In a high school in Piper, Kansas, people's integrity and authenticity were tested. After originally failing a class of students for acts of plagiarism, the school alleviated the punishment when pressured by the parents of the students. The administrators of the school were swayed by public opinion and changed their original decision in order to satisfy others. Integrity, which was not displayed in this case, is when a person stays true to his or her morals and values, despite facing opposition. People tend to lose their integrity when pressured by others to change their opinion. This phenomenon most commonly occurs in politics and school boards, where people change their beliefs based on who they are with. Politicians in particular, are …show more content…
School boards are usually comprised of parents of students in the school. Students whose parents are on the board are given advantages that students whose parents aren’t on the board don’t receive. For instance, a school may invoke a more lenient punishment on a student who broke a rule if the student’s parent is on the board. This is done so that the school will be on good terms with the members of the board. Schools often favor students who have connections in the school board so that they continue to receive support from the board. Another similar issue is that schools tend to disregard their rules, and thus their integrity, when dealing with the children of major school donors. Schools have set rules and shouldn’t alter them based on the involvement of the student’s parents in the school. Schools need to stay true to their rules and integrity in all circumstances. Parents involvement in schools should not reflect the way their children are the same. Rules need to be adhered to and integrity must be …show more content…
Children and adolescents intensely observe the actions of adults or political figures as guidance on how to behave. When kids see in the news or in school, that people don't defend their morals and take their opinions from others, they begin to copy this. Perhaps this is one of the reasons as to why many of the biology students in Piper plagiarized their projects in the first place. Maybe these students felt that because so many people in the school display a lack of integrity, it wouldn’t matter if they, the students, displayed a lack of integrity as well. The way in which the school board dealt with the situation was counter-intuitive because, it is this type of immoral action that encourages students to disregard their integrity. While teacher, Christine Pelton, originally failed her students and was never swayed by outside pressure, the school board refused to defend her actions. The role of educators and of people in influential positions is to display authenticity and integrity, in order to set an example for everyone
No greater obligation is placed on school officials than to protect the children in their charge from foreseeable dangers, whether those dangers arise from the careless acts or intentional transgressions of others. Although the overarching mission of a board of education is to educate, its first imperative must be to do no harm to the children in its care. A board of education must take reasonable measures to assure that the teachers and administrators who stand as surrogate parents during the day are educating, not endangering, and protecting, not exploiting, vulnerable children (Frugis v. Bracigliano, 2003).
The case under review occurred in the city of Newton against a backdrop of economic decline, political disenchantment, and a widening racial divide. A Newton High School senior,Sheila Allison, is accused by her teacher of plagiarizing a book review. Mrs. Durnitz, the teacher, reported to the school principal that Sheila admitted to taking material from the web but claimed she did not know that doing so constituted plagiarism. The district’s policy states that students found guilty of plagiarism must receive a failing grade and repeat the course. Mrs. Durnitz feels that Sheila, having a copy of the student handbook in which plagiarism is discussed, should have known that what she did violated the policy. The teacher also believes that the policy, drafted by the teachers who teach honors classes and approved by the administration, must be followed to the letter despite any extenuating circumstances.
Local school boards must know and completely understand the basis of legal responsibilities and restrictions. These responsibilities and restriction include overseeing the operation of local public schools. The school board is held accountable for creation of policies, rules and regulations that provides guidance for the administration and operation of schools. The school board is perceived as a corporate body, which means an individual member of the board do not have more power than the overall power that is given to the board by the legislature. Therefore, individual school board members do not have the freedom to formulate policy, or act self-sufficiently of the school board as a whole. School board members are known to be public school officers, and are given powers by the legislature that help them fulfill their responsibilities.
The role of school boards “is to establish a vision for the community's schools that reflects a consensus of the board, community and district staff.” Although this is their main purpose, they also have to balance a district budget, create a district-yearly calendar, negotiate contract, construction, and approve district curriculum. (Stover 1) Although it might seem harsh to argue with school boards even though they do a lot, it is their job. They were appointed to lead and better the community, guide our children. If they are not mentally ready to be a leader, then why run for a school board member, the focus should be on the children, how to better education for them, and how to make sure they get the most out of every day coming to school.
