Um, yeah, so I'm totally cheating today. The girl in the story--not named Ximena. Although, I do generally change students' names. (They are minors, after all.) And I have run across a girl named Ximena. She's three years younger and a pleasure to have in class. Not blog-worthy at all.
(In case you're wondering, her name is pronounced "humena", so my title is an alliteration. Kind of.)
I was back at the continuation high school. It's been a while. The computer class. They were working on computer literacy, career planning, or the yearbook. Every class had some of both (although there was only one period of yearbook).
And, of course, there were the ones not working on any of the above. Even though they should have been. This was the continuation high school, after all.
But the boy was on task. It was an assignment on workplace safety. Things like how should one lift something and how one responded to fire alarms. He called me over to ask the answer to the last question, which was something about what causes back pain.
He chose an answer and hit "submit" for the whole thing. He got 79%. He needed 80% to pass. Helpfully, the submission screen gave him a list of what he'd gotten correct and what he'd missed. But he couldn't go back and fix his answers.
I wandered away. The next time I returned, I discovered the boy and Ximena working on the assignment again. Redoing it. Only this time, they were utilizing Ximena's phone. She had pictures of various screens--the question screens and the submission screen.
Um... Cheating...?
No, they said. These were the boy's answers. Ximena had just taken a picture. Of his answers. And whether they were correct or not. So, they could retake the questions and get them all right this time.
Deep sigh. Well, at least it was on task.
That next time through, he got 83%. So, he passed. And as that was the last assignment for the class. He had finished.
It just kinda left me with an odd feeling.
Would you consider that cheating? Or, was he just redoing his own work? What did you post for X today? Did you cheat, like me?
Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...
It all depends on where you draw the line
ReplyDeleteThat was kind of a fuzzy line, though.
DeleteIt is all right to fudge on the letter X in this challenge. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think everyone does. It's a real name! (Just not hers.)
DeleteIf he was allowed by the computer to take it again, then I don't think it was cheating the way they "stored" the answers to be used during the next round. You are right, it is a fuzzy area, but if it helps him perhaps want to keep attending school, perhaps change behavior to not be in the continuation school and down the line graduate, then it might have been worth the 4 point difference?
ReplyDeletebetty
I think he "fixed" two answers. Fuzzy, yeah, let's call it fuzzy.
DeleteIt would be like taking the test again with your original test paper in front of you. Sort of cheating. If he'd gotten them all right, that would be really suspicious.
ReplyDeleteWell, one could argue he should have remembered the answers to the one he got right, but I think that's a little too much. I wouldn't remember all my answers to a test, so I don't think it's cheating what he did. I would say it's something he should have been talked to about and why it was edged very close to cheating.
ReplyDelete~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
Of course, it wasn't a test. Just an assignment.
DeleteSounds like cheating to me! I don't understand why they are allowed to take the test again! That seems unfair to those who passed it the first time!! But what do I know?
ReplyDeleteFirst, it wasn't a test. It was just an assignment. Second, the way the school is structured, they get as many times as necessary to pass assignments for points. They will redo assignments multiple times.
DeleteBut yeah, it felt a lot like cheating...
I guess even with it not being a test I don't understand why they are given multiple times to do the assignment over. Maybe an F the first time would get them on the ball. And then again, I doubt it! It's just the way the kids today expect to be treated! At Darian and Harley's school they can even take the tests over until they get a grade they want to keep!! Hmmmmm
DeleteThey end up at this school because they are in danger of not graduating. They've failed enough classes that there's no way they'd be able to finish high school without some intervention.
DeleteThe CHS is set up to give them the opportunity to earn the credits they missed when they took many of these classes the first time around. That includes doing and redoing assignments.
THAT may not be cheating, but using a cel phone camera? Yeeeshh....
ReplyDeleteIn any case, he got an 83%. So, if it WAS cheating, it wasn't very effective cheating.
Wow, I don't know. Part of me says it was cheating, but as you say, at least they were on task and tried. In my day, though, anything close to that (just take away the cell phone part, and maybe add a small camera or some such) would've been considered cheating.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it felt kinda hinky to me.
DeleteI think it is cheating (although not your idea for X). But... to be honest, I've done similar things. Because school isn't about what you learn, it's about the grades you get. I know it isn't right, but failing a class, even when you try your hardest to pass, can really screw you up.
