Edward O. Wilson 's observation in Consilience, (Knopf, 1998 pp A more traditional religious perspective is offered by philosopher William Barrett, in The Death of the Soul (Anchor, 1986, pp Stephen Jay Gould in a letter to the editor appearing in the January 14, 1993 New York Review of Books (p.