Reported someone I suspected of cheating during an exam.

[Pattonias]

As amusing as it is to read these threads I think I can see both sides of the argument. A cheater deserves to get caught. If you are caught by a peer or the teacher, you earned the reward regardless. When you decide to cheat a rational person should accept the punishment.

I cheated a few times in High School, but it hurt me in the long run. It didn't help me much when I got to college math I have to admit. I was rightfully terrified of getting kicked out of college so I don't do anything that might create the appearance of cheating.

I think that not telling the teacher out of fear or reprisal from the student or faculty for being a "tattle tail" is a legitimate fear, but shouldn't be the reason you don't tell. I probably wouldn't tell out of total indifference. It would be really amusing to me how bad this guy was at it. I mean he obviously wasn't a very good cheater. Who would throw the cheat sheet on the floor for everyone to see? Who would think that it would be OK to throw the wrapper on the gymnasium floor? This guy probably was doing poorly in the class and wasn't the cheating kind. He couldn't hold a straight face, and he couldn't hide his emotions from the rest of the class.

In your defense, I think that the guy was a experimenting cheater, and probably will never cheat again as a result of your actions. If he had gotten away with it he could have become more comfortable with cheating.

Moonbear, I would be terrified to cheat in your class. It looks like you have made a sport of it.


I think cheating is wrong, and I wouldn't feel comfortable as an engineer who essentially built his career on lies. I want to feel that I earned my degree and be able to offer an honest and knowledgeable opinion when I really start my career.

 

[BobG]

I think cheating is wrong, and I wouldn't feel comfortable as an engineer who essentially built his career on lies. I want to feel that I earned my degree and be able to offer an honest and knowledgeable opinion when I really start my career.

Screw school. An engineer cheating on the job (fudging results that just never seem to come up right, etc) can result in deaths and lawsuits.

 

[Pattonias]

Screw school. An engineer cheating on the job (fudging results that just never seem to come up right, etc) can result in deaths and lawsuits.

Exactly, if you are cheating your way through your exams you are purposely impairing your ability to make sound decisions when you become an engineer in the real world.

 

[Dembadon]

If I were going to report someone, I'd have to be 100% positive they were cheating. I wouldn't take action based on speculation or suspicion alone.

I'll accept the "tattletale" label from those who wish to defend dishonest behavior.

 

[sportsstar469]

in my gen chem class the teacher would always leave the room during quizzes or exams. i found this very strange, since its never happened before. on the first exam, everyone started talking, and he reprimanded the whole class. i was kind of thinking, that he couldn't blame them for cheating if he left the rooms. anyway no one cheated ever again so it worked. he said in some schools teachers are not permitted to be in the rooms during exams due to the honor sysems.

 

[General_Sax]

I'll accept the "tattletale" label from those who wish to defend dishonest behavior.


I'm a mature student, so I don't know my fellow student's personally. So I'm not too concerned with social labels.

If they defend dishonest behavior, then I don't care what they say about me at all.

I'll admit, it'll be embarrassing if I ever learn that he wasn't cheating.

Not too embarrassed though. I don't believe I'd be at fault for suspecting him of cheating, given the circumstances.



Who would throw the cheat sheet on the floor for everyone to see?

I know. If he had just held on to the paper, there would've been no way to confirm whether he was cheating or not, barring a physical search.

 

[~christina~]

I personally don't care whether someone else is cheating in the room or even if I see them doing it. (I have witnessed it numerous times) The reasoning behind this is that I think it's more productive to worry about doing well on your own exam rather than worrying about what other people around you are doing. It diminishes your own concentration and what they are doing (or not doing) doesn't affect your grade at all. (whilst wondering if someone else is cheating and whether or not you should report them, might) The only exception to this would be if someone was trying cheat off my exam. This would warrant action on my part.

 

[General_Sax]

^

Maybe I don't understand grade curving.

If the course is 'curved', then how could cheating not affect my grade?

 

[xxChrisxx]

Ohnoes!

 

[ranger]

I don't know the point of this thread anymore. The OP seems to be about asking whether the right or wrong thing was done. When the answer was you should have kept your mouth shut and why you should have done so, then the follow up response is a justification for the actions taken. Seems the point of this thread has become to clear the guilty conscious of the OP.

 

[xxChrisxx]

^

Maybe I don't understand grade curving.

If the course is 'curved', then how could cheating not affect my grade?

Ok you want to be vindicated.
"Well done General Sax, you did the right thing calling attention to a potential infraction to exam rules and regulations, exposing an alleged cheater and thus possibly saving everyone's grades."

There, feel better?

Can we drop the subject now.

 

[Virtuous]

Exactly, if you are cheating your way through your exams you are purposely impairing your ability to make sound decisions when you become an engineer in the real world.

I agree, correct me if I am wrong though, don't you think that with that the chances that someone fresh out of school is going to design a work ready bridge without any review is very realistic? My decision of take a bridge or a long away around depends on it. I would expect a pretty rigorous method to insure safety by real engineers. I doubt a cheater could fool someone unless he was intelligent in the first place. Then again a person that smart wouldn't cheat, they would see that there is no long term solution to it and just go at it the standard way, and actually learn it.

I am swaying towards academic institutions laziness to evolve. I personally never saw cheating as advantageous for that reason, Like Duct taping a leaky facet...You have to fix it eventually. Where is the innovation in school though? People will cheat regardless, it's like drugs. You throw information at someone, and you hope if they can answer a couple of questions with an acceptable level of correctness that they are competent. People want things, they have needs. Some people are willing to take risks.

Why not test people in different ways. They have the resources, they can conduct tests, Isn't this the next step in advancing society? Seems like everyone is more concerned with short term issues, where we go in circles.

I guess that is another subject though.

 

[rootX]

I
Why not test people in different ways. They have the resources, they can conduct tests, Isn't this the next step in advancing society? Seems like everyone is more concerned with short term issues, where we go in circles.

What are those different ways?