What would you do if you found your child was cheating?

[Carriel]

I'm afraid it's more fodder for Radio 5 - (see schools discussion) but feel a bit more out of my depth on this one - haven't reached the school stage let alone the cheating at school stage yet!

Apparently teenagers have been copying huge tracts of their essays from the internet. What do I think? I hate to say it but my first reaction was how clever of them to find it, and my second was - I'd tell mine it'd be best not to cos they'd get caught - and I thought I was morally straight??

Just wondered if anyone else had a view.

It depends. It isn't cheating, it's research. Is it any different to reading a book and switching the information around?

I was always confused at University at first because there you are told you have to use quotes from books to back up what you are saying. I felt that was cheating and it made me look stupid, like I didn't know the subject for myself. I got 7 out of 16 for my first essay because it was a subject I knew about so didn't use any books and all the people who had used endless books got full marks. Weird!!

this is for gcse/A level coursework, which is supposed to be entirely unassisted by teachers or parents - rather than just for homework. there are websites which give complete essays which a student can just copy and hand in...
if detected, the student is DISQUALIFIED from ALL its exams.
not clever and not worth it.

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bloss, i believe the websites offering "perfect answers" for coursework are run by students for students with the intention of bucking the system. i think they think it IS clever and obviously the lack of morality doesn't concern them.

i'm sure they will go far in today's society.

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Qualifications are needed to show you have an ability to learn and of course it shows you play the game and do as you're told eg attending school etc. But if someone cheats, they have got there unfairly. I knew someone who lent their coursework to another pupil. Both of them got found out and the one who cheated got thrown out of that subject and both got a letter sent home. It was an art exam. She didn't copy the work, they actually submitted the original work, thinking they wouldn't get caught!

Not really relevant but I think we are sometimes hard on young people. Most of the people I know who are older than me (eg in their 40's) left school with nothing or maybe that's why they get on their children's cases all the time, because they did the wrong things and don't want their kids doing the same.

bloss - how do you define cheating? a lot of our kids' friends' parents practically do some of their homework for them - when it's on the computer who can tell?
i was being sarcastic - or ironic - but i am also fairly cynical about our society these days.

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