What about the 90 who played it straight? (Piper School Dist.)

Chicago Tribune ^ | 13 February, 2002 | Bob Greene

[KC Burke]

The lessons in a Kansas school about students stealing other people's work have been much discussed, and you would think that just about every side has been considered.

But the side that is most important -- the people who are most important -- is the side that has been discussed least.

The school is Piper High School, in Piper, Kan. A 26-year-old teacher named Christine Pelton assigned 118 sophomores in her biology classes to write essays about a variety of tree leaves.

[KC Burke]

Earlier articles and threads:

This article was the first one posted and it was from Kansas City TV5.
Go to TV5 Article

TroutStalker posted this article from the Kansas City Star
Go to Kansas City Star Article

Then the Tribune ran an editorial on the 8th discussed on this Earlier Tribune Editorial Thread

Then the AP had a story HERE

The KC Star ran additional articles on last Friday and Saturday with the Saturday article talking about the Wyandotte County Prosecutor looking into open meeting violations by the board members.

On Monday the 11th, the teacher was on The O'Reilly Factor on FoxNews.

The board has declined to change their small room venue for their monthly meetings so that teachers and the public can attend beyond the handful their current meeting room holds.

The local teacher's group has written letters to the board with import and responses unknown.

In short, the damage done by people holding a public office who don't understand how to perform the duties without being a pliebisitary delegate, responding to the momentary will of the people, mob rule and cronies, have taken a giant step toward permanent damage to a small suburban school district for no reason.

The editorial above doesn't strike at the number of the 90 honest students who got lower grades due to the change in weighting of the paper. For those with low exam scores or lower homework scores the truth was this: When it was 50% their good performance pulled up their grade more than it did when changed to 30%.

[KC Burke]

Ping

[KC Burke]

The saga continues. I have noted that the AP had a story in the Wichita Eagle which I don't have a link to but it may be a copy of the AP story I have above.

What do you hear?

[JenB]

Good sentiments, but really? Praising students for not cheating seems a little like praising cashiers for not stealing money, or praising janitors for washing floors. It's what they're expected to do, after all.

[KC Burke]

Bump

[KC Burke]

He doesn't praise them as much as say that they have been cheated as well and that no one is looking out for them (except the teachers).IMHO

[KC Burke]

Bump

[KC Burke]

bttt

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I'm glad they were honest and it's a darn shame they got burned with the lower weight on their papers.
But all in all, they learned a valuable lesson. Do the right thing or be scorned and held up for ridicule.
Don't you know there have been a lot of converstations over dinner or on the way to a sport's practice!
I don't know how the cheater's parents (except for one set who wanted the punishment)
hold up their heads or can look their children in the eyes or tell them anything with any credibility.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Those 90 students are the ones the school board in Piper, Kan., is insulting -- those 90 students are the ones toward whom the school board is showing disrespect, even contempt.

Exactly. However, this practice [plagiarism in school assignments] is widespread, even in college. I returned to college 5 years ago to finish my degree. Of course, plagiarism was strictly forbidden, but I found it to be rampant among some of the students; and it damaged the rest of us.

We had to work on a number of "group" projects, the object being to simulate the work environment and to produce a quality product without getting into a fight with our co-workers. I usually volunteered to type the projects, in addition to producing my own part, just to make sure that all of the formatting and footnoting was done properly. I always had someone in the group who wanted to copy 4 or 5 pages out of the text and pass it off as a "quote".

Since we were assigned a "group" grade for the projects (and turning in a plagiarized section would destroy my own grade), I had to find a way to correct and adapt this work without insulting my fellow student and still confrom to the guidelines of the instructor. My fellow students often claimed that they always got by with that practice and could see no reason for my cooncern, despite the University rules against it. That was the hardest part of returning to college. (I did graduate with the highest grade point in my program, despite being the oldest member of the class, however.)

[randog]

I don't know how the cheater's parents (except for one set who wanted the punishment) hold up their heads or can look their children in the eyes or tell them anything with any credibility.

I do because I've worked with people like that. They're the same ones that take credit for my work, kiss-up to the boss rather than do a good job, play politics, stab backs, spread false rumors about co-workers, etc. You've known a few in your lifetime, I'm sure. In their eyes their kids did nothing wrong because they do it themselves every day of their lives and consider it normal.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Sad but true.

[barker]

This teacher was on with Bill O'Reilly the other night. I was really impressed with her. Very calm and factual. No dramatics. She is the kind of teacher we need and she was driven out of teaching. She did say the parents of one, repeat one child caught cheating told her she had done the right thing.

[KC Burke]

I thought she did a fine job on O'Reilly as well. This thing laid low when it first occured as it appears the teacher and her peers didn't contact the media if the community wasn't interested. I think it became a letter writing fight in the local weekly paper in that rural fringe of Wyandotte county and from there got on TV5 about three weeks ago.

[Amelia]

In their eyes their kids did nothing wrong because they do it themselves every day of their lives and consider it normal.

Not to mention, they don't apply any consequences to their children for misbehavior, and they don't want anyone else to either.

[joathome]

"I do because I've worked with people like that. They're the same ones that take credit for my work, kiss-up to the boss rather than do a good job, play politics, stab backs, spread false rumors about co-workers, etc. You've known a few in your lifetime, I'm sure. In their eyes their kids did nothing wrong because they do it themselves every day of their lives and consider it normal."

DITTO. You win! No point in further reading, folks.

[lepton]

summer,

Here is a slightly different description of what happened.