Students learn that cheating pays

By Shahid Naqvi on Jun 18, 08 06:00 PM in Education

It appears students are increasingly cheating. As well as cutting and pasting the work of others off the internet, they are now paying freelancers to do their work for them. It's called contract cheating.

The problem of all this, of course, is that when it comes to a real life work situation where they have to think for themselves they won't have the skills.
Part of what learning is about is training the mind to problem solve. To develop effective communication skills and showing an ability to understand concepts.
That's why it is wrong when people attack minority subjects like classics claiming they do not relate to the real world. It's not so much the information that is important but the thinking skills students develop by studying such subjects.
There is a danger that today's students - increasingly driven by the need to get a good grade and a good job to pay off their growing study debts - will do what ever it takes to get a result.
Cheating, it seems, is an acceptable way of getting to the top.
But don't just take my word for it - ask Apprentice contestant Lee McQueen who despite lying on his CV still went on to win the show and gain a top job with Sir Alan Sugar.

Comments (2)

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2 Comments

Ursula said:

Well, thank you, few sing the praises of a classical education any longer, learning for learning's sake; not just with a view to a grade.

These days it's hard to come by any school offering Latin or, heaven forbid, Greek. You are more likely to find an obscure Chinese dialect on a school's menu.

As to cheating, Shahid, let's not be holier-than-thou; we all did it, or at least tried to. Before a maths exam I used to sleep with the books under my pillow hoping to learn by osmosis.

If you ever need to know how to embellish your CV, in order to land a job, why not ask a woman who took time out to look after her child herself: Pure phantasy - or you won't stand a chance; unless you apply to stack shelves.

What counts is that you know you can do the job and then deliver. Though I suppose, voicing my view, I have just blown my chances with the Birmingham Post.

June 19, 2008 11:51 AM

Shahid Naqvi said:

Don't worry Ursula - we've all got made up CVs here! (only joking).

June 20, 2008 10:38 AM