Cheating

This is the time of year when students get a bit desperate. Third quarter grades will soon be closing. The fourth quarter - the last of the year - is on the horizon. Those students who slacked off during the first half of the year are trying to catch up and improve their GPA. Parents are irate. Teachers are nagging. Students are stressed.

And, when students get stressed, they make poor choices. One of these poor choices is to cheat their way through classes. Now, cheating is not a new thing. In fact, cheating has been a part of teachers' lives for as long as teaching has been a profession (or calling, depending on how you view it). As such, one would think that teachers are experts at recognizing cheating when it occurs. Let me set the record straight here - teachers are NOT experts at recognizing cheating. In fact, many teachers have no understanding of modern forms of cheating. For example, few teachers realize that students share homework information via Facebook chats. Even less teachers are aware that students download full essays from the Internet and turn them in as their own examples of writing. As long as teachers are unaware of the ways students cheat today, the education that they are trying to pass along is degraded.

The question of whether to cheat or not is essentially a moral or ethical question. Many believe that cheating is really sharing or simply taking advantage of resources and opportunities. Others feel that finding, analyzing, and retaining information on your own is the best way to go. As we progress into a future where information is readily available, literally at your fingertips, using this readily available information - for any purpose - is becoming more acceptable. The possible effects stemming from NOT having this information at our fingertips is ignored.

For this week's posting I would like you to read the following articles related to student cheating. Reflect upon the contents and create a posting that showcases your opinions on cheating and also includes references (with parenthetical citations) from the articles.

Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating
University of Central Floria Cheating Scandal

Old Stories

As we move into our short story unit I would like you all to think about what makes a great story. Many would argue that beyond the typical writing techniques that are hailed (character development, use of literary techniques, etc.), a unique, engaging plot is a necessity of a great story. But, what happens when all of our stories have been told? What happens when, through the glut of social media and ubiquity of entertainment, we have been exposed to most of those stories about human existence that we wish to hear? How then can a unique story be created?

Take a couple of minutes to read Mark Harris' article "The Day the Movies Died" from GQ magazine. Although I don't wholly agree with Harris' argument, I can see the validity with some of what he espouses. Audiences love to hail the films that look interesting or star favorite actors and actresses. Unfortunately, those films that strive to tell a unique story are not given the green light.

Perhaps the most poignant part of Harris' article is at the end when a studio executive admits, "We don't tell stories anymore." He infers in previous portions of the article that the lack of storytelling is due to movie studios sticking with safe scripts, but I would argue that this lack of storytelling is due to a decline in the ability to create new stories. As a result we are seeing a ton of sequels, adaptations, and remakes crowding theaters and "enticing" moviegoers.

What is your opinion on what both Harris and I have to say about the quality of contemporary storytelling? Be sure to use specific examples to support your argument...