Eye of the Editors: Cell Phone Cheating

Technology has advanced at a frightening rate in the past decade. Consequently, the number of students owning smartphones has grown exponentially. This has led to a major pain in the side of the education department, which remains unsolved. The problem is cheating.

On the day of the big test, the teacher asks his students to put all their things away and says, “Remember to keep your eyes on your own paper. You may start now.” Soon, the noise of pencil scratching on paper is the only sound that can be heard.

This silence is broken when the teacher suddenly walks out of the classroom. Students look up and stare at each other in disbelief at their unimaginable luck. Phones are pulled out and answers are shared. When the teacher returns, the room immediately grows quiet as if nothing had happened. The cheating, however, goes on. Under desks, behind pencil boxes, phones are carefully tilted toward the holders’ eyes so only they can see. Though they are not to blame, teachers are often clueless about how easily students can cheat.

As smartphones have become more prevalent, cheating has become more of a concern with school administrators. High-tech tools built inside the phone have made it increasingly easy for students to cheat, whether by texting answers to classmates, taking photos of the exam or looking up answers using the Wi-Fi system. Because phones are not taken away unless it rings or vibrates, students can discreetly take photos or send a text message during a test.

Students too often fall victim to the pressure to earn good grades in hopes of attending a prestigious university. However, no matter what the situation may be, cheating is never an option to turn to.

As corny as the saying, “When you cheat, you’re really cheating yourself,” might sound, it actually makes a lot of sense. If students cheat on an exam that tests rules or formulas that is the basis of a certain course, those students will never fully grasp what is being taught in class. When the class starts doing more difficult problems built on previous knowledge, they will not know the basics and cheat constantly to make up for it. Every time students cheat, they are missing out on important skills that could be important in the future.

Furthermore, students who cheat are showing teachers and others around them that they are not trustworthy. This breach of trust will most likely be a serious impediment in a student’s success during their high school career. Teachers will become suspicious of everything the student hands in, and winning back that trust is close to impossible.

These unqualified students will end up in prestigious colleges they are unfit for. They may struggle or end up dropping out after a year or two. Some of these students may end up graduating by cheating here and there, but they will obviously be incompetent or dangerous in the workplace such as the medical field.

Taking everything into consideration, cheating is never acceptable. What is also unacceptable is students’ turning a blind eye to it. Telling on a classmate is obviously difficult, especially when the classmate is your friend, but in order to prevent cheating and the string of misfortunes it produces, it has got to be done. That way, students will be able to rely on their own knowledge and receive an outcome that truly reflects the time and effort they put in.