Teachers have always had to face the problem of students cheating, whether in a public school or a private school, whether among the low-achieving students or ‘straight A' students. Why do students cheat?
The main reason that students cheat is the high pressure from family. Students want their parents or grandparents to feel proud of them, or at least not to be disappointed in them. Another main reason is that it's likely to get the correct answer rather than considering student's abilities in school. As a result, what students care most is only scores. In addition, some students cheat simply because they're busy or lazy.
Cheating can help you get ahead when it works and it is easy to do. The cheaters get good grades without spending much time studying. Some people think cheating makes difficult things seem easy. Cheating is a way for them to win and get what they want now. Honor and dishonor are meaningless if they win. They easily see the advantages in cheating, but often ignore the dangers in playing by their own rules instead of society's.
Cheating successfully once often leads to cheating again and again. It can quickly become a habit that turns into a lifestyle. Without cheating , cheaters become afraid of failure. That is to say, it prevents the student from getting the chance to experience the achieving process. What's more, student who cheat may feel worried about getting caught, whether they are caught or not. These kids may feel guilty or embarrassed. Research has shown that not being able to experience trying hard directly affects one's self-confidence. Research has also shown that low self-esteem is the main cause of sadness.
So cheating is like using drugs——it feels good at the moment but it has rather bad effects. The best way to teach our students is to put cheating out of their mind and love learning truly, to help them experience the satisfaction that comes from the knowledge as well as the self-confidence. There's an old saying that characters never win and winners never cheat. Kids who don't cheat are true winners. Because when they win, they do it honestly.
