Math said:
In exams, we look up for inspiration, down for desperation, left and right for information.
Do You agree on this??
Father: Why did you get such a low score in that exam?
Son: Absence!
Father: You were absent on the day of the exam?
Son: No but the boy who sits next to me was!
I totally reject the "looking left and right for information" for the following reasons:
1. It is morally and ethically wrong. That is reason enough not to do it. The one who cheats is lying about his abilities.
2. It shows that the person doing so has a misplaced emphasis on grades, as if grades were the be-all, end-all. Grades are highly over-rated. When you interview for your
first job, you
might be asked about your grades (unlikely, actually). I can almost guarantee you that when you interview for any job after that, you will not be asked for your grades.
3. It shows that the person doing so has very little interest in understanding the material (see my signature). The person who really wants to understand the material has to wrestle with it himself. Understanding and being able to apply the material is the really important thing in school.
4. If the person doing so were to realize how over-bloated his evaluation of grades are, he would see that the risks of getting caught simply aren't worth the payoff. (This is a pragmatic reason and, to my mind, much weaker than my reason # 1 above).
Reasons in favor of cheating: none.
I should also comment that here at Math Help Boards, we take a very dim view of cheating. We are quite willing to take any proof of wrong-doing all the way to the student's school. MHB has zero tolerance for cheating.
