Letter to the Editor
April 13, 2016
The word ethos comes from the Greek meaning essentially the distinguishing character of a person or group. It is a crucial element of good writing since one must establish it as a writer in order to be credible, to be believed or to be taken seriously. A writer does this by establishing his or her expertise or by simply being honest. This was the one element, however, that was missing from the Bull’s Eye [March 2016] editorial on cheating.
The overall theme of the editorial was that teachers must “share the blame” for students cheating. They mention situations of teachers not updating tests or actually “leaving the room” during tests. Maybe this happens…maybe it doesn’t. But it’s a tangential issue at best. Putting the onus on teachers for students cheating is like blaming someone whose house was robbed for not having an adequate security system. A thief is a thief, not the victim of circumstances.
Cheating is a choice, a choice one makes based on personal morals or sense of ethical fair play. The editorial claims that “the bottom line is teachers must change the way they handle all aspects of testing in the classroom.” No…the bottom line is that if you cheat it’s not on the teacher; it’s not on the system; it’s not on peer pressure; it’s on you.
Students, at times, like to portray themselves as victims, rationalizing their bad behavior, placing the blame on everyone but themselves. Maybe this is an ironic part of our modern society where economic success has just made things too easy for some. But respect and integrity are the only real currency in this world despite one’s circumstances. So my bottom line for the Bull’s Eye editorial writers (whoever they are; since there is no byline, I assume it represents the collective wisdom of the staff) is to take George Orwell’s advice. He says that a good writer has the ability to “face unpleasant facts.” If you want to be taken seriously, i.e. as an adult, then grow up.
Joe Moran
DBHS English teacher
