Cheating: How far do you want to go?

         The ongoing problem of cheating across North America has emerged in our own county. Fulton school North Atlanta High School has recently experienced numerous accounts of not students, but teachers cheating. After catching multiple teachers embellishing students' test scores, super intendent Erroll Davis has fired many teachers from this high school specifically.This past week, the Atlanta school board has delayed their decision to renew Davis'contract with the  school board system after the controversy resulting from his decisions about faculty.
         The issue brought up by this reoccurrence of cheating...and by cheating I mean teachers lying about students' grades in order to embellish the way that their teaching skills are viewed by spectators, is what makes them do this? Is it a drive for more money? Does it make them feel morally sound?
         Everyone cheats. In all aspects of life, there is a way to get around almost any type of challenge by simply finding the loopholes, by cheating. Think about it. Mario Kart- there's cheats online. Marriage- there's other fish in the sea. School- the ability to cheat SURROUNDS you. So why not do it?
            The morals behind cheating transitions from a clear black- and white scale into a plethora of greys- so many different types, different ways of getting around things. The drive to cheat simply comes from the drive to succeed. But what is success then? The complications behind cheating is more than just "Do I want an A on this test" or "Do I want to look good to other teachers".
           Personally, I think that cheating comes from an inner insecurity that one may have before an assessment. If you know that you don't know x material, and your seat buddy John does, then you're going to want to cheat off of him. Why? To get the grade. It's interesting that lately, people have begun to take the grade more seriously than what they are actually learning.
           So by coming to school, you are simply earning a number. Not learning about things that can help you in life, not internalizing the material. You are just trying to earn a series of grades that can get you this final GPA with this ability to get into this college. 92 88 94 85 99 90. It's almost like a barcode. If we continue to define ourselves by our grades, not necessarily by the things we have internalized, then what are we doing? Personally, I think we are wasting our time. If we are only earning these numbers to become 'scanned' into our favorite university or into the next chapter of our lives, there is no growth, and therefore it seems pointless.
     

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/cheating-alleged-at-north-atlanta-high/nSndr/