I selected those pictures because they are so representative of what is happening in our schools. I’m sure they could be very appropriate on a humor page as well, for anyone who thinks cheating is funny, like many of the students interviewed in the reports I was speaking of.

Actually, the information I am sharing is very serious and indicative of major problems in our education system and our society.

Since it is EXTREMELY difficult to get people to sit still for a photo when they are cheating, I am forced to use stock photos. Although those stock photos may look funny, they are true representations of the 60%-90% of students who freely admit to cheating and are, therefore, sad!

Thank you for your comment!

Therefore I thought you were joking? Anyway. Peace.

@ Marko S. . .Yes, I was shocked and appalled too! What amazed me was the blatant and unapologetic attitudes.

@ Superglue_Shooter. . .I’m sorry, but I seem to have given you the wrong impression. I would love for you to take some time and read my posts so you can understand that this entire blog is devoted to showing that our schools (including our university system) are failing our country miserably. I do not, and have never felt, that a college degree was an indicator of status or worth. But I would very much like to see our schools actually doing what our tax dollars are allocated for them to do, educating American students.
On a Personal Note: Dear Super, I was already a grandmother before I went back to school and actually got a college degree. The lack of a degree had never stopped me from being a productive member of society, a successful businesswoman, and a loving mother. I went back to school to learn to be a Coronary nurse after my husband’s first heart attack. 25 years later, I’m grateful I’ve had that nursing experience to help us get through 5 more heart attacks, open-heart surgery and now a much healthier lifestyle. I shudder to think what I might not have known to help him if I had cheated my way through nursing school.
Be happy, Airman.

@ vonzeppelin . . . Ironic, isn’t it? But I still believe in my heart that nothing can replace a sense of true accomplishment. It must be frightening to know that everything is built on a web of deceit. Or, I could just be fooling myself.

@ Darlene . . . It looks like we old timers are the only ones who remember a better way. Integrity is obsolete according to the studies. More than that, it’s considered foolish. Yep, doctors who cheated their way through medical school is just one example of what our society has to look forward to if we don’t make changes. What’s that old out-dated saying? something about “reaping what we sow”?

@ Buck . . . Yes, I think the med students’ cheating has probably scared all of us. But it is just the tip of the iceburg. You bring up a valid point about studying not being “cool”. That’s one of the problems Don addresses in his book. He had students who came to him with that attitude, because they hadn’t been taught to see a bigger vision and a better way. I know this is a problem that can be changed in our schools, because I talk to his former students who are grateful that he showed them how to succeed. If Don could do it, other teachers can also. If his students could win big “fair and square”, then other students could too.

We have to show, and prove, a better way. And that is sadly lacking in our society at present.

Thank you for your insights,
Brennan

@ Kate . . . No, this is definitely NOT a joke! It’s sad, but true.

@ Clara . . . The picture does show it, doesn’t it? When I was in school, no one would have gotten away with this blatant behavior.

@ Alex . . . OOOh! That IS scary! I knew this behavior would lead to bad repercussions for our society, but I hadn’t even thought about soon-to-be-doctors who cheated on tests! Yikes!

@ Ross . . . I know where you’re coming from. I’ve always graduated first in my class and did it the honorable way. Even when I went back for graduate work, I couldn’t imagine that people could be so cavalier about cheating. But you bring up an excellent point . . . with the way things are now set up, with programs like No Child Left Behind, everything is based on ROI. Seems most don’t want to put forth the necessary effort to succeed honestly, or they feel incapable of winning fairly. SAD!

@ Evelyn . . . I have no idea what the situation is in Singapore, but cheating is widespread here in the USA. (That’s where the studies were done.) You really hit on the whole point of my postings: values and morals are not being taught to our youth. Most now see getting ahead by any means as the practical approach to life. It’s the old “ends justifying the means” all over again.

@ Firi . . . Yes, it’s sad!

Thank you for your responses!

This cheating epidemic is pointing to a lack of integrity in our young people. It ties in with stealing prescription drugs from their parents and grandparents. Kids are being raised with no moral compass, and it’s scary to envision our future. I’m old enough to remember when they took prayer out of public schools. This was when this downhill moral slide started. Over the past 45 years, it’s become an avalanche. I don’t know what the answer is now.