Many
students consider that to get a good grade is above all. They also put aside
the value of learning process as long as they are able to get the best grade.
In order to achieve that, students have their own ways; some are working hard
day and night while some others are taking the shortcut way by cheating.
Cheating, in the academic point of view, is defined as representing someone
else’s work as your own which can take many form, including sharing another’s
work, purchasing a term paper or test question in advance or paying another
work for you (Anonymous,1999). According to the International Center for
Academic Integrity, eight-six percent of high school students surveyed believe
that most students cheat. This needs to be stopped because cheating can cause
bad effects for students, such as; lowers students’ self-respect and confidence
and makes them grow as too dependent people. Thus, there are some ways that can
be chosen to prevent students’ cheating habit; parents should give the
understanding not to cheat in any occasion, teacher should remain vigilant on
every exam and teacher and parents should reduce the anxiety or competition
among students.
The first preventive way
to take is that parents should give the understanding to their children not to
cheat at any occasion. The basic reason why this kind of solution emerged is
because it is generally known that parents take the control in their children’s
development. Thus, the right direction from parents towards their children is
needed. Yet, in reverse, Jean M. Twenge, researcher and also author of the book
‘Generation Me” stated that since the 1960s, parenting has shifted away from
emphasizing obedience, honor and respect for authority to promoting children’s
happiness while stocking their ambition for material success. From that
statement, we can conclude that it is, indeed, crucial for parents to guide
their children to the right track, which is not to cheat, since parents give
big influence of what kind of person their children will grow up. Parents
should explain to their children that ambition is fine, but honesty and
integrity are more important than academic success achieved through deceit
(Anonymous, 2014). An example that suits with this issue is; a child who has
been given the understanding not to cheat at any occasion from their parents is
likely to grow up as an honest person. It stays in his/her mind that cheating
is bad and he/she should not do that no matter happens. Although the
environment pushes him/her to cheat, he will be able to ignore that and give
his best on his own. Parents also have to direct their children to their
interest and talent that they are fond. That thought suits with Undang Undang Dasar 1945 that commands
government to educate nation’s welfare. UU
No.23 Tahun 2003 also supports this idea by stating that every child has
the right to be educated in order to develop their characteristic and
intelligence that is appropriate with their interest. This way will minimize
the possibility of cheating since they do things that they really love. Thus,
they will obtain a deep understanding on that particular thing.
The second way to stop
cheating habit is that teacher should remain vigilant on every exam or test. Undang Undang Dasar 1945 verse 31
section 1 stated that every citizen has the right to get education. Education
in here means the best education possible, and prevent them from cheating is
one of the criteria of good education. Students have hundreds ways to cheat,
and most of them can be done if they deceive their teachers. To keep that from
happening, teachers’ awareness of cheating methods is really necessary. Dr.
Daniel Kaplan, a clinical psychologist who specializes in academic
underachievement, said that instructors need to be very aware of all the
possible mechanism of cheating and do what they can to make cheating more
difficult, i.e.; instructors may use different version of an exam for classes
meeting at different times so that morning class students do not share answers
with afternoon class students. If teachers succeed in being vigilant to prevent
cheating, it is more likely that students will have no other choice than to
study hard to face the exam and do not even have time to think about cheating
anymore. Kaplan added that teachers and school administrators should provide
very clear definition of cheating to students as well as very clear
consequences. It means that teachers need to give punishment to students who
are caught cheating. It will give lesson for both the doers and other students
in hope that they do not do that again and will not be dare to do that in
future. Another example that related to cheating in exam can happen when
cheating starts to be contagious. A student gets the attempt to cheat in an
exam because the teacher does not aware with that. When the result is out, that
student gets the best mark among all students. In that case, other students are
more likely to feel envy to him and it is so possible for them to try to cheat
in the next exam. And at the end, cheating became trend among them. This
illustration is really suitable with Kaplan’s statement; if their classmates
are cheating and getting better grades than they are, it creates a lot of
pressure to join on the cheating in order to keep up. Thus, once again,
teachers’ awareness and presence are so important to prevent cheating from
happening around students.
The last, yet not least,
a preventive way to take is that parents and teachers should reduce the anxiety
or competition for the students. Donald L. McCabe, a professor at the Rotgers
University Business School and a leading researcher on cheating, stated that
there is not any question that students have become more competitive under more
pressure, and, as a result, they tend to excuse more from themselves and other
students, and that is abetted by the adults around them. We can infer from this
statement that students are often being pressured by their parents’ demand that
they have to be the best, does not matter whatever it takes. Teachers also play
this role by making their students compete in order to be number one in class
in terms on grade, not the process that they have through. McCabe also added
that there have always been struggling students who cheat to survive, but more
and more there are students at the top who cheat to thrive. It means that
nowadays, students not only cheat to pass, but also cheat in order to give
their parents or teachers something to brag. Demands from their parents and teachers make
them think that it is okay to cheat as long as their parents or teacher are
happy and proud with them. Thus, parents and teachers have to tell the students
that they do not ask them to do whatever it takes to win. They have to work
very hard, which is studying, to gain something sweet, which is good score.
They have to give the understanding that the process is more important than the
grade so that they will not feel being pressured by their parents and teacher.
They will be able to enjoy the learning process and try to give their best on
it.
To sum up, students’
cheating habit is a bad influence for children and may cause some bad effects
for them too. It needs and can be stopped if we do some preventive ways, some
of which are; parents should give the understanding not to cheat in any
occasion, teacher should remain vigilant on every exam and teacher and parents
should reduce the anxiety or competition among students. Hence, it will be
better for us if we do those preventive ways before everything is too late and
unfixable.
References:
https://themash.com/blog/news/2011/10/27/dishonor-roll-a-new-study-says-students-who-cheat-keep-cheating-as-adults-/
Undang
Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia 1945.
PALUPI SEKAR APSARI
130222614305/H
TASK 2
(Academic Persuasive)
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