More and more students are showing bad academic integrity for numerous reasons. To put a stop to this, I believe that teachers and parents should make a bigger deal about being honest in their work, rather than pressuring students to end up on top. Students need to learn how to take pride in their own work. They need to realize that being honest in your achievements is much more rewarding than achieving something higher, but cheating your way through
However, this may stem from a lack of enforcement of the rules. Even at the most prestigious schools, such as Harvard University, students are not upholding the rules implemented: “The possibility that 125 Harvard students ‘improperly collaborated’ on an exam in the spring has galvanized … discussion about … honor codes” (Source: C). In this case, people may argue that the only party at fault consists of the students. However, the faculty may be partially guilty as well, as their lack of care towards the rules has created a situation that jeopardizes the school’s integrity. Revision may then seem like the least of the school’s priorities, as they must show they seriously consider educational integrity. Likewise, at the University of Virginia, “157 students have been investigated by their peers in the largest cheating scandal in memory” (Source: D). Again, the school and all those who work there hold at least part of the fault for this ignorance because, theoretically, they should preserve and enforce the rules provided. The fact that the scandal exists means that they were not doing their jobs to their fullest. Although revision may seem simpler to carry out, the school’s staff must show an attempt at intervention within the student lives to keep them on a path towards
Lastly, integrity comes down to taking the correct action when no one is around to monitor the behavior. Personal views can cloud an individual’s decision making process by looking to obtain dishonest gains through deceitful actions.
The laws of the schools are to protect the students, faculty, and staff. Administrators must know the law so that everyone is treated equally and fair. With the state statutes, the school boards have the right to adopt and enforce rules and regulations necessary to operate and manage schools. Parents have to right to place their children in any institutions they feel their children will excel, whether that is a private or public school.(Essex, 2002, p. 6)
Shirley Clarke’s Career and The Connection (1961) Shirley Clarke is one of the pioneers of the New American Cinema movement. She came from bourgeois beginnings, which she abandoned in pursuit of dance and, later, of film. Throughout her career, Clarke strove to bridge the American cinema’s divide between commercially successful films and artistic films.
On a research paper, how much information can you “borrow” with or without citing the original author? How do you cite the resources you “borrowed” or quoted from the original author? Will anyone know if you submit a friend’s research paper? No one can see you taking an online test from your living room – should that change how you take a test?
In conclusion, integrity is a vital part of all our lives. Without a basic human integrity, we are animals. Integrity defines how we live, and who we are. Are we good people? Is our neighborhood safe? Is our college a great place to live? When trying to answer these questions, you first look at the integrity. In life and in death, a man will always be defined by his integrity. Is this neighborhood safe for me to my family to? Is this college a good one to send my child to? These questions are constantly being asked, and the answer always lies in integrity.
To prosper as individuals, it is essential to control a sense of honesty, in simple hopes of maintaining humane, respectable standards and boundaries. This honesty, however, is often asked of extension, now presumed to mature into a component well known as integrity. Learning, consequently, is inhabited through these expectations of strict dedication and independence. And although learning is accomplished abundantly, there is only a certain extent of upholding this righteous behavior. Though teachers, bosses, parents, or companions may be satisfied with the efforts of their lesser, they fail to realize that the request of integrity has not been fulfilled. Integrity, being the unflawed ability to completely dedicate one’s personally believed morals is a specific, well-rounded trait, difficult to be entirely possessed by a faulty being.
School systems today are so lenient in their rules, guidelines and consequences; thus causing cheating, copying or forgeries to be frequently used. Many students take advantage of copying someone else's work whenever they are given the chance. Other times, students will simply have someone else do their work and turn it in as their own, not realizing the effects this behavior can create. This creates a lack of creativity, no sense of responsibility and the students will never acquire new knowledge. These practices of cheating, copying and forgery by students are unethical and should be brought to the surface whenever possible.
The term “ethics” refers to an external set of rules that have been established by an institution or organization, for example, a university, and the members are expected to follow them. On the other hand, integrity refers to an individuals’ internal set of principles that guides their actions and behavior (Czimbal and Brooks n.p.). As a rule, people are usually rewarded when they follow ethical codes of conduct by an external committee or board that monitors their behavior. For a person of high integrity, the benefits are usually intrinsic. Moreover, such individuals always make the right decisions even when they are not being watched. Therefore, this feature of character is often influenced by a person’s upbringing. In
Academic integrity has been a major concern among many colleges and universities across the world. Many people may ask the question: what is academic integrity? University of Missouri’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (n.d.) states, “Academic integrity is the core set of values and principles that underwrites the very mission of the University itself; integrity, honesty, hard work, and the determination to translate personal and professional principles into behavior.” Some also may view academic integrity as the act of sustaining honest and rightful behavior in an academic setting that avoids, prevent and provide disciplinary actions for those who commits academic dishonesty, plagiarism and cheating of any kind. Majority of college and universities in all disciplines has academic ethics and honesty policies for all students regardless of their academic statues as undergraduate or graduate students. For example, Webster University’s Statement of Ethics (n.d.) for both graduate and undergraduate programs says, “Those who elect to partici...