iPods, cameras, and phones have been banned during school. Teachers hand out different tests and do not allow their students to sit at the same table.
Nevertheless, many of the top percentage of Neuqua students still find a way around the rules.
The majority of the students put in long hours and work hard for their grades, and many of the top percent of the class have earned their rank.
But there are some students who do not choose to take the honest road and cheat their way to their spot.
There are some tricks across the board; writing answers on your arm, putting equations in your calculator, sneaking a peak at your notes when the teacher is not looking.
Many students work together, sharing answers by whispering or sliding their paper, and those who are experienced can very well get away with it.
There is the very popular choice of skipping the day of the test and asking as many people as you can about the questions. Some students change their answers on tests while self grading, or change their answer after a test is graded and claiming the teacher “over looked” something.
Many students have voiced complaints that their efforts are over shadowed by students who they do not feel deserve the grades they are receiving.
But there are only so many precautions faculty can take until it is in the students’ hands.
This article is not to say that Neuqua faculty does not do its best to prevent dishonesty and enforce fairness in all of its courses.
iPods were banned partially for this reason, the Foreign Language department requires students to retake tests in a teacher monitored room with their books and purses at the front of the room, and almost all math classes clear students’ calculators before a test.
Not only do they enforce their rules but a majority of teachers do circulate the room during tests, attempting to ensure that their students are as they say, “keeping their eyes on their own tests”.
So what can happen? Nothing. Students who are dishonest do not believe they are doing anything wrong by cheating, just doing what they have to in order to get ahead. Rules can be put in place, but there will always be someone there to challenge them, and that is simply the fact of any competition.
But at the risk of sounding cliche, what goes around, comes around.
Sure these students may have a higher class rank than you, and sure they might even get admitted into the top universities, but once they are post-high school, then that is when they begin to realize their mistakes.
Life after high school, specifically college, is a time of maturity. It is a time of taking responsibility, and learning your abilities.
In a few years, those who slid through the cracks of high school will be struggling to comprehend and keep up with their college courses.
In a couple more years, these students will realize that the basics that they never fully learned in high school are essential in being successful in any career.
So if you have pent up anger because it seems as if being honest worked against you, realize that high school is only a small portion of your life. And if you happen to be one of those students who still feels that cheating is just fine, then hopefully you will realize you are wrong before you have to learn first hand, the hard way.
ECHO Staff Editorial