ReplyDeletekind of like cheating
ReplyDeleteYeah, agreed.
DeleteIf the boy learned from his mistakes perhaps this is an example of "the end justifying the means."
ReplyDeleteI'm just shaking my head. So not 1960's school. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteWhich part? The cheating? Or the computers and cell phones? (And they don't get why I crack down on them when they make calls in class.)
Deletedefinitely cheating, imo.
ReplyDeleteA little gray area. I'm glad you explained the pronunciation of her name. :)
ReplyDelete(My X, as you know, was Xebec!)
Yvonne V
I guess. I'm leaning more towards cheating.
DeleteStrictly speaking I think it's probably cheating, but you could also look at it as he's using the resources available to him. If the programme allows you to re-take the quiz so quickly then why not. I think it shows initiative!
ReplyDeleteDebbie
First, it's not a quiz. It was just an assignment. And yeah, it was made to be taken as many times as need be to get over 80%.
DeleteHmmm I'm not sure! I'm leaning towards cheating, but they did miss several even with taking pictures of their previous answers.
ReplyDeleteJust not very accomplished cheaters?
DeleteA questionable approach to the retake. Does seem a bit like cheating.
ReplyDelete@WeekendsinMaine
Weekends in Maine
Yeah, it does.
DeleteThere is a reason for rules. But some time they need to be bent but not broken.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Good point.
DeleteI think the kid was cheating, but he came so close to passing! I think I'd let the kid slide.
ReplyDeleteShelly @ http://hangryfork.com
Of course, that wasn't up to me.
DeleteHmmm...I think it would be cheating, but he was only one point shy of passing anyway. He was probably trying to find the right answer to one he got wrong. He clearly wanted to pass instead of giving up and not caring at all. And he didn't get 100% on his redo, so maybe he really did learn something. I don't know. But when I was in school it would still be considered cheating.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. Too many of them will just give up. So, there is that.
DeleteThat is a tough one. Would he have been allowed to take notes? If so, the phone pictures could be considered his "notes." But I guess comparing direct answers sounds a bit like cheating.
ReplyDeleteSince it wasn't a test, yes, I do think notes were allowed.
DeleteHi Liz.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading all the responses as much as your post:) Your posts have a knack to get people talking--like a good teacher does in class with her open-ended questions.
I'm assuming a continuation high school is not a regular high school.
If it's an assignment, then isn't it better for him to use his initiative and try to better his score than to give up, not be bothered and quit. I find the latter (demotivated students) more challenging than the cheeky ones who do 'cheat'. The morality of his actions can not be a scrutinized under a black and white lens. If he enjoys coming back to school and gets a kick out of his learning, isn't that a good thing?
I found my X....while cheating on my diet:) hope you will visit to find out how.
A continuation high school is for students who are in danger of not graduating due to failing too many classes previously. They are there to make up what they failed and catch up so they can graduate.
DeleteLiz, sorry for deleting my previous post with a more detailed account of something I experienced back when I was a teacher. You could probably read it in your email. I just decided it might be best to keep it between the two of us.
ReplyDeleteIf your student cheated, the only person he was cheating was himself. The way I feel about people who choose to live dishonestly is too bad for them!
If you feel something is not for public consumption, of course, delete away. (I permanently delete these as well as duplicate comments, so no worries.)
DeleteIt feels like cheating to me, (the students' actions, not your post name) but it's interesting that by using the picture method, he only received 83%.
ReplyDeleteI cheated a lot worse than you, Liz. It's all been too much for me this year. I think you could class your post title as auditory alliteration.
ReplyDeleteX is a hard one. When I met the real Ximena, I knew I'd be using her name for this. I just didn't know how.
DeleteVery unique but to me, that's cheating. I could nev retake the test again, once I knew the answers and find the wrong ones and correct them and let someone else I. On it.hahahaaaa. Nope nice try and unique
ReplyDeleteSounds like cheating. The whole idea behind the answers being given after the test and not allowing him to go back to correct those answers indicates to me that he is suppose to remember the answers corrected from the previous test in order to help him prepare for a second test. At least he only got an 83%? I mean – that's the difference of like 1 question right? Maybe he learned something from the time practicing and reviewing his old answers even if it was technically cheating…
ReplyDeleteNot a test. And the answers weren't given. It listed what he got right and wrong. From that...
DeleteYeah, it was cheating.