Cheating and Plagiarism in High School

Click Here to read about Christine Pelton

When high school teacher Christine Pelton failed almost a fifth of her students for plagiarizing their semester projects, the conflict which insued gives evidence to the hastening extinction of moral integrity. Her actions, though infuriating for some, upheld values as ancient as medieval knights' code of Chivalry. Pelton's decision to stand by her principles resurrects the honor and integrity that has been carelessly cast aside by contemporary culture.
Plagiarism and cheating is a pestilance that runs rampant through today's schools, a scourge that is the bane of education and erudition. What has prompted the shedding of morals in the classroom? Most blame the grueling and rigorous college admissions process, standardized tests, and and the need to be in the top 10% of one's graduating class. What used to be a rather obscure, little-known test, the SAT, has been blown from being a mere aptitude test to the hub of of a high-school student's existence. Now there are classes to study for not only the test itself, but the practice SAT. I myself have taken no less than four practice-practice SAT's, read 3 books on the matter, and am taking a special class geared exclusively towards strategies for taking multiple-choice algebra questions. It is stresses like these that prompt students to cheat - in fact, a large amount of cheaters are people who have above a 3.5 GPA.
The students in Ms. Pelton's class who plagiarized are merely trying to stay afloat in the rigors of today's educational system. However, this does not qualify their actions onthe matter. I personally know people who have admitted to cheating, and their defense is always the same: "Everyone else cheats, and I must cheat to regain my stature in the class." But this does not necessarily have to be so. Only by maintaining our moral integrity and resisting the urge to plagiarize can we regain the purity and honesty traditionally honored by scholars. I know what it is like ot be a pawn in the rat race of education. When I am depressed and dejected by my recent school scores, my mother always says the same thing: "It's just a game all students must play". The key is to play it well, and honestly.
The school board was wrong and weak to demand Pelton to abandon her morals and give in to cheating. This is not a pardon for the mistakes of the students but a victory for dishonesty. I admire Pelton's integrity and her decision to resign in the face of cowardice. Plagiarism is a crime, and should be punished as one.