The Talon
Del Norte High School
Volume 3 | Issue 1 | October 10, 2014
a bird’s eye view news 2 features 4 opinions 6 sports 10 arts & styles12
Informing you about what’s happening
Highlighting the ‘distinctively Del Norte’ culture and the people that make it happen
Disseminating Del Norte’s voice on issues both local and global in scope
Taking an indepth look at Nighthawks athletics
Reporting what’s beautiful and trendy on and off campus
CHEATING EXPLORING STUDENT AND STAFF PERSPECTIVES ON TODAY’S CHEATING EPIDEMIC STUDENT PERSPECTIVE BY BENNY LEE Many teachers at Del Norte work hard to enforce rules to guide students in the right direction. Sometimes, however, students take the easy way and cheat. But how big of a problem is cheating at Del Norte? All of the students that were asked if they think cheating is a problem at our school answered with a definite “yes”. But why do student cheat? As Samuel Hsu (10) put it, “Some people cheat on tests because they know their preparation is not enough to get them the best grade. So they turn to cheating and hope that the teacher won’t notice.” Do bystanders who witness these events actually feel the need to tell a teacher? Michael Ong (10) says, “If someone’s cheating on a minor assignment, I’d let it slide. But if it were on a major project or test, I’d get an urge to tell a teacher because if they get a good grade, it’d be unfair to those who actually studied and prepared.” Some students resort to cheating to get the perfect grades for the school of their dreams. But does this desire to cheat originate from the individuals, or does it come from their environment? “There’s just so much pressure on students these days and there is always that question of ‘Will I be able to get away with it’ and most students think ‘yes.’” (Lindsey Kang, 11). Many students even agree that, more often than not, parents are sometimes more anxious for their kids to get into a good school than the students themselves. Although teachers always warn students about “keeping your eyes on your own paper”, there are always a few that earn themselves the big zero.
STAFF PERSPECTIVE BY AHANA CHAKRABORTY
In light of past events at Del Norte, an interview was conducted on campus. When asked whether cheating is a problem at Del Norte, 100% of teachers and administrative staff interviewed replied with a definitive yes. They were also asked: Why do people cheat? 14% answered, “Due to laziness”, and another 14% replied that it was a result of simple oversight; students may have forgotten to study. However, the main problem lies elsewhere: 72% of the campus staff replied that cheating was commonly due to peer or parental pressure. Contrary to what many students may believe, “school is [a] safezone”. “It’s okay to make mistakes here,” said one staff member; In fact, you’re supposed to make mistakes at school. Teachers believe that if students give in to the competitive nature of school and opt out of the learning challenge, then school itself loses value. Also, in no way does cheating help students learn, a consequence that can be reflected in test scores. Administrators agree that by cheating, students not only break a teacher’s trust, but also risk severe repercussions. Guilty perpetrators face an automatic fail, a parent conference, and a review of the Academic Honesty Policy. In some extreme cases, students won’t be eligible for any recognition (ASB, Ambassadors, Link Crew, etc), may be forced to drop the class, and will never receive a letter of recommendation. Teachers try their best to prevent cheating. In hopes of doing so, many teachers assign work in class, use SafeAssign, create multiple test versions, utilize test dividers, walk around the class, enforce strict cellphone rules, and assign handwritten assignments. EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE BY BEN LI The most important method that teachers employ is using an All faculty members and students surveyed agree that cheating is a internal motivator: convincing students that it’s okay to err. Adminisproblem on the Nighthawk campus. While some blame laziness and simple tration concurs that if you catch someone cheating, think about your oversight as reasons for cheating, a vast majority of both faculty members teacher and the effort they put into helping you and your classmates. Think about Mr. Mizel and the hours he spends encouraging us to be and students point to peer and parental influence. Peer and parental influence often pressures students to give in to the competitive nature of school our best. Report your sighting, and above all, don’t become the cheater yourself. and opt out of the learning challenge. The strive for perfect grades for the perfect school, influenced by external pressures, causes many students to cheat. Both staff and students make their own attempts to tackle cheating. Teachers use tools like SafeAssign and multiple test versions to reduce cheating in the classroom, and students keep their eyes peeled for cheating in and out of school, more so on major tests and projects than on minor assignments. Cheating is, no doubt, a problem at our school. But, as students and teachers point out, students feel pressured to cheat because our school strives for perfection. Nonetheless, pressure is no excuse to cheat, and the cheating issue needs to be solved.