{"id":2742,"date":"2020-02-07T09:16:30","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T14:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=2742"},"modified":"2020-02-07T09:16:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T14:16:36","slug":"cheating-on-the-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2020\/02\/07\/cheating-on-the-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheating on the Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When There\u2019s a Will<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I am an old high school teacher, so I have had the opportunity to study many, many kinds of cheaters.  In the old days we had the basic cheaters:  looking at someone else\u2019s test, stealing the test key and writing down the answers, scribing in ink on hands, arms, legs, top of feet, and that one strange kid who had the entire test key on his belly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were the \u201ccrib\u201d noters, with tiny, tiny pieces of paper, carefully filled with needed equations or factoids.  In the event of emergency, the scraps could be quickly wadded up and discarded, or in the extreme, swallowed.  And then there were \u201ccommittee\u201d cheaters, groups who would design sectional crib notes, then stealthily pass them among the class during the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic Age<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But even in those ancient times before computers and cell phones, we had the \u201cadvanced\u201d cheaters, the kids that spent so much time prepping to cheat, they should have just studied \u2013 it would\u2019ve been easier.  There was the guy who carefully arranged the \u201csmart\u201d kid to sit diagonally from the very shiny silver fire extinguisher.  He made his grades on the reflection, making sure he only got a \u2018C+\u2019.  An \u2018A\u2019 would be far too suspicious.  He would also try to array multiple smart kids around him.  It gave him the option of taking the majority answer in case there was a controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there was the \u201chat\u201d kid.  Every answer was written in near microdots on the inside of the brim.  If the teacher let him keep it on, there was a lot of squinting up.  If he had to take it off, there was a lot of glancing down at the floor.  Either way, he had whatever answer he needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course modern technology brought technical cheating advances.  There are the earplug kids.  A student from the period before recites the answers from a copied, photographed or purloined test, while the hardwired cheater writes them carefully down.  This also has variations in texts, photos, and such.  And there is the \u201cGoogler\u201d, ready to reach for \u201ca friend\u201d to determine the appropriate response, even for essay questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retribution <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a teacher, you had to assume there were cheaters in your class.  You were on guard: vigilant as students took their exams, suspicious of those with exactly the same wrong answers, and cautious of electronic theft.  You took precautions:  multiple versions of the same test, long walks through the aisles, a seat carefully chosen in the back of the room so students wouldn\u2019t see where you were looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short answer was \u2013 someone was always trying, and if you assumed your class wasn\u2019t cheating, you most certainly were wrong.  The entire school knew which class was \u201ceasy\u201d to cheat in. If you didn\u2019t try to catch cheaters, they would try it again and again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when you caught someone cheating, it was important to \u201cmake an example\u201d.  I wouldn\u2019t hold them up to public ridicule; that\u2019s just wrong no matter the offense.  No, I used a zero on the test, a call to parents, and a word to guidance counselors.  All served to \u201cmotivate\u201d the cheater to change their ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Cheaters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Getting elected to President of the United States is the biggest test of all.  There are a myriad of ways to cheat, to find a way to shortcut the system in your favor, or make it worse for your opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it\u2019s cooperating with a foreign nation, or enflaming the electorate on social media.\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps it\u2019s stealing information or strategies, so that you can better counter with your own tactics.\u00a0\u00a0Or, it’s simple slander, telling lies about the person. Once those hit the Media, they can never be disproved or ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Like cheating in class, the excuse of proclaiming that \u201ceverybody does it\u201d just doesn\u2019t fly.  First of all it\u2019s not true, not everybody does cheat in class, or in political campaigns.  Secondly, it\u2019s reasonable concept that someone running for leadership in our society shouldn\u2019t \u201ccheat\u201d.  It might sound quaint, but that should be the \u201cnorm\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Consequences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But when you catch someone cheating, the surest way to encourage him or her to do it again is to have NO consequences.  Let\u2019s look at the Trump Campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n