When I was little, my mother would read me bedtime stories and give me long talks after the end of each book. This routine was influential to some extent within my personality, for example, whenever my teachers give us lectures on “academic honesty,” there is one particular story that I always think of:

Once upon a time, a beauty contest was held upon the Bird Kingdom. On the appointed day, a horde of birds flocked to a pond where they cleaned and smoothed their shabby feathers. The ambitious crow, however, was completely aware that its unremarkable appearance would not win the judge’s favor. Hopeless, the crow flew to the pond to mend its plain feathers when it spotted colorful feathers cast aside by the other birds on the water surface. “Aha!” it thought, as a WONDERFUL idea popped in its mind. Without hesitating, the crow began to ornate itself with different-colored feathers from other birds. Satisfied by its cunningness, the crow winged its way to the beauty contest.

At the opening ceremony, the crow’s exceptional appearance caught everyone’s eye. No one has ever seen such a beautiful creature! It was all until when the peacock recognized its feather dangling from the crow’s back that they began to realize…it was the plain crow in disguise. With that being said, the colorful feathers were pecked off by their respective owners, leaving the crow with embarrassment and disqualification from the contest.

You may or may not have heard of this fable, but either way, the concept of academic honesty truly applies to the situation of the crow and the colorful feathers. In reality, it is growing increasingly common among people to use resources from the Internet in order to embellish and upgrade the quality of their own work. With a more competitive learning environment and higher expectations from teachers and parents, the motivation behind academic dishonesty is becoming stronger and stronger by the moment.

Defined by the Oxford dictionary, plagiarism is to “present someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgment.” Truth is, among the many powerful benefits and advantages of the Internet lie one potential danger: the possibility of cheating.

Why Do People Cheat?

  1. Pressure: The stress put on students to “achieve” is becoming heavier in the coming decades. While parents and teachers start to uncritically reinforce the concept that academic success is paramount, those who simply do not have the capability to do so will end up in the abyss of academic dishonesty.
  2. Unreflective digital use: In this digital age, people are forming the habit of using the Internet thoughtlessly, carelessly, and uncritically. The digitals that technology gives has gradually been playing a role in students’ beliefs about cheating.
  3. Learning environment: In specific schools, academic dishonesty is so commonly spread that it is difficult or resist the good grades that cheating can cause (without being found out). Peer pressure and the atmosphere of the campus can truly shape students’ perception regarding academic dishonesty.

Encouraging Ethical Collaboration

The term ethical collaboration was taught to me by my mother, but it was until in 7th grade that I understood the importance of being ethical to my family, my friends, my teachers, and even strangers. In a community of ethical collaboration, students are learning for themselves, not for others. In a world of ethical collaboration, no one is afraid to let the world know what they want to say. Taking this further, the concept of encouraging ethical collaboration echoes back to reducing academic stress from teachers and parents as well as alleviating peer pressure among students.

As students’ opinion may vary from the Internet, honesty is a significant virtue to own in order voice out your thoughts. If an ethical collaboration is built upon all school communities, the world will definitely see more youth voices being heard.

 

Source: 
“Ethical Collaboration.” Harvard Graduate School of Education. N. p., 2018. Web. 20 Nov. 2018.