Does cheating have a code of conduct?
“Hey, did you study?” asked a student in my 10th grade history class, right before a big test. He showed me his notes, trying to convince me to cheat with him and two other kids. “Come sit with us,” he urged. I hadn’t studied either. I thought about copying the answers like they wanted me to, but I decided against it. It just didn’t feel right. In fact, it made me a little angry. These boys cheated all the time, using some low trick just to get a passing grade. When I thought about the perspective of those who had studied, I got mad, because these guys were trying to get the same result without working for it. I felt like I had to choose whether to be honest and fair to those who did study, or be loyal to these “friends.” I decided to tip the teacher off about the cheating, but without saying who was doing it. “Miss xxxxx, can we use the textbook and handouts during the test? I saw someone using them,” I said. “No, nothing. Everything off the tables now,” she said as she started walkin
