When at random I tuned into the NPR the other day there was an interesting talk show on “academic dishonesty” in the US. One of the Duke University students, under scrutiny for cheating in academics, was telling his story. He was a brilliant guy who scored many “A” s without resorting to any underhand means, but somehow fell to the lure of plagiarism. He admitted his problem of becoming intensely insecure during the writing of his papers that he would not be able to complete the work well and was compelled to cheat. It was a shock to hear him admit he was being investigated for his third misdemeanor and would probably be “expelled this time”!!!
Wikipedia provides this alarming statistics.“Academic dishonesty is endemic in all levels of education. In the United States, studies show that 20% of students started cheating in the first grade. Similarly, other studies reveal that currently in the U.S., 56% of middle school students and 70% of high school students have cheated…. As for graduate education, a recent study found that 56% of MBA students admitted cheating, along with 54% of graduate students in engineering, 48% in education, and 45% in law”.(for a complete treatment of the finer aspects of cheating, check wikipedia for academic dishonesty) Its all about stealing, honey….Our own homeland would not boast such a high performance!
Many cheating theories have been proposed. The first one being the unbearable pressure of students to perform beyond their ability in a grade crazy world. With the parents and peers expecting nothing less than the best, shortcuts are inevitable. Then there is the American consumer theory which demands grade returns for the enormous amount of money spent. These are the newer ways of chasing the ever elusive American Dream. The student point of view is, if everyone can cheat, in politics, in religion, in business, why should we be left behind? After all, we are moving into the same positions and we need to find our way in this hard world. So the blame is not with the students, but with the leaders and the society at large who encouraged them cheat…
The bottom line is that, around half of us, our friends in these elite institutions have been stealing, something that which is not ours and are roaming unhindered. A few have been found out, like those 45 friends from Virginia Univ who had to pack up for stealing; but in most cases we have remained undetected. And that is exactly something that the Lord had been telling us not to do, that too for quite a long time. (Exodus 20) But we have cut corners, found our own reasons and we keep stealing. Its high time we did something about it.
Interstingly, this has something to do with the rich young guy who we are to meet this Sunday (Matthew.19: 14ff). He comes with an enquiry for eternal life. Jesus specifiaclly asks him about the commandments, including the stealing clause. He is very sure about them being observed. Still he is not confident of eternity. Jesus finds his addiction; it is those riches that he is clinging to, that makes his life meaningless and miserable. It is a fact proved by economics that wherever there is an amassing of wealth, there has been a stealing involved, of resouces or labour or opportunities. Either the young rich man has been unjust to amass this wealth, or he has inherited a stolen legacy of wealth. The prophets of Israel always quarelled with the rich who were holding back the wages of the poor. (Deut 24:15, Amos 5:11)
This is a time for academic integrity. As youth committed to Christ, we need to be confident in God who looks beyond mere grades, who does not judge by the outward appearance but who discerns the inner being. God knows our stressful situations, our weaknesses. And he fills us with His grace and His power. He requires us to walk upright before Him (Micah 6). It is not just the way we behave on a Sunday morning.
Technology made stealing easy. Just google it, cut it and paste it. Beware; technology has made it easy to find the thief and the stolen goods too. Tech savvy Profs need just to turn in the wonderfully written essays to turnitin.com to now how much of it is wonderfully stolen!!! It would pinpoint within minutes the plagiarized content and even the source of the stolen stuff. The mysterious ways of God!!! Therefore it is not just BETTER to be true; it is even SAFE to be true too…
Have a fantastic Youth Sunday 2007
Samachn,
after a long while…